Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-12-21
TEXT OF REPORT h..
BY TARIFF BOARD
(Continued From Page ~

entire WOOL PIVOuCIIon OF INC
country including both fine and
coarse woods, the average charge
against the clip is about eI cents
per pound. -. - t..
"That in South America, the cor
responding charge 10 4 and S cents
per pound. #&..
"That taking Australia az q
whole it appears that a charge Of
a few cents per pound lies
against the great clips Of. that
region In the aggregate. While
the board cannot therefore under
=. take TO- name an exact figure in
that case >it;is certain that Aus
traIian costs at large fall mater
tally below South American.
Present Tariff Methods Faulty.
"''The rc".''-' "nds g. that the prese1
method {" the duties upon "a
wool is in that 1t operate
by reas varying shrinkal
Of the d nds Of wool, to pr
vent the zion of many 'heay
6 rts, which if importe
would add substantially to the stoc
of sound staple available for tt
manufacture of wooden fabrics. I'll
report adds: .".>.
"That there Is no valid reason
for the discrimination that now
exists against the woods Of class !.
(merlno and cross breed), and
class II. English medium and Jus
teri and that those two classes
could properly be consolidated.
"That the present duty Of thir.
ty-five cents per pound on secured
wool Is prohibitive, preventing ct.
fectuaIIy the importation Of clean
and low priced foreign woods Of
the lower grades that would be
exceedingly useful In the manufac.
ture Of wooIens in this country
and II 80 must dispiace In a large
measure the cheap substitutes
now 50 frequently employed In
that industry. The fact that such
cheap woods are Of such heavy
shrinkage that they cannot be I'M
ported In an unsecured state en-.
phasizes all the more the prohlb.
tive character Of the present
secured pound duty.
"That an ad valorem rate 10
open to grave difficulties from the
point Of view Of administration
and revenue In the case Of a
crude, bulky commodity like wool
produced In many remote regions
and finding it's way Into the mar
kets through 80 many channels Of
trade. .'~t ....
"That further, more ad vaiorem
would give high duty per pound
when prices are high; that ls,
when the consumer most needs
relief and the producers are most
able to bear competition. With a
low price Of wool tho duty per
pound would be low; that Is at
the time when the consumer has
less need Of competing wool and
the producer is least able to bear
competition. :,
Cost Of Manufacture Higher.
''The rates of schedule X are base'
lpon the assumption that woods in tn
'rease shrink an average of 662.3 pc
ent. While 1t Is true that consider
BILE quantities Of wool do not shrinl
hat amount, the average is we'll be
ow that figure. Certain very heav,
WOOL grown at the South africa cap
nd in certain districts Of Australia
|outh America and the western United
states shrink as high as 70 to Is pc
ent. -. ,&*. 49, a
"The cost Of manufacturing wool
ms and worsted yarns and cloth il
he United States is much higher thar
n Europe. The main elements O
ost Of production are cost of plants
and labor The cost of erect
1g and eqIipping both wooden anc
mills is much higher in this
ountry than in England. F..
High Paid Labor No Advantage.
THE material is increased in price
Y the duty on raw wool, the manu-
lcturer who imports his wool pays
he full amount Of the duty. Woods
rown in the United States are in
reased in value by the duty, but not
y the full extent Of the duty. Wages
re much higher In the United States
ut wages are in themselves no nee
ssary indication Of relative cost OF
reduction. Frequently it is found
lat high wages and low labor costs
0 together. T.. =
ut appears that this particular In,
ustry is one in which the hi gh ele.
tents of costs in this country are not
| general Offset by any particular ad.
antage or any marked superiority in
le efficiency Of labor To a certain
Stent, European countries have the
Vantage of us in the latter regard.
1T may be said then, that taking
le Industry as whole the American
practically has no ad-
antage in efficiency Of labor and
1uipment over his foreign competi.
If. On certain specialties the larg.
it and most efficient American mills
e able by skillful organization ma.
rally to reduce the difference in
,st.
1.-The investigation was begun in
10 and has been pursued at home
id abroad. In the United States ex.
,rt Investigators visited twelve hun.
ed wool growers In nineteen states
ID 173 counties. Special agents
prked III Australia, South America,
ngland, and on the European contin-
It. Figures were gathered from
ills also.
A large part Of the report is devot-
Ito wages. efficiency and employees.
large portion of machinery used is
ade abroad. OF the $4,000 employ
in the industry in this country 63
r cent were born in foreign coun-