The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1912-09-20
STORY OF COTTON
IS 4 THRILLER
4 Narrative That Concerns the
Welfare Of Millions.
SHOWS EVILS OF PROTECTION

Whole People Robbed by Tariff That
Rich Manufacturer May Benefit.
Robert Kenneth MacLea, Consulting
Expert of the Tariff Board, Shows
That the American People Are
MuIcted of Sss,ooo,oeo Year.
New York, Aug. Did you ever
hear the story of cotton?
It is as thrilling as a narrative of
adventure 1t is as interesting as q
workmanship particularly because
it concerns the welfare Of millions OF
people who wear cotton goods. 1t is
interesting because it is the dress Of
the poor, the universal substitute for
wool and silk 1t is interesting, fur
thermore, because il is true.
The story of cotton is the story of
protective tariff for the benefit of rich
manufacturers at the expense of the
whole people who wear cotton goods.
1t has been reasonably calculated
that because the cotton tariff is fixed
by the Payne-AIdrch law the Ameri-
can people are paying S33,o00,o00 mere
their cotton goods and that saving
by a reasonable reduction in the pres
emit duties.
The story of cotton is told by an eX-
pert, Robert Kenneth MacLea, consult
ing expert of the tariff board, in a Sc
ries of articles published in the New
York World. Mr. MacLea's views are
the views of a lifelong Republican. a
friend of the protective policy of the
Republican party, but at the same time
an opponent of tariff graft and favor
itism. To this work Mr.. MacLea has
brought a varied experience, covering
more than twenty years, in the man.
ufacture and marketing of textiles.
He first distinguished himself as an
advocate of honest tariff legislation by
finding the "jokers" of the Payne-Al-
drich act, when the agents of a few
New England mills were permitted to
write their own rates to suit them
selves. He was chairman of the tar
If committee of the New York Dry
Goods Merchants association and in
that capacity conducted a campaign
which attracted the attention Of the
newly created tariff board To accept
the position of consulting expert to the
board he gave up the management Of
the domestic business Of the New York
airns Of R. B. MacLee & Co. and Con-
verse & Co.
Of &c,
piece to the story of Schedule K-the
wooden schedule-declared by Presi-
dent Taft to be infamous and indefen-
sible
The findings of the tariff board with
regard to the wooden schedule were an
alyzed by Chairman Underwood of the
ways and means committee and con-
demned as inaccurate, incomplete and
worthless as an aid to legislation.
When the tariff boards findings on
the cotton schedule were made public
the World decided to make its own
Investigation concerning it, and Mr..
MacLea was selected for that purpose.
The World had the findings of the
board on manufacturers of cotton dis
sected from the practical point of view
of business. analysed in their relation
to the interest of the consumer and
the facts translated into the language
of the everyday man and woman.
One hundred cloth samples purchased
In representative domestic markets
were made the basis of the tariff
boards findings on the cost Of cotton
cloth produced in this country. Mr..
MacLea used the same cloth samples
as concrete illustrations of the work
ings of the tariff and from these ex-
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 Presi-
dent Taft's 'n0npartisan" tariff board
and its work. the World undertook the
investigation Of cotton and sought an
swers 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 living?
What have tbs people gained in the
three years under the Payne AIdrich
tariff IN RETURN FOR MORE THAN
5000, Oco, GOO TAXED OUT OF THEIR
sPOCkETS AND INTO THE POCK-
ETS OF PROTECTED PRIVILEGE?
How honestly, inpartiaIIy and thor
oughly did the "nonpartisan" tariff
board undertake it's task?
Several months before the cotton re-
port was completed Mr. MacLea de-
clares that L. discovered sinister in