Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-11
NO CLOTURE IN SENATE

l to shut off all debate in the
senate and jam the tariff bill
through the senate as was done in
the hause has failed. They lacked
nine of the two-thirds majority
needed to enforce the cloture. The
tariff debate will 90 on. 1t is hard
to say when it will be finished and
the senate adjourned. The con
gress which in March was talking
of adjourning in May, in July is
talking Of the possibility of ad-
journing in August, while the coun-
try sweats under the uncertainty
of how great will be the burden
of new taxation piled up by the
Fordney bill when it finally be-
comes a law. The best statisticians
who have brought their pencils to
bear on the problems are of the
opinion that for every dollar taken
from the purse Of the average citi-
zen under the present 'U~nderwood)
tariff law, the new bill will take
something like $3.50, as compared
with about $3.65 under the Payne
Aldrich. Democrats cried out
against the exactions of the last
named law and repealed it with the
Underwood law. which was highly
satisfactory to all except those re-
publican New England and Pitts
burgh tariff barons who grow rich
out of such legislation.
With the republicans the whole
tariff scheme is a vicious circle,
and once having adopted the sys-
tenn they seem unable to escape
from it. Here is the way it has
worked: The tariff barons put up
the campaign funds which enable
the party to win and then proceed,
like Shylock, to collect their pound
of flesh; their demand takes the
form Of higher tariff legislation;
after a prolonged struggle in con-
gress they get it, w%hereupon the
people throw the republican party
out of power. Following the en-
actrnent of the Mckinley bill they
were cleaned out, boots and breech-
es; following the Dingley bill, 1t
took the Spanish war to save the
house of representatives, and that
only saved it by a narrow squeeze;
after the Payne-Aldrich bill they
were again kicked out, whereupon
the democrats enacted the Under
wood revenue-tariff bill-a bill
designed to produce the greatest
amount of revenue for the treasury
with the least burden on the public.
The democrats remained in power
for years after its enactment and
lost control only through the great
wave of political hysteria which
followed the war. The passing of
that wave has been more and more
in evidence of recent months, and
a return to normal thinking threat
ems to sweep the republicans out of
the house in the coming November
election. Almost every day comes
the news of some republican mem
Der who finds that his business
engagements make it impossible
for him TO again be a candidate for
congress-" Among the latest are
Fordney and Winslow, both rich
manufacturers who are seeing en-
acted into law those tariff provi-
sions which will still further en-
rich them. They seem to be among
those wise ones who quit while
quitting is good.
The belief has been expressed
that Oscar Underwood of Alabama
is the best authority in the country
on the tariff; listen to what he
says in the New York Times about
INC llOll anu SLICl oNilCddiS "a kIlS
new tariff bill:
Consider the paragraphs in the
pending bill that relate to iron and
steel sheet plates. They consti-
tute the basic material Of which
plows are made, the basic material
in the manufacture of wagons, the
basic material out of which ships
are constructed. the basic material
out of which are built freight cars
for carrying the commodities of
the country to market, the basic
material for almost everything
found in the blacksmith shop and
so on. On these commodities the
schedule is built. And under this
bill the rates on iron and steel
plates have been largely increased.
In 1920 we produced in the United
States plates and sheets totaling
e,337,680 gross tons. We imported
20 gross tons and exported and sold
in the markets Of the world more