6 BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS SIXTIETH CONGRESS. FIRST PRINT, No. 29. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1908. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 453 i THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Tuesday, December 8, 1908. The committee this day met, Hon. Sereno E. Payne in the chair. ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF MR. H. E. MILES, OF RACINE, WIS. TEXTILES. Mr. MILES. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, Saturday I stood for low rates, even with the free list as an ultimate, logical conclusion, upon trust-made articles where protection inures wholly to the benefit of trusts and infinitely afflicts the consumer by way of excessive prices and high cost of living, reduces the hours of work and the wages of the laboring man, and the profits of the nontrustified manufacturer by lessening his output. The low rates I called for are demanded by the Republican national platform and by the principle of protection as defined by the successful candidates of the Republican party. The principle must be followed if it leads to a low rate, and equally if it leads to a high rate. If there is any industry in the United States that deserves protection, in my judgment, it is the textile industry, and there is no question but most industries do need very considerable protection. The need of the textile industry for protection does not, however, call for exorbitant or unreasonable rates, nor rates that signify misjudgment and miscalculation. I am opposed to that sort of tariff which meets the definition of the Supreme Court of the United States as “robbery in the name of the law called taxation," but the putting of steel at a very low duty or on the free list is no reason for reducing the rates, for instance, on hosiery, which, as far as I know, are necessary as now imposed, being 65 per cent and less. The textile industry appeared before you a few days ago. It did seem as if the United States Government, as represented by yourselves, might have secured the necessary information, but the memory and knowledge of the chief representative of the textile industry was inversely as his profit in the tariff. You asked him about "tops." I have in hand a statement of the superintendent of a woolen mill taken from his cost books, which shows as follows: Upon the purchase and use of 10,000 pounds of raw wool at 20 cents a pound The CHAIRMAN. I want to ask you a question right there. The only object the committee had in asking you the names of parties who have information is that we may be able to subpoena them, bring them before the committee, and question them first-hand. I would like to ask if your confidential relations are such that you can not disclose those names to us? |