Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-31
INCREASED TARIFF
DUTIES EXPECTED
Three Major Changes Likely
in Present BiII-Store
Statistics Revealed.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
,nac,s, D,snatcb to The star.

BY JOHN r. SINCLAIR.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 31.-While the
new tariff bill still has to Jump the
Joint conference committee hurdle, the
new duties, on the whole, viii be higher
than those now in existence.
The present law provides for average
protective rates at about "a per cent
ad yalorem. The House bill, passed six
months ago, called for an average OF
43 per cent protection. When this bill
reached the Senate these rates were
attacked vigorously. Within the last
three weeks, however, the Senators have
revised their first figures and passed
bill which calls for an average protec-
ton of 80 per cent, 5 per cent above
the present rates and per cent below
the rates the House wanted.
Should the bill as 1t comes from the
Senate be made law, three major
changes will stand out:
/. The power to change rates, up or
down, SO per cent will be transferred
from the President to Congress.
2. A bounty on exported. surplus farm
products will be established.
g. An attempt will be made to remove
all protection from the products Of COM
panies which want monopolies.
The agricultural duties imposed are
the highest in American history.
OF course the new tariff law will be
compromise. No one will be satisfied.
Some rates are up-some doWn-but the
main thing is that business will know
definitely what the rates are. Foreign
nations have already sent in protests
against the higher schedules. Thousands
of workers have joined in parades in
France and England, protesting certain
rates.
While business is still waiting for the
final schedules, it knows now pretty
much what to expect.
Department store statistics for each
Of the last five years reveal increasing
costs In doing business and declining
profits.
I asked e. A. Filene, Boston depart
ment store owner, when this trend
would be reversed
"In general, for 1880 and the follow
ing years the stores that follow the
new trends of scientific merchandising,
that adopt sweeping price simplifica-
tons, that use the most careful
analytical research and substitution Of
facts for opinions in the conduct Of
their business, will be increasingly sue
cessful'' said Mr.. Filene.
Then the basic reason for the de-
cline in sales and earnings OF many
department stores is matter of man
agement?"
very largely. For instance. the sales
and profits of two of the largest New
York department stores so managed
have increased constantlv during the
last five-year period"
v. Eyerit Macy of New York was
born into a family Of great wealth.
After graduating from Columbia UNI
versity in architecture he entered bysi-
ness. But the responsibility for pub
lie service always weighed upon him,
and after few years he resigned from
% committees, governing boards and
corporations to become superintendent
of the poor in Westchester County
now New York's richest county.
Then the county poor house was a
dirty, wretchedly maintained institu-
ton. Mr.. Macy brought order out Of
chaos and in place Of the old poor
house rose a fine, clean, modern, COM
Portable hospital for the aged" The
changed name is typical of the man.
He gave freely both of his time and
money for the work.
Later Mr.. Macy became the head Of
the Westchester park system, and de-
veloped it into one of the finest park
systems in the world.
His early death last week at SO is q
national loss.
Edward p Warner former Assistant
Secretary of the Navy for Aviation, says
that the aggregate number of planes
built in the United States during 1929
exceeded the total for the rest OF the
world.
1.-THE number of purely commercial
machines built in the United States
and Canada exceeded the number for
Europe and Asia by at least 200 per
cent" he declares.
Many believe that military prepara-
tons should concentrate on the air.
craft rather than on the battleShip.
How are the nations prepared to this
field?
On October /, 1929, the American
Army had 1873 planes, most Of them
modern; the Navy had s29 planes on
July /.
Great Britain had 772; France and
her colonies. 1920; Italy, 875; Japan,
S72; Spain. 1886; Poland, 325, and Bel
GUM, 246.
But in the matter of government APP
preparations for aircraft support Great
Britain leads. Russia's figures are not
included, and Germany is limited by the
peace treaty to commercial planes.
Americas biggest industry, that of
tile duIOiI1ODuS, SHOWS an expanding
foreign trade in January ever Decem-
Der. The value of all automotive prod
ucts. which were exported in January of
this year, amounted to $31, 166, 800, COM
pared with S27,983, 500 in December,
1929. and $47,593,600 in January Of
1929.
Any one reading the figures can see
that January represents gain of 1877
per cent over December, but decline
of 34.5 per cent compared with q year
ago.
The fact is that while the Wall Street
November crash did have an adverse
effect in slowing down American busi-
ness. world trade, too, has been slowing
down for six months. The decreasing
world trade figures show this.
But the world will continue to buy
automobiles in increasing numbers,
whether they come from the United
States or are manufactured abroad.
(copyright, 1880. by North American News
paper Alliance1