Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-31
The Long1Oorth PROPOSAL.

"HE resolution or NICHOLAS Lons WI 'AA'
one of the influential Republican mem
bers of congress, seems to have found
a considerable following in the lower mousse
although the proposition to make operative
the schedules of the permanent tariff Dill I'M
mediately upon it's introduction by the COM
mittee to the house, strikes the average
American citizen as one of the most ridiculous
legislative suggestions ever advanced III an
assembly of sane law makers. Inc mouse
WAYS and means committee shares IN MI
Longworth's belief, although congress has not
vet been called on to consider what the new
schedules shall be-
Think Of it. Congress is asked 10 aeclale
that from an unknown date, unknown rates
of dutv shall be collected under an unknown
law in an unknown way. ANmore lnoellnlLe
fantastic proposal was never conJureu III 'ho
brain of man. Officers of the law are 70 pe
made to enforce provisions OIL Id" 'n'''
has not been enacted -,
The history of the emergency tariff Dill
serves we'll to illustrate the laporlous proc
esses to be served before protective measures
can become laws. Introduced IN the rag emu
of the Wilson administration, the emergency g,
tariff bill has Just passed and 1t was Dill
designed to relieve conditions OF SIX mohtns
ago, although the same conditions exlst IN
more or less acute form at the present tliie
Chairman Fordney, of the house commit
tee who has been holding hearings recently
in due time, perhaps 1t is to be debateo az
infinitum in the house and will be passed
with amendments, representing many COM
promises between conflicting Industrial inter
ests, and sent to Chairman Penrose, OIL lhe
senate finance committee.
The senator from Pennsylvania will take
charge of the bill, which, under the consul
tuition had to originate in the house; the
probabilities are that he will salvage lew
of it's inoffensive provisions and open senate
committee hearings which may consume many
weeks of the long and sultry summer. Inen
he will rewrite tariff bill to suit himself
and his party and introduce it in the senate
with a speech of one hour. 1t will bear no
more resemblance to the house measure than
Esau did to Jacob, and after interminable
discussion will be passed and sent to con-
ference.
the conference patched up, with very good
chance of being amended again by both
houses and sent to a second conference.
Probably it will become a law later on In
the fall.
In the meantime, the importer of merchan-
disc is to be asked to pay duties which no
congressman, nor senator, can name and pro-
vision for the collection Of which could not
be established under law. The Longworth
argument for his measure is that as soon
as the house rates are published "a great
flood of importations will come in during the
period of discussion of the bill" and that the
government will suffer from a loss Of revenue.
OF course, there is little probability of the
resolutions being passed. 1t may not get
through the lower house. but if it does, 1t
has little chance Of surviving in the senate
or even of getting out of the committee there,
but its Introduction and consideration by the
house serves to show that some of our "best
minds often suffer from the intolerable
heat at the eastern end of Pennsylvania
avenue.