The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-06-07
Long Report by Ways and
Means Committee
THE PRESIDENT CRITICISED
States That Democratic Policy Is to Be
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. the Repubh-
cans of Failing in
Revision.

Washington, June chairman I'M
derwood of the ways and means COM
mittee presented to the House the Demo
cratic report on the wooden schedule,
which was taken up for general debate
shortly after the House met at noon.
The report, which is one OF the most
voluminous ever presented with a bill,
is intensely political in its nature, and
large portion of it is devoted to a
criticism of President TAFT, the Repub-
lican party, the tariff board and the
wooden interests of the country. A de-
Tense OF the duty on raw wool is set
forth at length in the report.
"The present situation Of the treas
ury,p il says, following long course
Of unwarranted extravaganza by the Re-
publican party and the appropriations
already made by the sixty-frst Con-
gress, which the Democratic minority
could not limit, require that the rev
enue from customs duties in the inn
mediate future he maintained at APP
proximately the total OF the fiscal year
1910 Under the compulsion of this
situation the committee finds it neces-
sary 10. recommend moderate rev.
enue duty on unmanufact,fed woods,
and the bill herewith reported provides
that all raw woods of whatever class
or kind shall be subject TO q duty Of
20 per cent ad valorem. This rate is
less than half of the existing rates com
puted on an ad yalorem basis. The
bill is not to be construed as an aban.
donment of any Democratic policy; but
in view Of the Democratic platform for
gradual reduction Of the tariff and
of the depleted and the depicting condi-
ton Of the public treasury, result of
Republican extravaganza, a tariff of 20
per cent. adj valorem on raw wool is
now proposed as revenue necessity"
Referring to the Democratic tariff pro-
gramme the report says: THE Republi- !
can party has failed to make the re.
vision required, and the present Demo
cratic House of Representatives has
been intrusted by the people with the
plain duty OF tariff revision according to
the Democratic platform of 1908; that |
Is, immediate revision, with gradual
reduction OF duties to revenue basis,
and with especial consideration given
to the necessities OF life"
The report calls attention to the fact
that Chairman Underwood called upon
the tariff board for any information it
had on the wooden schedule The infor. I
nation was refused on the ground that i
the board had not yet completed its
Referring to the presi.
dents attitude and that of the board the
report says;
"The position Of the tariff board APP
pears to be that they, in conference
with and under the sole control of the
president shall be the sole judges as to
what part of the data they collect may
be likely to be OF service for purpose Of
legislation; and this situation must be
considered with reference to the view
point of the president concerning tariff
legislation. II is therefore not impos-
sible that there may be some such de-
ay in the communication TO the Con-
yress of statistical data collected by the
.ariff board concerning wool and wooden
FOODS as there has been in communicat-
ng to Congress or making public the
iata collected by the bureau of cor
norations concerning Investigations of
he steel and other industries"
Summing up the expected benefits to
,e derived from the enactment of the
,ill into law, the report says: "In the
Ictual imports and duties under the wool
N schedule in the fiscal year 1910, the
lverage ad valorem equivalent of the
Iuties collected on manufactures of wool
vas 90.l0 per cent. Under this tUn-
Ierwoodl bill the average ad valorem
ate on manufactures of wool on the
IMPORTS and duties as estimated for
0l2. would be 1855 per cent. The
verage ad valorem equivalent of duties
n all raw wool was 44.3l per cent. in
9l0. This bill provides an ad valorem
ate of 20 per cent. 1t is evident, there
ore, that this bill provides much
ower margin. and hence much more
rate for the manufactures
+ wool than has been passed by the
louise Of Representatives or enacted in
ny other Democratic meaeure since the :
ariff acts of 1876 and 1857"