The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current, September 19, 1912, Image 2

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    - V
STORY OF COTTON
IS A THRILLER
A Narraliva That terns lbs
Welfare Ql Mm
SHOWS EVILS GF PBOTtuTIOi
Whola People Robbed by a Tariff That
Rich Manufacturer May Benefit
Robert Kenneth MacLea, Consulting
Expert of the Tariff Board, Show
That the American People Are
Mulcted of $88,000,000 a Year.
New York. Aug. .-Did you ever
bear the story of cotton?
It In uk thrilling as a narrative of
adventure. It Is as Interesting as a
novul-liiterexUng particularly because
It concerns the welfare of millions of
people who wear cot toil goods. It is
Interesting beeaiiHo It is the dress of
the poor, the universal substitute for
wool and silk. It is Interesting, fur
thermore, because It Is true.
The story of cotton Is the story of a
protective tariff for the benefit of rich
manufacturers at the expense of the
Whole people who wear cotton goods.
It hat been reasonably calculated
that because the cotton tariff is fixed
by the Payne-Aldrich law the Ameri
can people are paying $88,000,000 mora
very year than they should pay for
their cotton goods and that a saving
of this amount could be accomplished
by a reasonable reduction in the pres
ent duties.
The story of cotton Is told by an ex
pert, Itobert Kenneth MacLea, consult
ing expert of the tariff board, In a se
ries of articles published In the New
York World. Mr. MacI.ea's views are
tLe views of a lifelong Itepubliciin, a
friend of the protective policy of the
Republican party, but nt the same time
In "opponent of Inrlff graft and favor
itism. To this work Mr. MacLea has
brought a varied experience, covering
more than twenty years, in the man
ufacture nnd marketing of textiles.
Ho first distinguished himself as an
advocate of honest tariff legislation by
finding the "Jokers" of the Tayne-Al-drlch
act. when the agents of a few
New England mills wero permitted to
write their own rates to suit them
selves. He was chairman of the tar
iff committee of the New York Dry
Goods Merchants' association and in
that capacity conducted n campaign
which attracted the attention of the
newly created tariff board. To accept
the position of consulting expert to the
board he gave up the management of
the domestic business of the New York
drms of U. II. MacLea & Co. ana Con
verse Sc Co. '
The story of cotton is a companion
piece to the story of Schedule K the
wiiolen scheduledeclared by Presi
dent Tuft to be infamous and indefen
felble. The finding, of the tarilT 1K' d with
regard to the woolen si-lu i'iiU i.ere an
nl.vzed by Chairman Underwood of the
wiivs and means committee and con
demned as inaccurate, inconplcte nnd
worthless as an aid to legislation
When the tariff board's finiSh: on
the cotton schedule were made 'iMic
the World decided to make its own
Investigation concerning it. and Mr
MacLea was selected for that purpose.
The World had the findings of the
board on manufacturers of cotton dis
sected from the practical point of view
of business, analyzed In their relation
to the interest of the consumer and
the facts translated into the language
of the everyday man and woman.
One hundred cloth snmples purchased
In representative domestic markets
were made the basis of the tariff
board's findings on the cost of cotton
cloth produced In this country. Mr.
MacLea used the same cloth samples
ns concrete illustrations of the work
ings of the tariff nnd from these ex
posed the very generally perpetrated
fraud of selling American made goods
as "Imported" and showed why the
excessive tariff permits and fosters
this Imposition.
Recognizing that the tariff would be
a vital Issue of the campaign and that
controversy would center about Presi
dent Taft's "nonpartisan" tariff board
nnd its work, the World undertook the
investigation of cotton and sought an
swers to the following questions:
Has the work of the tariff board jus
tified the delay in reducing the tariff
and giving relief from tha high cost
of living?
What have tha people gained in the
three years under the Payne-Aldrich
tariff IN RETURN FOR MORE THAN
$5,000,000,000 TAXED OUT OF THEIR
POCKETS AND INTO THE POCK
ETS OF PROTECTED PRIVILEGE?
How honestly, impartially and thor
oughly did tha "nonpartisan" tariff
board undertake ita task?
evya mouths before the cotton re
port was completed Mr. MacLea de
clares that he discovered sinister In
fluences in the tariff board's, working
to eliminate findings most damaging
to tho favored few In the cotton mill
Industry. Such suppressed Information
as Mr. MacLea considers to be of vital
Importance to the cotton industry and
the public has been presented in the
World. He has also explained what
tho mass of figures of the cotton report
signifies and presented some of the
most important of the conclusions to
be drawn from that report, a work
which the board saw fit not to attempt
Tho story of cotton, ns written by
Mr. MacLea nud published in the
World from time to time, forms one
of the most interesting nnd Important
features of the present campaign.
