The Republican journal., 1921-12-15
THE TARIFF.

According to the censi us there were
.289, 768 manufacturing establishments in
the United States in 1920. These indus
tries had capitalization of little more
than "A billion dollars, employed more
than million persons, and the value of
their manufactures was about 80 billion
dollars. Add to this the value of our
products other than manufactures, and it
will be shown that the total of our pro-
'duction for the year was little more
than 62 billion dollars. OF this enor-
NOUS total we exported Is per cent and
our home market absorbed about 81 per
cent. This shows in brief and approx
mately the value of our home market in
comparison with such foreign markets as
we were able to obtain under the favor
able conditions of last year when our
export trade was greater than ever be-
fore in the history of this country. The
most important duty of Congress at the
present time Is the enactment of sane
tariff law, law which will, to a reason
able extent, safeguard that which is ours
by right of creation, our great home
market.
The tariff question has been a periodi-
cally live topic for more than 1870 years.
Our first tariff enactment was made in
1889 and since then there have been more
than fifty changes or readiustment o.
tariff duties. The tariff will continue to
he live topic from time tb time because
its proper adjustment is of great economic
importance and for the further reason
that owing to continual changes in bust
ness conditions a tariff adapted to the
needs of the country at this or any other
Zine will not be suited to conditions which
may exist five or ten years later. Sew
eral years ago a United States Tariff
Commission was established to study the
tariff problem and to collect data which
would be useful to Congress in making
such reaijustments of tariff duties as
might be advisable. This commission
did a great deal of work |but much of it
is now entirely without value. During
the last three years of 1.-THE world war
tariff laws wero not much needed. Every
body in the United States who had any
1eedful thing to sell could get good
price for it. Business conditions follow
ing the close of the war have been such
that the tariff problem is now more in
vt aD1 tod
before and, in the near future revised
protective tariff will be more needed han
at any time during our national exist
ence.
AS early as the fifth .of last January
the first steps toward j new tariff bill
were taken. Hearings were held by tn :
Ways and Means Committee for about
six weeks. Free traders, protectionists,
importers, manufactures and other n-
terests were given an opportunity to be
heard. A tariff bill was presented in the
House, was debated there for two weeks
and was passed by vote of 288 to 127.
The bill then went to the Senate for
consideration and was there under debate
for about three weeks. There was an
abundance of academic discussion, much
theoretical reasoning and much politics in
she debate. 1t was not possible for the
tariff bill to make real progress and the
AK bill was given the rikht of way.
1t is believed that the Senate will patch
Ip the tariff bill passed by the House last
June and that after lohg wrangle it will
have passage. 1t is no use to inveiqh
against the Underwood Simmons bill. Its
history has been written. The conditions
existing when it was enacted exist nc
longer. 1t has been on the statute books
for about eight years and there is no good
reason for expecting that its successor will
Live half that time.
The next tariff bill will Of necessity be
a temporary measure, because, as MIR
Hays recently said, 'The very basic con
.Giitions on which the tariff is built-ths
cost of manufacturing in various European
countries with relation to our own cost Of
manufacture, and the value of the variou.
European countries with relation to thu
value of our own curreDcy-is at the pres
ent time as huctuating as quicksand"
Strive as it may, Cor gress cannot enact
tariff bill which will in any great degre,
be satisfactory one until deflation il
practically completed and business, do
mestic, foreign and international, is on t
more stable basis.