The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-21

compensatory duty which fixes a GER
tain charge per pound before the ad
NaiOrem rate begins. 1t costs 100 Der
cent more to make cloth from yarn in
the United States than it does, in Eng
land or France. The present system
OF liking the same ad valorcm rates
of duty on different grades of fabric
is condemned as unfair.
The board holds that a fair soll-
ton would he h adoption of a grad
uated scale under which the ad val
orem rate properly assessed on goods
of low value should the increase
progressively according to slight in
crease of value, up to whatever maxi
mum rate should be fixed,
No Great Injury.
The boards figures would seen, to
show that the p%rohibitory duties do
not effect the American SO
much as would be inferred by the Use
OF those words; for while the duties
on sixteen samples of foreign cloth
selected by the board averaged 1874
per cent the actual excess Of the do
nestle price over the foreign price
was found to be 81 per Gent as the re-
suit of domestic competition.
AT the present time the industry
in general is on a competitive basis u
says the report.
The cost of a suit OF clothes from
the back Of a sheep to the back of
"A man is computed in the report, and
The profits which accrue in the process
are traced to their sources. For pur-
poses Of computation the board takes
a suit Of clothes retailing at $23 and
wholesaling at $3.50, This is said
to- represent fairly the suit of clothes
worn by the average American.
The farmer receives for the wool
IN such a suit S2.25 and his profit is
q" cents; the manufacturer OF cloth
receives for his profit 1915 and his
profit is % cents: the wholesale
clothing dealer receives for his pro-
duct S18.5O and his profit is s2.1S:
the retailer receives $2S and his profit
Is $3.50. The figures are aggregate.
EXTRACTS from the report follows.
Cost Of Production.
"The result of raw wool investiga-
ton establishes the fact that il costs
mor TO grow wool in the United
states than ! many other county; that
the serino woods required in such
great volume by our mills are the
most expensive of all woods produced;
that the highest average cost or pro-
duction of such wool in the world is
in the state of Ohio and contiguous
territory; n that the lowest average
cost on similar wool is in Australia.
lit is not possible to state in exact
terms the actual cost of producing a
pound Of wool considered by itself.
for h simple reason that wool is
but n of ten products of the same
operation.
THAT in the western part of the
United States where about two thirds
of the sheep of the country are to be
found. tho fine and fine medium woods
carry an average charge of at least
III pnnf2 Nor nnVrnh jntoroct Not t..
cluded.
That If account is taken Of the
entire wool production Of the country
including both fine and coarse woods,
the average charge against the clip
ts about az cents per pound.
THAT in South America the cores
ponding charge ia between four and
five cents per pound.
That taking Australia as a whole
it appears that a charge of a very few
cents per pound lies against the great
clips Of that region in the aggregate.
While the board cannot therefore
undertake to name an exact figure
in that case, it is certain that the
Australian costs are large fall mater.
tally below the South American.
Method is Defective.
The board finds that the present
method of levying the duties upon
raw wool is defective in that it oper-
ates by reason of the varying shrink
age Of the different kinds of wool. 10
prevent the Importation Of many
heavy conditioned sorts, which if i'm
ported would add substantially to the
stock of. sound staple available for
the manufacture Of wooden fabrics.
''That there Is no valid reason for
discrimination that now exists AZ be-
ing the woods Of class l (merino and
and class Nnglish,
medium and Luster) and that these
classes could properly be consol-
THAT the present duty Of 80 cents
per pound on secured wool is pro-
hibttlve, preventing effectually the I'M,
p%ortation Of clean and low priced for
eign woods Of the lower grades that
would be exceedingly useful in the
manufacture Of woolens In this coun-
large measure the cheap substitutes
now so frequently employed in that
industry. The fact that such cheap
woods are Of such heavy s%hrinkage|
they cannot be imported in an
unsecured state emphasis all the more
the prohibitive character Of the pres
ont secured pound duty.
Ad ValOrem Rate Wrong,
THAT an ad valorem rate Ia open
to grave difficulties from the point Of
view of administration and revenues
In the case of Il crude bulky commod-
ity like wool, produced In any remote
regions and finding its way into the
markets through SO many various
of trade.
THAT Furthermore an adj valorem
would give a high duty per pound
shows prices arc high; that Is when
the sur must nced a relief and
The producer ia MOI able To bear COM
petition. With n low price Of wool
this duty per pound would he low: |
Is at the time when the consumer
has less need Of competing woods aud
the producer is least able to bear
competition.
The rates Of schedule X are based ]