The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-30
ATTACK ON COTTON TARIFF.

Representative Underwood, chairman
of the House Committee on Ways and
Means, has opened the debate on the
cotton schedule OF the tariff law, ia
voring n reduction Of duty. The bill
| for such reduction. as reported by his
committee, will, he claims, save to the
people of this country upwards of $780,
100000 year. He urges also that the
measure will not be hurtful TO Amer
lean labor, but will be Immediately
helpful to the American people at
large IN reducing the prices Of cotton
goods.
Mr.. Underwood claims, and there is
a great deal in the claim, that the
tariff on cotton has been used, not
to increase the wages of American Ia
borers but to allow the companies TO
over.capitalize, to combine, and to use
the tariff as lever whereby they could
extort the utmost possible amount of
money from the American people. There
is evidence, as we have shown hereto.
fore, that the situation has been over
worked by the American cotton COM
bine; that it has put up the prices so
high that even the tariff is not suffi-
cient to keep out foreign cottons, and
that we are importing and using double
as much of cotton fabrics as we export
to other countries. That is, in America
the whole cotton fabric marketing Is not
able to hold its own, even with the enor-
nous tariff that we have and have had.
The explanation is simple. 1t is not
matter Of wages, because the wages of
labor IN cotton mills are at the mini
num- The trouble is in the fictitious
capital, the enormous amount at which
the big combinations are capitalized
and bonded, and the immense amounts
of money required to meet interest and
dividend requirements on the inflated
issues.
A reduction Of the tariff on the cot |
ton schedule would force a readiust.
ment Of capitalization in the cotton |
plants, very much to the advantage of |
the cotton industry of this country. as
well as the American purchasers Of cot.
ton goods.
1t appears that the cotton situation
s about like this; that the Ebenefcentv
,ariff has induced close combination
If the cotton manufacturers, and that
,hese, considering the American mar.
iet their own, have so unduly swelled
he capitalization Of their concerns,
rny Oh - Ill i
he home market at the present tariff
.ates on cotton. It is manifest that
here would be no possible advantage
n increasing the cotton tariff, be-
.ause that would simply lead to an
'ther watering of the stocks of the
ottOn manufacturers plants. The
present situation is losing one for
ur cotton trade, and the only prac-
ical remedy appears to be reduction
( the rates. Some Of these rates are
s high, reckoned on an ad valorem
asis, as approaching two hundred per
ent. This is beyond all reason. Its
niquity was pointed out during the
assage Of the bunko tariff law of two :
ears ago, but the standpatters were
4 control and would listen to no rea- /,
ons, no explanations, no sound econom- ,
,s or sense. The result was, they put :
p scandalous job on the country, Z,
'hich Is reacting upon the very inter.
sts which the standpatters sought to
erve, An honest revision of the tar.
f two years ago would have deprived
no Democrats of their present oppor-
unity. The shortsightedness of the =.
tandpatters is therefore becoming more :
nd more evident every day, while the I,
ecessity of a tariff revision is grow :
lg all the more imperative.