Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-12-28
TAUNTSDEMOCRATS
SUPPORTING TARIFF
Senator Harrison Scorns
"Spotted Protectionists."
FiIibuster Threatened.
BY y. O. MESSENGER.

feanut protectionist" and spotted
protectionist" are two new tariff
terms. coined in the Senate debate
on the emergency tariff bill. Pat
Harrison. senator from Mississippi. is
the author Of them, and the amount
OF scorn he drapes them with is
plumb withering. Then there is -the
protectionist all over" and this Kind
OF q otectioniSt-Senator SmOot of
Otah cited as example-commands his
respect. though not to be emulated.
do not like spotted protection
ISIS. neither have ] any respect for
peanut protectionist." said the Mis-
sisSippi statesman. Il have no re-
Tor protection on something that is
grown in his district and at the Same
ume eXpend his eloquence against the
principle of protection"
SO there the democratic senators
are. those who may favor the emer-
gency tariff bin, nailed to the barn
door by the fiery Mississippian.
against such time as they may con-
template following suit of the forty
one democrats of the House who voted
FOR the bin in that body.
1t is Quith apparert-indeed, SO
stated-that no consideration will be
given the emergency tarin bill until
next week, after the recess over New
Year day. The bill is expected to re-
ceive short shrift in the committee or
finance, being in friendly hands. and
to come quickly back to the Senate.
with a favorable recommendation, al
though possibly with a few other
commodities added to the protected
list.
Democrats Threaten Filibuster.
The democrats in the Senate
threaten a flibuster to defeat it,
When Congress. reassembles Mon
day there will remain but nine weeks
of this session. and all the great ap-
preparation bills yet to be fought
over. II the democrats persist III
their threat of a flibuster. no better
instrument for waging one could be
found than a tariff bill, with the
unending possibilities for debate. Tor
reading of wearisome statistics and
arguments, and other means of con-
Suming time.
It will not be long until the gen
eral public awakens to the fact that
it has deep personal interest In this
emergency measure. IT enacted INTO
law. it will touch the consumer i'm
nediately. according to all admls-
sions frankly made in the House and
in tho Senate Tariff bills ordinarily
reCeive but scant attention from the
man in the street. For one thing.
they are usually ''ovef his head" he
doesn't understand them. ana is
like taxes OF all kinds,
or visitations Of fate.
Tariff wuI Raise -Prfcea.
But no bones il made Of the fact
that this pending neasure IS pri-
masiIy sdeagneA 70 ana viii hsse me
ssfec. q 1, saslns s.. isIes sfan,s.ins "a IN nm
prsoss m consTess g puf ,hsts Iii III
your eye: II means keeping prices UP
and Raising them.
Senator Srnoot. the great wool expert
Of the Senate. admits that. f1e said. 1T
coming in here now. those woOls will BE-
higher. l. do not want to deny it. I
want to say that frankly. that win be
the case" Then he added. by way OF
amelioraHng the prospect that 1t ought
not to add more than, 80 cents to the
cost Of a suit Of clothes. Sounds good.
you will say. but will it work out?
Senator Pat Harrison. who was one of
the democratic campaign managers,
made the republicans squirm when he
tainted them with having raised a
great hue and cry for reduced cost Of
living IN the campaign, and now set out
to increase it. When an embargo Is put
on wheat, corn. live stock and other
commodities as proposed by the bill, he
said. it is increasing the burden on the
consuming masses.
Gloomy Picture Drawn.
The dolorous picture drawn in Con-
sr,ss of the conditions throughout the
country certainly would be calculated
to dampen tho optimism of those who
forsee q prosperous new year. Accord
ing to the accounts in the House and
senate, the sheep raising industry is
partially killed now.
Senator Smoot said that even the
speedy passage OF this bill win not
save a portion Of the industry. The
cattle business is hit, the wheat grow
ers are getting the worst Of it. hog
raisers are crying out, cotton growers
lamenting.
Even the beet sugar growers OF the
west are now fearing ruination. Sena-
tor Smoot said that half of the beet
industry is now In financial difficulty.
The sugar refiners paid the farmers
sl2 for their beets. have s5 per cent of
the sugar made from them on hand
and now face ~ -cent sugar prices.
with the distressing conditions Of
agriculture SO vividly portrayed little
none is held out for the consumer in
whateyer may be done to relieve the
aericulturists. 1t was admitted in
the Senate that the slack is taken up
between the distributors and the con-
sumers.