The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1921-07-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.

Il - 0~o
Washington, July 13.After back
ing and filling since March 4th, the
House, under the repeated prodding
of the Administration, finally has
buclxIed down to work and undertaken
to pass the Forlney tariff bill by July
21st. The Republican caucus called
up the bill late last week and it will
be open to general debate until July
18th. Then the five-minute rule will
go into effect until July 21st, when
The measure is scheduled for final
passage.
Although the bill contains many
provisions which even Republicans
brand as UBIQUITOUS, and although its
duties are far higher than those Of
the infamous Payne Aldrich bill which
caused the defeat Of the Republican
party in 1912, the special rule adopt
ed by the Republican caucus provides
that only amendments recommended
by the ways and means committee are
entitled to a separate vote. This
means that the Republican majority
will Jam the measure through on
creased slids and that an individual
member will have to shut his eyes
and swallow it whole, or else vote
against the entire bill. It is special
rules of this sort that prevent care
full consideration of Legislation. The
tariff bill itself consists of hundreds
of pages and it is extremely doubtful
If there are twenty members in the
House who have even read ito say
nothing of understanding its provi-
sions. The bill was Matched in secret
hearings by a packed committee and
will be railroaded through and voted
upon before there is any possibility
of investigating the schedules.
Democrats Make Serious Charge.
A broadside against the bill was de-
ivered by Democratic members of the
ways and means committee in their
minority report. The Democrats, adj
hitting their inability to make detail
ed analysis, declared that "its last
minute changes whispered to a favor
ed few are in keeping with the in
trigue, secrecy and jobbery which in
spired it's covert schedules, cast its
complex and compounded rates, and
fixed it's unascertainable and incalcu-
liable duties, with the hidden trickery
which has transformed schedules, hid
den jokers transplanted items, chang
ed it's nomenclature, and made it inn
possible to compare it with any Of its
predecessors.
The Democrats charge fatty that
the Republicans are giving protection
funds. They express the belief that
this measure is a plan to plumber the
people of our Own country and to OPP
press the people of every country for
the benefit of a few men who have
succeeded in usurping for ali r1ac-
tical purposes, the taxing power Of
this government, using it primarily to
enrich themselves and secondarily to
finance the political party which tol-
crates, encourages and facilitates the
usurpation."
Democratic opposition is to be ex-
pected, but James A. Frear Of Wis
consin, Republican in good stand
ing, has brought in a minority. re-
port which also denounces the Ford
ney bill as IAN aid to monopoly" and
points out suecific instances where
cement, lime, glass, aluminium, tung-
stem, all trust controlled commodities,
are protection" that will shut off all
foreign competition and result in the
exploitation of the American people.
Frear declares the proposed limited
embargo on imports of dyes is "fun-
damentally Objectionable and a high
handed proposal to grant practically
exclusive dye rights to a recognized
monopoly" He asserts that under
this feature of the bill many billions
of dollars will be filched from the
pockets of the American consumer"
Discussing the effect of the bill on
agriculture, Mr.. Frear said it gives
reasonable protection to many farm
products. No justification exists,
however, he says, for cutting 1919
tariff rates on hemp straw grown by
the farmers in from 2 to cents, nor
for increasing hemp yarn rates from
6 cents per pound, as in the Payne-Al-
drich law to 8 cents per pound, or a
33 per cent increase to the manuIac-