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The Commoner
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Pracffca Tariff Talks
Nowhoro olso than In tho wool schedule Js tho
Bordid greediness of tho manufacturers better
illustrated. If It were not for tho larcenous
character of tho transaction, tho Investigator
might smilo at tho ingenuity displayed in its
making. Tho ability that tho combination of
wool growers and manufacturers displayed in
socuring such uniformly high rates attracted tho
cupidity of others, who do not make woolen
goods. Thus it will bo seen that makers of cot
tons, silks and furs, not content with their own
rates havo Bought shelter, as Senator Dolliver
put It, "among tho slippery provisions of tho
wool tariff." Theso articles find a place there
through tho insertion of a proviso that if gar
ments or cloths mado of theso fabrics contain
any wool, "composed wholly or in part of wool,"
as tho schedule roads, they tako tho high rates
of tho wool tariff.
It has even been Bought, by an ingenious rea
soning, to levy tho wool tariff on furniture be
causo it was found that tho tapestry covering
was ohiofly silk and that tho silk contained wool
filling, and theroforo, this proviso applied. Tho
caso waB in court at last reports, tho appraisers
computing tho tax on tho weight of tho furni
turo multiplied by tho 44 cents a pound and 50
por cent ad valorem provided for wool. Senator
Dolliver, who mado an exposure of tho iniquities
of this schedulo which no one attempted to an
swer, callod attention to the fact that this para
graph also transferred rubber boots with wool
lining bodily from tho 35 por cent protection
of the rubber schedulo to tho woolen cloth para
graph; or, as ho put it, "wo Bee the fine vaude
ville sketch of a pair of rubber boots being
solemnly weighed at tho custom houses of tho
United States and assessed at 44 cents a pound
and 60 por cent ad valorem as wearing apparel
composed wholly or in part of wool." This
puts tho tax on rubber boots bo high that none
aro imported, and tho manufacture is controlled
by a Boston concern which carries In its adver
tising of securities for Bale that it controls tho
business in this country.
Tho same absurdity is applied to rubber scrap.
A Boston man thought ho had discovered that
this scrap was on tho free list. Ho consulted a
lawyer and was told that it hadn't been forgotten
by tho tariff-makers and that he must pay 10
por cent tariff on it. This lawyer thought it
came under tho catch-all, or basket clause, for
"wasteB not otherwise provided for." 'The man
imported $400 worth, and was astounded to find
that tho tariff bill presented to him was $1,G00
Tho appraisers pointed out to him that this rub
ber scrap, containing a trace of wool that had
been fusod into it by heat, came under the
clause relating to wastes composed whollv or in
part of wool, and must pay 44 cents a" pound
and an ad valorem of 50 por cent. By hiring
a shrewd lawyer he got permission to send the
stuff back and thus ho recovered, under tho
drawback clause, all of the duty ho paid, less 1
por cent.
As eminent an authority as S. S. Dale editor
of the Textile World Record, is on record as
condemning this fraud and concealment The
duty quoted above is known as a compensatory
duty, and tho theory of it is that as tho wool
manufacturer must buy much of his sunnlv
abroad and as what ho buys hero is artificially
raised in price by the tariff ho should bo repaid
spocincal y for the excess in price, tho ad va
lorem being added to protect what he manufac
tures against foreign competition. If this were
limited and fixed at what ho actually pays 2
EST C?ldb0 dofGnded 1 a protectionist
but it is actually more than that. Mr. Dale
Baid in answor to a question why tho wool dutv
should bo applied to any fabric that was con?
posed largely of cotton, but had a little woSl to
it: "There is none. Tho object of a coZll
M iS ? cmpon8ate the manufaXHo;
the increase in tho cost of manufacture riif
tag from the duty on wool. To all this 4 1 to i
(an arbitrarily fixed proportion of the weight of
grease woo to scoured wool) compensator? dutv
on the weight of the cotton in the c loth i I
self-evident absurdity. In effect It te to give the
manufacturer a largo amount of concealed nro
tection which ho does not need. Take a samnle
of cotton warp cashmere that I have had an
alyzed. The total duty is equivalent to 108 i
per cent ad valorem, consisting Sr tho law
of a compensatory duty of 58.3 per cent and a
protective duty of 50 per cent. Tho duty on tho
wool actually used in tho goods amounts to only
3G.7 por cent, so that the' actual protection is
increased from 50 per cent to 71.6 per cent.
Tho samo is true of all wool mixed goods.
C. Q. D.
AMERICAN EMBASSIES
Tho houso committee on foreign affairs
recommended, for passage, a bill appropriating
half a million dollars annually for the building
by the United States of its own embassy build
ings abroad.
Frederick Townsend Martin, president of the
association, denounced the practice of sending
wealthy men as ambassadors to foreign coun
tries. "This thing of sending rich men as our
ambassadors is gradually merging the
system from ono of democracy into one of
snobbishness," ho declared. "Our embassies are
notorious for their excluslveness and their in
accessibility to the traveling American. The
United States should establish suitable embas
sies and be democratic abroad as well as at
home."
Tho houso, however, defeated the measure.
Nevertheless it was certainly a meritorious plan.
In a letter written in 1906 from Austria-
. Hungary, Mr. Bryan touched upon this point.
In this letter Mr. Bryan said:
"I have been intending for some time to
speak of the matter of permanent buildings for
our embassies, and Vienna is a case in point.
