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The Commoner
22
VOL. 13, NO. 28
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WASHINGTON NEWS
THE TARIFF BILL
' With the submission of the roport
of majority mombors of the finance
.committee on the Underwood tariff
bill, July 18, formal consideration
p'f the bill was begun in the senate.
Senator Simmons inaugurated tlio
dobato the following day with a
speech sotting forth the general
views of the democratic majority on
tho bill and the needs of tariff re
vision. According to tho report of
tho flnanco committee majority, sub
mitted to tho senate by tho chair
man, Senator F. M. Simmons, an av
erage reduction of 27.G4 per cent
under the rates of tho existing
Payno-Aldrlch law is proposed by
tho democratic Under wcod-Slmmons
bill. Tho roport also shows that the
bill, as reported by tho sonato, pro
vides rates lowor than the Under
wood bill as it pabsed tl o house, and
that from it, together wit' othor
government receipts for the fiscal
year ending Juno 30, 1914, there
will be an estimated surplus in tho
govornmont treasury of $2,020,000.
Tho following is takon from an Asso
ciated Press roport:
"A salient feature of this bill, it is
pointed out, is tho largo Inc-ease of
imports to be admitted free of duty.
Under the house bill tho value of
free listed imports, on the basis of
1912 importations, was $103,000,
000, whereas tho domocrats of the
senate in caucus by sweeping
changes propose to free-list imports
valued at $147,367,000.
"On tho basis of ten months for
tho. coming fiscal year, the report
estimates that the receipts from cus
toms alone under the new bill will
bo $206,730,000, from income tax
for ten months, $58,330,000; cor
poration tax, $37,000,000; internal
ievonue, including tax on cotton fu
tures of $5,000,000, $207,000,000
and that tho revenue from all othor
sources will bring the total for the
fiscal year to $996,810,000. With
disbursements, estimated for the
committee by treasury exports at
$994,790,000, a balance is shown in
favor of tho government of' $2,
020,000. "In analyzing its changes in the
house administrative features of the
bill, the committee deemed tho acts
of the house ontirely too drastic,
particularly those authorizing ad
mittance of books of foreign manu
facture in American ships and other
like features which were striken
out.
the sen.ate provision 'designated to
furnish the president with power to
impose tariff duties of a retaliatory
character on all articles comprised
in a specified list,' which includes
many agricultural products.
"Reduction of tho basic exemption
from income tax from $4,000 as in
the house bill to $3,000 for unmar
ried persons and the consequent re
arrangement of this, the roport com
ments on as follows:
" 'Your committee reduces tho
amount of exemption of i.et income
to $3,000 and allows on account of
marriage an additional exemption of
$1,000 to either the husband or wife
if they are living together, but not
to both. Children living with or de-
pendent upon parents, puch parents
will bo allowed an exemption of $500
for minor children except where both
parents are taxable, in which case no
exemption is allowed on account of
children.
" 'By the amendment the lowest
possible exemption to any one per
son will be $3,000 and the highest
possible exemption to any ono per
son $5,000. While the amendment
may make no wide difference in the
volume of revenue derivable from
the tax, it is deemed equitable as
recognizing the added obligations on
schedule are treated in the report
with considerable comment."
GOVERNMENT ARMOR PLATE
PLANT
Naval experts' figures showing
that a government armor plate fac
tory costing $8,466,000 would save
$140 a ton on armor, or more than
a million dollars a year net, were
submitted to congress by Secretary
of the Navy Daniels, July 14. The
secretary's report was sent in re
sponse to a senate resolution and
supplemented previous statements
CAN YOU SEE
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" HIS EYESIGIIT IMPROVING
(Tho Senate now sees tho "insidious lobby." The Columbus Evening Dispatch.)
account of marriage, children and
salary as emphasizing the family as
tho unit in our social structure.'
"Of agricultural products, many
of which were transferred to tlije
froe list in addition to those put
there by tho house, the committee
has thlB to say:
" 'The house bill and amendments
made by the committee on finance
fully recognized the paramount in
terests of our agricultural popula
tion by placing agricultural imple
ments of every kind an'1 description,
fence and baling wire, cotton bag
ging and ties, low prif.od blankets
boots and shoes, cemant, nails, lum
ber, coal, harness, saddles, cotton
gins, wagons, carts, bagging for
grain, wool and other bags, sewing
machines and many other products
of daily utility on the free list.
" 'In common with the rest of our
people, our agricultural population
will share in the benefits brought
about by the reduction of the duties
on sugar and its eventual elimina
tion. " 'The substantial reduction!
made all along the lime of cotton and
woolen goods, wearing apparel of
overy description, on crockery,
household furnishings and utensils,
hardware and similar products of
our factories, will remove a consid
erable part of tho burden of tariff
taxation now borne by the farmer
as well as the dweller in the city
and tho laborer in the factory, field
and mines.'
