El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-30


smaller samples. A full list Of these
smaller samples was sent to the Tex
the school in Philadelphia ana IKE
list to the one in Lowell. Aassaehu-
sets. The experts of the tariff board
also took a set Of the samples, ana
thus, three independent analyses OF
them were made. -
These samples represented about lzO
mills in all After the analyses, the
agents of the tariff board carried them
TO about $50 representative manuIac-
turers and requested them TO estimate
how much they would charge 70 pro-
duce a thousand yards of each kind OF
goods represented. The agent carried
with him a schedule Of questions de-
signed to bring out the exact Cost o.
each item entering into the estimate
furnished by the manufacturer sam
pies of the various kinds Of clOIn were
also submitted to a number OF european
wooden mills. In all cases the estimates
of cost were to be based on an arDl-
trarv cost sheet Of wool and yarns so
that all mills, both large and snlaiI,
would be on an equal footing in this
particular
Go Through Mill Books.
In addition to these investigations
of the cost of producing the given
kinds Of goods, the agents Of the tarlI1
board carried schedules designed 10
elicit full information with reference 70
the actual operations OF the various
mills in the past. A large majority OF
permission TO go through their DOCKS
and to get out Of them everything
which would throw light upon the prob
lem.
In addition to all Of these, engineers
were asked to prepare plans and estl-
mates for mills Of the usual types, ana
to study from every angle the Ques-
ton Of depreciation OF property me
agents Of the tariff board also carried
schedules Of questions relating TO the
cost Of producing yarn, knitted under
wear and carpets Another line OF IN
Vestiga ton had to do with the ready
made clothing industry. In each case
the schedules Of questions were framed
by expert accountants in such way as
they thought would give them all the
Information necessary in arriving at ac-
curate statistics Of cost
Long List Of Questions.
one of the mcst interesting lines OF
inquiry pursued by the board related
to the efficiency of labor in the wooden
industry. A long list Of questions was
framed designed to ascertain the pay
Of labor, the relative efficiency Of each
Individual and 100 other kinds OF infOr-
nation upon which TO predicate 4 Judg-
ment as to the part played in the indus
try by labor Letters were also written
to many manufacturers inqu1r1nP OF
them what proportion Of the lack OF
Efficiency in given instances they at
trtbuted to the equipment and what 10
the operator. In nearly every case more
lack Of efficiency on the part Of the
operator has been attributed to him,
the remaining small percentage being
divided between bad machinery and
The tariff board feels that if It has
not succeeded in doing anything else
IL has succeeded in mapping out
system Of cost keeping for WO0len and
cotton mills which will enable them to
better fix all their unit costs Of oper-
alton. This belief is strengthened BY
the fact that many manufacturers have
adopted the schedules Of the tariff board
as the basis for revision OF their cost
keeping systems Manufacturers have
been the more willing to give the infor-
nation desired because Of the fact that
the schedules are all g1V en- only under
Identification numbers and that the
actual figures Of their operation are re-
garded as confidential by the tariff
board. After the retuI rs all came IN
they were tabulated and gone over with
great care by a retired wooden manu-
facturer and a certified public account
ant In this way they were able to
check discrepancies and to discover
whether a manufacture was telling the
true story Of his work or not
Cotton on Free List.
The process OF ascertainiug costs in
the cotton industry was the same as
that pursued in the wooden industry,
with the exception that the inquiry be-
gins at the cotton mill IN the case OF
cotton, and on the back Of the sheep
In the case OF wool The reason for
this is that raw cotton is now. and
probably always viii be, on the free list
and that statistics as to the cost OF
producing raw cotton are not essential
ton an ascertasnment Of the cost OF
producing finished cotton goods
Opinions always will differ as to the
relative value of inquiries made by a tar
Z if board or commission and those by
congress itself. The present members OF
the tariff board declare that IL has
been their sole effort to secure infOr-
nation without any afm to bolster up
revenue tariff They assert that their
/ province is neither to propose nor TO
[ dispose, but simply to disclose. They