The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-07-31
HARD GIVES
NEUTRAL
VIEW
Writer Finds Few Inquiries Oh
Rates Completed and
Others Unlikely
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The Democrats. III harmony with
their great historic low-tariff pol.
lev, are about to flood the country
not only with attacks upon, The
present Tariff Commission; and
while they may do It with every at
tempt to be fair, they are also
humanity bound to do il from the
point Of view Of their own special
principles and natural prejudices.
"A Neutral Study.
In these circumstances summary
Of the work Of the Tariff Commits
sion from the standpoint neither Of
the Democratic party nor Of the Re
publican party, but only OF the neu-
tral reporter may have value for
the voter
Since the passage Of the present
Forelney. McC umber tariff law, In
September Of year before last, ap.
plications have been made to the
tariff commission for increases or
decreases OF rates in some 1913 diff
1erent commodities.
Sometimes there have been many
applications regarding one COM
modify.
The reader could take hundred
guesses before being able to guess
the commodity on which the most
applications have been made.
Wild Birds Head List.
That commodity is wild birds =
One hundred and seventeen appli-
cations have been made to the
commission to reduce the tariff on
wild birds.
This is due to the interest Of
gportsmen in trying to get supplies
q wild game BIRDS over here from
other countries for stocking our
parks and preserves.
In the Republican tariff OF 1909
Wild birds were free. They paid no
duty. In the Democratic tariff OF
1913 Wild birds were again free.
Then in the Fordney- Met umber
tariff Of year before last our tariff
makers went out to collect revenue
even on quails and pheasants. They
decided that wild bird worth less
than SIS would have to pay 4 tariff
Of 80 cents on coming into this
country, and that q. wild bird worth
more than IS would have to pay 20
per cent on its value.
Hence III applications to the
tariff commission protesting against
that outrage
Able to Do Nothing.
The tariff commission has been
able to do nothing about Il. Under
its rules, Il It Is going to recon-
mend a reduction of duty to the
President, It must first, as laid
Down by Congress. make q study Of
the difference between the cost Of
production at home and the cost of
production abroad.
What IS the cost of letting
quail grow up to quailhood in an
Allegheny mountain valley?
The commission recoiled from
that inquiry. ana it has been ain
formally suspended" That is. ii
mas been forgotten; and wild birds
VIII continue to be heavily taxed if
ana when they go through our
customs houses.
The fate of the applications or,
the remaining commodities has been
roughly as follows:
The total number Of commodities
under consideration with wild birds
eliminated, is one hundred and
gixty-seven.
Sixty-two Of these are stiIl s.pend-
mg." That is, nothing official has
been done about them that has been
CRITICALLY reported to the public.
Sometimes things have happened
about some of these sixty.two
pending" commodities within the
commissions internal deliberations
but no official action about tharn
has been officially published. They
simply are listed as pending
Highly Important.
Among them may be mentioned
the highly important Commodities
Ct coal.tar dyes. pottery, electric
Hight bulbs, cattle, meat, fish, cotton
goods in general. wool, paper, and
motion picture films.
They are pending while pifflinr
commodities like artificial flowers
nave been ordered formally .'in.
vestigated"
Pending" commodities constitute
the first great class. OF commodities
on the commissions books. The
other classes may be recognized and
analysed.
The first Of these two other
classes consists Of commodities
which in SOME way have got shelved
before arriving at the stage 81
actual final investigation by the
commission.
In twelve cases, for instance. but
only In twelve, the application Far
an investigation has been .outrirht.
~ denied on the ground that tha
commission could see no reason, FOR
an investigation at this time.
In some twenty cases a sort Of
preliminary inquiry seems to have
been begun, but then this inuliiry
was informally suspended
Fifteen cases could not be in.
vestigated because. In spite Of the
TACT that Congress had laid pro.
tective tariff on the commodity con-
cerned In order to protect II from
foreign competition, It was inpos.
sible to find any calculable home
production OF 1t. The protection
was present; but the thing projected
was not being produced here: and
consequently the conal11fscioy, s,n,,Id