Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The most terrific thing in the whole
terrific tariff struggle is the horrible
industriousness of the two Senators
from Utah. The capacity for hard
labor exhibited by Mr.. Smoot is equaled
ONLY by the talent for drudgery dis
PLAYED by Mr. King The passion for
toll evidenced by Mr.. King is equaled
only by the delight in arduous effort
illustrated by Mr.. SmOot. When one
reflects. further, that the statistics &C
cumulated by Mr.. Smoot regarding the
tariff and the statistics accumulated on
that same subject by Mr.. King will not
be used in harmony, but will be thrown
violently into antagonism, the one set
of them against the other set OF them,
the prospect becomes 6arkensd with
the horror of ar illimitable conflict.
Mr.. Smoot, Republican chairman OF
the Senate finance committee, proposes
to pres Mt to the Senate and TO the
world an unprecedented tariff report
He proposes in this report to have
someth ng to say on virtually every item
in the DILL He proposes to refute the
Democrats foot by foot and inch by
inch and millimeter by millimeter,
Large and easy generations will not
stanch his appetite for facts. This Is
the first tariff bill which has been en-
, IT,, - >TtU b"C"nle ch91 e..
man o. IIle COEliIlllLSe. IL ID SOIlS ~
be the first tariff bill in all American
history TO be defended by the chair
man of the committee with so great a
deScent-or ascension-to item!Zed de-
tail.
Mr.. Smoot probably knows more de-
tails about the Federal Government
than any other Senator. He has more
appo;nteeS and informantS who are
friends of his scattered through the
Federal Government than any other
Senator. A widespread theory about
him in Progressive" quarters is that
he does nothing till some vast interest
tells him to do it. No theory could ce
flimsier.
The worst "vast interest" alleged
against Mr.. Smoct is the sugar in
terest. 1t can easily be demonstrated
that in that field Mr.. Smoot is at any
rate on his way toward being right.
The demonstration is as follows:
First Whatever the farmers want,
as every politician now knows and adj
mitS. is right.
Second The farmers. through their
accredited representatives in Washing
ton, speaking for all their largest or
CARNATIONS, have demanded a basic j.
cent duty on sugar.
Third. Mr.. Shoots committee has
granted on sugar basic duty OF Id
cents.
The trouble therefore with Mr.. Smoot
is only that he cannot quite keep Up
with the farmers in the direction OF
lofty protectionism. He has to be more
| pyotectionist than he is in order u
be wholly and perfectly right. We
there encounter a secret which every
body knows but which few seem dare
| to spread. It is too contrary to the
venerable myth which so long has peer
built up around Mr.. Smoot as the nigh
priest of protectionism."
Mr.. Smoot has put forth his most
| earnest endeavorS against large num-
| oers of duties which have seemed tc
| him in this present bill to be too high
He has been a force not toward excess
| but toward moderation. His deity is
not interests" His deity Is iacts' sIa-
| tistics. data. He revelS in them. He
is convinced that they will justify this
| bill, in spite of the soft and weak spots
! in it. to the balancing judgment of the
| American people. With a crammec
mind and a serene spirit he defies the
Democrats to make any political cap
| ital on any national scale out OF the
present tariff prospects.
Mr.. King, Democrat, accepts the de-
fiance and hurls it back in Mr.. Smoot'S
| teeth. One Senator from Utah, MT
Smoot, will give to the bill It's mos
comprehensive point-by-point defense
The other Senator from Utah, Mr.
King, will undoubtedly give to the bill
| its largest number of point-by-poln
proposed amendments.
Mr.. King is the senatorial tariff bill
! amendment champion OF the Unltec
! States. He maintained his hold upon
/ this championship throughout the
tournament of 1922 on the Senate hool
when the last tariff bill became the
present tariff bill. Democratic Sen
ators then We'd with one another In
i, nroposing amendments to the Repub-
| iican Fordney-McC umber tariff bill ano
| in forcing the Senate to vote upor
| those amendments on roll calls. At the
| end of the struggle the scores marked
I'D for the competing Democratic sen.
| ators in the production of senatorial
roll calls on famous or infamous Repub-
lican tariff proposals were as follows:
| Trammell of Florida, 2.
Gerry of Rhode Island, 2.
Underwood of Alabama, 3.
| Fletcher of Florida, 4.
Ashurst of Arizona, S.
| Simmons of North Carolina, 8.
! Robinson of Arkansas, 10.
Sheppard of Texas, IL.
| Walsh of Massachusetts,, 18.
Jones of New Mexico, 81.
King of Utah, 25.
Mr.. King, therefore, beat Mr.. Jone!
4 up. This year he will not have tx
! play against Mr.. Jones. Mr.. Jones i:
| iamentably no more upon the senatorial
scene. Against Mr.. Walsh of Massa'
| chusetts, his next nearest competition
of 1922, MIR. King then had leading
margin of Z. This makes Mr.. Kine
easily the favorite in this years betting
and the advice of this professional
tipster is that no money placed on Mr.
| King will be lost.
Mr.. King in the Senate Office Build.
| ing dwells in Offices at the far end Of
an upper corridor. These Offices are
separated by a passageway from all Other
offices In the building. This separate.
ness is a true parable Of Mr.. Kings