"The sugar and froe raw wocl, by
reductions by the senate committee
in wool tops and yarns are explained,
and sweeping reductions in tho motal
issued by him advocating a government-owned
armor plate plant. The
following is taken from the Associat
ed Press report:
"Reviewing the situation in his
report the secretary said the accept
ed plan had been that the Bethlehem,
Carnegie and Midvale plants should
be given the armor work at practi
cally their own prices.
" 'This step having been taken,' he
said, 'it clearly followed that the
manufacturers, themselves convinced
that one-third the work is coming to
them without much reference to the
ynue, uave not overlooked the ad
vantage of putting in bids practically
Ul i" auuio ngure ana at the same
rate. They have argued that should
one of them put in a bid much lower
than the others the only result would
be that the other two firms would
have to come down in their prlcas to
that of the bidder in the eventual
distribution of the work
"He explained that the European
countries, France, Italy anl Russia,
have sought relief from the high cost
of armor plate by the operation of
government-owned plants while Ja
pan has built two government fac
tories. He found the same subject
agitated in England, where many
charges of monopolistic agreements
and extortionate prices have been
made.
'"The English manufacturers ap
pear to have been able to keep up
a higher price f jr armor than those
n the United States,' he aided 'Al
though money for an armor plant
was provided in an appropriation bill
passed at the beginning of the second
Roosevelt administration, after an
investigation the plant was never
COnBtrUCtftrl. Tn orwnt,.. .
cording to Mr. Daniels, 'the armor
plate manufacturers were allowed to
jump their prices from $346 a ton
in 1906 t0 $420 in 1907 and to keen
at that figure until last year, when
they were advanced, under the ex
cuse of increased expenses caused by
the eight-hour law, to $454 a ton.'
"As to the expense of a govern
ment plan and the saving to be thus
accomplished, Mr. Daniels said:
" 'The cost of a plant capable of
turning out 10,000 tons a year
which is about half of the armor
needed on a two-battleship program,
it Is estimated by the chief of bureau
of ordnance at $8,466,000 and -the
cost of the armor at $314 a ton. The
estimate of this officer is consider
ably in excess of the figures given
the government by the last board
which investigated the subject. But
even at this estimated cost of the
plant and the cost of $311 a ton of
armor plate, there would be effected
a saving of $140 a ton over the price
now paid.
" 'On 10,000 tons the government
would save $1,400,000 per annum.
Deducting 4 per cent as the intsrest
on the money used in building tho
plant, there still remains a net sav
ing to the government of $1,061,360.
In the case of the 2 0,0 00-ton plant,
which it is estimated can produce
armor at $279 a ton, the net saving
is $348,842. Surely this is, on tho
face of it, an economy well worth
the serious consideration of con
gress. If a committee with expert
assistance Is given the author!1 to
get at the exact cost of constructing
a factory and of making armor late,
it is believed the estimate f'r both
will be reduced. Experience has
demonstrated the wisdom and econ
omy of manufacturing guns and pow
der in government factories.' "
new Water permit policy
A new policy in granting water
power permits was begun July 29,
when authority for the development
of an electric project, with an ulti
mate capacity of 350,000 horse pow
er on the Pend d'Orellle river, Wash
ington, was granted to the Interna
tional Power and Manufacturing
company. The grant may run per
petually, and can be revoked only
for violation of its terms or the pro
visions of the general regulations.
The higher the rate charged the con
suming public, the larger the rate
collected by the government, and to
protect the public a maximum rate
of six cents per kilowat hour was
fixed. It was announced that the in
terior and agricultural departments,
in agreement on the power permit
question as the result of a recent
conference between Secretaries Lane
and Houston, had three objects in
view in adopting the new form oi
permit. The first and most impor
tant was to control the price of wa
ter power to the consumer by charg
ing the development companies less
in proportion as it charged the pub
lic less and by fixing a maximum
charge, The second was to secure
full development of the power avail
able through low rates and by de
creasing rates with the amount ot
power developed. The third object
was to secure fair competition, ana
officials declare that the companj
must begin work within one year
and within three years have at least
5,000 horse power developed.
PARCEL POST CHANGES
On July 19, Postmaster General
Burleson announced . plans for too
extension, improvement and JeaJ'
tion in rates of the parcel post, abb
changes, which became effjctivo
August 15, include an increase from
eleven to twenty pounds in the max'
mum weight of parcels; a materuu
reduction in the postage rates in to
first and second zones, ana i""
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