Evening star., 1928-12-31
TARIFF TO BOOST
EXPORTS IS URGED
Hull, Attacking G. 0. P. Plans,
Asks Minority to Seek Re-
vision Downward.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Declaring the Republicans were about
to "move farther in the direction of ex-
treme high tariffs and more severe re-
strictions on international trade" Rep
resentative Cordell Hull, Democrat,
Tennessee, in a statement last night,
called upon the members of his party
in Congress to meet this effort with a
demand for a downward revision of
duties.
A correct Interpretation of postwar
conditions, Sid Hull, a member of the
House ways and means committee, which
opens hearings on tariff revision jan
uary 7, clearly demands foreign mar
kets rather than excessive tariff pro-
lection"
When Republicans assert that tariff
protection has become the accepted pol
icy in this country" the Tennessean
added. they do not mean reasonable,
adequate or moderate protection, but
inordinate, alright. supe,- protection
that excludes every item cl imports re-
motely competitive, an1 which practi-
cally cuts us off fror4 all markets for
our surpluses. The dare not defend it
upon grounds of revenue or equity or
morals"
Hull term>d the Republican tariff
program tie first economic issue ten
dered to Democrats"
Export Trade Stressed.
1--WE must first halt and drive back the
movement to faSten this unsound and
destructive policy of extremism upon
the country" he declared, "by a de-
mand that the Nation face in the op-
posite direction of lower tariffs. more
liberal trade policies and systematic
efforts to develop an increasing export
trade. The latter should include free
ports wherein raw materials could be
brought from abroad, mixed with our
own, and manufactured into finished
products to be exported and sold"
1.-The Republican practice of accepting
large campaign funds from tariff bene-
ticiaries and later permitting them to
come to Washington and write their
own rates on the plea that the tariff
must be revised by its friends" he
continued, should be met by Demo-
cratic challenge and a demand that
Congress in the exercise of its own
functions and prerogatives shall write
the rates"
Hull said American productive ca
pacity today was 25 per cent in excess
of consumption demands and that high
tariffs cannot save us from growing
surpluses."
Opportunities Cited.
Super -protectionists, he added do
not pretend that tariffs will aid ex-
ports for the patent reason that ma
tions cannot sell more if each tries to
buy less" Every tariff rate, he argued,
is an injury to export trade.
There was never such potential
trade opportunities, in many coun-
tries, open to a nation as are offered
America today" he continued. There
are more than a billion people in the
Far East and South America, whom we
could easily persuade to desire more
and better things to eat, wear and use,
and who could soon be induced to
develop purchasing power of $10,-
000,000.000 to SIS, 600, 100000 per annum.
THE conclusion is inescapable that
this Nation, faced with large and grow
ing surpluseS, can advance its economic
welfare to a far greater extent by de-
veloping these wonderful foreign trade
opportunities than by rejecting them
for the sake of an alright tariff struc-
ture and the trifling increase of home
trading resulting"