The St. Joseph observer., 1922-09-30

nue. in the treasury; the new rate
keeps out the foreign wares, hence the
treasury will get no revenue there
from. while y gives MELONS compan-
les a complete monopoly. They have
suffered so little from foreign compe-
titlon in the past that they have ex-
ported heavily, selling their goods in
Europe in competition with cheap la
Dor. Mellon is a director in the Alum
mum Company of America, of the
Aluminium Cooking Utensil Co.. of the
Aluminium ore Co. Of the American
Metal Co. of the Northern Aluminium
Co, of the Pressed Metal Radiator
Co., and of the United States Alumi-
mum Co. Under this prohibitive tariff
rate a peculiar result obtains: The
treasury will receive no revenue, while
the public will be mulcted shamefully,
yet will have to pay other taxes to the
treasury to make up for those lost
because the tariff is so high as to pre-
vent importations.
VIII Take Another Billion
The new wool tariff Is so outrageous
that it will take almost a billion dol
lars each year in additional prices,
over what they should be, from the
pockets of the consumers. This
amount alone, in four years, would
pay the entire bill for the soldiers
bonus. The people, who would like
to see the boys get the bonus, will
have to pay this bill, and yet the
soldiers will go without their recon-
pense. One OF the most ironlcal frauds
in the wool tariff ia the fact that 1t
taxes as pure wool every fake and
fraud that by any stretch of the truth
can be classed as wool. A workman's
blue winter shirt. which he fondly
thinks is wool has placed on it duty
of los per. cent. though there is no
real wool in it. To call it wool is an
insult which even sheep should re-
sent The goods used to make these
shirts usually contains from so to So
per cent of shoddy and the remainder
is cotton. Many folks think the word
shoddy merely means a poor grade of
wool. That is correct as far as it goes,
but the fact is that shoddy is made
from the rag picker's rags, pulled to
pieces by machinery and again spun
and dyed. The long fiber and the life
Of the original wool are gone and the
garment in which it is used is of short
-, poor quality and of little warmth.
Under tile Prctcnse
The duty on wool is put on under
pretense of protecting the farmer. 1t
really removes. all the protection he
has against the cheat and the fraud.
All Of the farmers need to wear wool
en- garments and buy them for their
families, yet only 7 per cent of the
farmers raise sheep. while only or 4
per cent have large flocks. The tariff
on the raw wool will enrich the wool
growers about As millions. will put
about GO millions in the treasury, and
add 473 millions to the prices OF the
handlers and manufacturers of wool
and clothing. Every fellow gets his
cut out Of 1.-THE wool jobber, the
scourer the carder, the spinner. the
weaver, the clothing manufacturer.
jobber and retailer. Half of this Is
due to this pyramiding. each handl, r
adds his percentage of profit to a
higher first cost. If a yard of cloth
formerly cost him two dollars. his
fifty per cent profit causes him to sell
it for three dollars-a profit Of one
dollar. But if that cloth now costs
him three dollars and he adds fifty
per cent profit. he makes dollar and
a half. and the purchaser pays four
dollars and a half in place of three
dollars.
WALLACE BASSFORD.
AVy mans VrD r-o