The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-08-12
That Is Purpose of Hard
ing's Proposal Regarding
Present Tariff Bill
DELEGATION OF
POWER is COMMON
That Would Dispose of Constitutional
Question In Matter-Executive Could
Rectify Tariff Mistakes Without Any
Congressional Debate.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch to The Reformer
Copyright 1922.

message to congress that he be given |
authority to increase or decrease tariff |
duties so as to meet changing economic |
conditions has come up at last.
While objections galore are being
voiced on the theory that congress should
not delegate its powers, the plain truth
of the matter is that the executive pro-
vision is the cure for such bad features
Of the Fordney bill as are admittedly
contained in the bill as il stands today
and as it will be passed
IF the Fordney bill is bad in spots,
the flexible provisions will correct it. I"
is what the Republican leaders will be
able to say in the coming congressional
campaign 1t will be contended that in
such big piece of legislation mistakes
will creep in but that unlike other tar
if bills whose defects cannot be imme-
dlately cured without a prolonged debate
in congress the machinery viii have
been provided for revision by the presi
dent on advice of the tariff commission.
Mr.. Harding would have the power to
proclaim new duties on go days notice.
VIII Start Fight in Courts
The constitutional lawyers in the sen
ate are already at odds over such law
and unquestionably, some day there will
be law suit over changed duty in
some industry and the principle will be
settled once for all. The trend of dec-
SiOns of the supreme court of the United
States in the last generation has been
IN savor of delegation of power to COM
mission. Perhaps the most notable ex-
ample was the grant by congress to the
interstate commerce commission to regu-
late railroad rates. This law was bit
| terly contested but its constitutionality
was finally upheld
Nothing more conspicuous, however.
has come up than the income tax laws
which establish broad principles but
which permit an ecutive department
of the government full powers in inter
preting the law. This hexibility is such
that the treasury department can auto
matically by the simple issuance of a
ruling increase or diminish the amount
of taxes received by the government
without asking further consent from con
gress.
Thus congress has on more than one
occasion permitted an executive depart
ment to regulate the amount of income
received by the government and those
who favor the flexible tariff provisions
point out that there is essentially no
difference between a delegation of the in
terpretive power under the income tax
laws and the change of rates on Imports
when costs of production have varied
since law was passed.
Congress Can Repeal.
But the press is safeguarded by the
fact that congress can Mt any time repeal
the provision and take away from the
President the power TO change tariff
duties. 1t is not as if congress were per-
manently giving away one of its consti-
tutional powers. 1t is conceivable that
some day the president will proclaim a
rate which will be obnoxious to certain
aections of the country and bill would
be proposed TO make that particular Gus
toms duty exempt from the power of the
| executive. But such a bill would have
| to go through congress as an isolated
| proposition and would stand or fall on
| it's merits without the collateral support
| which senator's get for their pet meas
ures when they can trade their own sup
| port for something else, in a large tariff
| bill
| Again the president would have veto
| power over such an isolated tariff
| amendment and it would require two
thirds to force a change in presidential
/ attitude toward the rate in question.
i Tariff changes would then become the
! wish of two-thirds of congress after CON
| centrated attention on a specific queS-
| ton which is in marked contrast to the
haSty and necessarily superficial consid-
/ Grafton given the ten thousand and one
/ different items in a major tariff bill
Senator Walsh. Democrat, of Mon
| tana. in the senate debate on the finance
committees amendment on a flexible tar
| iff. seemed to think that the principal
danger would be this:
/ AN INSCRIPTIONS political leader.
presumed to have some influence in the
White House, particularly if the incum-
| bent were candidate for rejection would
find in a law of this character CON
venient instrument for fat-frying pur-
! poses. and resources of such rich posi-
bilities no campaign manager ever com
manded in this or any other country
Under the present system n group of
politicians get together and trade votes
i and fix up rates to suit themselves. Sec
tiOnaliSm and special privilege have an
enormous influence on the making of the
bill which when it comes TO the executive
is so complicated that he must accept the
good with the bad and sign the whole
thing rather than reject it all in order
TO cure a specific fault Similarly mem
| bers of congress have made excuses to
| their constituencies year after year by
| saying that they did not dare to vote
i against the whole bill even though they
disapproved of portions of it.
i Could Meet Campaign Arguments.
There is no doubt that Mr.. Walsh has
! suggested a possibility but measured
| alongside the present system it makes
/ the choice between two evils an easy one
in the opinion of the champions of the
| measure.
President Harding didn't like the last
revenue law passed but had to swallow
| it though he promised he would ask
congress for a revision some day He
| knows in advance that the Fordney-
McCumber tariff law will be picked to
pieces in the coming campaign and all
sorts of inequities revealed His strategy
Is to anticipate dissatisfaction by putting
the remedy in the tariff bill itself
namely, automatic revision by the execu-
tive with the advice of the tariff COM
mission
As for the constitutiona1ity DOGGY it
will not get very far unless senators
have some other reason for wanting to
see the flexible tariff provision killed.
Congress in the last 20 years has got
ten so much in the habit of delegafing
power to the executive which really be-
longed to congress that the obstacle of