The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-10-10
The Franco American Tariff MIDDLE

Our tariff muddle with France is developing into
an astonishing melange of right and wrong tragedy
and farce.
America is right when she insists she seeks no
favorS of France but merely equality of treatment
with other nations. French goods, she points out
enter Amercsn ports an equal footing with the
goods of other countries while American goods enter
ing French ports charged higher rates than other
nations have to pay Which is discrimination
Up to this point the argument is unimpeachable
But -.
France charges that American tariffs are in effect
prohibitive This America denies, citing figures. In
1921 she Observes France sold $142OOO0O0 worth of
goods in the United States and $152o0OO0o worth
in 1926, an increase of about per cent.
These figures, however like the rabbit coming out
of the magicians hat, only seem to prove something
The goods France offers for sale are mostly luXries
or semi-luXlrieS which Americans are now consum-
ing at rate hitherto not even approached In 1921
the wholesale value of passenger cars-a semi luxury
disposed of in the United States amounted to
$115174oOOO In 1926 it amounted to $25eeoOOOo
an increase of more than 100 per cent. Meantime
French trade barely held its own
France therefore, rightly contends that it is not
SO much a question of what she actually managed
to SELL despite the high tariff but of what she might
have sold had the tariff not been in effect prohibtve
At this point the grotesque enters. At the very
moment when France was asking for reciprocity of
treatment-owered rates in exchange for lowered
rates-and State Department. was telling France
that only Congress has the power to lower the tariff
and while it was insisting that policy permits only
most favored nation treatment forbiddng recproctv
as against international good practice in steps Sey-
mour Lowman of the Treasury Department with
most disconcerting ruling.
On the authority of the tariff act of 1922 it seems
he not only arbitrarily boosted the rates on certain
French products but lowered them on similar German
products
The American policy" Mr.. Lowman of the Treas
ury Department is quoted explaining suavey. "is
one of reciprocity. That is our policy Thew 90 IN
we go up; they go down. we go down." Small Won
der that in the neighborhood of the State Depart
ment there was something approaching panic Just
when they were framing a nice new note to France
further driving home the impossbiity of tariff reel
procity because contrary to American policy along
comes an official spokesman in another department
saying reciprocity is American policy "They go up
we go up they go down. we go down"
That has been Frances contention all along "We
are down, you come down." And it is her defense
of her recent tariff boost against American goods:
You go up, we go up"
The State Department can now explain all it
wants to that the section under which Assistant Sec
rotary Lowman acted affects only certain special i'm
ports and this and that and the other but the effect
on the French mind will be very difficult to erad-
CATE Ii is just another of those devish things which
somehow have had a way of happening to put us
in bad with public opinion abroad now for the last
half dozen years.
Our tariff is not only higher than the difference
between American and foreign wages ustifes, but is
provocative of international ill feeling throughout
Like most OF our contacts with foreign peoples it is
framed too much in the spirit Of to Halifax with
the rest of the world.
Wherein lies the tragedy of the thing