Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-04-17
TARIFF BODY TROUBLES
TOLD OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON. April 17:-Tht
statesman, who is known to fame
chiefly because he said that "ths
tariff is a local issue" might have
achieved distinction as a prophet
also II he. had added land it will
never be taken out of politics.. Tha,
Is to say, the tariff Is a hardy peren.
NAL, with fresh sprouts. of trouble
and controversy every season. The
latest evidence of this is the fight
now or over the policy to be follow.
ed by the Tariff Commission in con-
nection with the elastic" provision
OF the new tariff law.
This feature OF the Fordney-Mc.
Cumber act Is something distinctly
new In tariff making. Heretofore
tariff schedules have been fixed By
congress and have continued as fixed
until repealed or amended by an.
other congress. Under the new law
they car be raised or lowered by the
| order of the President whenever he
finds that the duties nc longer carry
out the purpose and spirit of the law,
which is t o equalize the difference
between production costs st home
and abroad.
But before the President can act
Investigations must be made by the
Tariff Commission to ascertain the
facts as to production costs. Now
the controversy has arisen as to
whether the commission may initiate
and conduct such inquiries on its
own motion, or must wait until COM
plants as to specific tariff schedules
have been fled with it and requests
for investigations have been made.
The members of the commission
have taken sides and a merry row is
on. with a fair prospect of its being
kept until congress takes further ac-
ton In the matter.
The new feature Of the new law
was intended in a measure at least
to take the tariff out OF politics.
Leaders Of both parties shudder
when they contemplate the necessity
of framing new tariff legislation.
They know that it is practically i'm
possible to draft a bill that will satis-
fy either all the Democrats or all the
Republicans, although each party is
committed to a distinctive tariff
policy, and they know that there is
no end to the pulling and hauling to
which they will be subjected, by in
terests affected by the tariff, before
new schedules can be agreed upon.
Consequently they welcomed a pro-
posal that might work Jul in such a
way as to keep the tariff question
from coming up at every session OF
congress.
How 1t Might Work Out
The underlying principle of the
new law Is that the duties are to
represent the difference In the costs
Of production at home and abroad,
thus preventing American producers
from being undersold in their own
market by foreign competitors who
have an advantage in cheaper labor
or lower material costs. Congress
recognized, however, that production
costs change from time to time in
this country and In every other ooun-
try, and that a duty that would
equalizc differences at the time the
law was enacted might be either too
high or too low six months or a year
later.
Hence the idea of permitting the
President to adjust rates when he
found that they were unduly high OF
unduly low.
There was much said both for and
against the proposal, but on the
whole II w deemed a worth while
experiment and the plan was .incor-
porated in the bill. with certain limi-
tations OF the Presidents powers. He
was not authorized to make any and
all changes in duties that he consid-
cred advisable, but was restricted to
a SO per cent radius up and down,
Likewise he Is not to act solely on
his own discretion or judgment, but
must await Investigations by the
Tariff Commission.
The language of the law Is that
whenever the President upon inves-
tigation of the differences In costs oil
production OF articles shall find
it thereby shown that the duties in
this act do not equalize tho said diff
ferences" he may proclaim the
changes within the so per cent limit
Further, the law says; "Investiga.
tons to assist the President in aseer-
tanning the differences in costs oi
production under this section shall
be issued under this section unit
such investigation shall have beer
made"
Now 1t is quite apparent that ir
carrying out this provision there Il
a difference between the commits
sion's proceeding on its own motor