The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-06-08
WOOL TARIFF RE-
VISION PRESENTED

| ion bill was introduced in the house of
representatives Tuesday by Chairman
Underwood of the ways and means COM
mittee, and debate on it was commenc-
ed yesterday. The measure was accom-.
panied by a lengthy report from the
Democrats OF the committee in its
favor, while the Republican members,
headed by Representative Payne, of
New York, unanimously reported
against it. Indications are that the
passage of the bill will be stubbornly
contested, but no intimation has been
given as to the time to be granted for
debate
The majority report deals at some
length with the attitude of the admin
istration in not communicating to .oi,
gress data on the "steel trust' and
other industries now being investigat
ed and the failure of the tariff board
to communicate data on the wooden in
dustry.
"The position Of the tariff board ap-
pears to be, says the report, THAT
they shall be the sole judge as to what
part of the data they collect may be
likely to be of service for purposes or
legislation, and this situation must be
considered with reference to the view
point of the president concerning tar
iff legislation.
1t is, therefore, not impossible that
there may be some such delay in the
communication to congress of statisti-
cal information collected by the tariff
board concerning wool and wooden
goods as there has been in communicat-
ing to congress or making public the
data by the bureau of corporations con-
cerning investigations of the steel and
other industries. -
Says Delay Is Objectionable.
The report maintains that any fur
ther delay in the revision of the wool
and wooden schedule would be objec.
tionable to the public. In explaining
the determination of the committee not
to put raw wool on the free list, but to
reduce the present duty to twenty per
cent ad valorem, the committee insists,
as the Democratic caucus did, that the
duty "is not to be construed as an
abandonment of any Democratic pol
icy'
"The present situation of the treas.
uV,' the report states, following a
long course of unwarranted extrava-
gance by the Republican party and the
appropriations already made by the
Sixty-first congress, which the Demo-
cratic minority could not limit, re-
quires that the revenue from customs
duties in the immediate future be
maintained at approximately the total
of the fiscal year 191O.''
1t is asserted that the average ad
valorem rate on manufactures of wool,
on the imports and duties as estimated
for 1912, would be 42.55 per cent, as
compared with 90.10 per cent under the
schedule in 1910 and the average ad
valorem equivalent of duties on raw
wool twenty per cent,as compared with
44.31 per cent in 1910.
Would Slaughter Sheep.
The minority report is signed by
Representatives Payne, Dalzell, Need
ham and Langworth.
For purely political reasons it
says, "this cold -blooded measure is
brought forward. If it could become
law is would slaughter sheep as in
1898 and close the mills much more uni
versally.'
The bill is not drawn on lines for
the production of revenue on raw wool,
the minority report contends, and adds
that with duty of twenty per cent
on wool the duty on the manufactured
cloth is too low to enable our manu-
facturers to pay the wool duty and still
compete with imported cloths.
1.-The wool schedule is different and
intricate and directly involves the well
fare and living of more than 100000
people, the report continues. "With-
out any hearing and new data, with
no information later than two years,
this bill is forced on the public with a
mandate of political caucus. There
can be no expectation that it will pass
the other house and even be considered
there before December at least.
The minority report characterizes the
Democratic statements with regard to
the condition of the treasury as abso-
lutely false and presents treasury
statement purporting to refute the
Democratic charges of Republican ex-
trayapance in expenditures