The New York herald., 1922-09-15
FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER l5. 1922.
The Congress Tariff Revolt.


The action of the 102 House Re-
publicans who joined with Demo
cratic members on Wednesday to re-
ject the joint conference committee
agreement on the Fordney McCumber
tariff by the overwhelming vote of
1T to 130 was as creditable to them
as it was dumfounding to the House
leaders.
II Is true that the House uprising
was directed against the conference
report chiefly because of the dye
stuffs embargo and the duty on pot
ash. and that the measure was sent
back to the conference committee
with the specific instructions to re-
move these two Objectionable features.
Nevertheless, the spirit and the deed
of the aroused Republican members
gave fine example of intelligent and
independent refusal to bend the knee
to the machine lash.
And what took place in the House
of Representatives in regard to the
obstinate, arbitrary course of the
majority leaders and their proxies
on the joint conference committee
seems to indicate that the rank and
file membership OF Congress has sin
cerely believed that 1t was pledged
to the American voters to enact
CHER tariff duties while not intend
ing to foster economic outrages and
tariff monstrosities. One can under
stand how. anxious they would be
to fulfill their pledges. But merely
fulfilling pledges to revise the tariff
isn't good enough. They must be
fulfilled sanely and safely.
The fact that scores Of mem
bers could rise in revolt against
the particular tariff provisions which
the House has commanded the
conference committee to cut out.
without realizing that the sugar
duties, the wool duties, the glove
duties and still others are alike
indefensible and dangerous, still
leaves a great deal to be done with
the Fordney- -McCumber tariff abomi-
nation before it can be justified be-
fore the American people as sound
or even a safe creation of legislative
craftsmanship. That is evident. But
IL clear seeing and courageous
members can distinguish some Of
the ubiquitous features Of the meas
ure and, seeing them. utterly reject
them, why can they not appreciate
that others into which they have not
looked so carefully may be just as
bad and just as insufferable? They
ought not to allow the measure to go
to the country until they have care
fully looked into every one of its i'm
portant provisions.
Why don't the better intelligence
and the stouter courage of the House
and of the Senate come out frankly
and say to the American public that
they have tried to keep the pledges
they made for tariff revision but that
they cannot in conscience and In de-
cency put in force the grossly imper-
feet tariff measure thus far pro-
duced? Why don't they go before the
national voters in the Congress elec-
tions with the avowed and explicit
promise OF returning to the tariff
revision work after election to do a
better job with IL at the earliest pos
sible moment?
They cannot fear, nobody can fear,
that little more tariff delay could
seriously injure any important part
OF American industry when every
body knows that through all the de-
lay which already has occurred the
country's industrial business and en-
ployment conditions have steadily
improved They cannot question that
some wages already high are going
higher and some prices already high
are going higher. They cannot ques-
tion that II 1t had not been for the
coal and the railroad strikes the
country right now, without tariff re-
vision, would be riding on the crest
OF boom.
They cannot doubt that II the coun-
try has done so well, gained SO much
headway and approached such larger
promise without any Fordney-Mc-
Cumber tariff provisions. bad or good,
IL can do better. much better, with a
carefully worked out tariff about
which economists, business men and
4 <the public have no doubts and fears.
>rhey cannot ignore the chance that
\he country, now so well started to-
ard prosperity without tariff reyi-
pm, may go on the rocks under p}s