The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-12-29

J. prchinitory. In general. they are az i
sessed a. rates as high as, or hirher
than. h duties paid on the clean cnntan.
OF WOODS actually imported. Thev shoy,d
Do reduced and 20 adjusted to The r..e
on WOOL az to bear their proper pronort,on
70 the real rate levied on the actual wool
imports. ~ "oo'
Some Duties P~rohlbitory.
me duties on many classes of won,
manufacture are. prohibitory and rreatlv
IN excess OF the difference in cost Of pro.
uucuon mere and abroad. This is true Of |
.ops. o. yarns with tho exception of |
OF low n medium grade cloth NJ haawv
weight. "A'S
" tops up to 50 cents a pound in value. |
ano on yarns Of 65 cents In value. the
ate 10 100 per cent. with correspondingiv
nlgner rates for lower values. On cheap
eno meoium grade cloths, the existing
Ieses frequently run to l0 per cent. and
cent NV 'e'
On the other hand. the findings show
mat the duties which run to such high ad
veaorem equivalents are prohibitory, since
the GOODS are not imported, but that the
prices Of domestic fabrics are not raised
py the full anount Of duty. On a set of
one yard samples Of ls English fabrics,
SoauPictely eXCIuQeO Dy the
present tarifr rates, 1t was found that the
totai foreign value was 34l.s4; the duties
wnicn would have been assessed had these
taor1cs been imported. 1850; the foreign
vAsue Plus the amount of the duty, Sis. "a:
OF q nominal duty of 1888 per cent. In fact,
however. practically identical fabrics Of
oomesuc make sold at the same time at
xos.fo, showing an enhanced price over the
foreign market value Of but Ct per cent.
"a NAA..lA a.A.-- ~-
Although these duties do not increase
prices OF domestic goods by anything like
their null amount. It Is none the less true
that such prohibitive duties eliminate the
possibility Of foreign competition. even In
time OF scarcity. SO that they form a temp
taton to monopoly and conspiracy to con-
troll domestic prices: that they are much
in excess Of the difference in cost of pro-
duction here n abroad. and that they
should be reduced to a point which ae-
cords with the principle.
The findings of the board show that in
this industry the actual manufacturing
cost. aside from the question Of the price
OF materials. Ii much higher In this coun-
try than 1t IL abroad: that In the making
OF yarn and cloth the domestic wooden
n wsrsted manufacturer has In general
no advantage in the form of superior ma
chinery or more efficient labor to Offset
Liz Ah8AicE WAGES pdlu IN tulS COuIltTy.
The finds show that the cost Of turning
wool into arm in this country Is about
double that in the leading competing
country. and that the cost Of turning yarn
into cloth Ia somewhat more than double.
Under the protective policy a great indus
try. involving the welfare Of hundreds of
thousands Of people has been established
despite these handicaps.
In recommending revision and reduce
ton I therefore urge that action be ia
ken with these facts In mind. to the end
that an important and established Indus
try may not be jeopardized.
The tariff board reports that no equita-
bic method a been found to levy purely
specific duties on wooden and worsted fab.
rics. and that. excepting for a compensa-
tory duty. the rate must be ad valoren:
on such manufactures It Is important to
realize. however. that no fat ad valorem
rate on such fabrics can be made to work
fairly and effectively. Any single rate
which Is high enough to equalize the dif-
ference In manufacturing cost at home
and abroad on highly finished goods In
volv1ng such labor would be prohibitory
on cheaper goods, In which the labor cost
Is a smaller proportion Of the total value.
Conversely. a rate only adequate to equal.
ize this difference on cheaper goods would
remove protection from the fine goods
manufacture. the increase in which has
been one Of the striking features OF thu
trade development IN recent years.
therefore recommend that In any revision
the Importance Of a graduated scale Of az
valorem duties on cloths be carefully con
sidered n applied.
Praises Work Of Committee.
I venture to say that no Legislative
body has ever had presented to 1t a more
complete and exhaustive report than this
on SO difficult n complicated a sub5ec'
as the relative costs Of wool and wooleni
the world over. It IL q monument to tn
thoroughness. industry. impartiality an
accuracy of the men engaged In lis ma
king. They were chosen from both polit
ical parties. but have allowed no partisan
spirit to prompt or control their inquiries
They are unanimous in their findings.
feel sure that after the report has beef
printed and studied the value OF such
| compendium of exact knowledge In re
spect to this schedule Of the tariff will
convince all Of the wisdom OF maxim
such a board permanent. in order tina
II may treat each schedule OF the tarii
as II has treated this. and then keep 1t
bureau Of information up to date Wit
current changes In the economic world.
1t Is no part of the function OF the tar
IN board to propose rates Of duty. h
function IA merely to present findings o
fact on which rates Of duty may be fairi
determined in the light Of adequat
knowledge in accordance with the eco
nomic policy to be followed. This II Tha
the present report does.
The findings Of fact by the board sho'
ample reason for the revision downwar
Of schedule X. in accord with the Pre-
tective principle. and present the DAT
as to relative costs and prices from wnic
may be determined what rates Will fairi
equalize the difference In production cos.!
! I recommend that such revision De Pre-
] ceeded with at once.
!. (Signed) n. ~
| The White House. Dec. 20. 1911
Opera Houses In Europe.