Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-30

w LETTER
BY n. B. WALKER
MANUFACTURERS REBATE
BY n. r WALK
Star star Correspondent.
star Bureau.
MetropoIItan National bank bldg.

+NNtAVPVAAAAh NAtAOhal Brink bIuEss
WASHINGTON. April 30.
Rebate to manufacturers tha
amount of duties paid on unmanu-
featured raw materials in their pos
session at the time the new tariff
places such materials on the free
list" said Congressman Robert G..
Bremner, of the Seventh New Jersey
district.
Bremner, who is a Democrat and a
close personal and political friend of
President Wilson, represents the Pas
sale and Paterson district, in which
there are large textile industries af-
fected by the changes in the cotton
and WOODEN schedules of the Under
wood tariff sbill.
"As the DILL now stands said Mr..
Bremner today 'it is to go into eff
feet Immediately upon its passage
and approval The effect is that
manufacturers have no way of know
ing when the new duties are likely
to greatly change their conditions.
Take wool. for instance, which we
propose to place on the free list. At
present manufacturers who are i'm
porting wool are paying a duty on
their material. They don't know and
there is no way for them to approx
mate the time when their raw wool
may be brought in free. They may
get free raw wool next month, or in
June, July or August, or it may be
hdeferred until sometime next fall, as
! it all depends upon how long it takes
the Senate to pass the bin.
"Of course, this affects the manu-
| facturers business. He must buy
his materials ahead, but in view Of
the uncertainty as to when wool will
go on the free list, 1t is perfectly
natural that he should order re-
| luctantly and in small quantities. He
may even find it advisable to slow
/ down or close down his business.
rather than be caught with lot OF
material on his hands on which he
has paid duties, when the new tariff
goes into effect At all events, this
situation is not going to encourage
the manufacturers to go ahead and
| buy material, and it is necessarily
going to create unequal conditions
among manufacturers when the. new
tariff does go into effect. 1t may
mean idleness to thousands of opera
tives.
II think my suggestion will give
absolute Justice TO everybody, and
will go far toward allaying the I'M
certainty and fear which must other
wise be in the mind of the manufac-
turer for the next few weeks or
months. In the case of raw materials
on which >the duties are reduced /
would have the government rebate
to the manufacturer the difference
between the duties he has paid and
the duties he would have paid under
the new schedules.
This is surely fair to everybody
1t is exactly the same idea which led
the government when the stamp war
taxes were abolished, to redeem I'M
used tax stamps in the hands of the
public. We have been collecting war
taxes on imported materials Now
we propose to take off or reduce tho
taxes. Where man has paid taxes
in advance, by buying more materials
than he has used before the reduction
or free list goes into effect, ] propose
merely that the government shall
give him back the excess he has paid,
by returning to him the amount Of
the old duties on the goods he has
remaining on hand.
Under this plan 1t would be impos-
sible for anybody to get back more
than the duties he had paid. The
government will already have this
money and after it has reduced or
taken off the duty is not entitled to
keep it and should not keep it."