A strong movement, sponsored by. iron and steel manufacturers, on foot to increase the tariff rates on imported iron and steel by a further 15 per cent.
During the 1 Diet, various to have this tariff morea adopted. JOnly pressure of business caused the move to be frustrated. With the Diet sessions in sight, the matter has been revived, the argument. advanced being that, as fron is the all-important material for all basic industries and as it tial for national defence, every effort be made to secure a home industry of iron and steel.
The argument sounds good, but, since the output of iron ore is Iamentably scanty in Japan, it may be doubted whether Japan will ever have an adequate home industry of iron and steel. This is the argument advanced by the opponents of raise in the tariff rate.
If the tariff rate is increased, these benefited will be the local iron and steel manufacturers. Machine builders and refiners will sustain 'a severe blow and the increase in the tariff rate will react disas-{trously on the machine-making industry.
The papers openly hint that the scheme to have the tariff rates on iron and steel raised is to beneft the bigger capitalists, such as the Mitsui firm, the Okura firm and the Mitsui interests, and warn that such a step would mean more expensive machinery and therefore would lead to an preciation of prices in other lines, ving occasion to troublesome sojeial problems.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.