Facts Suppressed and Issues
Evaded by Taft Tariff Board
Dy HOVE'RT K.EJVJ1ETU MACLEA,
formerly Consulting Expert of the Tariff Board.
Under tho pressure of promise to Oght chicanery and fraud in tariff legisla
tion, I deem it a public duty not to withhold the facts in my possession
relative to the investigation of the cotton manufacturing Industry. Itegretful
that my experience with tho board warrants such conclusions, I am com
pelled to present tho following indictment:
SUPPRESSION
That the tariff board,
In Its report on mnnufiie
tnres of cotton (Bohwl
u In I.) has aupprwsed
findings of vltnl Impor
tance to the cotton In
dustry, to the pulillo and
to the govornment, but Inimical to the
apodal privileges of a tew New EnKland
manufacturers who were permitted by
Senator Aldrlch to write the cotton schud
ule to suit themaelves.
1L
That the tariff board
has perverted other
facts, thereby avoiding
exposure of tariff Injus
tices that have benefited
the few at the expense
Of the many maaufuc
PERVERSION
M.Vja.
INEXACT
EVASION
turera,
i
ll"Tr III.
That the tariff board has not, as stated
fey President Taft to congress, drawn any
conclusions that would "be valuable In
advising; the congress and the people
of the changes thst ought to be made to
make more equitable
their (the wool and cot
ton schedules) effects."
The board did not at
tempt to draw conclu
sions, "aclentlflo" or oth-
erwlae, from Ita "scien
tifically" collected data, but sidestepped
that responsibility by armilng that such
deductions as Its data Justttlml were not
called for under the specifications of Us
employment,
IV.
That the tariff board's report waa ar
ranged so as to be Incomprehensible to
either legislators or laymen; that tables
were deliberately dlmis-
soclated or emasculated
If not supprcsHed, and
that a congressman
would require the serv
ices of a stntlNtlclan and
a clerk six months to
make head or tnil of tha Jumble of data
presented aa a basis fur Intelligent tariff
revision.
That the tariff board
avoided altogether tnve
Hunting certain phases
of tariff graft hidden In
"Jokers" of the Payne-
Aldrich law.
VL
Tbat the tariff board falsely reported
that It waa Impossible to obtain abrot.il
cost data on weaving necessary to enable
It to mnke an Intelligent
compurlson with costs at
home; that the board
was offered opportuni
ties for obtaining such
data, but did not use
them; that such foreign
data as were obtained were In some cases
suppressed and In othcra were Inadequate
for honest comparison, although so util
ized. V"1L
That the tariff board betrayed the con
fidence of American manufacturers by pub
lishing data that should
have been held for con
fidential Information of
legislators; that compet
itors were given thereby
valuable trade secrets,
while the foreign manu
facturers divulged nothing of similar
character or importance.
UNFAIR
CITY WINS SMOKE
ORDINANCE TEST
District Court at Das Moines
Holds it Must Bs 0b&6d.
CITY ACTS WITHIN ITS RIGHTS
H
If IL!Tlie First Toucn of Fall
! suggests Fall Overcoats and Suits.
-T3 FITFORM
Proposition to Be Submitted to
the Voters of Cass County on ;
November 5, 1912.
lOITWM kUJi
IU'l'VJl'U-IATI0N
FAVORITISM
DISINGENUOUS
misleading.
V1IL
That the tariff board'a
treatment of eoonomlo
questions vitally affect
ing tha relation of tha
tnrlff to the prices ex
acted from oonsumers
waa disingenuous and
IX
That the tariff board haa proved not to
be the "nonpartisan" and scientific Instru
ment promised by President Tafe; that Ita
members displayed Inexperience In busi
ness. Incompetence and extravagance. I
have been forced reluctantly after a year's'
Intimate association to accept tha opinion
that the tariff board has been nothing
more than an effective
cog In a "standpat"
political machine; that
some of the men who
clnmored most loudly for
a tariff board and some
of the men appointed
thereto worked all the time complacently
In the knowledge that the creitflon of the
board waa a scheme to prevent gnnulne
tariff reform as long as possible by "gurq
mlng the cards und delaying the game," a
charge frequently made, but which I for
a long time discredited.
Investigation Will Be Made of Hos
pital for Insane With Respect to D.
