The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-12-02
PRESIDENT URGED
TO SUPPORT TARIFF
HARDING ASKED TO TAKE
STRONG STAND IN BEHALF OF
PENDING LEGISLAT9ON-THE
LEADERS BELIEVE POWER OF
PRESIDENT WILL BE USED.

PRESIDENT WILL BE USED.
Washington, Dec. 1.-President
Harding has been urged to take a
strong stand in his address to the new
congress next week in behalf of pend
ing tariff legislation. Confidence was
evidenced among many congressional
leaders today that the power of the
executive would be put behind the
bill which now reposes with the SEN
ate finance committee.
The suggestion was said to have
been made to Mr.. Harding that he
recommend, in the interest of speedy
disposition of the measure, the elm
ination of the American valuation
plan from the house bill and the
writing of tariff law on the basis of
the old method of invoice prices. He
was understood to have been urged to
ask congress then to include in the
D bill a provision empowering the exc
cutive to apply the American valua-
ton basis of assessing duties where,
after surveys, it is shown that added
protection is needed.
Another suggestion reported to
have been given Mr.. Harding was that
the house bill provisions regarding
antidumping be stricken out and a
law described as "having teeth" be
enacted supplementary to the tariff.
A division of opinion among Re-
publican senators was said to exist
as to the merits and practicability of
thesAmerican valuation plan and it
was understood this situation had
been outlined to the executive.
Some Republican members of the
finance committee declared that even
with call by the president for more
speed, there could hardly be a tariff
law before March. One asserted it
would be the middle of May before
the bill finally becomes a law.
The suggestion that separate legis-
lation be enacted giving the execu-
tive. authority to impose the Ameri-
can valuation basis in cases where
additional protection was found nee
essary, was said to embody a plan
making custom duties variable to
meet auctuation of the deprecated
currency of exporting countries.
Those who advanced the plan held
that the fixing of tariff duties at any
definite figures in the present disor-
ganized state of international cur
rencies would make it impossible to
adequately protect American indus
tries and labor from competition,
since the low price of foreign money
allows goods to be purchased abroad
in American dollars at far below
costs in American markets.
It was proposed therefore that the
president, presumably through the
tariff commission, be given power to
determine to what degree the cur
rency Of a given country has depre-
ciated, to what extent the fact has
made American producers unable to
compete with it's imported products
and to fix the import duty at a per-
centage which will to some degree
equalize these disadvantages. At the
same time similar goods from coun-
try with stable currency and undis-
torted production costs would be al
lowed to come in at lower rates.
Carefully worked out estimates of
the effect to be anticipated under
operation of the plan have been sub
nitted to President Harding. The
American valuation system, also ad-
vanced to meet the fuctuating cur
rency values at present encountered,
would fix the level of duty not on
cost price to the importers, but up
on the value of similar products pro-
duced in the United States on Amer
lean markets at the moment of i'm
psrtation.