Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-21
THE TARIFF BILL.

are coming out IN the senate
tariff debate. It is not strange tina
the republicans want to cut Of
debate and jam the tariff bill
through. In illustration, an item
came up the other day on cash reg
listers. Most of these are made BY
the Dayton (Ohio) Cash Registe'
company. They are on the free lis
now. The new tariff bill puts /;
duty of rs per cent on them. A
democratic senator showed that th'
Dayton company had paid extra
stock dividends of 100 per cent dur
ing a period of five years, beside:
maintaining a regular stock divi'
dend of III per cent. Evidently
they are making plenty Of profit or
a free trade basis. During the
course of the discussion Senator
Willis of Ohio, declared that the
president of the Dayton Cash Reg.
lister company had told him that
they did not need any protection
and were willing to have cash reg
listers remain on the free list. In
spite of this showing the senate by
a small majority voted to put a rs
per cent ad valorem duty on cash
registers. Why?
When Oscar Underwood of Ala
bama, was in the house of repre-
sentatives he built up a great repu-
tation as an expert on the tariff;
he became chairman Of the commit
tee on ways and means and his
name became fastened on the tariff
law which his committee compiled
and put through the house. Under
that tb- country enjoyed
the greatest p. sperity it ever
knew, and it remained for the greed
of American manufacturers to find
fault with the law. Mr.. Underwood
is now the democratic leader in the
senate. He has written for the
New York Times, the greatest
democratic newspaper Of this time,
a long article on the proposed tariff
law now before the senate. Space
forbids its use in full, but here are
some of the most pertinent para
graphs:
Il have always opposed in prin-
ciple the theory Of protection, and
have leaned strongly to the idea
that customs taxation should be
levied primarily in the interest of
revenue for the government, and
that all rates of taxation should be
so adjusted as to allow a reasonable
inflow of goods from abroad in
order that the custom house might
have an opportunity to take its toll
as they passed through and some
degree of competition might be
established. I have never contend
ed that, in the interest Of a reve-
nue. tariff, it is necessary to bring
about destructive competition, but
a tariff that fixes the rates of taxa
ton so high as to practically pro-
hibit foreign goods from entering
the American market at all has
been abhorrent to my ideas of the
proper use of the taxing power of
the congress of the United States
There are some few low rates in
the pending bill. There are some
articles on the free list. But, TAX
ing it all in all, it is undoubtedly
the most %prohibitive tariff bill that
has yer been proposed in the
American congress, and the rates Of
taxation are higher and less de-
feasible than any that have ever
been presented to us in the past.
It looks as if those charged with
the responsibility of writing the
bill have accepted unqualifi .dly the
rates proposed by the special inter
ests desiring protection and have
not given consideration to the re-
sultant effect on the general bust
ness of the country or the burdens
that must be borne by the consum-
ers of America. Should the bill be-
come a law, the American people
will find this out in time, but it
will be after they have paid the
price Of the experiment.
THE democratic party is often
charged with being a free trade
party. So far as / know from the be-
ginning of the democratic party it
has never abandoned the system Of
raising taxes at the custom house.