Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-12-20
President Concurs in Find
ings Of Tariff Board
on Schedule X.
TO REVISE DOWNWARD
Message and Report Heard in
House, But Action Deferred
Until Tomorrow.

Washington, d c.. Dec. 20. The
tarin boards report OF it's investiga-
ton OF the wool industry struck
water as soon as it reached the house
today. At the conclusion Of the read
ing Of the presidents message an at
tempt was made 10 have the report
referred TO the ways and means COM
mittee without printing. There was
some discussion, but the message and
report finally were left on the speak
er's table until tomorrow.
VoR IMMEDIATE REVISION.
The president urges that revision OF
the schedule be proceeded with at
once. Neither the president nor the
board proposes definite rates of duty,
Taft holding the function Of the board
merely is to present finding of fact
on which rates OF duty may be fairly
determined in the light OF adequate
knowledge and in accord with an
economic policy to be followed.
The president recommends that the
proposed revision adhere to the policy
OF protection based upon difference in
cost OF production at home and
abroad.
EtEPORr OF TARIFF BOARD.
Washington, Dec. 2O.--The tariff
boards report on schedule X, sent
to congress today by President Taft,
suggests a general revision Of the
duties on wool and woolens, and
many individual reductions in the
rates. The board makes no recon-
.,nspdatiopS. -poiRts- out what
changes are desired. In nearly ell
classes of the schedule, the board 8
experts report the majority of the
rates OF duty prohibitory and con-
demn the system of levying them.
The report points the way to two
great changes in the present system
of levying duties upon raw wool and
finished cloth. 1t would assess duty
on scrubbed wool--not wool and
grease combined; and suggests a
graduated scale OF ad valorem rate
on cloth.
The report is divided into sec
tions, viz: raw wool, yarn and
cloth. They are taken up in the
order In which they come In pro
duction and manufacture.
PRESENT SYSTEM BAD.
On raw wool, the board finds the
present system of levying duty bad
and the duties higher than the diff
ference in cost OF production in the
United States as compared with th'
cost abroad. The method Of levytnt
duty 10 condemned because 1
charges for grease as well as for WOO
and operates to keep out Of thi
country the heavy shrinking woolens
On tops, from which yarn is made
the present rate OF duty is found L
be prohibitory. 1t costs so per cen
more in the United States to conver
tops into yarn than II does anywher
else.
On yarn, from which cloth is woN
en-, the present rate OF duty is foun
to be prohibitory because II keep
out all except the finer grades.
On cloth, the present rate Of dut
is pronounced prohibitory on heav
weight. cheap and medium grad
cloths, principally because of the sp'
ctfic compensatory duty which fixes
certain charge per pound before tn
ad valorem rate begins. 1t costs 10
Der cent more to make cloth froI
yarn In the United States than 1t doe
In England OF France The preser
system OF fixing the same ad valoreI
rates Of duty on different grades {
fabric Is condemned as unfair.
FOR GRADUATED SCALE.
The board holds that a fair soll
tion would be the adoption OF
graduated scale under which the a
valorem rate properly assessed o
goods Of low value should then Il
crease progressively according
slight increments of value. up
whatever maximum rate should
fixed.
The boards figures would seem
show that the ''prohibitory duties
do not affect the American consum'
so much as would be inferred by Il
use OF those words; for while Il
duties on l6 samples Of foreie
cloth selected by the board averags
1874 per cent the actual excess OF Il
domestic price over the foreign pri'
was found to be CT per cent as II
result OF domestic competition.
AT the present time the industI
I'm general is on a competitive basis
says the report.
The cost OF a suit of clothes fro
the back OF a sheep 20 the back
man is computed in the report, al
the profits which accrue in 4