The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-07-26
TASK YOUR CONGRESSMAN"


 An interesting article in Every body's Magazine" for August by Fred eric c. Howe is printed under the caption, Ask Your Congressman" It presents some facts which, though perhaps not new to the reading public, cannot be too often reiterated. Ger tain able-bodied trusts" MT. Howe says, got what they wanted out of Congress in the late tariff-making. The sugar tariff is so tigh as to. be nearly prohibitive: "the average whole sale price of granulated sugar in for eign countries in 1908 was 2.3S cents a pound and in New York 4.96 cents pound-a difference of 2.58 cents or more than 100 per cent; thus the total cost of the sugar duties to consumers was over $15O,000, 900. It may be said !. that these duties are to protect the infant industry of beet-sugar manu- beet-sugar plants belong to the Sugar Trust. in the main.'
 The Steel Trust also "got what it wanted."s This Trust began in 1901 with property estimated at $500. .000, 900, but capitalized at $1, 400, COG, 900 in stock and bonds. When Tom l.. Johnson was a member of Congress and at the same time one of the leading steel makers, he said: we can and are pro- ducing all sorts of iron and steel in quantities cheaper than any place in 1. the world. We undersell abroad at a ' profit. A tariff of $1 a ton at the very most would be prohibitive on . nine-tentfs of the iron and steel pro- ,ducts'' Andrew Carnegie has said that the steel industry does not need protection. Yet the trust "got what it wanted" and continues to sell in for eign markets at lower prices than 1t exacts here. and at a profit.
 The Wool Trust also "got what it wanted.Y. President Taft has said that ,..thes wooden schedule is findefen- sib1e." A tariff expert says: "A large percentage of the people can no longer afford to wear wool'. but must be content with "clothes made largely of cotton and ehoddy." 41cua k
 The cotton manufacturers succeeded in getting the average duties on cot ton goods raised from ASA to 5O.62 per cent. Decreases were made on less than one-fifth of one per cent. of the i, imports and increases on 58 different crease the cost of hosiery, mercerized goods. etc. from 25 to 50 per cent. MT. Howe's comment is very pointed:
 It is the pennies of the millions that make up the millions of the few. And hn t0 ffc fyrth irar 1tncy dimes, and dollars on the increased cost of everything we consume.
 x All the above and other facts are cited by MT. Howes to illustrate how important to each consumer are the character and record of his represen- tative in Congress. eff he had felt responsible to you instead of being subservient to the demands of the Sugar. Steel. Wool and Cotton trusts, think how much less you would be paying for sugar. hardware, clothes, blankets and thousand other articles of daily use"
 With regard to the argument that protection is designed to shield the American wage-earner from foreign pauper labor, MT. Howe cites the fact . men work twelve hours a day, nearly 5000 of them at 14 cents an hour or less and over 5000 at IS cents or less. He also cites the fact that the average earning in cotton mills is less than e7.50 a week. And the people ''are paying more than twice the entire labor cost of the entire manufacture of cotton"
 From July 1, 1906, to Feb. 4, 1909, 60O,000 schedules of railroad rate in- creases were filed with the Interstate last Ii years. railroad capitalization has increased by $6. 900 or 55 per cent, dividends and other payments 137 per cent. and railway mileage but 25 per cent. Evidently the increase in capitalization is mostly wind and water.ys2 rysz .ssseass
 The argument used in support of in- creased freight rates is that they are necessitated by increases in wages. Of this. MT. Howe says:
 A calculation was made for me in the office of the Interstate Commerce Con- mission. 1t showed that, on one of the largest systems, the increase in total operating expenses due to wage increases was less than one per cent, while the increase of rates was esti- mated at from ten per cent. to fifteen per cent.
 The conclusion of Mir. Howe's article is a suggestion that voters ask for the attitude of Congressional candidates upon the following public questions:
 1. I twill not) (wilD vote for Can non for Speaker.
 2. (wilD (will not) vote to take the appointment of the Rules Committee and all other committees away from the Speaker and lodge it in the House.
 3. (wilD (will not vote for a re- vision of the tariff on the principle that customs duties exacted by the United States shall represent no more than the actual difference in wage cost of production between the United States and foreign countries. In order to determine this difference scientific ally. I (will no) (wilD vote for any Legislation needed to enable the Tar if Commission to investigate costs and conditions of production at home and abroad.
 4. lwilD (will noD vote for the valuation of the physical property of