The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-21
President Recommends
That Rates Be Mate
rally Reduced.
HE PRAISES WORK
OF TARIFF BOARD
Urges That Revision of Schedule
Be Proceeded With at Once,
but Does Not Propose Any
Definite Duty, Merely Pre-
senting Findings of Fact
for Further Action.

Washington, D. c.. December 90
President Taft sent to Congress- to-day
ehe lons-awaited report of the Tariff
Board on Schedule Of the Payne
tariff act, and with 1t messagc rec
J ommendins that the rates on wool and
woolens BIO materially reduced
The report shows that the existing
duties on many classes of wool and
wool manufactures are prohibi.ory and
| greatly In excess of the difference In
the cost of production here and abroad.
me duties are so arranged as to keep
out OF the United States entirely woola
\ OF finer qualities, which, IL Imported,
might be used to displace the cheap
substitutes now employed
President Taft calls attention to
these points and urges that a revision
OF the schedule be proceeded with at
once. Ho characterizes the report OF
tue Tarir Board us the most complete
and exhaustive statement of dicftiu,t
and complicated subject ever presented
to legislative body. He declares II
monument to the thoroughness, In
dustTy, impartiality and accuracy of
| the men engaged in it's making. He
also dwells with emphasis upon the
| fact that the report Is n unnnimoua
one, and asserts the belief that it will
| convince all OF the wisdom of making
the Tariff Board permanent,
Neither the President nor the board
proposes definite rates Of duty, Mr.. Taft
hoidins that the function OF the board
| merely Is to present findings of fact
en- which rates of duty may be fairly
determined. In the light CT adequate
knowledge and in accord with tho eco
nomic policy to be followed Presi-
| dent Taft recommends that tbe ~
| posed revision adhere to a policy ~
| protection based upon tho difference in
cost Of production at homo and
| abroad. -
Lnid on Table.
|, An attempt to have the report re-
| ferred to tho Ways and Means Cam
| mittee without printing met with a
demand from the Republicans that the
| ehtire report be printed at once FL
naily both message and report were
left on the Speakers table unit, to-
| morrow.
In his message. after referring brsef-
~ to the creation of the Tarr Board.
\ the President says in part:
| In my message OF August II 1911.
accompanying the veto OF the wool LIN
said that In my judgment Schedule *
should be revised and the rates re-
| ouccd- My veto was based on the
ground that since the Tarim Board
would make in December IL detailed re
port on wool and wool manufactures.
| with special reference to the relation
| OF the existing rates of duties to rela-
| tive costs of here and abroad. public
! policy and n fair regard to tho inter-
cstS OF the producers and the manufac-
tnrers, on the one nand and Of tho
consumers. on the other. demanded
! that legislation should not be hastily
enacted In the absence OF such infor
nation; uiGt I was not myself nos
sessed al that timo of adequate knowl-
edge OF the facts to determine yheLher
or not the proposed act was in accord
with my pledge to support a fair and
reasonable protective policy; that such
legislation might prove only temporary
and inhict upon Il great Industry the
evils of continued uncertainty.
Il now herewith submit report of
| the Tariff Board on Schedule X Tho
board is unanimous in It's findings On
the basis OF these findings ] now rec
ommend that the Congress proceed to
a consideration of this schedule, With
a view to revision and Il general re-
duction of It's rates.
Present Methods
The report shows that the present
method OF assessing the duty on raw
wool-that is. by specific rate on
the grease pound g. e.. unscoured,-
operates TO exclude woods of high
shrinkage in securing but fine quality
from the American market, and there
by lessons the range of woods avail
able to the domestic manufacturers:
that the duty on secured wool OF ss
cents per pound Is prohibtory and OBJ
crates TO exclude the Importation OF
clean, low-priced foreign woods of in
fertor grades, which arc nevertheless
valuable material for manufacturing.
and which cannot be Imported in the f
grease because OF their heavy shrink
age. Such woos IL imported, might
DO used to dispiace tha cheap sub.ti-
tutcs now In use
',fo make the preceding paragraph
| little palmer. take tho instance OF
100 pounds of first-class WOO! imported
| under the present duty, which is II
cents a pound. That would make In,
duty on the 100 pounds Sill. The mer-
| chantablo part OF the wool thus i'm
ported Is the weight OF tho wool or 4
this 100 pounds after securing. II tha
wool shrinks 50 per cent. as some
woods do. then the duty in such a case
would amount to Sill on twenty
pounds OF secured wood. This, 8. s
course. would be prohibitory. IL tho
wool sfrinks only 90 per cent IL
would be Sill on fifty pounds OF wool
and this is near 20 the average Of the
great bulk of woods that are Import
ed from Australia. which la the pria- &
cipni source of our imported WOOL.
Duties prohibitory.
Tho duties on many c!asscs OF wool
manufacture are prohibitory and great
ly in excess % the difference IN cost
OF production here and ahroad S
This Is true of tops OF yarns with
u NJ x1,n al x,a - (