The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-03-26
REAL TARIFF FACTS.

the Tariff Board. which has been his bulwark
of defense against the Democratic-Insurenc
measures reducing the tariffs on wood and cot
ton.
That this may yet be true is indicated by
the synopsis of the report of the Board on the
Cotton Tariff. which has been with the prest
d, mt for number of weeks, but which, despite
revision and amendment to make its tone less
oondemnatory still rses to give the first
authentic information going to show at once
the oppressive and hypocritical effect of the
Aidrich- Payne tariff schedules
Without going into particulars at too great
length. It may be said broadly that the report
of the Presidents board for the lack OF "A re-
port from which he has vetoed measures de-
signed 10 bring about tariff reductions, fatty
eontraditts' the contention that the tariff on
cotton is justified by a difference in labor
cost" In this country and abroad. Instead.
with wealth Of detail and scientific investiga-
ton to back up its conclusions. the Tariff
Board decla. es that labor cost in America is,
in cotton manufacturing, far less proportion
ately than ii is in England. and that the APP
parent schedules of duty in the Aldrch-Payne
bill are in reality far in excess of what they
appear TO the indiscriminate intelligence. In
other words. the Tariff Board, although hav-
ing a protection bias finally disposes of every
fear which the President advanced as an ex-
cuse for vetoing the bill which was passed last
summer For those who have the time and
inclination to observe the scientific deduction
as to what is happening TO them through the
cotton schedule append the following d.
gest OF a few of the Tariff Boards conclusions.
From the consumers standpoint the most
striking thing that the report shows Is that in
many instances where certain cloths cost the
American mills less to produce than their Eu-
ropean competitors. these same cloths cost the
consumer over 100 per cent more here than
abroad.
The report has ignored mill capitalization
and has relied entirely upon actual costs OF
| operation But an analysis OF the statistics
shows that the average American cotton
mills are capitalized at from two - three times
their cost to build.
The report shows that the cost OF bleaching,
dycing and finishing is invariably lower at home
than abroad.
II shows that the total labor cost under the
present tariff Is frequently protected by tax
rs much 1000 per cent.
Under the present Aldrich tariff the percent
age of protection on cotton cloth has been diff
ncult to ascertain because of complicated
square-yard rates. which were arranged Win
though the highest apparent protection was
! about 90 per cent. under the Aldrich system
slight Quotations in value we're taxed more than
10000 per cent.
Under the Payne .Aldrich act the special rate
assessed upon dyed cloth may be 40 per cent
more than the special rate assessed upon an
unbleac he'd cloth, although the cost of dyeng
may not exceed 10 per cent Thus the pro-
, cess Of dyeng may be protected by 400 per
I cent
The duty assessed upon cloth lin paragraph
316 Of the law) counting 100 threads is 3-%
cents. while the duty upon an identical CLOTH
but counting 101 threads paragraph 316). is
Ia cents, Thus this difference of one thread
costing say, / per cent, is assessed specific
rate of 40 per cent, higher than the cloth COW
cred by paragraph 3l5. the net result Of which
is that this additional value is taxed something
like 1000 per cent
The stepping stones Of value work out dis
proportionatey to value. because. for instance
d cloth paragraph 3is) worth 20 cents Is as
sessed ut 8 cents while the same cloth valued
at .20o1 cent is assessed at IL IA cents,
Thus this difference in value of LOO of l cent
is assessed Ia cents. or $4,000 per cent.
With such report before it. the Democratic
House may well include in its program
passage OF the cotton. well as the WOOL
tariff reduction bills Tho Senate insurgent
element could not afford, at this time, to
weaken on past support And Mr. Taft, with
the Board upon which he has relied for his
veto taking away the reason for the veto IT
self will be in the position of counting political
disaster by. signing aud an even greater one
by another refusal to sign u measure to which
beth he and his platform were originally
pledged