Evening star., 1921-03-27
Republican Leaders Say Du-
ties Must Be Raised to
Pay High Salaries.
COSTS OF RAW MATERIAL
SAME HERE AS ABROAD
Chairman Fordney Promises Sena-
tors Emergency Legislation VIII
Have Right of Way.


clearly defined workingmen's issue
republican leaders on the House ways
and means committee are confident.
If good wages are to be paid to
American workingmen tie tariff
duties on imported commodities must
be raised. they say.
Take for example such industries
as clock manufactures. where Amer
lean machinery is used and American
designs. The costs of raw materials Is
are about the same abroad as in this
country. The principal cost is the
labor cost-and here the main |iffer-
ence between the cost of pro hIction
abroad and in this country is the
difference in wages. With Conditions
as they now are, a heavy .ariff must
be charged, the republican members
say. or the industry in this country
must be abandoned an the manufac-
turers must turn tPGr attention to
something else whe'/ more machinery
and less man laf is involved.
Machinery <oduct Protected.
Again. for eAmple. as Representa-
tive John Q /Tilson. of Connecticut,
chairman the subcommittee. on
metal ma hfactures. points out: In
heavy rh and steel manufacturing
where large part of the work is
done machinery rather than man
labo/ the industries are SO highly de-
ytI/bed that they are not asking for
as tariff-they do not need protec-
%n.
Tinplate is an apt illustration. Nc
kinley first put tariff on tinplate.
ard they fought him in his home
district, sending out a horde of tin
peddlers with prices boosted far in
excess OF any justification. Now Rep
resentative Tilson and his associates
on the subcommittee find little tim
ing tinplate for the world. SO that
there is no call for duty.
Machinery for Man-Power.
There is another class of industries
started during the war, for which we
had previously been satisfied to trade
abroad. The war came and we could
not get them abroad and had to start
in to manufacture them at home. OF
such an example cited by Representa-
tive Tilson is tinsel wire. He points
out that for such war-born industries
there must be protective tariff until
they can be developed as was the tin
plate industry. When any of these in
dustries are developed in this country
to use machinery rather than man
power then there will be a decreas-
ing need for protective tariff the re-
publicans emphasize. Then they will
be great American industries.
So il comes down to the cost of
labor as the basis of tariff revision,
especially in those industries where
the final cost is mostly all for labor
Duty to Protect Wages.
II the protective tariff is not i'm
the republicans point out, in which
we would be buying abroad all those
commodities the manufacture of
which employs much labor and SELL
ing only those in which the work
was done principally by machinery.
Heretofore the workingmen have
opposed protective tariff on the
grounds that it incre4ses the costs
Of necessities of life. but they are
coming now to appreciate that the
protective tariff is to be levied to
protect them in living wages and to
maintain American standards of liv-
Ing for the American workingman.
sThfS Situation iS hou
cations now coming to Washington
FOR conferences with the ways anC
means committee. The members OF
the committee had thought that the
writing Of the permanent tariff bill
would be rather perfunctory. taking
the Payne-Aldrich and the Underwood
bills and embodying the best features
Just about as they now stand. Tn.
subcommittees. however. have found
that this will not do to meet the worlG
conditions and that they have to stud,
carefully each paragraph and rewritt
II to fit present tense conditions The,
are studying carefully 20 get tn.
latest information before 0riting eact
paragraph.
Agree ON Wool Duty.
Tho old Payne-Aldrich tariff dut,
on greasy wool. II cents a pound
has been agreed upon by the Hous1
subcommittee framing the permanen,
tariff measure 10 be introduced at tn.
extra session. Members said the WOO
schedule probably would be adopted
by the full committee without ma
terial change
Taking grease wool. as the ba sis
the rate Of washed wood would be 2:
cents and on secured 80 cents. Ii
Sne emergency tariff the grease WOO
duty Is Is cents.
By accepting these figures the com
mittee virtually revived schedule K
long fought over in Congress. Chair
man Fordney Of the ways and means
IL chairman OF the subcommittee OF
wool. other members being Watson
Pennsylvania, and Bachrach, New
Jersey, all republicans.
Will Have Right OF Why.
Mr.. Fordney told republican senator
today that tariff revision would hav