The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1921-02-05
TURNIP OR
TURBOT

1t is related of a dyspeptic Roman
emperor that he unseasonably de-
manded of his chef that he be served
with a certain very rare fish. since
perial palate, he took large turnip
carved it in oisciform, and cooked 1t
and sauced it with consumate skill
that the august one smacked his
lips in ecstasy over the dish, conyin-
ced that his order had been obeyed.
There is a certain species of the
genus free trader to be found in and
out of Congress, its chief habitat in
the South, which has somewhat ar
rogantly made similar remand on
the Republicans concerning the tar
If. This element appears willing to
swallow high tariff, but insists that
1t be served up in the form of rev.
enue tariff since it can not stomach
the word protection" A revenue tar
iff seasoned with a 20 per cent aver
age al valorem will be acceptable, but
protective tariff sauced with 20 per
cent ad volorem would gag these can
tankerous Bourbons, so the Republi-
can party had best beware.
But the Republican party, with a
mandate from the people and a fat
majority in both Houses of Congress
is not worrying about the free traders
demand. They are going right ahead
with the preparation of tariff bill
regardless of Democratic shrieks of
retaliation" dire prophesies of in
dustrial destruction or the fastro
nomic peevishness of the Wilson deci-
pies. As Chairman Fordney of the
Ways and Means Committee, tersely
puts it:
I'VE stand on our declaration. 1t is
our plan to frame new tariff and we
are going to do it. The exchange sit
uation, of course, presents difficulties
but we think those can be surmount
ed"
Meanwhile, these dyspeptic free
traders see the ground slipping from
under their feet. On January 81, 28
and 20 the governors of seventeen
southern states, state officials from
all parts of the south and represen
tatives of every line of productive
southern industry gathered in Allan
ia, Georgia, for the second meeting of
the Southern Tariff Congress, at
which time tariff schedules as they
affect southern industry were dis
cussed Former Governor Cats, of
Florida, in accepting the invitation to
attend, said: IF we are to have a
tariff at all l want some beneficial
results to accrue to our people Of the
south, and l am therefore strongly
in favor of a tariff on southern pro-
ducts and manufactured goods Gov
ernor Cooper. of South Carolina, the
state of those redoubtable old free
traders, Hayne and Calhoun, writes:
Il want to hear the leading minds of
both parties discuss this all import
ant subject and feel that the Atlanta
meeting will be of great benefit to the
productive industries of the South.
The world does move!
So thorough will be the pending
tariff revision that the bill will prob
ably not receive the signature of War
rem G. Harding before October of next
year, or exactly eight years after the
passage of the destructive Wilson
Underwood law. The Republicans will
vote ON it as protective tariff, while
many Democrats are expected to vote
for it, saving their faces by clubbing
it tariff for more revenue. They
will eat of the onion and call 1t an
orange. The turnip will be good tur-
bot. American industries in all sec
tions will swear fealty to protection
and so far as it is humanity possible
the tariff issue will be removed from
politics during the Harding regime
There will always be an element rep
resenting foreign interests, the i'm
porters, and those Manchesterians
who are more concerned with export
than with import. who will continue
to decry the protective principle, but
with the south coming into the pro-
tective fold the century old debate be-
tween protectionist and free trader
will simmer down to an academic dis
o,,ooion