The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-06-20
Washington Letter.

WdSuulS IOll, JuHe lO.-l lie ways
and Means Committee of the House
of Representative will not begin hear
ings on the question of a general Tar
iff revision until after July A..
Reports that the hearings would
begin June 20 were premature. AL
though the Sixty-sixth Congress has
only had two weeks of sessions, Wash
ington's warm weather is beginning
to induce vacation feelings, and if the
Congress can finish up it's appropria-
tion labors during this month, there
is every likelihood that there will be a
bit of summer recessing about Inde-
pendence day, ostensibly to permit
Congressman to regale their constitu-
encies with Fourth of July speeches.
Until the members get that out of
their systems, the Ways and Means
Committee does not intend to try put
ting on any hearings.
In the meantime, however, the
Committee has ordered a comprehen-
sive compilation of all the data relat-
ing to the subject of Tariff revision,
particularly the statistics of our ex-
ports and imports since the Under
wood-Simmons law replaced the Pro-
tective measures of the Payne-Ald-
rich 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, dye-stuffs, potash and labora-
tory glass industries, in order to pre-
serve the plants which the pressure of
war gave to us. The Committee itself
has taken no action on this problem,
although President Wilson included d
plea for these war industries in his
message converting the new Congress.
Representative Longworth of Ohio, a
member of the Committee, has pre-
sented a 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 ln-
dustries came in connection with the
proposal of his Committee to repeal
Section 904 of the Internal Revenue
Law, which levies the luxury taxes.
The Treasury Department estimated
that this repeal would cost the Treas
ury about $S5, 900 annually, Mr.. Ford
ney's estimate was $100,000,000.
"To recompense the government
for the taxes lost by this repeal" said
Chairman Fordney, 1--WE 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 un-
fair competition that we had prior to
war conditions. One of these is pot
ash. The Alien Property Custodian,
in his annual report, described at
length the unfair and ruinous compe-
tition in the chemical industry in this
country which the Germans carried on
prior to the war. He explains it there
more fully than have time to explain
it now. He showed in one particular
instance 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 parent company in Germany.
Since that time, the government has
taken them over under the alien prop
erty act.
"Since the war broke out, people in
this country have invested some $780,
100000 in the production of potash.
The Geological Survey reports that in