The Holly chieftain., 1911-12-29

under the present duty. which Il II csnts
. pound. That would make the duty ON
the hundred pounds e1l The merchan-
disc part OF the wool thus imported u
pounds after securing. II the wool
shrinks % per cent. a. some wool does.
then the duty IN such . cass would
amount to I'll ON 70 pounds Of secured
wool This. Of course. would b profifbi-
tory. II the wool shrinks only 70 Per
cent. Il would b III on % pounds Of
wool. and this 10 near TO the average Of
the great bulk OF woois that are Imported
from Australia. which y the principal
source Of our imported wool.
These Determinations could b. over
come by assessing q duty in ad valoram
terms. but this method 10 open to the OBJ
lection. hrst. that II increases administra-
tivs difficulties and tends to decrease
revenue through nndervaluation: and.
second. that ~ prices advance. the i'd
valorem rats increases the duty per pound
st the time when the consumer most
needs relief and the producer can bsst
stand competition: while II prices de-
cline the duty il decreased at the time
when the consumer 10 least burdened by
the price and the producer most needs
protection.
Method That Nests Difficulty.
Another method Of meeting tho difd-
Guilty OF taxing the afease pound II to as
cess . specific duty on grease wool in
terms of Its secured content. This obvi-
ates the chief evil OF the present System.
namely, the discrimination due to differ
ent shrinkages. and thereby tends great
ly to equalizs the duty. The board re-
ports that this method IL 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
n o hA nf
duction and the great differences In cost
as between different regions and different
types of wool 1t II found, however. that.
taking all varieties In account, the aver
age cost of production for the whole
American clip 10 higher than the cost in
the chief competing country by an
amount somewhat less than the present
duty.
The report shows that tho duties on
noils, wool wastes, and shoddy, which are
adjusted to the rate of 80 cents on
secured wool. are prohibitory In the same
measure that the duty on secured wool
Is prohibitory. In general. they are as
sessed at rates as high as, or higher
than, the duties paid on the clean content
of woods actually imported. They should
be reduced and so. adjusted to- the rate
on wool as to bear their proper proportion
to the real rate levied on the actual wool
imports.
Some Duties ProhIbItory.
The duties on many classeh of wool
manufacture are prohibitory and greatly
in excess Of the difference in cost of pro-
duction here and abroad. This is true of
tops. Of yarns with the exception of
worsted yarns of very high grade). and
Of low and medium grade cloth Of heavy
weight.
On tops up to So cents pound in value.
and on yarns of Go cents in value. the
q NOR NIT h
higher rates for lower values. On cheap
and medium grade cloths. the existing
rates frequently run to 1bo per cent and
on some cheap goods to over 200 per
cent.
On the other hand. the findings show
that the duties which run to such high ad
valorem equivalents are prohibitory, since
the goods are not imported. but that the
prices of domestic fabrics are not raised
by the full amount OF duty. On q set OF
one yard samples of 16 English fabrics,
which are completely excluded by tho
present tariff rates, II was found that the
total foreign value was t41.A; the duties
which would have been assessed had these
fabrics been imported, 1850; the foreign
value plus the amount of the duty. Sis. "a;
or a nominal duty Of 1S3 per cent. In fact.
however. practically identical fabrics Of
$6975 showing an enhanced price over the
foreign market value of but 81 per cent.
Would Reduce Dutlss.
Although these duties do not increase
prices of domestic goods by anything like
their full amount. 1t is none the less true
that such prohibitive dutes eliminate the
possibility of foreign competition. even In
time Of scarcity, 80 that they form a temp
taton to monopoly and conspiracy to con-
troll domestic prices: that they are much
in excess Of the difference in cost of pro-
not tnr1 haN nd nj q md hQt hAv
should be reduced to a point which &C
cords with the principle.
The findings Of the board show that in
this industry the actual manufacturing
cost, aside from the question Of the price
OF materials, IL much higher In this coun-
try than 1t IL abroad; that In the making
OF yarn and cloth the domestic woolen
and worsted manufacturer has In general
no advantage in the form OF superior ma
chinery or more efficient labor to Offset
the higher wages paid in this country.
The fnds show that the cost OF turning
wool into yarn in this country 10 about
double that in the leading competing
country, and that the cost Of turning yarn
into cloth Is somewhat more than double.
Under the protective policy great indus
try. involving the welfare Of hundreds Of
thousands of people has been established
despite these handicaps.
In recommending revision and reduce
ton therefore urge that action be ta-
ken with these facts In mind, to the end
-