The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-04-26
lCRISP EXPLAINS VOTE
ON FARMERS TARIFF
STILL FAVORS DUTY ON PEA
NUT AND COTTON OIL, BUT
HAD TO GO WITH PARTY.

Congressman Crisp has written to
the Terrell county farmers, bankers
and business men who wired him an
urgent request to again vote Tor the
emergency tariff bill, as he did in the
last congress, explaining why he
changed his vote when the measure
came I'D in the present congress
few days ago. He says:
II am sure you realize am always
disappointed and sorry when | cannot
literally comply with any request you
make of me. | am anxious for tariff
ON peanuts and vegetable oils, Tor |
consider a tariff on them a revenue
tariff. and that such action will also
afford incidental protection to the
! farmers.
Last fall | was responsible for get
ting the WAYS and means committee
TO include in the Fordney tariff bill a
provision levying a tax OF three cents
| a pound on peanuts and twenty gal
Ion on vegetable oils. | voted for the
bill in the committee on way and
means. voted for it i'll the house, and
voted to override the presidents veto;
but, as YOU know, the bill failed to
! become a law. My supporting the
measure incurred for me the severe
criticism of a number of my demo-
cratic colleagues, for three-fourths of
the democrats of the house last con-
gress voted against the bill. There was
| no democratic caucus action taken last
wear on the bill, which | think was
the proper course to pursue.
when this congress convened, in
the committee, | again succeeded in
getting the same duty levied on pea
nuts and oil. The majority of the
democrats called a caucus OF the dem
ocratic members and opposed this
emergency tariff bill. | think it was a
mistake to call caucus, and, i'll the
caucus, | made a speech as vigorously
as | knew how opposing caucus &C
ton and stating that it was mis-
take to try to bind the democratic
members to vote any certain way on
! this bill, but that each democratic
member should be permitted to vote
as he saw fit. After caucus of five
! hours, by a vote of seventy-nine to
twenty-nine, the democratic caucus
! bound the democrats to vote against
! the measure.
"Messrs. Fordney, Young and Long
worth, leading republican members Of
the ways and means committee, who
are themselves extreme partisans, told
me they understood how it was neces-
sary for me to stand by my party ac
ton and that they would take care of
peanuts and oil in the general tariff
! bill
"Of course, there was no question
about the present emergency tariff
bill passing, which it did by vote
of two hundred and sixty-nine to one
! hundred and twelve.
Il regret that circumstances were
such that | could not vote for the bill,
but, as | am a democratic member
and am not ready to join the repub
lican party, I had to conform to the
action of the democratic caucus. |
am sure, on reflection, you will see
that there was no other course for me
to pursue, as | was elected a demo-
Crat, and it has always been rule OF
the democrats that two-thirds ma
jority can control party policy.
Il have written you at length, for
want you to thoroughly understand
how l was situated and my views re-
garding this legislation. Your friend,
&C. r. CRISP"