The Ordway new era., 1911-12-29
PRESIDENT TAFT. IN MESSAGE TO
CONGRESS, ADVOCATES RE.
pUcTioN OF DUTIES.
SCHEDULE K UNDER FIRE
In Communication to Congress, Chief
Executive indorses Conclusions
Arrived At by the Recently
Created Tariff Board.

on oCuSul0 n luo pEo0IuouS oSSonA-
panied 1t with the following message:
To tho Senate and House Of Representa-
tivss:
csmber. 1909. I stated that under section
Of tho act Of August s. 1909. had ap-
pointed q tarin board OF three members
to cooperate with the state department
In the administration Of tho maximum
and minimum clause Of that act to mako
. glossary or encyclopedia of the exist
ing tarin 20 az to render its terms intel
ligibIe to the ordinary reader. and then
to investigate industrial conditions and
costs Of production at homo and abroad.
with a view to determining to what ex-
tent existing tarln rates actually exem-
plify the protective principle. viz: That
duties should be made adequate. and only
adequate. to eQualize tho difference in cost
Of production at home and abroad.
I further stated that I believed these In
vestigations would be OF great value as
basis for accurate legislation. and that
should from time to time recommend to
congress the revision Of certain sched-
ulcs in accordance with the findings OF
the board.
IN the last session of the Sixty FIRST con-
Eress . bill creating . permanent tarfn
board Of nve members. OF whom not
more than three should be Of tho same
political party. passed each house. out
failed Of enactment because Of slight dif.
reached before adjournment. An appro-
pEaation act provided that the permanent
tariff board. II created by statute. should
report to congress on schedule X In Pc
cember. 1911
Presidential Appointments.
Therefore. to carry out SO far as lay
within my power tho purposes Of this
bill for q permanent tariff board. ap-
pointed in March. 1911. a board OF nve.
adding two members of such party afhli-
Aton ~ would have fulfilled the statu-
tory requirements. and directed them to
make Q report to mo on schedule X OF
the tarin act in December of this year.
In my Message OF August II. 1911. ac-
companying the veto Of tho wool bill.
said that. In my Judgment. schedule X
should be revised and the rates reduced.
Ny veto was based on the ground that.
since tho tariff board would make. IN
December. q detailed report on wool and
wool manufactures. with special refer-
ence to tho relation Of the existing rates
duties to relative costs here and
abroad. public policy and fair regard
to tho interests OF tho producers and the
manufacturers on tho one hand and OF
the consumers on the other demanded
that Legislation should not be hastily en-
acted in tho absence Of such Information:
that / wns not myself possessed at that
time Of adequate knowledge Of tho facts
to determine whether or not the proposed
act was in accord with my pledge to
support q fair and reasonable protective
policy: that such Legislation might prove
only temporary and innict upon 0 great
industry the evils of continued uncer-
tainty.
Advocates Reduction Of Rates.
now herewith submit a report OF the
tariff board on schedule X. Tho board II
unanimous in its findings. On the basis
Of these findings I now recommend that
the congress proceed to a consideration
Of this schedule with view to its revi-
sion and . general reduction Of its rates.
Tho report shows that tho present
method Of assessing tho duty on raw
wooHthis II. by tho specific rate on tho
grease pound. l. g.. acknowledgements to
exclude wools Of high shrinkaEs in
American market and thereby iessens tho
range Of wools available to tho domestic
manufacturer: that the duty on unsecured
wool Of - cents per pound II prohibitory
and operates to exclude tho Importation
Of clean. low-priced foreign woods Of in
ferior grades. which arc nevertheless val
liable material for manufacturing. and
which cannot be imported In the grease
because OF their heavy shrinkage. such
wools. II imported. might be used to dis
place tho cheap substitutes now in use.
To make tho preceding paragraph lit
tie palmer. take tho instance OF a hum
dred pounds Of hrst-class wool imported
under tho present duty. which In II cents
O p00n0. Tnat WOulQ make tnc outy on
the hundred pounds I'll. Tho merchan-
disc part OF the wool thus imported Is
the weight OF the wool Of this hundred
pounds after securing. II tho wool
rhrinks 90 per cent. ns some wool does.
then the duty In such a case would
wool This. OF course. would be prohib.
tory. II the wool shrinks only 80 per
cent. It would be I'll on 90 pounds Of
wool. and this 10 near to tho average Of
T. - q
from Australia, which is the principal
source of our imported wool.
These determinations could be over
come by assessing n duty in ad valorem
terms. but this method Is open to the OBJ
lection, nrst. that It increases administra-
tive difficulties and tends to decrease
revenue through undervaluation: and.
second. that as prices advance. the nd
valorem rate increases the duty per pound
at the time when the consumer most
needs relief and the producer can best
stand competitions: while II prices de-
cline the duty Is decreased at tho time
when the consumer IL least burdened by
the pricc and tho producer most needs
protection.
Method That Meets Difficulty.
Another method OF meeting tho difn-
Guilty uf taxing the grease pound Is to as
cess a specific duty on grease wool In
terms of its secured content. This obvi-
ates the chief evil Of the present system.
namely the discrimination due to differ
ent shrinknges. and thereby tends great.
ly to eQualize the duty. Tho board re-
ports that this method Is feasible in prac-
tice and could be Administered without
great expense.
The report shows in detail the difficult
ties involved in attempting to state In
categorical terms the cost OF wool pro-
duction and the great differences In cost
ms between different regions and different
types of wool It Is found. however. that.
tnking nil varieties in account, the aver
age cost OF production for the whole
American clip Is higher than the cost in
tho chief competing country by an
amount somewhat less than the present
duty. .H
The report shows that tho duties on
noils. wool wastes. and shoddy. which are