Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-04
AS ONE WOMAN SEES IT
The Matter Of a Tariff Schedule, "
Would Appear, Is Not Wholly un'
connected With German Com.
mercial Guile
by SARAH LOWRIE


merciai Guile
81. by SARAH u. LOWRIE ".
A NEAR ncshbor of mine has been
"A much in Washington this year in con-
shltntion with the committee of the Senate
that has the duty Of drawing up the tarih
schedules. No doubt his interests have made
his interest worth while in the matter OF at
least one of the commodities involved on that
schedule but he would be as nearly judicial
even with regard to that as II is possible Tor
man born with conservative mind to at,
tain. He has struck me as more harnssed
than honored by the responsibility of acting
as adviser. lately especially. II appears
from the fragments he let's fall that since
Pcnrose's death there has been no COM
manding voice that could be relied upon to
abide by convictions through the thick or
thin Of conflicting pressures.
Smoot seemed person OF cacuiable
qualities, one with his ear not to the ground
nor his head certainly in the stars. who
having made up his mind abided by the de-
cision until lately. Lately he has shown
signs of reconsidering debatable matters that
PcnrOse would have considered closed. The
junior Senator from Connecticut has certain
qualities Of leadership-tbat is. of knowing
his own mind-but he does not override as
PenrOse used to, or MS Smoot was judged
by some as willing and as able to do. The
consequence is that those Senator's most in
vOlved In the preliminnres of the affair
show tendency to doubt their own de-
cisions apparently in manner disconcerting
to such expert advisers as my ncighbor, who
supposed the long preliminary debates had
at least won united committee front.
OF COURSE evcrything-even the !ool
Oschedule in the report of that Tariff Com
mittee-must have been the result of COM
promises. A gigantic attempt to find the
least common multiple or the greatest COM
mon divisor How disconcerting then when
the very men for whom the compromise was
made-how disconcerting to have them want
TO do the whole calculation over again with
dozen or so more conflicting factors! The
hesitancy is not apparently sporadic. There
appears to be pretty general funk. Those
who were presumably responsible for the de-
csions on the documents to be submitted to
the Senate seem uncertain whether or not to
diSavow conviction on various clauses. 1t
has been suggested. so l learn from my
neighbor and adviser. that there has been
some disntegrating influence at work. 1t
is not wholly popular clamor. for popular
clamor has not yet been able to make itself
heard in a unanimous way, let alone in an
intelligent way. My neighbor muttered
something about German influence. and left
it at that He was noncomittal as to his
belief in that nightmare left over from the
war. And indeed when some of the group
openly scoffed ut the idea of Juggling in that
wcl-worn chmcra. he made no effort to cite
his proofs. If he had them. thought he
came ns near to it perhaps as he was able
when he threw out the question:
well. then. they would interfere II it
was to their advantage, wouldn't they!'
TT HAPPENED that a day or two later l
i was talking to an American who has
lived in Italy many years and who has lately
built house there And he told me an in.
teresting fact regarding the German suprem.
acy in trade in 1tnly which they re-estab.
lished soon after the peace was signed. They
re established it with quick manipulation
of their resources and with a schedule of
procedure that seems to mark all their busi-
ness ventures when they are out to capture
goods They place their goods at market.
able points in the country of their trade
ADOPTION and for anywhere from six months
to two years they sell their goods SO greatly
under cost price that it is impossible for
native manufacturers to compete with them
without an entire readiustment Of capital
Italy directly after the war had no capital
for this waiting game Apparently Ger
many had. My American Italian friend.
gave Inc this one instance by way of illus
tration. He was asked by n retail hardware
man in Rome to translate German letter
for him received that morning concerning
consignment of bathroom fixtures that had
been shipped TO him from Germany. He was
told in the letter to sell at such and such
price for such and such n time and then to
10 up on the price until such time when
he was to retail at not less than 100 per
cent more than the init price.
My friend the American italian. thought
that he must have misread the figures. But
the other explained that doubling the present
prices of German fixtures sold in Italy would
bring the goods to about what the Italians
could manufacture and sell the goods for
with any profit. The present. figures
being absurd, he quoted the prices for bath
tubs and stationary washstands and said
that it was tantamount to their being given
away by the German importers. My friend
went Immediately and laid in stock of
material-enOugh for six bathrooms. a laun-
dry, etc., for the new house that he meant
to build in q year or so. lie got the whole
six for less than the present market price for
one set would be today. And he watched
the prices slowly rise. 10, %. 30 and the
100 per cent just rs the schedule had been
arranged. But before they had arrived at a
par with the prevailing Italian prices the
Germans had practically captured the mar
kct and reaped the benefit of all the after
war rebuilding and new ventures.
CSTRATEGICALLY. their hitting upon
- plumbers supplies was a clever. we'll
studied move, because the American invasion
of Europe, especially the American soldier in
Europe, had made that long endured lack a
paramount want.
Evidently if our tariff schedule was such
as to make made, in Germany ar isles msn "ss
of Germany could at least be expected TO
| be on the spot to hinder the bill not directly
SO as to put the Senators on their guard but
| indirectly and with an entire good conscience
| for all concerned. And Germany would NOT
| he alone in that endeavOr. though thanks to
! her business ability she might be first on the
! SPOT 1t strikes one that in our tariff "parlOr
chats those of US who do not know schedule
1 Ill 4,