The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1912-01-11
The Globe
c. a. sRANscoMsE. Managing editor
GEO. A. SMITH. Business Manager
Thursday, January IL, 1912
THE TARIFF ON WOOL.

Protection does. 1t takes from
the consumer in taxes what il
gives to the producer in profits
A Consumers League to ex,
clude sweatshop work from the
market in order to secure fair
wages to the workers is honest.
This, says the Protectionist, is
what Protection does. 1t protects
the wage-earner from unfair com.
petition with the ill-paid labor of
other countries.
Can nation successfully main
tain a Consumers League for the
working men without injustice
to- the purchasing men? This is
the tariff issue reduced to it's
simplest terms.
The republican party says this
can be done, and proposes a plan
for doing it, namely: Create a
non-partisan tariff board of ex-
perts; let them ascertain the cost
OF production at home and
abroad; so adjust it as to pre-
vent the foreign manufacturer
from underselling the domestic
manufacturer and so preventing
him from paying a fair wage to
his employees and getting a fair
profit for himself; and, to pre-
vent bargaining and log-rolling
revise the tariff always schedule
by schedule. The President APP
pointed such a board. 1t is non
partisan and is composed of ex-
perts. 1t has undertaken the
work of revision schedule by
schedule. 1t has presented its
report on the wool schedule, and
the President has now laid this
report before congress. The fact
that the report is unanimous is
significant. No bipartisan com
Inittee OF congress could possibly
be unanimous on the subject of
the tariff.
Readers who are interested in
the details, of this report are re-
ferred to the official summary of
the report itself, which can be OBJ
tanned through the congressman
of each district. Enough here to
say that the public opinion that
the wool schedule needs revision
downward is by this report album
dainty justified. The tariff on
wool is not merely a well-consid-.
cred Consumers League. 1t is
robbing Peter to pay Paul.
How far the present wool tar
Tiff transgresses even the Repubh-
can view of justifiable tariff is
plainly set forth by both the
tariff board and the president.
For example:
y Says the report: 1.-The duty
on shoddy bears no relation to
the cost of manufacture. A much
lower duty would equalize the
difference in cost of production
to the shoddy manufacturer.
And the president, specifying
certain duties, says: Although
these duties do not increase
prices of domestic goods by any
thing like their full amount, it is
none the less true that such pro-
hibitiye duties eliminate the pos
sibility Of foreign competition,
even in time of scarcity; that
they form a temptation to mon
opoly and conspiracies to control
domestic prices; that they are
much in excess of the difference
in cost Of production here and
abroad, and that they should be
reduced to a point which accords
with this principle. =
Is not the object of protection
to eliminate the possibility of
foreign competition" 1t is not.
The object Of protection is to
secure codnpetition on equal
terms, that the foreign 1nanufac-
tuser, who pays low wages, may
not be able to compel the Amer
ican manufacturer to either low
er his wages or close his factory.
The Outlook agrees with the es
innate of the president that mo
legislative body has ever had pre-
sented to it more complete and
exhaustive report than this on
so difficult and complicated a
subject as the relative costs of
wool and wolens the world over. ~
1t also agrees with the recommen-
dation of the president: 81 now
recommend that the congress pro-
ceed to a consideration of this
schedule with view to its revi-
sion and general reduction of
its rates."
{ Even bipartisan congress
ought to be able to unite in com
plying with this recommendation
1 The republicans believe in %