The Detroit times., 1911-12-21

Il
tralia"
Deducting the proceeds from the
sales OF lambs and mutton. which us
ually balances ths expense OF the
flock. the average cost OF nm merino
wool In the United Stats is IL cents
per pound. The entire wool crop
fine and coarse wools--costs nine ana
one-half cents a pound 10 produce
In South America the cost Is De
tween four and FIVE cents.
The Australasian costs are consid-
cradle below the South American
The report says:
The present duty OF 3S cents per
Mound ON secured wool IL prohlbltiVe'
preventing effectually the Importation
of clean. low-priced foreign woods OF
the lower grades that would pe eA-
ceedingly useful in the manufacture
OF woolens In this counu ana IL so
used might displace I'm large measure
the cheap substitutes now so frequent
ly employed In that indHstry'
The Payne-Aldrich law bases itS
raw wool duties on the assumption
that greasy wool when cleaned shrinks
an average of two-thirds. This shrink
age allowance is much too high, the
board finds. The average shrlnkage
OF imported woods Is about - per
cent and OF all domestic WOODS De
tween SIS and 90 per cent. Inc rates
on wool waste, rags and shoddy are
called prohibitive and the report
states that the present tarin praetlcai
ly excludes from importation all lops
and yarns, except the most expensive
worsted warns.
The same Is true il says, "ot low
grade wool and cloth for mems wear
A considerable quantity OF the nne anu
expensive fabrics are Imported. III
the fiscal year 1911, these did not con
stitute three per cent OF the total con-
sumption OF the United States,
The report then discusses the reis-
1--WE merits OF specific duties levied on
weight and ad yalorem duties. lhese
Natlties are applied in combinations 10
fabrics and the result is that on cheap
goods the PayneAldrich specific duty
is sometimes in excess OF the total
| value or raw material on the basis OF
| cost OF production in this country.
! Consequently the board says. the
nominal duty on certain cheap fabrics.
! II imported which is impossible
under the existing duty--is commonly
as high as 800 per cent ad yalorem.
and In some cases even over 200 per
cent. Much of the objection to the
present compensatory duty as exces-
| siye would be removed by putting the
duty on wool on the secured (or
| cleanedl basis instead OF on the grease
! pound. The duty I'm that case would
! be adjusted 10 the actual wool.
III ,af
| been increased by the fun amount or
| these prohibitiye duties, the board
| finds.
/ The board said that goods assessed
| az from 80 TO 200 per cent and there
| by prohibited, were sold in this coun-
| try at a price only so TO so per cent
| higher than sIls goods abFeau.
| This is the result of domestic COM
| petition. IL says.
AT the present time" says the re-
port, the industry in general is on a
competitive basis
In reference 10 the higher cost OF
production of wooden cloths and yarns
in this country. one element is the 10
per cent ad valorem duty paid on ma
chinery, most OF which is imported,
says the report.
American manufacturers pay 20 per
cent more for their machinery than
do the English
Turning wool into tops costs 80 per
| cent more in America than in England
and the cost OF production OF yarn
| here is about twice the cost in Eng
land
The figures of the board show that
il costs from 90 TO 10 per cent more
TO turn yarn into cloth here than in
England The same difference n
shown in comparison with the figursi
for France But the difference is not
SO wide in comparison with the Ger
man cost.
I'm the ready-made clothing indus
try, the cloth is the largest single ele-
ment and is equal to one-third OF the
net wholesale selling price" said the
report. In considering the import
ance of cloth-cost to the wearer or
clothing, IL is necessary to bear In
mind the margin between wholesale
and retail price. The retail price Is
usually 80 per cent or more above the
net wholesale price On this basis
about % per cent OF the price paid
the retailer goes TO the manufacturer
OF cloth. The cost OF material, labor
and all other expense undergone in
converting material into finished gar
ments is SO per cent OF the net whole
sale selling price OF the finished pro-
duet. ont OF the remaining 20 per
cent the manufacturer must pay his