Evening star., 1920-08-08

~ precedented foreign commerce,
~ is anxious about the tariff.
which will have a great influ-
ence on trade. Congress has admit
tedly held off on tariff legislation un-
til after the election. All indications
are that the new Congress will begin
work next spring on a general revi-
sion of the tariff. Meanwhile. the
United States Tariff Commission is one
is working with increased energy this
summer, so as to be ready to furnish
Congress, whenever it is asked for.
reliable information on actual condi-
tions in any and all industries and on
scores of related subjects.
The American business man can have
this comfort, that tariff legislation
when it comes will be based upon the
fullest Information obtainable re-
garding trade and industry through
out the entire world, and will con-
slider as never before his interests un-
der the changed conditions. 1t took
140 years to come. to the creation.
September 6, 1916, Of the United States
Tariff Commission, and since that
date world commerce has passed
through a cyclone.
The short session of Congress,
which opens in December. must give
first consideration to appropriation
measures and to some readjustment
Of political relations with the rest of
~, Cn hot ic lxy od-
mitted by leaders in Congress that
revision of the tariff must go over
until the new Congress. elected in No.
vember. has assembled in March. Ger
tainly there will not be time in the
short session for the mature. deliber-
ate and well judged revision that is
needed to meet the. new world condi-
tions more imperatively than ever be-
fore. 1t has taken many months for
any general revision of the tariff in
the last thirty years. If that happen
ed when conditions were fairly well
known and stable, surely extreme care
is needed now. when conditions are
unstable and radically changed since
the war. Congress, to do a permanent
job, must know many things:
Data Needed by Congress.
First-The condition of our own in
dustrtes: Whether they need protec-
tioh against competition from abroad
and whether such competition is fail
or. unfair. Il the republicans con-
tinua ID l,aa5ofity In Congress
their program calls for a protective
tarir. but not an unduly protective
tariff. So Congress, must know:
Second-What is shown by a COM
parative survey of business and in
dustry in other parts of the world, to
see what would be proper and not
undue protection.
Third Congress must consider tar
iff not only from a protective but also
from a revenue standpoint. With
colossal expenditures such as have
been made during the last four years
every effort must be made by Con-
gress to tighten the burden of the
taxpayer wherever it can be done.
Before the war the tariff was the
chief source of revenue. but there is
a limit to such revenue, and the in
come tax is now the chief source of
federal funds. AS compared with for
mer years for revenue, therefore, the
tariff is relatively unimportant-but.
absolutely. its importance is greater
than ever before.
Fourth-Congress must consider in
relation to tariff the necessity Of ad-
mitting the products of other coun-
tries to the United States. The rest of
the world is deeply in debt to the
United States. Arrangement must be
made not only for the payment of in
terest- but eventually for the payment
of the principal in some form or an
other We do not want it in gold. and
much less in paper, so. it must be in
goods or service. This is equivalent
to saying that the greater part of it
must be paid in the products of for
eign countries. And not only must
they pay their debts to us. but as We
in goods for what they buy from us
in the future. That means that the
United States must prepare to admit
large quantities of foreign products
if we want to sell our surplus pro-
duction abroad
So tariff revision has three as
poets = protective, for revenue and
commercial or financial. Therefore, in
any adjustments of the tariff Congress
must consider admitting foreign
goods to pay for goods we want to
sell abroad.
In view of this the reports Of the
tariff commission will be looked for
to tell what foreign goods can be ad-