The New York herald., 1922-06-24

RIDICULES GERMAN
MENACE IN TARIFF
Hitchcock Says Bill Is Based
on q Foolish Fear of =
Competition.
DENIES DANGER EXISTS
Leads All Day Attack on the
Measure, Putting It's
Friends on Defense.
DENIES DANGER EXISTS
'peciar Dispatch to THE New York H.ALD.

New York Herald Bureau.
Washington. ID. c.. June 90.
Senator Hitchcock (Dem.. Neb.)
charged in the Senate to-day that the
Fordney -Mccumber tariff, bill is aimed
directly at Germany ON the foolish
| idea" of It's trainers that American in
dustry is threatened with disastrous
German competition. He led what de-
veioped into an all day attack on the
bill. while It's sponsors were continu-
ally on the defensive and even required
at times to retract statements they had
put forward in previous debate to justify
the high and unscientific rates proposed
Mr., Hitchcock said that Germany to-
day is buying four times as much from
the United States as the United States
Is buying from Germany. German ex-
ports Co all the world are only a third
of what they were before the war, he
added. Furthermore, German wages.
now admittedly low, are on the increase.
which will add to the cost Of production.
while wages in the United States are
receding TO pre-war level.
"All the evidence that has been
brought in here by Senator McCumber
and Senator Watson of Indiana" Senator
Hitchcock said. "the bird cages, the
shotguns. the hair curriers' and other
knicknacks which they have shown have
come into this country and been sold at
American prices completely disproves
the argument that our industries are
in any danger from the 'pauper labor of
Europe They have disproven their
own case by this fantastic display Of
ridiculous imporiatiors.'
Forces Watson to Back Down.
Senator Jones (N. NJ forced Senator
Watson (nd.) to bacn down on a state
ment that he had put into the Record to
prove the value of labor in the United
States and In foreign countries in an
effort to justify the high rates of the
tariff bill on the ground that American
labor costs were great. Mr.. Watson's
statement had been that an ounce OF
gold would pay for 1922 hours Of Ameri-
can labor while it would pay for 201.GG
hours Of German labor.
Senator Jones challenged the accuracy
Of Senator Watson's statement, which
had been that'the American figures had
been derived after a study Of five key in
dustres in the United States. He said
an ounce of gold was worth $20.67, and
at that rate American labor was re-
ceiving s1.25 an hour.
"Does the Senator stand by the state
flcUt lIldt <AiIlSflCdu ldDO't WniCu tiiiS
bill Is trying TO protect from foreign
competition, Is receiving $1.25 an hour?"
Senator Jones demanded
THAT would be-" interposed Senator
Walsh (Mass.) ION the basis Of an eight
hour day total Of $40 day am surs
that $40 week is nearer the rate that
Is paid in the factories"
Senator Watson slxirmlshed with Sem
ator Jones over this statement and when
for "A a. IN
1.-THE statement had been made in the
British Parliament and passed along
through the United States Tariff Com
mission. Mr.. Watson admitted finally
that he did not know whether the as
sertion was correct, and Senator Jones
made strong point that Mrs Watson
had tried to represent the rate as typical
of the pay received by American labor In
competition with foreign labor.
Votes for Cut on Chains.
Wrangling of this character marked
the entire day, and the only progress
made on the bill was on the single item
of chains. when the Senate voted to
adopt the committee recommends tons.
brought i'm several days ago, reducing
the rates slightly from the rates pro-
posed originally in the Senate bill. Tie
rates, which are complex, were cut from
4 cents a pound TO cents a pound and
the ad valorem duty was established ct
45 per cent. 1t was the first vote the Sem
ate has taken on any item in the tariff
bill for eight days.
This is just as good a place as any
Senator Hitchcock said when the tariff
debate began, Ito call attention to the
preposterous character of some of the
proposed tariffs and to kill the bugaboo
of future German competition That
bugaboo is held before the American
people and before Senators to induce
them TO approve the great increases in
the tariff.
II want 90 show that we are not hav-
ing any disastrous German competition
and that we are not likely to have any
In the future. The fact is that at the
present time Germany IL buying from MS
four times as much as we are buying
from Germany. The fact is that at
present the imports from Germany
amount to $77,O00.00O a year and our
exports to Germany to over $3.50, 100000
a year. We are importing from Ger
many at present less than half of what
we did before the war. Before the war
we sent one-thjrd of all our exports TO
Germany and we imported from Ger
many one-ninth of all our imports.
Cites Drop in German Exports.
\ Before the war Germany exported an
average of over 100000 tons a month.
Now she exports an average of 1000, 900
tons a month. Her exports to all the
world are only one-third of what they
We're before the war.
THE fact is that the German. Gov
ernment has practically bankrupted it.
self by paying subsidies to keep down
the cost of living for labor and she has
reached the point where she must with
draw those subsidies and where conse-
quently wages I'm Germany ara bound
to rise She has already begun. Ger
man wages are rising now. as the official
reports 20 the United States show. Every
strike in Germany has been TO advance
wages. Wages are rising month by
! month almost, so that while they have
not kept pace with the fall OF the Ger
man mark, the German mark has ceased
! to fall and wages are still rising"
Senator Lodge declared that the Ger
man mark had fallen In value faster
than wages had risen In Germany, to
which Senator Hitchcock said that II
Germany Intended to flood the United
gtataa with irpnrta -fF wotrId ba va heor