The Cordova daily times., 1919-06-20
TARIFF NEXT ISSUE BEFORE
 THE HOUSE

ana means COIlulLLoe Ol tue HouSo Oi representatives will not begin hear ings on the question of a general tariff revision until after July 4.
 Reports that the hearings would be. gin June 20 were premature. Although the sixty-sixth congress has only had a few weeks of session, Washington's warm weather is beginning to induce vacation feelings, and if the congress can fish up it's appropriation labors during this month, there is every like. lihood that there will be a bit of sum- mer recessing about Independence day, ostensibly to permit congressman to regale their constituencies with Fourth of July speeches. Until the members get that out of their systems, the ways and means committee does not intend to try putting on any hearings.
 In the meantime, however, the con- mittee has ordered comprehensive compilation of all the data relating to the subject of tariff revision, particu- larly the statistics of our exports and imports since the Underwood-Simmo law replaced the protective measures of the Payne-Aldrich act. This alone will take a month of hard work.
 Chairman Fordney of the ways and means committee has also announced that special effort will be made to hasten legislation to protect the chem icals, dyestuffs, potash and laboratory glass industries, in order to preserve the plants which the pressure of war gave to us. The committee itself has taken no action on this problem, al though President Wilson included a plea for these war industries in his message converting the new congress. Representative Longworth of Ohio, a member of the committee, has present ed bill to protect the dyestuffs and chemical industries, and measures to cover other special industries are promised soon.
 Mr. Fordney's declarations concern ing the special protection for war in- dustries came in connection with the proposal of his committee to repeal section 9O4 of the internal revenue law, which levies the luxury taxes. The treasury department estimated that this repeal would cost the treas ury about $S5,O0O,OOO annually. MT. Fordney's estimate was $100,000,000.
 "To recompense the government for the taxes lost by this repeal" said Chairman Fordney, i've must find other sources of revenue. Several great industries have sprung up in this country since the war that could not survive against the strong and unfair competition that we had prior to war conditions One of these is potash, The alien property custodian, in his annual report, described at length the unfair and ruinous competition in the chemical industry in this country which the Germans carried on prior to the war He explains it there more fully than I have time to explain it now. He showed in one particular in- stance where there were five indus tries established in this country in the chemical industry; they ran along, but afterwards competition became so keen that the price of the article pro- duced was cut down so low that three out of the five were obliged to suspend operations. When the war came on the two that survived were branches of a parent company in Germany. Since that time, the government has taken them over under the alien property act.
 Since the war broke out, people in this country have invested some $50,- 100000 in the production of potash. The geological survey reports that in a certain lake in California there is raw material in sight to supply our wants at the present consumption for the next eighty years and another lake in Nebraska quite equal to that of California. Potash is produced in twelve states in the Union from var ious sources. That industry will be put out of business unless we give them some protection, and the ways and means committee will in few days report that we might call a sep arate or shotgun bill for the purpose of protecting that industry.
 'The genetleman from Ohio, MT. Longworth, has introduced bill to protect the dyestuffs industry. one of the most important in the land. We have all the raw material necessary to make all of the dyestutfs for the whole world. All that is necessary is for our government to protect that in a...A..- %h@u country q fnaf th0