The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-10-21
PEOPLE ARE ROBBED
FOR THE BENEFIT OF WOOL
TRUST WHO OWN MILLS.
The Americans Pay Over a Hundred
Million Dollars in Taxes on the
Clothes They Wear.

OlOtueS lHcy caI.
The people of the United States
pay a subsidy to the wool industry
of at least S1O4, 100000 a year, ac-
cording to calculations of the Hon.
Oscar w. Underwood, of Alabama,
chairman of the. Ways and Means
committee Of the house of represea-
tatives, who discussed schedule K
before the Industrial club, of Chi
cago, re:ently.
After lating the history of the
tariff on wool which he said had been
recommended in 1867, after meet
ing of the wool growers Of the west
and the wool manufacturers of the
east, Congressman Underwood un-
derteok to show the actual tax i'm
posed on the individual through the
tariff.
"An illustration of the extent of
the burden is afforded by a study of
a typical article of comparatively
cheap cloth such as enters e ordi-
nary mems suit worn by the great
masses of the people," he said. 1.-THE
article is an all worsted fancy fabric,
the wholesa.e English price per yard
of which is seventy-seven cents, and
the freight to New York, one cent.
"The compensatory duty is forty
fo,r oo,tc p/ = Wound or twantIr h ra O
cents per yard, the ad valorem duty
forty per cent or thirty-eight cents
ler yard in addition, or seventy-eight
per cent of the import price. 1t re-
quires three and one-half yards to
make a mans suit. There are at
present 100000 persons Of the
United States. 1t is estimated one
fifth are heads of families, or men
making 1S,400,000 such suits used
year. There are doubtless an equal
number Of women wearing wooden
making a total of such cloth. which
with the children's suits makes to-
tai, figured at the small estimate of
one suit a year, 171,200,000 yards.
THE taft tax of 61 per cent per
yard, to say nothing Of any in
crease in tax as it passes to the
jobber, makes not less than S104,-
10000 paid each year to subsidize
the wool industry OF America
"On the other hand, the entire
duties paid the United States on all
imports of woolens and worsteds in
1910 amounted to a total of less
than one-fourth of one per cent of
S15,500,000 for the use of the gov
ernment and over S100,000,000 sub
tracted from the pockets of the peo-
pie.
Is it fair or just or right TO main
tain these enormous taxes unduly ITO
foster the business of less than one
md three-fourths to stagger under
this enormous burden?
II do not believe the American
people will justify the president in
lis veto of the wool schedule. He
does not say the rates of duty fixed
in the bill presented to him were too
high or too low, but says that con-
gress was not informed and that
they must wait the decision Of the
socalled tariff board. The congress
had all the information it had when
it passed the revision of the tariff
schedule, that the Ways and Means
committee had when it drafted the
Payne bill, which the president
signed.
1.-The chairman of the tariff board
does not seem to agree with the pres
ident as to the ability of that board
10 secure facts that will aid congress
in rewriting that schedule. He said
at a banquet of the American Asso-
citation of Woolen and Worsted man.
ufacturers in New York last Decen-
ber there are certain things that are
difficult to get and one thing is to
try to get cost of production"