The Washington herald., 1920-12-28
SENATETALKS
FOR HOURS ON
FORDNEY BILL
Emergency Tariff Act Re-
ferred to Finance
Committee.
UNANIMOUS VOTE
FOLLOWS DEBATE
Verbal Tits Between
Factions Enliven
Discussions.


quires three seconds. 1t talked
about referring the emergency tariff
bill to the Finance Committee and
ended by doing just that by a
unanimous vote. The three hours
were consumed largely by verbal
tilts between Senator Pat Harrison.
Democrat. of Mississippi. and Sena-
tors Porter ]. McCumber. of North
Dakota, and Reed Smoot, of Utah.
Republicans.
Senator Harrison objected to
what he considered hasty and ILL
considered action on the Fordney
bill. McCumber protested against
what he insisted was a Democratic
filibuster. Harrison urged hearings
on the bill. McCumber gave a half
way promise such would be held
Smoot said he needed no hearings
to convince him of the necessity for
the legislation.
Attacks Bill as Embargo.
Senator Gilbert NJ. Hitchcock,
Democrat. of Nebraska, attacked
the Forduey bill as an embargo on
essential products for the American
breakfast table. McCumber resent
ed that description of the legisla-
tion and held 1t to be necessary to
save agricultural and manufactur-
ing interests from financial ruin.
Hifohn4nIy
the Committee on Commerce. His
motion was lost. McCumber re-
sorted to the motion to table" to
dispose of another Democratic move.
Harrison wanted the bill sent to the
Committee on Interstate Commerce.
His effort failed. 1t appeared for a
time he might suggest the measure
be sent to the Committee on Dis
position of useless Papers, but he
refrained from casting that slight
upon it
: Harrison, during a TRADE against
the high protection OF the legisla-
tion. startled several nodding Sem
ators from their reveries OF the
Payne-Aldrich and Dingley tariff
days by shouting at the Repub-
licans:
"The Chamber Is Drunk,
That side Of the chamber is
drunk"
He paused a full minute. then
added: with political ambition to
return to conditions of twenty years
ago."
Harrison was especially grieved
to hear McCumber suggest the pos
sibility of a Democratic filibuster
He referred to the fact he had
yielded to two Republican Senators
having special business to present
to the Senate. He was disappointed
that the compensation for his kind
ness should be a charge of filibuster-
ing. McCumber was adamant to the
plea He had no doubt of the Sem
ator's readiness to yield to anyone
desiring to consume time.
When references were made to
some Democrats favoring the tariff
because cotton or sugar or peanuts
were included, Harrison said he
would not sacrifice his political prin-
ciples even though 80 per cent of his
Mississippi constituents urged him
to do so. He roasted the peanut
protectionist." He was bitter against
the sugar tariffites. >
smoot a ProtectionIst.
Senator Smoot was fearful lest he
be included among the spotted pro-
tectionists." He wanted it under
stood he was mot spsttish. but pro-
tectionist clear through" He
spoke of the plight of the wool
growers. Harrison, gazing aloft,
countered. Yes. it's wool, wool,
wool, and the Senator would pull
it over our eyes" Smoot objected
to that on the ground he was for
all kinds of protection necessary to
save American interests and indus
tries from destructive competition
abroad.
Harrison said he was protesting
against the hypocrisy of the Re-
publicans who promised reduction
of the cost of living during the
Presidential campaign, but now are
proposing to raise the price Of ne
cessities." Smoot argued the pro-
posed wool tariff would not affect
the price of any Senator's suit of
clothes by so much as 10 cents"
Senator James A. Reed, of Missouri,
suggested that he had purchased
his suit before the war, so he
thought there might be some wool
in it.
Roll Call shows Unanimity.
The debate thus ran along for
the three hours. Then came the roll
call. The result was AZ to for
committing the measure to the FL
nance Committee. Under normal
conditions that little detail would
have been attended to in a routine
manner by one of the secretarias
The average time Is three seconds.
Reference of the measure to the
Finance Committee was thought to
insure its careful consideration.
There were rumors of important
by the Senate. House
leaders declared any additions to
the bill would mean its defeat in
the House.