As indicated in Table 16, the committee estimates that the duties during the first 12-month period under H. R. 22195 will amount to $40,556,016, which compares with $41,904,850 for 1910 and $28,982,553 for 1911. It is believed by the committee that no loss in revenue will result from the enactment of H. R. 22195, but that the bill will produce probably as much as in 1910, while at the same time the yearly burden resting upon the people owing to the cost of woolen clothing will be reduced by more than $50,000,000. THE FORM AND PHRASEOLOGY OF BILL. The phraseology of the bill H. R. 22195 conforms throughout to that of H. R. 11019, which is practically the same as that of the act of 1909. In framing the bill the purpose of the committee has been to make no change in the language used in enumerating and describing the articles included under its provisions, except such as is necessarily involved in the omission of the provisions for the classification of raw wools, admixture of blood, the varying rates on washed, scoured, sorted, or skirted wools, etc., and the omission of subclassifications according to value, weight, or dimension of most of the groups of manufactured articles. The exclusive use of ad valorem duties obviates the intricate and complex qualifications, differentiations, and discriminations of Schedule K of the act of 1909. Ad valorem duties automatically adjust themselves to all these distinctions. The enacting clause of the bill conforms exactly to that of the tariff act of August 5, 1909, of which the bill is practically an amendment, in order to avoid any possible ambiguity or conflict with regard to the insular possessions of the United States. The warehouse provision (sec. 2) also conforms exactly to the corresponding provisions in the act of 1909 (sec. 29), except that the provision for levying duties based on weight at the time of the entry of the merchandise is omitted, since the bill H. R. 22195 provides for no duties based on weight. Under this warehouse provision, as in the present act, articles in warehouse when the bill H. R. 22195 takes effect, on which duties have not been paid, shall be subjected to duty when withdrawn as if they had been imported after the taking effect of the act; but articles in warehouse on which duties have been paid and a permit of delivery issued, shall be subject to the duties imposed prior to the enactment of the new bill. OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD, Chairman. FRANCIS BURTON HARRISON. WILLIAM G. BRANTLEY. DORSEY W. SHACKLEFORD. CLAUDE KITCHIN. OLLIE M. JAMES. HENRY T. RAINEY. LINCOLN DIXON. WILLIAM HUGHES. CORDELL HULL. W. S. HAMMOND. ANDREW J. PETERS. A. MITCHELL Palmer. APPENDIX. [H. R. 22195, Sixty-second Congress, second session.] A BILL To reduce the duties on wool and manufactures of wool. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That on and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirteen, the articles hereinafter enumerated, described, and provided for shall, when imported from any foreign country into the United States or into any of its possessions (except the Philippine Islands and the islands of Guam and Tutuila), be subjected to the duties hereinafter provided, and no others; that is to say: 1. On wool of the sheep, hair of the camel, goat, alpaca, and other like animals, and on all wools and hair on the skin of such animals, the duty shall be twenty per centum ad valorem. 2. On all noils, top waste, card waste, slubbing waste, roving waste, ring waste, yarn waste, bur waste, thread waste, garnetted waste, shoddies, mungo, flocks, wool extract, carbonized wool, carbonized noils, and on all other wastes and on rags composed wholly or in part of wool, and not specially provided for in this act, the duty shall be twenty per centum ad valorem. 3. On combed wool or tops and roving or roping, made wholly or in part of wool or camel's hair, and on other wool and hair which have been advanced in any manner or by any process of manufacture beyond the washed or scoured condition, not specially provided for in this act, the duty shall be twenty-five per centum ad valorem. 4. On yarns made wholly or in part of wool, the duty shall be thirty per centum ad valorem. 5. On cloths, knit fabrics, felts not woven, and all manufactures of every description made, by any process, wholly or in part of wool, not specially provided for in this act, the duty shall be forty per centum ad valorem. 6. On blankets and flannels, composed wholly or in part of wool, the duty shall be thirty per centum ad valorem: Provided, That on flannels composed wholly or in part of wool, valued at above fifty cents per pound, the duty shall be forty-five per centum ad valorem. 7. On women's and children's dress goods, coat linings, Italian cloths, bunting, and goods of similar description and character, composed wholly or in part of wool, and not specially provided for in this act, the duty shall be forty-five per centum ad valorem. 