Our ambassador at Vienna, Mr. Francis, has
had difficulty in finding a suitable place for
the embassy. I discussed the subject during
my former visit abroad, and my observations
on this trip have still further strengthened the
opinion that our country owes it to itself as
well as its representatives to purchase or erect
at each of the foreign capitals a permanent em
bassy building. At present each new ambassa
dor or minister must begin his official career
with a house-hunting expedition, and the local
landlords, knowing this, are quick to lake ad
vantage of the situation. At one place an
American ambassador was recently asked to pay
double what his predecessor had paid, and as
he was not willing to do this, he is still living
at a hotel. There are not many suitable build
ings from which to select, and our representa
tive is at the mercy of those who control the
limited supply. Diplomatic requirements aro
such that the embassy must be centrally located
and sufficiently commodious to enable the am
bassador or minister to return the courtesies
which he receives. Small apartments are nu
merous, and there are a few palaces which can
be rented, but the former are not large enough
and tho latter much larger than necessary. Our
government ought to own a building conven
iently located and suitable for the offices and
home of the ambassador. It must either do
this or choose between two systems both of
which are bad, viz., compel the representative
to spend more than his salary for house rent or
continually increase the salary of diplomatic
representatives to keep pace with the growing
rent in the capitals of the world. To throw
the burden upon the government's representa
tive is undemocratic; to risk constantly increas
ing rent is false economy. It is not in har
mony with our theory of government to have
an important branch of the public service onen
to rich men only, and that is the case under
the present system. No poor man can afford
to accept an appointment as an American min
ister or ambassador to any of the princlnal
countries of Europe, and as the years go bv
the expense of a diplomatic residence will hi'
come greater as the value of urban property'
increases, While the telegraph and the cabl
have somewhat decreased the responsibility 0f
the foreign representative by bringing him int
closer contact with the home government JhS
much depends upon the ability S???,?1
and the discretion of those whom JClt?
abroad. Our government ought to h
position to select from the whole citizen ft
those most competent for the work to h lV
trusted to them, and it goes withmVJ ?n"
that efficiency in the pubHc service if7
measured by the amount of monev Li. not
official has either inherited or wcSmulnti a
"There is another arfrumMn ? ated'
building of permanent embassy builds tlle
ought to have weight with our polft J?1
raatic representatives are chS, , dipl"
those who aro able to splnd mor6 T? m
official incomes, it naturallv t .an theIr
will be richer than others and tw at B0me
lishments maintained will d?fler in t estab"
ness. In. fact, experience has shown tn?ensIve
representative is ometImeBMnb3rt
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 17
lavish expenditures of a preceding one. The
standing of our nation' abroad demands that
our ambassadors and ministers shall live in a
stylo in keeping with our ideas, and extrava
gance is as offensive as parsimony. By owning
its own embassy buildings, our government can
regulato the standard of living and entertain
ment of those who represent it at foreign courts
There is . no doubt, that our nation must ulti
mately come to this plan, and the sooner it
adopts it, the better."
THE "FULL DINNER PAIL"
Even the horses are disgusted with the repub
lican party "full dinner pail." A reader of The
Commoner sends the following full dinner pall
dispatch printed in a republican newspaper:
Burlington, Vt., February 15. A sidelight on
the poverty of the people in the country districts
is given In the stories of a couple of men placed
in the county jail here yesterday. They are
Frank Foster and Edgar Foster of Essex, and
the arrest was made on a larceny charge. Tho
Foster brothers' crime consisted of stealing corn
stalks for their starving horse. Frank said it
was a toss up whether they would be arrested for
cruelty to animals or stealing. They knew they
were bound to be taken anyhow and gave their
poor old horse all the advantage that could be
gained from the situation. The Fosters are also
charged with shooting deer out of season and
if they are proved guilty of this charge it will
be becanse they were forced to beg, poach or
starve. A woman from a mountain town was
here the other day asking for assistance. She
said that her husband had fed all the straw in
the beds to their worthless horse and the chil
dren had to sleep on the floor. The authorities
are looking for the man.
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH THE ONE THEY
HAVE?
In an interview with a Macon,. Ga., newspaper
Major J. F. Hanson, president of the Central
of Georgia Railway company and formerly na
tional committeeman of the republican party
from Georgia, said that the corporations of the
United States should organize a political party
of their own and fight for their rights.
What s the matter with the one they have?
Is the republican party in such bad repute that
the special interests must look around for some
more serviceable organization?"
The Mystery
'"hain't me," says the farmer,
omos setting the stuff."
Tain't me," says the packer; "
"I just get enough
To pay a small profit,
As fair as can be."
And all of them chorus
Together, "'Tain't me." . ' '
"'Tsk me'" says the tanner,
Who gets the high price
For high shoes and low ones,
, For slippers and ties."
Tain't me," says the rancher,
"ve and that's all."
'Tain't me," says the dealer;
"My profits are small."
t
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A'
j
Tain t me," says the canner;
...m3?7, areln'B the same."
'ww111?' s,ays the Skater,
iOw? 8 br,acin the same,"
T,n fc me savs the gardener;
...mI.npoop a11 th' time."
nl?6'" Says the grocer;
1 ain't seen a dime."
It's surely a puzzle
io Know where it goes":
No maker or seller
Or any of those
Partake of high prices. ..
ao tney all agree;
And I'm a consumer,
I'm certain "'Tain't me." - -
J. W. Foley in New York Times.
moteSE? fTCWal ?bHew to Tho Com.
a year's srlnio TnS of Ma wU1 recci
the AmeSrnn Pwn to. th0 naonal farm paper,
XanSoKS Homestead, without additional
JoinTou ffZS
