The Cairo bulletin., 1913-05-22
Protest of the Iron and Steel Wheel
and Tire Quoted By
Bills Foes.
Chicago Jewelry Dealers Argue That
Change in the Rate Wll Not
Increase Revenue.

Wa; rington, MAY 21.-Protests
from Illinois against the proposed
changes in duties on two articles of
widely different nature are being
emphasized by the opponents of the
Underwood bill to prove that the
members OF the House Ways and
Means Committee knew little about
conditions in the industries which
will be affected when they drew up
the bill.
The two articles are: Tires for
iron and steel wheels, and diamonds.
The lew bill reduces the tariff on
tires, and raises the duty on da"
monds. Plants manufacturing tires
are located at Pullman, ILL.,. and Chi
cago Heights, and the principal pro
test is entered by the Railway Steel
Spring Company Protests against
the increase of duty on diamonds
have come from Helbein-Schwartz-
stein. Jr. < Co, c. d. Peacock, Juer-
gems u Anderson and the G. II.
kn ghts-I'hearle Go.
The present rate on tires for iron
and steel wheels, used almost wholly
for the wheels used almost wholly
for the wheels of railroad cars and
locomotives, is l3 cents n pound,
and the Underwood bill proposes to
reduce 1t to 25 Per cent ad valorem,
Reduced to its equivalent, this Is a
cut OF Ga per cent Of existing rates.
U. S. Investment $25, 900, 900.
The investment in the United
States in this industry is approxi-
mately S25, 100000, the plants be-
Ing located in Illinois, Missouri,
Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan
and Colorado About 1880 men
are employed
Tires are now sold in the United
States at to 31a cents a pound.
England and Germany are the prin-
eipal competitors of the United
States. and in England, Germany,
Austria and several other countries
the price is cents a pound.
The American manufacturers say
IL
ton. one that does not prevail in
many other industries The Under
wood bill opens up this market to the
foreign manufacturers, but foreign
countries, by protective tariffs and
otherwise, have carefully excluded
| the American, so that he will have
nowhere to go.
Great britain has law that the
tires on iron and steel wheels for
railway purposes throughout Eng
land and the colonies shall be OF
| English manufacture. more ef-
fective form OF protection could not
be enacted by any legislative body
In the world. Austria has protec-
tive tariff of s1.10 per hundred
pounds France maintains a protec-
tive tariff of $15S per hundred
pounds. Germany also has pro
sective tariff.
| Consequently. 1t Is pointed out
there Is not the slightest trace oil
| reciprocity in the tariff bill, so fal
as it affects this industry. The
American market is thrown open tc
foreign competitors without any
eompensating advantages to tn,
American manufacturer. Inasmuel
as the selling price of tires II
England and Germany is now hlghei
than in the United States. II is no
| expected that any marked reduction
Will be noted in the price in thi
country after the bill goes into ef
feet. AS the Chicago tire manufac
turers sum it up. they lose thei
market. and no one in the United
States gains anything
Passengers Face Danger.
. Furthermore, the warning is hel,
out that the United States will b.
made the dumping ground for tn
excess and defective tires made b,
, the English and German houses, an,
the lives of passengers on the rail
, roads will be endangered.
The condition which the Under
wood bill will bring about in tn
diamond industry, according to tn
iChieago diamond merchants, is con
:, siderably out of the ordinary. The
, claim that not only will diamond
become higher in price, but the GOV
ernment will at the same time, lose
large amount of revenue.
The higher the rates on diamonds
! the less the revenue collected. ac
cording to the diamond importer
This is explained by the statemen
THAT high import rates makes SNUG
Cling more profitable. and men wi
take greater risks to evade the pay
G ,aY,t nf d,ty