The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1912-09-06

Whole People Robbed by Tarin TnaH
Rich Manufacturer May Benefit
Robert Kenneth MacLea, Consulting
Expert of the Tariff Board, Shows
That the American People Are
MuIcted OF sss,oOo,000 Year.
New York-Dtd you ever hear the
story of cotton?
1T II I'D thrilling e. a narrative OF
adventure, II IL as interesting as q
notwithstanding particularly be-
cause IL concerns the welfare OF mill
ions OF people who wear cotton goods,
ut is intefestins because It is the dress
of the poor. tho universal substitute Cor
wool and gi1k It ID interesting, fur.
fhermore, because 1t is true.
The story or cottonts The story of a
protective tariff Tor the benefit OF rich
manufacturers at the expense Of the
WHOLE people who wear cotton goQdan
10 has been reasonably caic1lRteH
that beoauae the cotton tariff 10 fixed
by the Rayne-Aldrleh law the Ameri.
Can people IRE paying 9es, 200, 900 morR
every year than they should pay f6p
their cotton goods and that @ saving
of this amount could be aneomPLahad
by reasonabAe reduction Ia the preb-
ent duties
The story Qf cotton ~ tald by 81 S%
pert, Robert NenpetA MacLea, coneu1G
ing expect d tha td6 board. in Sc
Eiea OK GAcl6a published in the New
Work word. Gf, MacLea's views arc
ke views pt a Nelong Republican, q
&1end Of Tho protective policy OF th6
Republican party, bGt &c the same
time % Qpponeas Of tariff graft and
EavoYitiapf 70 this work Mt. MacLea
Mas b&cWRht T&@Aed experience, COW
tUging more than HEenty years, In the
manufacture and marketing Of tax.
tiles.
he first distinguished himself al am
advocate Of honest tariff legislation By
finding the "jokeEsr o{ Ae Payne-Ald-
rich act, when the eEents OF few
New England mills wire permitted to
write their own rates to suit them
Gelves lie was chairman of the tar
iff committee Of the New York Dry
Goods Merchants association and tn
that capacity conducted campaign
which attracted the attention Of the
newly created tariff board. To accept
the position or consulting expert To thu
board he gave up the management OK
the domestic business of the New York
firms Of r. j. MacLea e. Co and Con-
verse & Go.
The story of cotton is compan5o1
piece to the story of Schedule K-the
wooden schedule by Presh
dent Taft to be infamous and indefels
sible.
The findings or the tariff board with
regard to the wooden schedule were
analysed by Chairman Underwood Of
the ways and means committee and
condemned as inaccurate, incomplete
and worthless as an aid to legislation.
When the tariff boards findings O.
the cotton schedule were made public
the World decided to make it's own
investigation concerning 1t, and DIR.
MacLea was selected for that purpose
The World had the findings of the
board on manufactures of cotton dis
eected and translated into language or
the everyday man and woman.
One hundred cloth samples purohaa.
ed in representative domestic markets
were made the basis or the tariff
boards findings on the cost Of cotton
cloth produced in this country. ME-
MacLea used the same cloth samples
as concrete Illustrations of the worlH
ings OF the tariff and from these e.
posed the very generally perpetrated
fraud of selling American made goods
as imported" and showed why the
excessive tariff permits and fosters
this imposition.
Recognizing that the tariff would be
"a vital issue OF the campaign and that
controversy would center about Presl-
dent Tafts 'tnonpartisan" tariff board
and it, work, the World undertook the
Investigation Of cotton and sought an
iswers to the following questions:
Has the work of the tariff board JUS
titled the delay In reducing the tariff
and giving relief from the high cost
OF Iivina2 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
What have the people gained in the
three years under the Payne-AIdrich
tariff I'M RETURN FOR MORE THAN
S5 ,o0O, 100000 TAXED OUT Or THEIR
POCKETS AND INTO THE PocK.
NINA or PROTECTED PRIVILEGED
Flow honestly, imPartIally and thor
oughly did the "nonpartisan" tariff
board undertake It's task2
Several months before the cotton t.
port was completed Mr.. MacLea de.
clares that he discovered sinister in.
Auences in the tariff boards working
To eliminate findings most damaging
to the favored few in the cotton mill
industry. Such suppressed information
as Mr.. MacLea considers to be Of vital
importance to the cotton industry and
the public has been presented in the
World. He mas also explained what
the mass of figures Of the cotton re-
port signifies and presented some Of
Tho most important OF the conclusions
Co be drawn from that report, a work
which the board saw fit not to attempt
The story Of cotton, I'D written by
Mr.. MacLea and published in ting
World from time to time, forms ops
of the most interesting and important
features OF the present campaign.