Seward daily gateway., 1924-12-05
PRESIDENTIAL DUTY UNDER FLEXIBLE
 TARIFF

WHEN CONGRESS included in the Tariff Act of 1922 what is known as the Flexibility Clause giving the President power to change tariff rates within 50 per cent limit, people assumed that this would be the agency for frequent revision of tariff rates This attitude pretty generally taken by free trade advocates They saw an opportunity to make innumerable demands for reduction of the tar if and they seemed to believe that this provsiion was put in for the purpose of making reductions but not increases.
 Neither President Harding nor President Cool idge took this view. Neither apparently, did Cong intend that any such view should be taken
 Since the Constitution vests in the legislative branch the power to enact laws ject to the ap- prova of the President, 1t would naturally be as sumed that when Congress has enacted legislation any changes therein would be made only after show ing of very clear madequacy of the law. That this was the intention of Congress in providing for pos sble changes in the tariff law is indicated by the language of the statute. After fixing various rates of duty the Act of 1922 provides that,
 ''Whenever the President, upon inves-
 tigation of the differences in costs of pro-
 duction shall find it thereby shown that the
 duties fixed in the Act do not equalize
 
 in the United States and the principal com
 peting country, he shall by such investiga-
 tions ascertain said differences and deter
 mine and proclaim the changes in cassifi-
 cation or increases decreases in any rate
 of duty shown by said ascertaned differ
 ences in such costs of production necessary
 to equalize the same''
 It will thus be observed that Congress did not give the President power to change any tariff duty according to his own desire. The change must be based entirely upon entertainment of differences in cost of production. The Act also provided that 1 ''In ascertanng the differences in cost
 of production, the President, in so far as
 he finds it practicable, shall take into
 sideration the differences of production in- cluding wages, cost of material, and othe-
 items in cost of production of such or sml- lar articles in the United States and in
 competing foreign countries the differ
 ences in the wholesale selling prices of do-
 mestc and foreign articles in the principal
 markets of the United States; advantages
 granted to foreign producer by foreign
 government or by person, partnership,
 corporation or association in a foreign coun-
 try, and any ether advantages or disadvant-
 ages in competition
 It is further provided in the Tariff Act that Investigations to assist the President in ascertain ing differences in costs of production shall be made by the United States Tariff Commission and no proclamation shall be issued under this section til such investigation shall have been made.''
 Although the President can not make the change in tariff until after an investigation has been made by the Tariff Commission he is not limited to the facts ascertained by the Commission Inves- tigations are merely Ito assist the President
 The emphasis upon the difference in cost of pro- duction makes it perfectly clear that Congress in- tended that the tariff should be retained upon a protective principle.