Evening star., 1921-02-20
FORDNEY TARIFF
PASSED IN HOUSE
AFTER WRANGLE
Bitter Debate Precedes Send
ing Emergency Measure to
| Conference Committee.

After bitter fight in the House
yesterday, supporters of the Fordne.
emergency tariff bill by vote OF
1870 to 132. sent that measure to con.
ference for thrashing out of the diff.
ferences between the House and
Senate. The debate preliminary to this
action was decidedly "scrappy." Rep.
resentative Luce. republican of Mass.
achusetts, the leader for the New
England opposition, and Representa-
tive Simeon D. Fess. republican. OF
Ohio, had a face to face word duel
over the tariff policy, thrusting a,
each other with incisive charges and
counter charges. Representative r
Walton Moore, democrat. of Virginia
and Representative Green. republican
of Iowa. in charge of the measure
had a similar clash.
The House conferees named were
Chairman Fordney of the ways and
means committee and Representa- tives
Green of Iowa and Longworth of Ohio
republicans and H. T. Rainey. Illinois
and Hull. Tennessee, democrats The
House and Senate conference commit
tees expect to meet Monday upon the
return of Mr.. Fordney from his visit to
President-elect Harding at St Angus.
tine.
New England Opposed.
The New England representative.
stood almost solidly against sending the
bill to conference, contending that ac-
ton by the Senate had taken care oi
all sections of the country except their
own.
The twenty odd amendments tackled
on by the Senate will be discussed in
the conference tomorrow upon the re-
turn of Chairman Fordney of the House
ways and means committee from his
visit to President-elect Harding at St
Augustine. Although opponents of the
bill were prepared for battle in the
conference, the majority leaders hinted
they would attempt to shove the bill
through and take it back to the House
in the form in which it passed the
Senate.
Opponents of the tariff had en-
ployed every parliamentary maneuver
at their command to tie it up in the
last forty eight hours, but they went
down to defeat before the superior
numbers on the republican side of the
House. They believe, however. that
several opportunities yet remain to
sidetrack the measure. House demo-
cratic leaders were understood to
have appealed to some of the demo-
cratic senator's to help them in solid
flying their lines.
Debate is Bitter.
porters of the bill sought to send il
to conference and opponents tried to
force reference to the ways and
means committee. developed little new
argument. There was. however, more
use by opponents of the claim that
the tariff would mean a higher cost
of living. Supporters defended en-
tirely on the plea that the farmers
must have speedy relief.
Enactment of the Fordney emer-
gency tariff bill would constitute a
suicidal blow" at American COM
merce. Edwin F. Sweet, assistant Sec
retary of commerce, declared in a
statement yesterday
If the measure becomes law. Mr.
Sweet said, retaliatory tariffs are
certain to be imposed by all the more
important countries. including Can
ada and many of the South American
states.
Nothing could be more disastrous
at this time than such a law" the
secretary declared. Instead of
bringing relief to farmers of the
country. it will increase the cost of
living to every one and in the end
react against the farmers by cut
ting off foreign markets for Ameri-
can products, which are the present
backbone of the farm industry.
1T is folly to imagine We are self
sufficient enough to get along with
out foreign trade and nothing short
of criminal to cut off the commerce,
with South American
countries, built up during the war.
Because American goods are bet
ter in quality than those sold in
South America before the war. Amer
ican merchants have been able thus
far to retain the trade. despite the
handicap of having to utilize foreign
ships for transport. But We cannot
f1atter ourselves that those countries
will continue to buy American goods
if we ban their products from our
shores"