The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-18
SOLID DEMOCRATIC VOTE AGAINST DUTY. ON COTTON CLAIMED.
House Begins Last Week of Tariff Consideration Today With Bitter Fight Over
 Oil In Prospect
By Associated Press

Washington, July 17.-Democratic members of the house from cotton growing states announced after in formal conferences today that all most solid party vote would be cast against the republican amend- ment to the Fordney tariff bill pro viding duty of 10 per cent ad va lorem on raw cotton.
 The House will enter tomorrow the last week of consideration of the bill with what has come to be regarded as the most highly controversial of all paragraphs in the measure-the duty on oil-staring 1t in the face.
 Under the special rule governing considering of the tarifcc bill, final vote is due late Thurs day. Meanwhile, however, the House has to dispose of the oil question. and take separate votes on raw cot ton and asphalt. Wheather cotton should be transformed to the cutabie list presents another problem likely to bring a stormy session, and lead CTS said it probably would be repe tition of the fight for duty on hides,
 The cotton tax amendment, under the special rule, will be taken up for a vote Tuesday. Regardless of the outcome then, there will be another vote on the proposal prior to final passage of the measure Thursday night.
 Iniquity GlaringIy Apparent
 Outlining the position of the mi nority, Representative Garrett of Tennessee, acting democratic leader, declared the ''iniquity of the pro- posal was glaringly apparent" in view of the statement of Represen tative Green of Iowa. ranking re- publican member of the ways and means committee that it would not increase the price paid the farmer for his product. Mir. Garrett added that "the only excuse for the tax was to enable republicans to increase the duty on cotton goods"
 Amidst so many Jokers in the Fordney bill" said Mir Garrett in d statement, Tit is well nigh impos- sible to say which Is the superlative one. but certainly the proposition to put duty on all raw cotton--when none IS imported and the treasury can derive no duty thereby--is at least a s great as any.
 TO bring 1t immediately home to the cotton farmer, duty on raw cotton will give nothing by way of increase in price, but it, will be made the excuse for raising the duty and therefore the price upon everything made of cotton which he has to buy"
 Fight for Cotton Tax
 In framing the tariff bill the ways and means committee kept raw cot ton on the free list, where it was in the old Payne-Aldrich bill. When the republican caucus took the bill in hand, however, a fight, led by southern republicans. was made to tax cotton, some of the advocates of this move asserting it would help break the solid south"
 Declaring that the bulk of the American crop of cotton was export ed, and that no more than 100000 bales of long staple or Egyptian cot ton was imported in any year, MT. Garrett asserted that on short staple cotton the south had absolutely no competition, for scarcely bale of it was imported.
 And now it is proposed, in view of production and import records" he said. Ito impose duty Of 10 per cent on all cotton. Why? The Ford ney joker lies in the fact that when the House votes in the 10 per cent advalorem on raw cotton the com mittee on ways and means will im- mediately follow 1t with amendments upon the cotton manufacturers schedule, raising the duties as fixed upon them in the bill from l2 per cent up; in other words, they Will give the compensatory duties and in crease the cost of every single article manufactured, from cotton