Pueblo chieftain., 1921-03-28
EMERGENCY TARIFF NEED
ALMOST A THING OF PAST.
Six Months Tariff Of No Value to Growing Crops,
and Most Of the Old Ones Are
Probably Sold

were wasted last winter. is q Light
minded gesture. 1t cannot have, in
April, the same justification it had in
December.
In December the farmers crops were
still in his hand; by the earliest date
in April. when the bill now can be
made a law. all of the old crops, which
the law might have been expected to
protect. will have left the farms and
will be either consumed or in the hands
of dealers. For the new crops now be-
ing planted six months tariff is OBJ
viously of no benefit. However. the
passing OF the measure again does
have one small justification. 1t should
have n beneficial effect on the psychol-
ogy of the farmer. 1t should act as
a sign to him of the intention OF the
new administration to protect To that
extent the farmer may be lifted out
of the intense depression in which he
now Is, and may be moved to recede
from his present intention to limit his
planting and depend on the smallness
OF his crop, rather than on protection,
for getting n good price.
In two respects the Republican lead
ers are quite unaware of what Is ahead
of them; they have no notion of the
difficulty involved in passing the next
tariff law or of the time it will con-
sumo. There are only two Republi-
cans on the present ways and means
committee who ever before served in
the making OF a tariff. They are Long
worth OF Ohio and Fordney OF Michi-
gan. All the others arc new men.
quite unfamiliar with the enormous
time consuming complexities of tariff
making
The new tariff will DO more difficult
to make and will consume moro time
than any other tariff we have ever
had. The new tariff must be made
from the ground up and must be based
on conditions for which there is no pre-
cedcnt. Tho pickering and pulling and
hauling of the enormous number Of
business interests who will insist on
being heard will be far beyond any
last precedent.
Tho Republican program Is. roughly.
to get tho new tariff thru the ways and
means committee in three months. to
get IT thru the house in another month
and to get It thru tho finance COM
mittec OF the Senate. and the Senate
; itself in another four months. Thus l,
| is hoped to be able to finish II before
| the first Of next De,emhar. They car
! only succecd in doing this by neglect
i ing every other subject OF Legislation
and II Is not possible to neglect every
I thing else.
Tho other respect in which the Re
| publican leaders have confidence with
out good ground for II. is their expcc-
.
taxes substantially as they now arc.
Anybody who understands the condi-
tions knows that present income taxes
can no moro be maintained than any
other war time cxpcdicncy can be per-
mancntly maintained in time of peace.
Tho Republican leaders have no un-
derstanding OF the extent to which tho
present income tax Is not an income
tax at all. But as a levy on capital
tho present income tax consumes not
merely income. but also the increase OF
capital Income is like the fruit of
tree. This annual crop tho govern
ment can take. 1t causes hardship but
not necessarily disaster. But incrcas-
ing capital is like the annual growth
of the trunk OF a tree.-the government
can no moro continue to consume the
country's annual increase of capital
than II could cut off and consume each
year that part OF the trunk OF a tree
which constitutes each years growth.
1t can be predicted with complete con-
fidcncc that the Republican leaders
Will he compelled to revise their pre-
sent ideas about the income tax. They
say now that they will not adopt the
alternative OF direct tax on sales be-
cause 1t is unpopular. but sooner or
later some leader will arise among
them who has the courage to disting-
uish between what is sound and what
Is popular.
Copyright. 1921, by the New York
Evening Post, lnc.)