The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-10-19

Big American 1dI1lSA 6uDS1uy VI
MilIiOns-PeOple of United States
BHrdened Under This Heavy Tax
Industrial Club of Chicago His
Audience.
Chicago, Oct. 14.-The people of the
United States pay a subsidy to the
wool industry of at least 1904, 10000
a year, according to calculations CT
the Hon. Oscar w. Underwood of
Alabama, chairman of the Ways and
Means Commute of the House of Rep
resentatives, who discussed Schedule
H., before the Industrial Club, of
Chicago, here tonight.
Mr.. Underwood declared the wool
tariff indefensible and criticised Pres
ident Taft for his veto of the wool
bill.
After relating the ~history-of the
tariff ca wool, which he said had been
recommended in 1867, after a meeting
of the wool growers of the West and
the wool manufacturers of the East,
Congressman Underwood undertook to
show the actual tax imposed on the
individual through the tariff.
AN illustration of the extent of the
burden is afforded by a study of a
typical artical of comparatively cheap
cloth, such as enters the ordinary
mems suits worn by the great masses
of the people," he said. "The article
is an all worsted fancy fabric, the
wholesale English price per yard of
which is n cents and the freight to
New York, one cent.
The compensatory duty is A cents
per pound, or % cents per yard, the
ad valorem duty so per cent, or 38
cents per yard in addition. OF Is per
cent. c. the import price. 1t requires
three and one half yards to make a
mans suit. There are at present 3d.
900, 900 persons in the United States.
It is estimated one-ffth are heads of
families. or men, making 18,4O0,OO
such suits used a year. There are
doubtless an equal number of women
wearing wooden, making a total of
36,S00,0 suits, the equivalent of 1885,
100000 yards of such cloth, which,
with the children's suits makes a
total, figured at the small estimate of
one suit a year, 171,2OO,O00 yards.
'The tariff tax of 81 cents per yard
to say nothing of any increase in tax
as it passes to- the jobber. makes not
HO0o C1du p1Ot1fOO,OVO pd1u OoSA yOoA
to substitute the wool industry of
America.
"On the other hand, the entire du-
ties paid the United States on all inn
ports Of woolens and worsteds in 1910
amounted to a total of less than $15,-
100000 for the use of the government
and over 500, 900 900 subtracted from
the pockets of the people.
rs it fair or just or right to main
tain these enormous taxes unduly to
foster the business of less than one
fourth of n per cent. of the people
and to require SO ga to stagger under
this enormous burden.
i de- not believe the American peo-
pie will justify the President in his
veto of the wool schedule. He does
not say the rates of duty fixed in the
bill presented to him were too high
or toe low, but says that Congress
was not informed and that they must
wait the decision of the so-called tar
III board. The Congress had all the
information it had when it passed the
revision of the tariff schedule, that
the Ways and Means committee had
when it drafted the Payne bill, which
the President signed.
"The chairman of the tariff board
does not seem to agree with the Pres
ldent as to the ability of the board TO
secure facts that will aid Congress in
Rewriting that schedule. He said at
a banquet of the American Associa-
ton OF Wooden & Worsted Manufac-
are certain things that are difficult to
get and one thing is to try to get the
cost of production
If the President had vetoed this
Dill because he believed the duties
We're too high, CT because he did not
believe the bill would raise sufficient
revenue to support the government,
ne would be clearly within his right
to use the veto power, but when he
exercised the veto power on the prop
os1tion that the Congress was incapa-
Ole of legislating i nthe interests OF
the people. he clearly violated the
fundamental principles of the constt-
tuition"