Evening star., 1923-08-15
COOLIDGE TO KEEP
H|GH-TAR|FF STAND
Will Soon Be Called Upon to
Decide Rights of
Commission.
BY ROBERT II. SMALL.

Taking up his problems one by one.
according to his own fixed ideas of
what he should do in the White
House, President Coolidge soon will
come face to face with the trouble
some question of the tariff.
Nothing much has been said of
the new Presidents tariff views. but
St has been taken for granted that,
coming from New England and be-
tng a graduate of the Murray Crane
school of republcanism, Calvin Cool
idge stands as the rock Of Gibraltar
for protection in all it's many phases.
This assumption is entirely the cor
rect one. Mr.. Coolidge is a high
protectionist Protection is one of
the rock-ribbed principles of the
grand old party" and Mr.. Coolidge
is ready to admit that as he sees
things, protection is prosperitys hand
maiden.
President Coolidge has inherited
from the Harding administration a
controversy in the United States
Tariff Commission involving the
commission shall initiate. on its own
motion. Inquiries into all the
schedules of the Fordney- -McCumber
tariff act with a view Of applying
the neXible provisions of the act
TO say of the schedules which may
be found at this time TO be out of
adjustment in a comparison of the
cost Of production at home and
abroad.
Locks For Guidance.
President Harding was inclined to
let the tariff commission fight out its
own battles. But iuasmuch as the
commits SSiOn consists of two Stalwart
nrDpTpSSiEpS
democrats. it is not easy for 1t to
reach unanimous decisions. The com
mission will look now to the new
President for guidance.
The conservative leaders of the re-
publican party are bringing their in
f1uence to bear in favor of letting
the Fordney-McCumber act alone and
of combining the tariff commission to
Investigations of specific complaints.
such as followed the rapid rise in
the price of sugar in the late spring
President Harding directed the COM
mission to ascertain at once if the
tariff on sugar had anything to do
with the rocketing of sugar prices
to new high levels. The commission
reported that the tariff was not to
blame for the sudden increase. It's
contentious in this respect. Congress
leaders declare. have been Completclv
borne out by the fact that within the
last six weeks or two months Sugar
has receded in price almost to the
full extent of the spring rise. During
all this time, it is pointed out. there
has been no change in the tariff. and
the price of sugar has been governed
solely by the law of supply and de-
mand. coupled with the ability of the
Cuban producers and eastern refiners
to maintain a certain meaS of con-
troll over sugar at such times as the
domestic crop is not on the market.
Still BIameS Tariff.
The dap1nrrarS ~ course do
take this view. \ statement just
issued from the headquarters of the
democratic national committee says
that although current prices of
sugar at retail are about 3 cents a
pound below those quoted in April,
May and June. the tariff continues
70 be felt as a considera bic factor
in the cost Of this staple"
The Tariff Commission is conduct
ing an exhaustive study OF the entire
sugar situation and it eventually will
be UP to President Coolidge to de-
clare whether or not there shall he
an adjustment OF the duty on sugar.
The law gives the President the
right to make a 80 per cent maxi
mum adjustment either up or down
in the rates of the Fordney- -McCum-
ber bill whenever the Tariff Com
mission shall report that a change
has occurred in the cost of produc-
tion at home and abroad. The com
mission has sent agents to Cuba.
Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philip
pines. as we'll as into the beet sugar
districts of the west and the cane
sugar region of the south.
There is popular conception that
if the price of a commodity goes eSpe-
cially high the tariff commission can
order reduction in the tariff on that
is anxious that this misapprchension
shall be diSsipated. All the commits