Rocky Ford enterprise. (Rocky Ford, Colo.) 1887-1950, 1911-12-29
president SAYS
RATES TOO HIGH
Chief Executive Urges Downward
Revision of Schedule K.
MESSAGE SENT TO CONGRESS
Document Uphoids Protective PrIneI-
pie But At the Same Time Most
ArdentIy Supports Reeommen-
dations Of Tariff Board.

Washington.-Preside Taft trans
mitted to congress the report of the
tariff board on schedule X. Accom-
panying the report. the chief execu-
tive sent to the national legislature
the following message:
To the Senate and House of Representa-
tiyes:
In my annual message to congress. De-
cenber, 1903, I stated that under section
. Of the act of August 8. 1909. had ap-
pointed q tariff board of three members
Atc cooperate with the state department
and minimum clause of that act. to make
glossary or encyclopedia of the exist
ing tariff 80 as to render its terms intel
iigible 10 the ordinary reader. and then
to Investigate industrial conditions and
costs of production at home and abroad
with a view to determining to what ex-
tent existing tariff rates actually exem-
plify the protective principle. viz: That
duties should be made adequate. and only
. adequate. to equalize the difference in cost
OF production at home and abroad.
I further stated that believed these In
vestigations would be of great value as a
basis for accurate legislation. and that
should from time to time recommend to
congress the revision of certain sched-
uies in accordance with the findings of
the board
In the last session of the Sixty-first con-
Rress a bill creating permanent tariff
board of five members, of whom not
more than three should be of the same
political party, passed each house. but
failed OF enactment because of slight DIFF
ferences on which agreement was not
reached before adjournment. An appro-
priation act provided that the permanent
tariff board. II created by statute. should
report to congress on schedule in De-
cember. 1911
Presidential Appointments.
Therefore, to carry out far as lay
within my power the purposes Of this
bill for a permanent tarin board. ap-
pointed in March. 1911. board of hve.
adding two members Of such party afhi-
alton as would have fulfilled the statu-
tory requirements. and directed them to
make n report to me on schedule * OF
the tarff act in December of this year.
In my message of August II. 1911, ac-
con1panying the veto of the wool bill. !
said that. in my Judgment. schedule X
should be revised and the rates reduced
My veto was based on the ground that
since the tariff bonrd would make, in
December. a detailed report on wool and
wool manufactures. with special refer
ence TO the relation of the existing rates
OF duties to relative costs here ana
abroad. public policy and fair regard
- the interests OF the producers and the
manufacturers on the one hand and of
the consumers on the other demanded
that legislation should not be hastily en-
acted In the absence OF such Information;
that was not myself possessed at that
time of adequate knowledge of the Facts
10 defernins whether or not the proposed
act was I'm accord with my pledge to
support fair AMI reasonable protective
policy: that such legislation might prove
only temporary and infilct upon great
industry the evils OF continued uncer-
;ainty.
Advocates Reduction Of Rates.
now herewith submit a report OF the
tarifr board on schedule X. The board Is
unanimous In Its findings. On the basis
of these findings I now recommend that
the congress Iroceed to consideration
of this schedule with a view to Its revi-
sion and a general reduction Of Its rates.
The report shows that the present
method of assessing the duty on raw
woof--this Is. by the specific rate on the
grease pound. l. e.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO
exclude 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 unsecured
wool of % cents per pound Is prohibitory
and operates to exclude the Importation
of clean. Iow-priced foreign woods of In
ferior grades. which are nevertheless val.
liable material for manufacturing. ana
which cannot be imported In the grease
because of their heavy shrinkage. such
place the cheap substitutes now In use.
To make the preceding paragraph 1T
tie palmer. take the instance of hun
dred poun,ls 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 merchan-
disc part of the wool thus Imported is
Sc weight of the wool OF this hundred
Kinks 50 per cent. some wool does.
IN the duty in such case would
Amount to sl1 on 20 pounds of secured
wool This. of course. would be prohlbi-
tory II the wool shrinlts only 80 per
cent II would be sll on 80 pounds OF
wool and this Is near to the average OF
the great bulk of woods that are imported
from Australia. which is the principal
source of our imported wool
These determinations could be over
come by assessing a duty in ad valorem
terms, but this method is open to the OBJ
lection first. that 1t increases administra-
tive difficulties and tends to decrease
revenue through differentiation: and.
second. that as prices advance. the ad
yaiorem rate Increases the duty per pound
at the time when the consumer most
needs relief and the producer can best
stand competition: while II prices de-
when the consumer is least burdencd by
the price and the producer most needs
protection
Method That Meets Difficulty.
Another method of meeting the diff
Guilty of 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.
nassely, the discrimination due tc differ
ent shrinkases. and thereby tends great
Iy to equaiize the duty. The 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
as hetween different regions and different