New-York tribune., 1922-05-29
Proposed Rates ON Shoes
and Hides Said TO Hit
American Industry; Sales
Tax Increased so p. C..
British Goods Favored
Duties OH WOODEN Imports
From England Are Gut,
but u. s. Scale Remains
Bx Carter Field

| have been warning Congress- that the
tariff policy of Fordney and McCum.
Der was leading straight to retnliatory
duties which would hamper, If not kill
American exports of manufactured
| goods.
How seriously the leaders in the
| Senate and House have taken this
warning is best shown by statement
! issued by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
tonight, in which he seeks to prove
| by Department of Commerce figures
that the proposed tariff will not hurt
our export trade because it has been
steadily increasing.
Curiously enough, it has been on
hides and shoes that one of the biggest
fights against the proposed tariff
schedules has been made, and the
new Canadian tariff, announced last
can shoe industry.
British Duties Reduced
The new Canadian policy has two OBJ
| jects-one to raise more money so that
| start can be made toward paying off
| the huge debt, which has been increas-
ing instead of diminishing since the
srmistice, and the other to increase
Canadian purchases of goods made in
Great Britain as against goods made in
the United States.
To obtain more revenue Canada has
increased her general sales tax 30 per
cent. This applies on all sales by
manufacturers to wholesalers and by
wholesalers to retailers and on i'm
ported goods. 1t is offset on importa-
tions from the United States by re-
duction in duties on limited number
of articles.
The significance of this list of arti-
cles lies in the fact that none Of the
articles contained in it are manufac-
tured for export by Great Britain. For
instance, agricultural implements, IN
the manufacture of which the United
States is recognized as leader of the
world, are included in the list on which
the tariff charges are reduced. The re-
ductions range from IA per cent to s
per cent. This reduction, of course,
applies to importations, should there
be any, from other countries as well as
the United States, but the articles on
which the duties are increased if they
are imported from the United States
are not changed on the special tariff
which Canada has for British goods.
Preference Favors Britain
On every item of which the Canadian
government could conceive where the
Canadian purchaser has the choice of
buying from either Great Britain or
the United States, the duty on the ar
ticle from Great Britain is reduced,
while the duty on the article brought
from the United States is kept the
same. Britain has the advantage on
most items of an increase of 21s per
cent in the differential in her favor.
For instance, before this new tariff
was announced last week the duties
On woolen clothing and cloth generally
were 30 per cent on importations from
Britain and 35 per cent Oh importa-
tlons from the United States. Now
they are 271a per cent from Great Brit
ain, but remain at IS per cent from
the United States
On cotton fabrics dyed, printed or
colored, the rates were % per cent
ii from Great Britain and 321h per
cent if from the United States. Now
they are 221s per cent and 32k per
cent.
Imported woolens, cotton fabrics.
boots and shoes, tools, harness, rub
Der clothing and knitted goods should
be bought more freely from Great
Britain" says "Thc Toronto Globe" in
commenting on the new list, "than
from the United States or other for
elgn countries as result Of the in
crease in the preference"
Big Increase on Linen
The Canadians must have had a sne.
cIal grudge against the town of Troy,
N. T., for, while on almost all articles
they were content with increasing
the diffcrential in favor of British
goods by 21a per cent, on collars and
cuffs they added twice as much--5 per
cent--to the already considerable IA
voritsm shown on linen.
A strong play for popular support
is made by a cut in the duty on sugar
if the commodity is brought in from
any part Of the British Empire. EN-
pire sugar, which means mostly ia
maica sugar, as against Cuban sugar,
before this new tariff had a differen-
tial Of one-fourth off the duty charged
sugars produced outside the British
Empire. Jamaica sugar will now pay
duty only two-thiEds that charged
Cuban sugar.
Interest in Washington in the new
Canadian revenue schedules is divided
between the tariff provisions and the
sales tax increase.
1t has been freely charged by op-
ponents of the sales tax that it had
been q failure in CanadaA This was
especially true right after President
Harding proposed the sales tax as the
best way to provide revenue for the
soldier bonus, if Congress insisted
upon passing the bonus at this time.
The fact that an increase Of .one-half
in the sales tax now in effect in Canada
has been made seems to show at least
that the Canadian government does
not regard it as failure.
On Capitol Hill it has been largely
the farm bloc which has prevented
serious consideration Of the sales tax.
1t was the farm bloc which served
notice, after President Harding gur-
gested the sales tax, that this could
not be thought of in connection with
bonus bill.
The Canadian government makes two
strong plays to the farmers for pom .
ularity for the new revenue bill. One
of these is the reduction in the duty
on farm machinery, even if brought
from the United States. The other is
Sus~>n n>as