W. O'Neill Group Insurance Is Se
verely Criticised.
l)es Moines, Sept. 19. In the dis
trict court it was held that the city
smoke prevention ordinance Is legal
and must be obeyed. It was adopted
und?r a new state law and was re
stated by an organization of business
nun, who have claimed that the en
forcement of the law will entail enor
mous losses to them. The court de
cided that the city is specifically em
powered by the state law to fix the
density of smoke, according to estab
lished smoke charts. The city has at
rk'ht in Rnerifi lericth of time dense I
smoke may issue per hour. The smoke
nuisance ordinance Is legal In placing
a penalty. It Is empowered to do so
by state law.
Knock for Group Insurance.
Commercial insurance companies
which isfuo 7hat Is known as "group"
insurance came in for severe criticism
in a resolution presented before the
Iowa Fraternal congress, In session at
the Savery hotel, by John D. Dennlson
of Dubuque. Tho resolution refers to
this class of Insurance as the "wolf of
coinniprcialifm in the lamb skin of co
operation" ani recommends that com
panies that issue this form of insur
ance be prevented from Invading the
field of the fraternal Insurance com
panies. B. V. Williams of Dies Moines
was elected president of the congress.
Emma B. Manchester of Omaha was
re-elected first vice president. John
W. Gelgf r of Oninhfi was elected secre
tary nnd treasurer.
Testimony In Woodman Case.
Taking of evidence in the Modern
Woodman case was directed by attor
neys for the plaintiff mainly toward
establishment of their claim that fraud
was used in the passing of the resolu
tion authorizing the change in articles
of the association to effect the new
schedule of rates. L. S. T. Pierce, one
of the delegates to the January head
camp, testified that not tho entire
membership of the camp was present
when the vote was taken orsjshe reso
lution, nnd John D. Porter of Webster
City, another delegate, testified that
some of the members voted "no" to
the resolution, but that the chairman
Announced immediately following the
vote that it had been unanimous.
Probe Into Hospital.
The Ft ate board of control has been
asked to make an Investigation Into
the treatment which I). W. O'Neill,
lies Moines man and former Inspector
of plumbing for the school board, re
ceived during a week he was confined
In the etate hospital for the insane at
Clarlnd.i. Mrs. O'Neill took her hus
band, on the advice of attending physi
cians, before the board, nnd as n re
sult they promised that a probe would
be instituted. O'Neill, who Is now at
his home, has been suffering from a
severe cut across the top of his head,
lie says that this is the result of blows
administered at the hospital. , The hos
pital attendants, however, claim that
It is tiie result of a fall.
Lewis Predicts Car Shortage.
Despite all that can be dono to
avert a shortage of grain cars, there
will be one, according to Dwlght N.
Lewis, assistant commerce counsel,
who filed a report telling of Ms trip
to Chicago regarding the shortage
question. A car shortage is not all
that shippers will have to contend
with. The lake transportation facil
ities have been taxed beyond their ca
pacity, nnd as a result lake elevators
are filled, nnd It will not be long until
there will be no place to ship grain.
farmerIadly injured
Puts Head Between Spokes of Gaso
line Engine, Which Starts Up.
How City, la.. Sept. 19. Frank J.
Glnssburner, a young farmer, residing
three miles from town, met with an
accident while working with a gaso
line engine which had "died." He
foigot to shut off the batteries and
thoughtlessly put his head through the
flywheel. The engine started with a
chug, with the result that Glassburner
nnd his frontal bene fractured, his up
per Jaw broken on both sides of his
head nnd his nose crushed. Though
so painfully hurt, he retained consciousness.
Tlie t'oimiy ciimmi.ssiuners, a I
llii'ir session Wednesday, tiassed
a resolution lo sulnnil to (lie
volers of the county a proposi
tion of voliiiK und issuing liomls
of said county to the amount of
8 lit, 000 for tin; purpose of erect
ing a county jail and repairing
the heating plant in the court
house in this city. The bonds
are to he of $1,000 each and two
of said bonds are to be retired
each year. Tho work on the jail
is to lie started on or before the
first, of May, 1013.
The need of the county for a
suitable place in which to con
line its prisoners is pressing and
tin repairing of I lie healing plant
is soinelhing t lint cannot be got
ten away ironi. i no county is m
excellent shape and the issuance
of the bonds would give us a
building that would make a jail
that would last the county for
years and make a building of
which the taxpayers of the coun
ty would not have to be ashamed.
