Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-07-23
TEXAS DAILY PRESS LEAGUE
Tariff Protection for the Valley

The farmers Of the Lower Rio Grande Valley are
demanding protection on their production. especially
winter vegetables, and are fully justified in that
demand.
The next session Of congress will consider a new
tariff bill. If the democrats are in power the tariff
will be equalized as between industry end agriculture.
IL the republicans control congress, industry will be
favored, if the past record Of republican tariff legis-
lation Is to be taken as q criterion Of its future pur-
poses.
Regardless OF which party is in control, the Lower
Rio Grande Valleys hope for tariff relief lies in send
ing to congress a representative who has the influence
and prestige to secure for the Valley the increases es-
sential to Valley prosperity.
Congressman John n. Garner will be speaker Of the
next congress in the event democrats control the house,
and will be senior democratic member Of the ways and
means committee IL the republicans are in control.
AS speaker he will be in position to virtually control
tariff legislation; as a member of the ways and means
committee he will assist in writing the tariff bill, and
his wide influence in both the house and senate will
prove invaluable in gaining for the Valley the tariff
relief it needs.
No amateur could expect to accomplish for this
district what John N. Garner will accomplish at the
next session. Regardless of how sincere Mr.. Gamers
opponent may be in his declarations regarding neces-
sary tariff reforms, he could have no hope of carrying
them into effect in the face of the opposition he will
encounter. He would have neither influence nor
prestige to aid him. The committee assignments he
would receive would not be of a nature that would
permit him to uparticipate in the writing Of the tariff
bill. He would merely have one vote. and an oppor-
tunity to speak on behalf Of such changes in the tariff
schedules as he may propose. but would lack the ex-
perience, prestige or influence necessary to gain his
point.
Congress has had considerable experience with
youthful statesmen, actuated by a burning desire to
serve their districts, and so far as results are con-
cerned such Statesmen" are almost invariably fail
ures, at least until they have proved to the ~satisfac-
ton Of national and party leaders that they are worthy
Of confidence and support.
1t Is very necessary that the Lower Rio Grande VAL
ley vegetable growers be accorded protection without
delay. and that protection can and will be gained
through the efforts OF Congressman Garner. To send
an amateur to congress at this stage, when every in
terest Of the Valley demands the service Of an ex-
perienced and influential representative at Washing
ton, would be suicidal. The Valley has not yet reached
the point where it can afford TO be without efficient
representation at Washington. In the years to come,
when the Valley has been developed and has nothing to
ask of the federal government or congress it might
have sufficient leisure to conduct q training school for
embryo Statesmen" but has not reached the stage
where it can afford TO ~jeopardize its future merely TO
provide a congressional job for q youthful but very
ambitious aspirsnt for political honors.