Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1913-05-13
TARIFF SYSTEMS
IN OTHER LANDS
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOM
ESTIC COMMERCE PUBLISHES
REPORT OF FOREIGN INDUS
TRIAL CONDITIONS.
TO PRESENT IN SHORT COMPASS
SALIEST FEATURES OF OREIGN
TARIFF SYSTEMS AS COMPARED
WITH OURS.
Department of Commerce.l

Washington. ID. c.. May 13-The Blu
reau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
OF the Department of Commerce, has
prepared a report on the subject of
Foreign Tariff Systems and Industrial
Conditions which is a striking illus
trait of the high efficiency of manu-
featuring establishments in the United
States. This reItort was prepared at the
request of the Chairman of the Ways
and Means Committee and has just been
published in pamphlet form by that
Committee.
A comparison of the census data of
the United Kingdom n sixth more
power and two and Onehalf times as
many wage earners are needed to pro
duce a net output of equal value. Brit,
ish wage statistics to be compared with
those in the United States census could
not be procured for all Lines of manu-
f~acture, but are available for the prin
cipal textile industries. certain metal
manufactures, shoes, gloves, furniture.
and, shipbuilding In fifteen of the sew
entpen Industries which may be COM
pared, the, outlay for wages was higher
in the United Kingdom than in the
United States for an equal net output.
the difference ranging from s per cent
for linen. iute and hemp goods to 80
per cent for silks. The other two indus
tries are the manufacture of gloves and
railway cars. in which the labor cost
was, respectively, 4 per cent and 20 per
cent higher in the United States. For
the seventeen industries the average
wages were only half as high in the
United Kingdom as i'm the United States
yet the expenditure for wages to obtain
an equal value of net output was - per
cent higher in the United Kingdom. 1t
is pointed out, however, that the higher
level of prices in the United States makes
the comparison more favorable than if
based on the quantity of output. but
the lack of data precludes the quaint
ative comparison.
Another feature of the report in its
treatment of industrial conditions abroad
is the insertion of abstracts of foreign
publications treating, from the Contin
entail point of view, half a dozen of the
chief competitive industries of Germany
and France.
The tariff portion of the report des-
cribes briefly the German or convention
al tariff system, the French or minimum
tariff system, and the Canadian system.
The. average adj valOrem duties collected
by several European countries and Can
ada are given, showing that the German
duties on the average are by no means
SO high as is generally supposed Brit
ish preference, Cuban reciprocity, and
instances of discrimination against the
United States, are briefly considered.
There is also a discussion of the draw
back systems of Germany and France,
foreign O%unties, and countervaling
duties in the United States and other
countries. A full description is given OF
the Canadian dumping duty and it
should prove of special interest at this
time. in view of the inclusion of a simil
ar provision i'll the Underwood tariff
bill.
The purpose of the pamphlet is to pre-
sent in short compass the salient fea-
lures of foreign tariff systems and the
principal characteristics of industrial
development in different countries. It's
value as an introduction to these sub
jects is enhanced by citations of ubll
cations of the Bureau of FOrcig and
Domestic Commerce treating special
phases of the subjects in fuller detail