Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-28
WOULD REVISE SCHEDULE X"
REPORT or TARIFF BOARD SENT
70 CONGRESS.
President Taft Urges Adjustment o.
Duties on WeoI that Consumers
May be Benefited.


OF Tariff Board on Schedule *
follows:
IN my annual message to congress
december, 1903, | stated that under
Bee. 2 OF the act of August 8, 1909,
l a appointed a tariff board Of
three member to cooperate with the
state department in the administra.
ton OF the maximum and minimum
clause OF that act, 10 make a glossary
or encyclopedia OF the existing tariff
80 as to render it's terms ineligible
to the ordinary reader, and then TO
investigate industrial conditions and
costs of production at home and
abroad with a view to determining
10 what existing tariff rates actually
exemplify the protective principle,
viz. that duties should be made ade-
quate and only adequate to ~equalize
the difference in cost Of production
at home and abroad. | further stated
that | believed the investigation
would be of great value as a basis
for accurate legislation and that I
should from time to time econ
mend to congress the revision of cor.
tain schedules in accordance with
the finding of the board. In the last
session of the SiXty-frst Congress q
bill creating a permanent tariff board
OF five members, of whom not more
than three should be of the I
political party, passed each house,
but failed of enactment because Of
slight difference on Which agreement
was not reached before adjournment.
An appropriation act provided that
the permanent tdriff board if created
by strtrte. should report to congress
On ~ScheCuie * In december, 1911.
Therefore to carry out so far as
lay within my power the purposes OF
this bill for "A permanent tariff board,
| appointed in March, 1911, a board
OF five, adding two members of such
party a%filiation as would have full
filled the statutory requirements, and
directed them % make a report to
me on Schedule X of the tariff act
IN December Of this year. In my
message of August II, 1911, accom-.
panying the ve'o of the wool bill, I
said that, in my judgment Schedule
X should be revised and the rates re-
duced. My veto was based on the
ground that, since the tariff board
would make, in December, a de.
tailed report on wool and wool
manufacturers, with special refer.
to the relation of the existing
OF duties to relative costs here
and abroad, public policy and a fair
regard to the interests of the pro.
ducers and the manufacturers on the
one hand and of the consumers on
the other demanded that legislation
should not be hastily enacted in the
absence of such information; that !
was not myself possessed at that
time of adequate knowledge OF the
facts to determine whether or not
the proposed act was in accord with
my pledge to support a fair and rea-
sonable protective policy; that such
legislation might prove only tempo
rary and infict upon a great in
dustry the evils of continued uncer-
tainty. ! now herewith submit a re.
port OF the tariff board on Schedule
X. The board Is unanimous in its
findings. On the basis Of these find
tngs | now recommend that con-
gress proceed to a consideration OF
this schedule with a view to its re-
vision and a general reduction of
Its rates. The report shows that
the present method of assessing the
duty on raw wool--this Is by q
specific rate on the grease pound, /.
woods of high shrinkage in securing
but fine quality from the American
market and thereby lessons the range
of woods available to the domestic
manufacturer; that the duty on
secured wool Of 33 cents per pound
Is prohibitory and operates to ex.
clude the importation of clean, low
priced foreign woods of inferior
grades which are nevertheless valu.
able material for manufacturing, and
which cannot be imported in the
grease because Of their heavy shrink.
age. Such woods, II imported. might
be used t. displace the cheap substi.
tnte now in use. To make the proceed.
ing paragraph a little palmer, take
the instance OF a hundred pounds OF
first class wool imported under the
present duty. which Is II cents a
pound. That would make the duty
on the hundred pounds 81. The
merchantable part OF the wcol thus
imported is the weight Of the wool
OF this hundred pounds after scour-
Ing. If the wool shrinks so per cent,
as some woods do. then the duty in
such a case would amount To Sill to
20 nnunls az secured wool This of