Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-09
Farmers Demand Protection.

A dozen big farm organizations have
called upon the Senate to increase
duties above those carried in either
the House or the Senate finance COM
tnittee tariff bills. Quite naturally these
farm organizations are asking for still
higher duties on commodities which the
farmers produce.
Farmers" say these organizations
In their letter made public to day,
"were promised readjustment OF the
tariff act Hhich would assure them the
tspmesticr market to the full extent of
TIER ABILITY to supply it and to bring
thsUa closer equality with other in
dustrtal groups"
The farm group apparently believes In
protection, and high protection. 1t
demands the domestic market to the ex-
clusion of foreign competition. Such
a demand on the part of some manu-
facturers has caused q roar of disap-
proval from the Democratic critics OF
the Republican tariff bill. It remains
to be seen If the demand Of the farm
ers will bring blast from the Demo-
Gratis. 1t may do so from those Demo-
cratic Senators who represent big in
dMstrial States. But the great ajority
Of the Democrats in the Senate claim
to nave folded the farmers to their
bosom. It will be difficult for them to
attack the farmers demands. But If
they side with these demands of the
farmer they go completely and wholly
over to the theory of the protective
tariff. Some of the Democrats may
wonder where that will leave them, par
ticularly in view of their evident de-
sire to make the tariff an issue in the
coming campaign.
The farm groups have had the
tenlerity to demand that the House
bill rate on sugar be restored in the
Senate. The finance committee reduced
this duty to a point about halfway
between the present law and the rate
proposed by the House. The fulmina-
tons of the Democrats against the IN
creased duties on sugar have been long,
Iou0 ana Voc1erouS.
The duty on hides, provided by both
the House and Senate committee bills,
Is favored by the farmers, but they do
not care for the compensatory duties,
so called, on boots, shoes, harness and
leather goods. In other words, they
wish to have hides taken from the free
list, but they do not wish to have the
same treatment given to boots, shoes
and harness, which they must pur-
chase. This is by no means strange.
Nor are me workers In shoeshops in
clined to favor higher prices for the
sugar and other food products, which
may follow increases In duties on those
commodities.
The Democratic leadership in the
Senate has sought union with the
group of Republican Progressives to
force a limitation of the tariff revision
to the farm and related schedules. It
will be interesting to know just how
far the Democrats propose to go with
the farm group in their demands for
higher duties.
Debate on the tariff bill in the
Senate, long postponed, is expected to
begin today. No one can say with
definiteness just how long this debate
will continue. The last previous tariff
bill TO pass the Senate, the Fordney-
McCumber bill, was reported to that
body April IL, 1922, and passed the
Senate August 10, 1922. 1t was before
the Senate four months and q week.
It took another month to get the bill
out of conference and finally enacted
into law. If the history OF the present
tariff law is a criterion, the new bill
does not stand show of becoming a
law until long after the regular ses-
sion Of the Congress begins in De-
cember. That is condition which the
Democrats seem to desire, since it Will
carry the tariff more completely into
the congressional campaign, although
they continue to insist that there will
be no filibuster in the Senate to delay
action on the bill. 1t may be pointed
out however, that the Republicans have,
In the past. won more campaigns over
the tariff issue than they have lost.
Aviation progress involves sacrifice
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