Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-18
TARIFF BILL VETO
HELD IMPROBABLE
Conviction Grows That Presi'
dent Will Sign Measure
When Submitted.

The conviction Is growing that Presi-
dent Hoover will sign the tariff bill If
1t Is passed by Congress and that a veto
Is no longer probability.
| Evidences are multiplying at the same
time that there will be tariff bill sub
mitted to him for signature.
There Is more significance than ap-
pears on the surface in the recent vote
whereby the Senate refused to take UP
the Ware case because it might inter-
fere with the tariff. Enough solicitude
was shown by Democrats to indicate
that hopes of a Democratic and inSur-
gent coalition to limit tariff revision to
few agricultural items are rapidly
being diSpelled. Most Democratic Sen
ators have revealed that while they may
harangue against the measure for po-
litical purposes, they want to see it
passed just the same. Some feel that
| way because they do not want to be de-
| prived of big political issue m the
congressional elections of 1880. Others
realize that If protection is to be hand
| ed out some of the industries in their
respective States want their share of it.
| All in all, the tariff has again broken
down party lines and it seems today in
evitable that some kind of a bill will
| go through the Senate and will be &C
copied by the House of Representatives.
| President Evinces Interest.
President Hoover has disclosed in the
last few days little more interest in
the fate of the tariff bill than he ever
did before. The political consequences
of a veto are too great for him to risk.
| party solidarity, and Mr.. Hoover knows
the veto of the tariff bill means a
cleavage between the Eastern wing of
the party and the Western Republic
ans, something he can i'll afford to have
happen in the first year of his admins
| tration. Up to now the President has
confined himself to intimations of dis
approval of the House bill, but there
have been enough changes made In the
Senate to warrant the belief that when
the Senate gets through with it, there
| will be a much better bill from the
| White House standpoint than the one
| that came out of the House. Under
the circumstances the President will be
in the position of perhaps not being
| particularly enthusiastic about the final
measure, but nevertheless unable to veto
it because there is hardly two-thirds
vote in both Houses to overcome a
veto. and Mr.. Hoover could not afford
70 take the responsibility Of blocking
tariff revision as whole.
| Senate Minoritys Attitude.
The minority in the Senate is well
organized for debate for record-making
purposes i'll the next campaign, but
even Democrats will be found who in
SiSt that the tariff bill is going to be
passed before the December session
starts. The argument will hardly end
with the signing of the bill; in fact, the
attacks will then begin in earnest. On
the Republican side there Is not much
uneasiness about it, because the poll
ticianS point out that a high-tariff
measure causes reversal of public
sentiment against the party in power
only when living costs rise and there is
an economic depression. The conf
dence of the Republican leaders is that
| the prosperity of America is based on
such momentum that the tariff bill
| will be passed, put into operation and
| politically forgotten by the time the
congressional elections roll around, and
that if employment continues on the
| present basis and business expansion is
undiminished. there will be anNincreas-
| ing Republican majority next time in
stead of any serious loss. r
! So the tariff discussion largely Is po-
litical debate, and those who are inter-
ested in revised schedules will find them
in operation shortly after the first OF
the year. D. L.
(Copyright, 1927