The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-14
SIDETRACKING
OF TARIFF BILL
NOT EXPECTED
Senate to Revise Schedules,
Then Pass the Bill Re
vision of Duties is Forced
Downward.
VOTE NOT YET IN SIGHT
BY MARK SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON, July 14.-Early this
week your correspondent stated that
the proposal to postpone consideration
of the tariff bill until the indefinite
future, had not received any support
among Republican senators. It was
stated that, while the suggestion has
been made by Republican leaders dis
tant from Washington, and by bust
ness men whose suggestions are COM
monty taken seriously by the Republi-
cans, it has not received any atten-
ton within the senate. That state
ment is no longer true.
A few senators who are regulation
party men have turned a kindly ear
TO the suggestion. Nevertheless, the
number is small and 1t is still a fact
that there is no probability whatever
of this suggestion being acted upon.
The attitude of the Republican lead
ers and nine out of ten of the Repub
lican senators is that, having gone so
far as they have with the tariff bill,
they should now go on to the end,
and that to stop now would make the
whole tariff performance seem so fu-
tile that it would add greatly to the
adverse judgment from which con-
gress and the party already are suf-
fering.
VIII Bring Pressure
What is more likely to happen Is
that a group of what may be called
"middle-of-the-road" Republican SEN
ators will bring pressure to bear to
make considerable reductions in the
schedules as they now stand and 9th
erwise to make the bill more accept
able to the country than it was in the
form in which the senate finance COM
mittee, under the leadership of Mr..
McCumber, introduced it.
From now on the country may ex-
pect to see a steady and successful
pressure on the part of this group of
senators to make the rate lower and
the bill altogether more reasonable.
AS a result it may be expected that
the bill will be pushed forward to 4
vote as rapidly as is consistent with
normal opportunity for debate on the
part of the Democrats.
Result of Pressure
This result is the first response OF
the senate to interest shown by the
public throughout the country in the
tariff discussion. Up to very recently
country to the tariff discussion has
been indifference. The public has not
seemed to take the bill seriously and
has shown less interest in it than in
any previous tariff at the same stage
of development.
Some persons account for this on
the ground that the public rarely does
get interested in any tariff bill until
dpJ1
cussion. It is difficult to explain why
this should be so, but persons with
long memories say it is the wool
schedule which brings popular inter
est in tariff bill to its height. Ir
the debate on the present tariff il
will be some days yet before wool is
reached. In the meantime, the show
of public interest now beginning ha;
led to the result here outlined.
Not in Sight of Vote
The bill cannot yet be said to be In
sight of a vote The Democrats have
still a good deal to say and, consider
ing the time always consumed by the
opposition in debate on tariff bill
it cannot be charged that the Demo
Gratis are unreasonably dilatory. Il
is the Republicans who have been con
spicuously responsible for the extreme
length of time during which the tariff
bill has been under discussion.
Chairman Fordney and the othel
Republican members of the house
ways and means committee begar
their hearings on the bill more than {
year and a half ago, on January l
1921. The bill was first reported into
the house a little over year ago, or
July 6, 1921 There eafter the actua
passage of the bill through the house
was fairly speedy, but after the bill
was sent to the senate Republican
members of the senate finance com
mittee spent more than eight month!
. in rewriting it.
It was on April II, last that the bill
came into the senate with 2,0S.
changes made in the original hous,
draft of the bill. The debate in thu
open senate began on April 20, anC
the two months and three week.
which have passed since then hav'
been by no means an extraordinar.
length of time, for tariff debate il
the senate.
Copyright 1922 by The New Yorl
Evening Post, Inc0