The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-08-11
FORDNEY SEES SOUTH
BEHIND TARIFF SHIFTS
CONTINUED from page one. }

was the plan in the event of Republi
can victory in November. to at once NO
ahead preparing for safeguarding the
nations prosperity.
Mr.. Fordn-y replied that as soon as IL
was known that the next house is to be
Republican the ways and means com.
mittee would Immediately set to woi K
gathering information.
How long will it take for the neces.
sary legislation to be enactedY" This
question being asked in view of the
indications coming from both sides in
Europe that the war may run another
year and that the world wide CONNER
cial war will not start until the mill
tary activities cease.
Mr.. Fordney's reply was that the
necessary preparedness" can be effec-
tive as early as July next year-a
significant date for establishing the
commercial and industrial independence
of the nation.
AS soon as the new congress comes in,
March 4, 1917, the ways and means
committee would be in position to
start hearings. All day sessions and
evening ones would enable this phase
OF the task to be finished in month.
Another six weeks should suffice for
fraEiing the bill. A week, ten days or
two weeks would cover the debate in
the house. And the senate debate.
though protracted, should not coyer
more than month.
There is no anticipation of trouble in
the senate, even though it should not
be turned Republican at the November
election. 1t is practically certain that
Democratic support will be ready and
waiting for the Fordney bill Condi.
lions are changing in the south econo-
mically and industrially. The interest
of many of the southern states is veer-
ing around from free trade and dem
ocratic senatorial support is, therefore,
likely for preparedness" tariff law.
As showing how the south stands on
the subject it is sufficient to state that,
at the request of Mr.. Underwood, Mr..
Fordney drafted back in 1918, an anti.
dumping clause for insertion in the
Underwood law. Mr.. Fordney drew
up an anti. dumping provision which
matched the very efficient and rigidly
enforced Canadian antidumping law;
and that protection would now be on
our statute books, save for the fact
that the free trade element in the ad-
mipistration forces compelled Mr.. I'm.
derwood to suffer it to be stricken from
the tariff law.
will the proposed tariff commission
bill endorsed by the administration be
passedf" Mr.. Fordney was asked.
Lob. yes," he replied. "It>is the de
termined intention to pass it."
COMMISSION SHORT OF NEEDS.
Mr.. Fordney declared, however, that
the administration tariff commission
falls short of the mark. In Mr.. Ford
neys opinion the function of such a
body is simply to determine the facts
regarding cost of production at home
and abroad of competitive goods.
Take the item Of wool, for instance.
The function of tariff commission is
to ascertain the difference in the cost
of production of wool at home and
abroad, and to furnish congress with
that information, whereupon congress
can lay duty on imported wool equal
to the difference in cost of production
at home and abroad.
In the matter of clothes manufac.
tured from wool the commissions func-
tioHshould be, according to this reason.
ing, to learn the difference, not only in
the cost of the raw material, but also
the difference in the labor cost at home
and abroad so that congress can lay q
duty on wooden manufactures safe
guarding the American workman as
well as the American farmer and the
American manufactures against ruinous
competition from abroad.
The administratio n tariff commission
falls short of this function in Mr.. Ford
ney's opinion. It is aimed at multi
tude of things, many of them acadame.
ic, like the proposed Investigation of
the relative merits of the ad valorem
and the specific duty-"which anybody
knows already" says Mr.. Fordney.
The Wilson tariff commission will
be no obstacle to the Republican con-
gress, however. Just rs the present
administration killed the Taft tariff
commission by not voting it an appro-
priation, 30 can the next Republican
congress eliminate the Wilson commits
sion and substitute one Of it's own; or,
IL the personnel be satisfactory, new
rules may be imposed, turning the at
tention OF the commission to those
specific objects on which the next con-
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