Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-10


The main item OF legislation in the
new Congress will be farm relief. Farm
relief Is the reason the special session
Is called. But for Mr.. Hoovers cam
paign promise about farm relief there
would be no special session. The COM
mittee on agriculture is now at work
in preparation for the farm relief bill.
Current opinion assumes that the farm
relief measure to be treated in the
coming session will take form sum-
married. roughly. as follows:
/. Great cooperative associations will
be set up to market the various farm
crops.
2. Government funds will be pro-
vlded, as loan, to facilitate the work
OF these cooperative associations In
marketing crops.
That is the direct form of farm relief
that is proposed. If there were space
here it might be added that many per-
sons doubt whether this farm relief will
amount to much. There have been large
cooperative associations before, as re-
spectS several farm crops. and thev
have had ample funds. They have had
some success. But they have not en-
dured. The arguments now made for
farm co-operativeS are the same that
nave been made before It is fair to
doubt whether anything the Govern
ment can now do to establish farm CO.
operatives will go farther than has been
attempted IN the past. All this, how
ever, is too large subject to be dis
cuSSed In the present article. which
aims merely to be a summary of what
is anticipated for the special session.
In Role Of Indirect Relief.
Inc other principal work of the enc
clal session will have to do with the
tarln. Revision Of the tariff gets its
Ioothold primarily in the role of in
direct farm relief. The original purnose
OF introducing tariff revision at this
time was to create tariff Conditions
which should aid farmers to the maxi
mum possible extent.
revision of the tariff that has the
farmer primarily in mind begins by pro-
posing 70 put protective tariff on all
ordinary farm crops that do not now
have one. 1t proposes, in the same
spirit, to increase the protective tariff
on some farm crops that now have in
adequate protection.
From this point the program of bend
ing the tariff to the service of the farm
er goes on into extreme and intricate
ground. IL Is proposed to put a tariff
on some food products which are NOT
raised In America, for examnIe
bananas. The theory is that II these
1000 products are made more expensive
anu less accessible American con-
sumers may turn from them and take
up as substitutes food products which
are are, raised IN America, such as apples.
LIZ tS prolect Is, OF course, debatable,
ootn In theory and in practice.
The proposal to revise the tar;ff with
view to helping the farmer leads into
iurtner area still more complex. Many
| american farm crops are used In manu-
| Lacturing. familiar example Is wool
| some imported tropical crops, which IL
Is now proposed to tax with a tariff
are also used In manufacturing, Ex,
amples are tapioca and sago.
Made More Expensive.
II these American crops, like wool.
ana tnese imported crops, like tapioca,
are made more expensive by a urotec.
tive tariff. 1t follows that lines Of man.
ufacturing, which use these goods as
raw material, are made more EXPENSIVE
Immediately. and reasonably, the man
uIacturer says he must have what is
called a compensatory tariff" on the
goods he manufactures.
AT this point tariff revision becomes
very complex, indeed. No matter how
simple the intention may be, complexity
arises inevitably. No matter if the in
tention is to keep the tariff revision
limited to a small number of specific
items, nevertheless these items react
upon other items in such a way as to
AFFECT large areas Of manufactured
goods.
In yet another way the possible ex-
tent OF tariff revision is enlarged.
a,.fo ~, d.
tries claim they are in Just as bad
way as the farming industry. They
claim that If there is to be a tariff
revision to cure the sick farmer, there
should equally be tariff revision to cure
their sick industries. Among the in
dustries that make this claim are tex
tiles. cement. brick and shingles. AS to
these four industries, at least, the COM
mon belief Is that they will be added
to farm crops as subjects to be dealt
with In the tariff revision.
Limit Is Questioned.
At this moment the most controverted
question in Washington is whether
tariff revision shall be limited to the
five subjects already named farm
crops, textiles, cement, brick and shin
gles-or whether the revision shall 60
further. Almost every industry In the
country, seeing the tariff revision door
opened, is clamoring to be let in.
The lines of the controversy can be
stated roughly: The Lower House Is for
limited revision and the common judg-
nent is that Mr.. Hoover stands by the
Lower House. The Senate, or at least
many of the oldtime Republican SEN
ators, believe in broad, wholesale re-
vision.
The real demand for broad revision
land revision upward rises and RACES.
not so much in either house Of Con-
gress as outside In the Hobbies and
throughout Washington generally. 1t
comes from manufacturers. Many CT
these manufacturers are, in their re-
Spective communities. leading Republic
cans. They have great deal Of polit-
ical power. Some of them make large
contributions to Republican campaign
funds. Many of them are able to bring
pressure TO bear on their Senators and
local members of Congress.
Argument Enormous.
From this source the flow or argu-
ment and propaganda IS enormous. In
the hearings on the tariff. completed by
the ways and means committee on the
last day Of February, more than LOO
witnesses appeared, the great mass of
them demanding general revision up
ward
Among the Republican leaders, in the
Official and responsible sense, the bulk
are opposed to general revision of the
tariff. They are afraid Of 1t. They ere
fearful of the log-rolling that would
take place. They apprehend that IL the
situation should get out of hand, the
log-rolling and trading might produce
tariff so high as was never known
before.
And while. Il e Believed. there b Tess
public sentiment in opposition to a
high protective tssr.y than there has
been in the past, nevertheless, the more
prudent Republican leaders do not fail
to remember the disaster that overlook
the Republican party in 1910, because
of tariff situation having naanu ala