The New York herald., 1922-11-06
DR.. Copelands Tariff Errors.

III. SOPCAduo oihA LIIOiSs
Senator CALDER, Republican candi-
date for reelection, has not had much
difficulty in showing what a lot DR..
COPELAND, his Democratic opponent,
does not know about the tariff.
DR.. COPELAND, for instance, has
talked to the voters about the in
creased price of shoes because Of the
tariff. But, as a matter Of fact, as
Senator CALDER informs DR.. COPE
LAND. there is no duty on shoes and
there is no duty on hides and leather.
THE New YORK HERALD, along with
other strong believers in the protec-
tive tariff principle, fought such pro-
posed duties vigorously and success
fully because they would have been
in conflict with the traditional Amer
lean tariff system itself and in def
ance of the laws of sound economics.
So those proposed duties fell.
DR.. COPELAND also has been talking
to the voters about the duties on
building material to increase the cost
Of housing construction. But again,
as a matter Of fact, all rough lumber,
such as timber, joists, &C., is adj
mitted free, although there is duty,
as there was in the Underwood tariff,
on such finished lumber as doors
and trim, very little of which is i'm
ported anyhow.
Furthermore, there was a duty on
brick in the Underwood tariff, but
there is no duty on brick now, as
DR.. COPELAND would have known if
he had known much of anything
about the tariff.
DR.. COPELAND also has been talking
to the voters about the duty on sugar
and has been blaming Senator CALDER
for the new, duty of LA cents a
pound on sugar, as against the old
duty of 1.60 cents pound. Again, as
a matter of fact, Senator CALDER tried
to reduce the duty to lao cents a
pound, which would have been notice
ably lower than even the Democratic
Underwood duty. When Senator CAL.
DER's proposed reduction was de-
feated in the Finance Committee he
then fought for a duty of 1.50 cents
pound. When that proposal was
defeated he fought for the retention
of the Underwood duty of 1.60 cents
a pound, and he got that through.
But in the Senate, acting as whole
on the sugar schedule, a motion
was made to raise the rate to liza
cents a pound. 1t was carried. bnt
it was carried by majority of only
one vote, and among the votes that
carried it were those of eight Demo-
cratic Senators.
If these eight Democratic Senators
had stood out against the sugar tariff
increase, along with Senator CALDER
and other Republicans who were con-
tending against higher rate than
the old Democratic Underwood rate
there would have been no increase at
all. But the Democratic Senators put
the increased rate over. If DR..
COPELAND had known much Of any
thing about the sugar tariff legisla-
tion he could not honestly have
blamed Senator CALDER for the thing
about which Democratic Senators are
to blame. But probably he didn't
tbf,,1 a hnt,f
The faults of the Fordney-McCum-
Der tariff are well understood and
candidly acknowledged by enlight-
ened Republicans and by all SEN
sible advocates OF the protective
tariff principle. Those faults would
have been vastly more serious than
they now are IL President HARDING
had not insisted on having put into
the measure the provision under
which he is empowered to revise, by
executive order, rates that are found
to be wrong. Under that provision
the capacity for mischief of the ex-
treme schedules is very much re-
strained.
But none of that Is the point,
so far as DIR. COPELAND is concerned.
The point in DR.. CoPELAND's case is
that he has been talking to the voters
about specific tariff rates and partic-
ular tariff conditions when he did not
know what he was talking about. This
is not the kind of public representa-
tive the voters of the State of New
York could put in the United States
Senate TO the advantage of New York
or to the advantage of the country in
place of Senator CALDER, the trained
business man and experienced ma
tional legislator, who understands
what the job ahead of him is before
he sets out to explain it, much less to
perform it.
Light on the South Sea Islands.