Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-09-24

machines. as shown by the pay rolls Of
the companies checked up by the earn
ings Of individual men.
THE bureau OF corpora tons has in |
some cases made very careful examination
into costs Of production. These invest-
cations, however, were not undertaken l
primarily with reference TO their bearing
on tariff legislation. So far as they
cover the ground necessary for such pur-
pose. there will be no need of this work
being duplicated by the tariff board. This
is especially true Of the metal schedule.
II is only necessary to supplement this
material by such other information as
may be vital TO a consideration OF the |
tariff proper.
Other Work Not Duplicated.
"The best way to understand the |
peculiar character Of the investigations |
of the tariff board is to compare their |
published report on pulp and news-print |
paper either with the statistical work Of
other government agencies regarding this |
industry or with the hearings before the |
ways and means committee. II is shown !
that this investigation does not in any
way duplicate the statistical work of the
other departments. but that its scope is
quite different, and vet the investigation
develops data essential to an understand
ing OF industries from a point of view Of
the tariff
/ 1T will also appear that the method Of
investigation is quite different from that
OF a congressional committee. and the in
formation afforded much more detailed in
character and, on the other hand is
much more condensed than the infor-
nation developed by the verbal exami-
nation Of witnesses. The work OF the
board up to date in the way of detailed
inquiry has been through several dozen
agents working on the books of persons
engaged in the production or manufac-
ture Of the articles in question in foreign
countries and abroad. What congressional
committee ever even attempted such an
investigation, covering, as it must, MANY
months of time? Besides this work OF
Investigation, there has been much work
done in the preparation of a glossary for
many Of the schedules covering not only
the important statistics but a description
of each article enumerated in the tariff
with an explanation of it's relation to
the industry, its Importance to producers
ana consumers, and the nature Of the
tariff duty imposed. Besides this,
technical experts have been employed to
make special reports on special schedules
of the tariff, which will serve as q basis
for later investigation of a more detailed
character. Preliminary work of this kind
for instance, has been done in the case OF
iron and steel, which will be the next sub
ject Of inquiry after the completion Of the
work on cotton and woolens.
1t has been said that members of the
ways and means committee are them
selves experts on tariff matters and that
they have had years of dealing with tariff
statutes. The character of the investi-
cations made by members of the ways
and means committee everybody knows.
1t consists in calling men engaged in the
business and inviting their opinion as to
the necessity for a tariff and as to
whether it should be lowered or raised,
Such Investigations are the very ones
which have met the criticism of the pub
lie and have given rise to a demand for
a more scientific and impartial method of
securing the facts upon the legislation
which is to be passed.
Report on Pulp Illuminating,
1T is objected that with reference to the
cost Of production there can be no scien-
tific conclusion. If by this is ment that
there will be found to be no exact mathe-
matical measure of the difference in the
try and Of goods in another, it is true
Conditions vary in different states, in diff
ferent provinces and in different counties
They differ between different manufac-
turers, and the difference in the cost. of
production between two countries is ~ Ne-
fore difference that cannot be stated
with definiteness. 1t must be variable
amount, and must be so stated but when
thus stated with variations it may, never
theless, be accurate and just, and ought
to be, so that the tariff can be adjusted
to the facts as they are rather than to
the facts as interested parties would state
them The report of the board on the
paper and pulp industry was Illuminating.
I 1t gave the average cost of production,
: with all the elements; showed how 1t diff
: fered between the mills in the same coun-
t try and between the mills of the two
countries, and demonstrated that on the
whole the real average difference in the
= cost Of production was measured by the
} difference in the cost of raw material
) the pulp wood, in the two countries. IL
J Is such conclusions which, with the means
OF securing them, the American people
Z have the right themselves to have and to
! insist that their representatives in con-
gress shall have, before making radical
changes in existing legislation.
Il do not contend that the tariff can be