, 1922-10-12

continuous and persistent critics of
the provisions Of the Underwood Tar
lff Bill. Champ Clark declared that
Mr.. Mondell made POO speeches in the
House on that bill. That is probably
something of nm eXaggeration, but ut
any rate he made short attacks and
criticisms of specific features of the
legislation, some of which were widely
quoted.
Tariff on Agricultural Products.
Naturally, Mr.. Mondell's activities
in connection with tariff legislation
have been devoted more particularly
to securing proper tariff protection
for the products of the West, and par
ticularly of Wyoming. He persist
emily held the view that the products
of h farm and ranch are as much en-
titled to protection as the products of
the mills and factories, and that such
protection is essential to the welfare
not only of the agricultural and live
stock producers, but to the country as
II whole.
Wool Tariff Clean Content.
Mr.. Mondell has frequently called
attention to the essential character of
wool as n national product; to the i'm
portunce of maintaining the wool in
dustry, and he early came to the con-
clusion that the wool tariff should be
based on the clean or secured wool
content of the fleece, rather than on
the wool in the crease. He was among
those who earnestly urged such Il
change at the time of the adoption of
the Payne Bill, but 1t vas impossible
to secure a clean content provision in
the bill at that time, and, failing | N
A.. NJ ATA,Inn ..rarl M
Of the rate IN the wool in the grease.
Wool in the Fordney Tariff.
When the Committee on Ways and
Means of the House took up for con-
sideration the Fordney Tariff Bill,
now before the Senate, Mr.. Mondell
made it his especial business to urge
u wool rate on the secured wool con-
tent of the fleece and not only dis
cussed the matter with individual
members, but appeared before the
committee and was very largely influ-
entail in securing the adoption of the
secured content tariff basis, which
had been so long and so earnestly de-
sired by all Western wOolgrowers.
Emergency Tariff.
AT the beginning of the first and
special session of the present Congress
MIR. Mondell urged and ave his assist
nee as Floor Leader to the enact
ment of the Emergency Tariff Act,
which protects the basic agricultural
products of the country. Before the
expiration of the period for which the
Emergency Tariff was first enacted
he announced as Floor Leader the eX-
tension of the Emergency Tariff as
one of the essential features of the
party program, and when the Emer-
gency Tariff Bill was in conference
he was largely instrumental in secur-
ing the extension of the Emergency
Act to the time when the new general
tariff would take effect. This extern
sion to the date of the passage of the
new tariff act. whenever that shall be,
was of the utmost Importance and
value TO the agricultural interests of
the country.
The Esch-c ummins Transportation
Act.
Mr.. Mondell. like the great major
ity Of his colleagues, supported he
transportation Act of 1920 which re-
stored the railroads of the country to
private operation and put an end to
the enormous drain to which federal
operation of the railroads had subject
ed the Treasury. Mr.. Mondell did not,
however, approve all of the provisions
of the measure. He particularly did
not approve some of the amendments
made in the Senate after the bill had
reached that body from the House.
Mr.. Mondell particularly opposed
the rate-making provisions of the Sen
ate bill, and especially those provis-
ions which became Section 15-a of the
bill, modifying the rule of rate max
ing. Mr.. Mondell exerted his influ-
ence earnestly for the rejection of
these Senate provisions, as did most of
the House conferees in the confer
ence, but the Senate was very insist
ent, and the best that could be Sc
cured was IA modification of these
provisions.
Mr.. Mondell's judgment in this mat
ter has been abundantly justified by
the opposition that has resulted In
what has enormously come to be
known in certain quarters as the
iguaranty" clause contained in the
proviso TO the third paragraph of Sec
ton 15-a. While Mr.. Mondell has
never been favorable to either this
proviso or the remainder of the para
graph, his objections to them have
been quite different from those Of GER
tain members of the Senate who, hav-
ing supported these provisions when
the bill passed, now attack them on
the ground that they constitute n
guaranty tending to increase freight
rates.
Mr.. Mondell has pointed out that
the so-called guaranty clause is in no
sense II guaranty clause, as proven by
the fact that the rates which have
been established by the Interstate
Commerce Commission under II have
only returned to the railroads an in
come averaging about 3 per cent ON
the value of their property as fixed
by the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion, as compared with 5h named in
the proviso; and from the further
fact that the provisions Of the proviso
actually expired by limitation on the
first of March. 1922. Mr.. Mondell's