Daily Kennebec journal., 1922-07-22
Editors Letter Box
Some Tariff Queries

Mr.. Editor:
In a late editorial you stated that
the general theory Of the tariff was TO
make the duty to about equal the dif-
ference between the domestic ana the
foreign price. Taking that as prin-
ciple, will you please to harmonize
Herewith, the following statement OF
facts.
The duty just adopted by the Senate
on fresh beef is 81 cents per pound;
this is $50 Of the value Of the slaugh-
tered beef. The evidence before the
commits sion and the census report
gives the entire wage cost in the
slaughtering and packing industry as
less than 4eo of the entire cost. So
you see that the duty not only equal
ICES the difference in labor cost. but is
over six times the entire labor cost in
this country. We produce about 6A
billion pounds Of fresh beef per year.
The entire imports last year did not
amount to 4 Of a pound to each per-
son, willie we exported more than
million pounds every week. During
the last nine years beef has been COM
ing in under the Underwood bill 'free.
seven times as much as we imported.
The report of the Tariff Commission to
Congress (where it gets it's best infor-
nation and authority in framing a
tariff bilD says: Domestic prices
tend, at least, to equalize the foreign
price plus the duty" Now if this is
the case, the 81 cents duty will raise
the price to the consumer over $780,
100000 And the duty collected would
be about $1,000 900. Or in other words.
| for every dollar the government gets in
duty. the consumer has to pay $500 ex-
| ira in price. The Federal Trade Com
mission in it's report to Congress said:
THE price of beef is not fixed by the
cost of production, rs not fixed by any
| natural law, but is in the absolute con-
| troll of the packers, and there is abso-
| lutely no competition between them"
In the case of files, the entire wage
cost is SOC, and the proposed tariff is
| 45co, or 50Go greater than the entire
labor cost.
! Aluminium wage cost 21To, duty 500.
Woolen, worsted and felt goods, labor
cost under 1870, tariff from 20 to 75ce.
1
sus gives entire wage cost as 20cc,
while the duties will average higher
than that. In 1912 Pres. Taft sent
message to Congress saying that the
cotton rates were indefensble, and
urging their reduction. He stated that
many Of the cotton weaves were made
cheaper here than abroad, and that the
duty was often more than the entire
labor cost and in some cases 2 or
times as much. And l. will say that
the proposed duty is in many cases
higher than the Payne rates. You re-
member that Mr.. Blaine, after his re-
turn from Europe stated that we had
nothing to fear from foreigners in the
textile trade for we could in many
cases make goods cheaper than they
could.
= Glass and glassware, labor cost 2Sc..
| duty 25 to 75co. Corsets, labor cost
17.Sfe, duty 80 to 6Ooc. No imports.
Umbrellas and parasols, entire labor
cost 1920, average duty about 35c,. or
nearly three times the entire cost. The
paint people did not ask for any pro-
lection. but the House gave them 25es.
while the entire labor cost is but 7.4o.
/ of the entire cost The laundry soap
makers did not want any protection,
but theN. gave them sc. Can you tell
US why? Collars and cuffs, the wage
cost is 1850. proposed duty about
45fo. Here is where we get it in the
, neck. I have cited a few instances.
which seem to show the inconsistency
of the proposed rates, which | have
taken from the official records. Can
you give us any light on them. ana
explain what some of us do not under
! stand?
C. Z. SMITH