8. On clothing, ready-made, and articles of wearing apparel of every description, including shawls whether knitted or woven, and knitted articles of every description made up or manufactured wholly or in part, and not specially provided for in this act, composed wholly or in part of wool, the duty shall be forty-five per centum ad valorem. 9. On webbings, gorings, suspenders, braces, bandings, beltings, bindings, braids, galloons, edgings, insertings, flouncings, fringes, gimps, cords, cords and tassels, ribbons, ornaments, laces, trimmings, and articles made wholly or in part of lace, embroideries and all articles embroidered by hand or machinery, head nets, nettings, buttons or barrel buttons or buttons of other forms for tassels or ornaments, and manufactures of wool ornamented with beads or spangles of whatever material composed, on any of the foregoing made of wool or of which wool is a component material, whether containing india rubber or not, the duty shall be thirty-five per centum ad valorem. 10. On Aubusson, Axminster, moquette, and chenille carpets, figured or plain, and all carpets or carpeting of like character or description, the duty shall be forty per centum ad valorem. 11. On Saxony, Wilton, and Tournay velvet carpets, figured or plain, and all carpets or carpeting of like character or descríption, the duty shall be thirty-five per centum ad valorem. 12. On Brussels carpets, figured or plain, and all carpets or carpeting of like character or description, the duty shall be thirty per centum ad valorem. 13. On velvet and tapestry velvet carpets, figured or plain, printed on the warp or otherwise, and all carpets or carpeting of like character or description, the duty shall be thirty-five per centum ad valorem. 14. On tapestry Brussels carpets, figured or plain, and all carpets or carpeting of like character or description, printed on the warp or otherwise, the duty shall be thirty per centum ad valorem. 15. On treble ingrain, three-ply, and all-chain Venetian carpets, the duty shall be thirty per centum ad valorem. 16. On wool Dutch and two-ply ingrain carpets, the duty shall be twenty-five per centum ad valorem. 17. On carpets of every description, woven whole for rooms, and Oriental, Berlin, Aubusson, Axminster, and similar rugs, the duty shall be fifty per centum ad valorem. 18. On druggets and bockings, printed, colored, or otherwise, the duty shall be twenty-five per centum ad valorem. 19. On carpets and carpeting of wool, flax, or cotton, or composed in part of any of them, not specially provided for in this act, and on mats, matting, and rugs of cotton, the duty shall be twenty-five per centum ad valorem. 20. Mats, rugs for floors, screens, covers, hassocks, bed sides, art squares, and other portions of carpets or carpeting, made wholly or in part of wool, and not specially provided for in this act, shall be subjected to the rate of duty herein imposed on carpets or carpeting of like character or description. 21. Whenever in this act the word "woof" is used in connection with a manufactured article of which it is a component material, it shall be held to include wool or hair of the sheep, camel, goat, alpaca, or other like animals, whether manufactured by the woolen, worsted, felt, or any other process. SEC. 2. That on and after the day when this act shall go into effect all goods, wares, and merchandise previously imported, and herein before enumerated, described, and provided for, for which no entry has been made, and all such goods, wares, and merchandise previously entered without payment of duty and under bond for warehousing, transportation, or any other purpose, for which no permit of delivery to the importer or his agent has been issued, shall be subjected to the duties imposed by this act and no other duty, upon the entry or the withdrawal thereof. SEC. 3. That all acts and parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. This act shall take effect and be in force on and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirteen VIEWS OF THE MINORITY. The very able and complete report of the Tariff Board on wool was presented to the House on the 20th of December last. The majority members of the Committee on Ways and Means have had it now for over three months for deliberation, and it is to be presumed that it has been read by some of them, at least. Upon the facts contained in this report it seems that they are not able to make any changes in the bill heretofore introduced in the House by the chairman of that committee. They have again brought that bill into the House as the best that the party they represent is able to present on the subject of a tariff on wool. They have apparently settled down upon the conviction that no amount of information is of any avail in the formation of a Democratic tariff bill for revenue only. The minority of the committee have, however, framed a bill based upon the facts set forth in the report of the Tariff Board, a copy of which bill is attached to these views, and which the minority have offered in committee as a substitute, and also propose to offer in the House. The report of the Tariff Board has been read through carefully, and the duties fixed in this bill