The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-21
Graduated Scale


 The board holds that fair solution scale upon which the ad valorem rate scale upon which the advalorem rate properly assessed on goods of low value should then increase progressively ac- cording to slight increments of value, LID to whatever maximum rate should be fixed
 The boards figures would seem to show that the "prohibitory duties' do not affect the American consumer so much as would be inferred by the use of those words; for while the du- ties on 16 samples of foreign cloth se- leeted by the board averaged 1S4 per cent the actual excess of the domestic price over the foreign price was found to be CT per cent as the result of do- nestle competition.
 At the present time the industry in general is on competitive paslS, says the report.
 Tho cost of a suit of clothes from the back of a sheep to the back of a man is computed in the report and the profits which accrue in the process are traced to their sources. For purposes of computation the board takes a suit of clothes retailing at s23 and whole Sal1ng at SlD.oD. HIS IS Seliu iO rep resent fairly the suit of clothes worn by the average American.
 The farmer receives for the wool in such a suit $2.23 and his profit is eS cents: the manufacturer of cloth re- ceives for his product S4.7S and his profit is 23 cents; the wholesale cloth ing dealer receives for his product s1650 and his profit is s2.1S; the re- tail clothing dealer receives S23 and u is aO Tho fipnrRS approximate. Extracts from the report follow:
 Tn the western part of the United States where about thirds of the sheep of the country are to be found. the fine medium wools carry an aver age charge of at least II cents per pound interest not included. If account is taken of the entire wool production of the country includ- ing both fine and coarse wools the aver age charge against the clip is about 9h cents per pound.
 Tn South America the corresponding, charge Is between 4 and cents per pound.
 Present Method Bad "The board finds that the present method of levying the duties upon. raw wool is defective in that it operates, bv reason of the varying shrinlSage of
 
 vent the importation of many heavy conditioned sorts which, if imported, would add substantially to the stock of sound sample available for the man ufacture of wooden fabrics.
 That there is no valid reason for the discrimination that now exists as between the wools of class 1 (Marino and Crossbred) and class IT (English, medium and luster) and that these two classes could properly be consolidated. That the present duty of 33 cents per pound on secured wool is prohib- itive, preventing effectually the im- portation of clean and low priced for eign wools of the lower grades that could be exceedingly useful in the man ufacture of woolens in this country, |and is so used might dispacs in large measure the cheap substitutes now so frequently employed in that industry. The fact that such cheap lwools are of such heavy shrinkage that they can- not be imported in aE unsecured state emphasizes all tho more the prohibitory character of the present secured pound duty
 That an ad valorem, too. is open to grave difficulties from the point of J -.