The Topeka state journal., 1911-09-25

culture ana the department OF COAu-
merce and labor, carry on statistical
Investigations of much Importance
much of which has to be used by the
tariff board and in all cases the tariff
board endeavOrs to avoid any duplica-
ton of work of this kind. But such
statistical work as to production, inn
ports. number of people employed,
earnings per week, etc, are a very
small part of the investigation neces-
sary for consideration of tariff prob
lens. No agency Of the governm ent
has ever done even statistical work
primarily with a view to considering
the effects of tariff rates on producers
and consumers. For instance, there is
much printed material on the subject
Of wages in different lines of industry,
but practically none of this is of much
value for a discussion of tariff QueS-
tions, since wages per day or per week
signify little as to actual labor cost
per unit of article. The investigation
now being made by the tariff board
into the textile industries will develop
a knowledge regarding wages in rela-
ton to the amount of output, efficiency
of laborers and machines in this and
leading foreign countries of a charac-
ter never made public before and
based on the actual wages paid and
output secured of the thousands of la
borers and thousands of machines, as
shown by the payro1ls of the COM
panies checked up by the earnings of
individual men.
Bureau of Corporations.
The bureau of corporations has in
some cases made very careful examin-
alton into costs OF production. These
investigations however, were not un-
their bearing on tariff legislation. So
far as they cover the ground neees-
sary for such purposes. there VIII be
no need of this work being duplicated
by the tariff board. This is especially
true of the metal schedule. Tt is only
necessary to supplement this material
by such other information as may be
vital to a consideration of the tariff
proper.
The best way to understand the pc
culiar character of the Investigations
of the tariff board is to compare their
published report on pulp and news
print paper either with the statistical
work of other government agencies re-
garding this industry or with the hear
ings before the ways and means COM
mittee. 1t is shown that this investi-
cation does not in any way duplicate
the statistical work of the other de-
partments, but that its scope is quite
different, and yet the investigation de-
velops data essential to an understand
ing of industries from a point of view
of the tariff
1t will also appear that the method
of investigation is quite different from
that of a congressional committee, and
the information afforded much more
detailed in character, and, on the other
hand, is much more condensed than
the information developed by the YER
bal examination of witnesses. The
work of the board up to date in the
way Of detailed inquiry has been
through several dozen agents working
on the books of persons engaged in the
production or manufacture of the arti-
cles in question in foreign countries
and abroad. What congressional COM
mittee ever even attempted such an
investigation, covering, as it must,
many months of time? Besides this
work of investigation, there has been
much work done in the preparation Of
a glossary for many of the schedules
covering not only the important statis-
tics but a description of each article
enum Grated in the tariff. with an ex-
p1anation of its relation to the in
dustry, it's Importance to producers
and consumers, and the nature of the
tariff duty imposed. Besides this,
technical experts have been employed
to make special reports on special
schedules of the tariff, which Will serve
as a basis for later investigation of
more detailed character. Preliminary
work Of this kind, for instance, has
been done in the case of iron and
steel which will be the next subject
of inquiry after the completion of the
WORK on cotton ana WOO16nS.
It has been said that members of the
ways and means committee are them
selves experts on tariff matters, and
that they have had years of dealing
with tariff statutes. The character of
the Investigations made by members
of the ways and means committees
everybody knows. It consists in call
ing men engaged in the business and
inviting their opinion as to the neces-
sity for a tariff and as to whether it
should be lowered or raised. Such in
vestigations are the very ones which
have met the criticism of the public
and have given rise to a demand for a
more scientific and impartial method
of securing the facts upon the legisla-
tion which is to be passed.
1t is objected that with reference to
the cost of production there can be no
scientific conclusion. IF by this is
meant that there will be found to be
no exact mathematical measure of the
difference in the cost of production of
goods in one country and of goods in
another. il is true. Conditions vary in
different states, in different provinces,
and in different countries. They differ
between different manufacturers, and
the difference in the cost of production
between two countries is therefore a
difference that can not be stated with
def1niteness. It must be variable
amount and must be so stated; but
when thus stated with variations it
may, nevertheless, be accurate and
just, and ought to be, so that the
tariff can be adjusted to the facts as
they are rather than to the facts as in
terested parties would state them.
The report of the board on the paper
and pulp industry was Illuminating.
It gave the average cost of production
with all the elements; showed how it
differed between the mills in the same
country and between the mills of the
two countries, and demonstrated that
on the whole the real average differ
ence in the cost of production was
by the difference in the cost
Of the ray material. the nIlln wood in