The tax would not be increased
to any extent and the counly
would save money in the long run
by having a building in which (hey
could contlne the most dangerous
prisoners, as in the condition of
the present ramshaekol building
it is doubtful if prisoners could
be kept there without a slrong
guard day and night. When (tie
taxpayers realize Hie great need
of tiie jail there is no doubt that
they will cheerfully vote the
amount ncedi'd.
STRICKEN WITH PARftLYSIS
The new models
are unusually at
tractive, and you
should, in justice to
yourself see them
early.
Your ideas of Ov
ercoats have been
anticipated in our
stocks. Those who
dress quietly and
conservatively, as
well as those who
require the ad
vanced styles will
find here exactly
what they are look
ing for. For as little
as $12.50 you can
buy Overcoat de
penability her e
from that on up to
$20 you can be suit
ed exactly. And
beginning at $20 and
going on up to $30
you can get the finest of silk lined Overcoats. Belted back
coats in new shawl collar effects are making a hit with the.
young fellows.
WW")
I
Manhattan Shirts
Stetson Hats
The Journal regrets to learn of
Hit illness of Thomas Wilkinson,
who resides on North Ninth
streel, who is sud'ering from a
stroke of paralysis. Mr. Wilkin
son was stricken Monday noon
while at the dinner table and a
physician was at once summoned
lo minister to his needs. This
morning he was reported as rest
ing easy and had been able to use
his left, arm a litlle and showed
signs of regaining the full use of
Ins left side, which was alTected !
by the stroke. The friends o
I'ncle Tommy hope to see him
about a train in a short time.
Visits His Brothers.
J. T. Kruger of SI. Joseph, Mis
n'liri, was in the city yesterday on
a short visit with his brothers,
I'll and Harry Kruger, and K. L.
Kruger of Omaha, who hail come
down (o meet his brolher. This
is. the first tiiiU' in twelve .years
I hat. Mr. Kruger ami his brothers
hail i' I. ami il was a most pleas
ant occasion for the hoys. Mr.
Kruger was formerly localed in
Arkansas and Oklahoma, and has
ju! recently been localed at SI.
JoSfnh,- running between (here
rnd l'acilic Juiicl ion.
1'inio; tinbelmaii,
paper hanging.
painting and
,-tt.
Rare Treat to the Inmates.
The Hurlinglon band last even
ing gave one of their delightful
concerts at, the Masonic Home,,
and il, proved a rare treat to the
residents of the lfome. The pro
gram was one of the high class
music that I he band always pro
duces in their concerts. At the
close of the concert Superintend
ent Askwilh and wife served some
very delicious refreshments! to the
band and expressed their grat
itude for I hi' tint concert tender
ed lo the Home and its residents.
Place Cards, Score and Tally
Cards of every description at the
Journal ofllce.
!ESS3CSESCfE3
Sept. 23 and 24
PARTISAN
That such facu ns tha tnrirf board has
reported austnln tha churgn, aa to both
tha wool and tha rottoa
achrdulca, that tha con
sumt-r has been robbed
outniRpotiHly aa a coima
quenra of excessive du
ties and that the profile
have not cone Into tha
pockets Of the luborer to "maintain an
American standard of living."
-Frotn New York World.
CONVICTING
Bank at Grond River Robbed.
Grand River, la., Sept. 19. Hank
robbers blew the safe of the First N;v
tlonnl bank here and secured about
f 1.000. afterward making; their esenr"
on a hacdrnr. The roh!iT- are said
to number six. Several citizens heard
the eytiltislon by which the k.i'o doors
were blown off. but there was no Inter
feretice. A hardware store was brol;
en Into itid n number of revolvers and
n quantity of ammunition stolen.
Lightning Aids Housewife.
Ibmne, la., Sept. 19. Uchtnlnj- en
tered the kitchen at the home of D. C.
Crandall tlurini a storm. Mrs. Cran
tlall had Just placed klndllm and coal
In the kitchen ranj;e preparatory to
llRhtinjr R fir. The llRhtnlni Ignited
the j.nptr In the stove and set the
kindling on tire. No dnmase was done.
(fa
hi
i
il
'fife
They Lace in Front!
You are invited to meet Mrs. A.
R. Frayne, special representative of the
H. W. Gossard Co., who will be with us September 23
and 24, to explain the unexampled features of Gossard
Corsets and discuss figure refinements with those inter
ested in good Corsets.
Sept. 23 24
3 REMEMBER THE DATEC
2
Monday
and
Tuesday, Septhember 23 24