, 1922-09-14
STRANGE VOTES
ON TARIFF BILL
Senator Kendriok, a free Trader
Nationally, Becomes a Pro-
teCti0nist Locally

When the Fordney-McCumber tar
if bill passed the senate last month
the vote was nearly two to one. To
be exact, the vote vas Yeas" AS.
"Nays' Is, Not Voting" 90. OF
the 23 who did not vote. on account
Of absence. or some other cause, IL
would have voted for the bill, if pres
ent and II against it. This would
have made the full vote co for and
26 against.
Only three Democrats were CON
sistently protectionist throughout.
voting for h measure on the final
roll call. They were the two Sen
ators from Louisiana. Broussard and
Ransdell. and kendrick of wyoming.
who is up for reelection. With the
sole exception of Kendrick. a fore
cast made early in June as to how
the Democrats would vote for the
bill was correct.
Some weeks ago Ashurst of Ari-
iona announced that if. in his belief.
the bill was an honest bill he would
vote for it.. He was at that time
splitting the blue empyrean with
speeches for protection on Pima cot
ton. The senate gave that COM
modify 7 cents a pound. Ashurst
wanted twice that much. He also
voted for high protective rates on
other commodities, in the majority of
instances for higher protection than
the senate conceded. Finally he
voted against the bill. He will now
attend to his Arizona campaign and
attempt to convince his constituents
that he was a high protectiOnist as
far as their interests were concerned
but the bill was not an honest bill'
nvJ thp nn~cnsor1N ,-H;,1, rratoL1I ~
IS cents a pound on Pima cotton re
coiled from a bill whose general
average ad valorem on all imports
will be about 13 per cent.
On all Texas products Sheppard of
that state voted for the highest pos
sible protection. he also outbidding
the senate on those products. But
when the showdown came he voted
against the bill. There was no limit
to the duties he would exact for pea
nuts. vegetable oils. Angora wool.
rice. etc., but when it came to pro-
tecting the products of other states
he was a tariff chameleon. Helm of
Alabama demanded a prohibitive
duty on graphite. The records do
not show what financial interest he
has in that commodity. 1t is a new
Alabama industry. created by the
late war. which has beer closed down
during the past three years Of COM
petition under Democratic tariff law.
The graphite industry received in
adequate protection from the senate.
but when the final vote came Helm
had switched to the free trade side.
Fletcher and Trammell, Of Flor
Ida, who had been 40 solicitous for
protection to citrus fruits and pine
q r0Inc want ho1ly IN tL1 Hro~ t-Dl1l
camp when the bill was put to a vote.
About the time peanuts were being
discussed in the senate, Swanson OF
Virginia was campaigning for re-
and Virginia is the goober
state. He voted for prohibitive rates
on peanuts. beat Westmoreland Davis
for the nomination. and then voted
against the bill. Jones of New Mex
leo followed in the footsteps of As
and will emulate that nimble
gentleman in his campaign for re-
election. And so it went.
Naturally. congress and the coun-
try have a far greater resnoct for
those Democratic senators who were
and out free traders and went
down with thei flag flying. than they
have for those who carried a Locker
frll of colors from which selection
was made to meet any expediency.
The truth is these Kaleidoscope
knew full we'll the Repub-
licans would pass a bill which pro-
all interests. irrespective of
so they sought the backing
of the importers for reelection as
free traders and Of their immediate
constituents as high-priests of pro-
where the interests of those
constituents were concerned. They
made the tariff a local issue because
by caliher they are local office :
holders,