Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-06
SHOOT HAS SUGAR
DRAFT COMPLETED
Sliding Scale Tariff Proposal
Is Finished, but Contents
Are Kept Secret.

| By The Associated Press.
Chairman Smoot OF the Senate finance
committee has completed his tentative
! draft OF q sliding scale sugar tsriff
proposal as substitute for the bit
terly contested rate increase proposed
in the House bill.
Beyond disclosing that 1t provides for
lower rates than the House bill con-
templates and that he expects it to
ind favor with President Hoover, the
Utah Senator, leading proponent of
sugar protection. has withheld the de-
cells of his proposal. He is not ex-
pected to make it public until the COM
mittee resumes its work next week on
the tariff bill
Debate Expected.
The sugar schedule, in which the
House raised the general rate to 8
. cents q pound and the preferential
Cuban rate to 2.4O cents. is the most
vigorously contested section of the bill,
with indications. that it will occasion
more debate than any other during the
long contest in prospect in the Senate.
Furthermore. it Is the only schedule
which has brought public statement
from the White House, an expression
by President Hoover OF his hope that
both producer and consumer will be
protected. That statement mentioned
the sliding scale idea, but did not COM
NIT the President to its support. It
Is known, however, that oflciaIs close
to the administration have studied the
plan as q means to the dual end he
desires. since its object is to stabilize
american sugar prices around q level
which would assure profits to domestic
producers without raising prices ex-
cessively to consumers in times of short
age by providing for automatic reduc-
ton OF the duty as the cost of the
commodity advances, and vice versa.
Democrats Want Che nge.
The Democratic national committee
announced yesterday that Democrats
and progressives In the Senate intend
an entire transformation or the flexible
tariff provision embodied in the House
bill.
Declaring the Democratic program to
De restol alton Of the non-partisan or
Bipartisan character Of the tariff Com
mission, the statement asserted that
under the measure rs it passed the
House the Tariff Commission is to be
changed from its present complexion,
which by statutory regulation compels
that three members OF the Tariff Board
shall be Of the majority party and two
OF the minority party"
The Hawley bill proposes" It con-
tinued. that the President should have
the appointment of this board without
reference to party, which, Of course,
means q partisan board, which will rec
ommend to the President only such
changes as he may desire up to SO per
cent and gives to the President the alb
Solute right to make such changes"
The Democratic program would have
the board report TO Congress instead Of
70 the President.
Change Called UncOnssitntionaL
Charging that the change Is uncon-
stitrltional, the statement said: The
obvious purpose Of the move is to avoid
such q political situation az now exists
In the Senate, where g. coalition Of the
Democrats and progressive Republicans
may be able to force revision Of the
uncomfortable schedules the tariff
lobby succeeded In getting from the Re-
publican ways and means committee Of
the House.
Ferdinand Veverka, Czechoslovakian
Minister, delivered to the State De-
partment today q note formally out
lining the position Of his government
on the proposals now before the Senate
finance committee to revise import duties
on certain Czechosloyskisn goods.
While the note was not in the form
of q protest against the proposed rates
it stressed the effect which the proposed
changes might have on trade between
CZechoslovakia and the United States.
More than a score Of nations have
made representations formally to the
American Government on the tariff.