are based upon the report of the board. The minority of the committee have endeavored to adjust the rates in accordance with the doctrine of protection by prescribing a duty equivalent to the difference in the cost of production at home and abroad as found by the board. In fixing the rate of duty upon wool they have adopted the system of a specific duty per pound upon the clean content of the wools. This plan of a duty upon the clean content of the wools was first suggested by a Republican member of the Committee on Ways and Means more than three years ago, and an investigation was had to endeavor to carry it into effect because of the suggestion made them. The Tariff Board took up the investigation of the subject, and their report shows in the most conclusive way why an ad valorem rate on wool should not be adopted. The argument in brief is: If the basic idea of the duty on wools is to give the domestic grower permanent protection, it should remain as uniformly effective as possible under all changes of foreign conditions. Ad valorem duties would not accomplish this, being ineffective in times of overproduction and low prices abroad and giving an unnecessarily high protection in times of scarcity and high prices in foreign countries. In this view they are in harmony with every Secretary of the Treasury except Walker, and with every foreign Government. The method recommended by them of a duty on the clean content and adopted in this bill is fair, practical, equitable, and easy of enforcement. There is no difficulty in arriving at the clean content in any package of wool. Such a duty avoids all the inequities growing out of the present system of a pound rate upon wool in the grease increased and multiplied to equalize the duty in the various stages of its manufacture. There is no equalization in the present system, while there is absolute equality when the duty on the clean content is adopted. The method of ascertainment is simple and absolutely correct. With all the defects pointed out in the ad valorem system and all the merits in this system we are led to wonder why the latter was not adopted by the majority of the committee. Why should they run the risk of destroying any industry by duties grossly inadequate when they have ample and correct data? We have divided wools into two instead of three classes, uniting former class 1 and class 2 into class 1 in this bill and making class 3 class 2 of this bill. There is no reason why there should be any distinction in a tariff bill between the first two classes. We have fixed the rate of duty on class 1 of this bill at 18 cents per pound on the clean content of the wool. This measures the difference between the cost of production at home and abroad on nearly all the wool imported and the bulk of the wool grown in the United States, especially in the Western States. Under the present law our imports have been largely confined to raw wools, which produce the largest percentage of scoured wool. Under the "skirting clause" all but the very best wool in the fleece was cut out and much of the Australian and South American wools. imported into the United States produced a much larger percentage of clean wools than those imported into Great Britain and Germany. We were cut off from the importation of a large class of wools which were very valuable for use in manufacture, but were also so conditioned that our people could not afford to pay the duty of 11 or 12 cents per pound upon the large amount of dirt included in the natural fleece. This bill opens the wool markets of the world to us and still preserves the home market for the American producer. In the various manufactures of wool we have been able to correct the inequitable duties put upon wool in the present law. In other words, the compensatory rates in the present law are out of proportion to the necessary rates on the amount of wool used in manufacture. Under our proposed bill, by the aid of the Tariff Board's report, we have been able to fix with a high degree of accuracy the actual amount of clean wool used in the article manufactured and the waste incurred in manufacture, so that the various specific duties that we have placed upon yarns, cloths, and clothing represent only the actual amount of wool consumed in the various manufacturing processes. There will be no difficulty in administering this part of the law. All vegetable fibers can be easily removed from the wool by carbonization. The amount of wool actually used, even in a suit of clothes, can be determined with great accuracy at the customhouse. We have been abundantly assured of these facts by experts in the customs service. These processes will prevent the collection of a wool duty upon the cotton, so largely used in manufacturing cloths, and will make a radical reduction in the high ad valorem rates which resulted from the compensatory rates under the present law. The Tariff Board's report was a revelation on the subject of conversion costs at home and abroad. The fiction in reference to the greater efficiency of the American laborer in the textile industries |