New-York tribune., 1922-09-21
Deserving Another Veto

The passage or the bonus Dlll was
an obvious effort by Congress to
evade blame and shift responsibility
to the White Ho1se. In vetoing 1T
Mr.. Harding did the manly and
courageous thing, and the whole
country admires him for his act.
Thanks to stalwart minority in
the Senate, that veto is now sus-
tanned.
The passage of the tariff bill is
an effort to shift far greater
responsibility to Mr.. Harding's
shoulders. The bill attempts the
impossible task of revising tariff
rates in the present unsettled state
Of foreign production and exchange,
and in confession of its failure at
tempts to lodge in the President un-
precedented and dangerous powers
to raise and lower rates. Congress,
in short, makes hopeless confusion
of its tariff tinkering and then puts
it up to the President to save the
country and the Republican party
from the consequences of its blum
dering.
The right time to do this rescue
work, it seems clear, is now The
Fordney tariff bill deserves the
same fate as the bonus bill. Ample
facts urge Mr.. Harding to end it
by another veto.
The elastic clauses of the bill are
presented by apologists as its saw
ing grace. No matter how Excess
sive certain rates may be, the Presi-
dent can always set them right, is
the argument. 1t is generally under
stood that only this large power of
revision and correction makes the
bin at all acceptable to the Presi-
dent.
But we are confident that the
more Mr.. Harding examines this
aspect of the bill the more un-
favorable will be his judgment upon
it. The cynics of Washington frankly
declare that the clauses conferring
on the President power to alter rates
are wholly illusory provisions,
sham and q pretense, and so in
tended by the proponents. They
contend that they are a delega-
tion of legislative powers and are
clearly unconstitutional. Certainly
there is no precedent for them, and
there is grave likelihood that they
would result in just nothing after
months of delay and litigation.
If regarded as valid the powers
are even more Objectionable, The
Tribune urges. Stable rates are
absolutely essential both to the i'm
porter who wishes to buy goods
abroad and to American manufac-
turers who wish to make goods here.
Large investments of capital are in
volved. Contracts must he made
calling for delivery over manv
months. If rates are to be con-
stantly raised or lowered there is
certainty for no one. Neither for
eigner nor American has a nroner
basis upon which to do business
and the consumer inevitably suffers
Such confusion yields neither trade
nor protection.
Peculiarly vicious is that clause
which empowers the President to
shift the basis of taxation from for
eign to American valuation. Sem
ator Cummins voted against the
final bill because of this provision,
and 1t does in itself justify dis
approval of the entire bill. For
American valuation means a vague
and indeterminate figure, which per-
mits endless injustice and dis
courages all trade.
The country has had experience
with Mr.. Harding's high motives
and will to do right, and it trusts
him as it does not trust Congress.
1t knows that he would rot abuse
any powers intrusted to him. But a
matter so vitally affecting the pros
perity of the country cannot be left
dependent upon the chance of one
personality. Such elasticity is a
grave structural defect of the Ford
iIney tariff. 1t cannot be excused or
Sefended. 1t is utterly unsound, and
IF upheld by the Supreme Court
would hang as a threat over busi-
ness so long as the bill was law.
Whether 'Sdud' or live bomb, it has
no place in a tariff law.
Thus what is held out as the re-
dseming feature Of the bill is only
an added bluneier. The unmistak-
able truth is that Congress has at
tempted TO do something which could
rot be done properly at the present
time. In attempting to correct its
own errors it has fallen into worse
and more Fundamental mistake.
There is only one fitting remedy