Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-09-25
Only One Of Them.

plain American horse sense on the
part of those gentlemen whom the
country in 1912. inadvertently en-
powered to dynamite our protective
tariff wall, is aptly illustrated in an
article appearing in report pub
lished by the Department Of Com
merce. 1t is the tartaric acid and
cream of tartar industry-products
extensively used in the manufacture
of baking powders. effervescent drinks
Seidiitz powders, etc. New York,
Pennsylvania. Ohio and California
are largely interested in that indus
try.
Quoting from this article: Imports
Of tartaric acid for the fiscal year
1914 amounted to s4s,575 pounds, and
Of cream of tartar to s12.s57 pounds,
figures that reveal a remarkable in
crease over the 1892 pounds and S.
71s pounds. respectively. recorded for
the previous year. This increased
importation followed the tariff reduc-
ton that became effective in October,
1918"
Those figures may not look very big
to the layman. but a pound Of such
material goes long way. and when it
is said that the estimated manufac-
ture in this country Of tartaric acid
is 100000 pounds, the ratio Of i'm
portation can be appreciated. This
is what Mr. Underwood would call a
competing article"
The Harshaw Fuller & Goodwin Co,
Cleveland, Ohio. testified that, &C
cording to their expert. who for Is
years was superintendent of the larg-
est factory in Europe. the cost of
building and equipping their factory
was almost double that Of similar
plant in France. And, further: Our
minimum wage is 50 per day, and the
average wage paid is $3.50 per day.
In the French factory, of which our
superintendent had charge. the mini
mum wage paid was 3la francs per
day: the average was francs, or a
little less than so cents per day
American money. In other words the
average daily wage in the french fac
tory is less than third Of the
average wage in our factory. =
We would not object to a reduction Of
the present tariff on the finished
goods. provided a corresponding re-
duction were made on the raw ma
terials, but the parity between the
two must be maintained
A pertinent suggestion was offered
by several California firms, who said:
No doubt you will agree with us that
tariff provisions should not be en-
acted which. at best. can procure but
a very slight reduction in cost for the
ultimate consumer by destroying a
domestic manufacturing industry, and
with it the market for a domestic raw
material, with consequent loss to
American labor interested in both"
Did the Ways and Means committee
heed this advice? Nary heed. A
bunch Of Italian importers from New
York City, subsidized by the Italian
government and designed to promote
the industries OF Italy. called the Ital-
ian chamber of commerce, got in their
good work, and the Is Democratic
legal lights whose Oil came from the
White House and whose wicks were
trimmed by Oscar Underwood, adopt
ed practically all the recommendations
of this chamber. Our manufacturers
were required to pay the old duty, 3
per cent. on the crude product, argol,
the duty on cream Of tartar was cut
so per cent, tartaric acid, 80 per cent,
and Rochelle salts. II per cent,-the
Democratic idea Of duty on crude
materials for manufacture, and a
tariff for revenue only, with resultant
competition, on the manufactured
product.