The Cairo bulletin., 1911-12-21
Farmers Profit Small

can.
Farmers Profit Small
The farmer receives for the wool
In such Il. suit 1925 and his profit is
fS cents, the manufacturer of clothes
receives for his product $4.7S and
his profit is % cents, the wholesaler
clothing dealer receives for his pro-
d,.ct $3.50 and his profit is S2ts,
tie retail clothing dealer receives
$500 and his profit Is $3.50. The
| figures are aggregate,
Extracts from the report follow:
1.-THE result OF the raw wool Ia
vestigation establishes the fact that
! it costs more to grow wool in tho
United States than in any other
country that the merine woods re-
| quired in such great volume by our
mills are the most expensive Of all
woods produced: that the highest av-
erage cost of production of such WOO
| in the world is In the state of Ohio
and contiguous territory, and that
the lowest average cost of similar
I wool is in Australia.
1T is not possible to state in ex,
act terms the actual cost of pre-
| ducing a pound of wool considered
by itself for the simple reason tina.
wool is but one Of the products 81
the same operation.
Western Condition Different.
THAT in the western part of tbs
! United States where about two
| thirds of the sheep of the country
are to be found, the fine and fine me-
dunn woods carry an average charge
of at least IL cents per pound, in
terest not included.
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 is about 8 " cents
per pound.
''That in South America, the cor
responding charge is between 4 and
cents per pound
THAT taking Australia as whole
it appears that charge of very
few cents per pound lies against the
great clip of that region in the az.
rregate While the board cannot
therefore undertake to name an ex.
Get figure in that case, it is certain
that the Australian costs at large fall
below the south American.
THE board finds that the present
method of levying the duties upon
Jaw wool is defective in that it OPP
el ates, by reason of the varying
shrinkages of the different kinds OF
wool, to prevent the importation OF
Eany heavy conditioned sorts, which
ii imported, would add substantially
to the stock of sound staple avail.
able for the maintenance of woolen
fabrics
THAT there is no valid reason for
the discrimination that now exists
as being the wool of class (merine
and cross-bred) and class ii { Eng
lisa, medium and luster) and that
these two classes could properly be
consolidated
That the present duty of 20 cents
per pound on secured wool is pho
nibitiye, preventing effectually the
importation of clean at low priced
foreign woods of the lower grades
that would he exceedingly useful In
the manufacture of woolens In this
country, and if so used might dis
place in large measure the cheap sub
stltutes ncy so frequently employed
iii that industry. The fact that such
cheap woods are of such heavy
salinkage that they cannot be i'm.
ported in an unsecured state empha.
sises all the more the prohibitive
character of the present secured
pound duty.
THAT an ad valorem rate is open
to grave difficulties from the point
Of view of administration and reve-
nue., in the case Of crude. bulky
commodity like wool produced in
many remote regions and finding its
way into the markets through SC
many various channels Of trade.
THAT Furthermore an ad valorem
rate would give high duty per
pound when prices are high; that is,
when the consumer most needs relief
and the producer Is most able to
bear competition. With low price
of wool the duty per pound would
be low; that is at the time the con-
samer has less need of competing
woods and the producer is least able
to bear competition.
Acknowledge Shrinkage
THE rates of schedule X are based
upon the assumption that woods In
the grease shrink an average OF
&C 2-3 per cent. While 1t is true
that considerable quantities of wool
do shrink that amount, the average
| ;c xuaJI hatnx,, that Go,,r, Coxtrs,.