Evening star., 1929-12-15

plain the curious ending OF this
tariff revision. To explain the
/ ending depends on explaining
the beginning. That in turn
depends on understanding a principle
or at least a law of psychology, that
' Accompanies all tariff making.
The law of psychology is: Every gen.
eral tariff revision tends to be reVl-
sion upward. Every partial tariff revt-
sion involving more than one commod-
ity tends to be revision upward.
Every general tariff revision will be a
revision upward unless powerful and
determined effort to the contrary Is
made. This is true because, so to
speak, of the nature of human nature.
Flexible Provision Is Example.
This principle can best be made clear
by a depression which will deal with an
aspect of the tariff Immediately ahead
of us. namely, the flexible provision.
The flexible provision is designed to
bring about a condition in which the
tariff will be revised one commodity or
one item at a time. And this article
ventures 10 go on record with pre-
6iction, namely, If Congress adopts a
system of revising the tariff one sched-
Cle at a time, the result will be that
practically no schedule will ever be re-
Vise6 upward. Revision upward will be
over for all time.
That is a daring prediction. but it
seems safe to the present writer. The
tariff can only be revised upward when
1t is revised generally-that is, when
several schedules are revised Simulta-
neously.
First Adopted in 1922.
Let us complete the depression about
Che flexible provision. The flexible pro-
vision was first adopted in 1922. Under
1t the Tariff Commission reports that
one schedule of the tariff, standing
alone, ought to be revised. The Tariff
Commission sends this report to the
President. Thereupon the President
makes the recommended revision or he
does not, as he sees At. Under this
- system. as practiced under President
Coolidge he revised, for example, the
tariff on faxseed, and revised 1t up
ward.
That is the mechanism by which the
flexible provision is now operated. That
is the way the House wants to con-
tinue to have it operated. The Senate
this way gives the President, whoever
It is, a good deal of power-and it does
give him much power. The Senate
wants to take the operation away
from the President. AS one Senator
put it, I'VE want to get the President
out of the picture" The Senate wants
the reports of the Tariff Commission to
60, not to the President but to Con-
Rress. The Senate wants Congress, and
only Congress, to have the power Of
acting or not acting on the report, of
revising or not revising the schedule in
question.
Fundamental Point in Fight.
That is the fight just ahead of US
That is the most fundamental point in
dispute between Senate and House. On
the flexible provision the real tug-of-
war between Senate and House VIII
arise On the winning of this fight
hangs the future of the tariff. If the
Senate wins, and If all future revision
is done one schedule at time, and Is
done by Congress, then practically no
schedule ever will be revised upward.
Let the reader ask himself what Con-
rress would have done about flaxseed
If Congress and not President Coolidge
had had the power. Would Congress
have raised the tariff on haXseed, when
that commodity was standing alone?
Congress would not About two Sen
ators. or at most four, coming from
States where fiaxseed Is grown in guam
tity. would be interested in raising the
tariff. Every other Senator would look
upon himself as representing not the
of paint into which f1axseed goes, or
whatnot Flaxseed would not have
had a Chinamans chance to get an in
creased tariff. When the tariff is re-
yised by Congress one commodity at
time. the bulk of Congress will always
think of themselves as representing
consumers.
Makes Tariff Local Issue"
If the coming fight on the flexible
nroyision goes in favor of the Senate
That is. in favor of Congress having
the power-thereafter it will be real
ized. sure enough, that "the tariff is a
local issue" 1t will be realized In
a sense in which it was not when Gen.
Hancock helped to lose the presidency
by making that statement. 1t Will be
realized in a sense in which 1t was
never realized before.
Nearly every industry is local. Ex-
renting farming, hardly any Industry
EXISTS in more than half dozen States.
THE Senators from those States will be
all the friends a tariff increase on anJ
one industry will have. And with re-
vision done one schedule at time, they
will have no chance to log-roll. As to
any one industry, the Senator's and
Representatives from all the other
states not engaged in that industry will
vote for the consumer.
Ship Subsidy Pleas Cited.
;, This principle. inherent in what has
been said. can be illustrated by the his
tory of attempts at subsidy for ship
ping. These attempts have always
failed, essentially Why has Congress
always denied a subsidy to shipping
when it has always been willing to give
a subsidy to any other industry, through
the tariff? Answer: The other indus
tries always made their requests for
tariff subsidies in groups, and thereby
made room for log-rolling.
If the request for subsidy fQr ship
ping had been united with requests fol-
3 subsidy for farming, for the steel in
dustry. for cotton and for other indus
tries-in that case would shipping have
got the subsidy? Answer 1t would
and so would all the other industries.
If what Is said here is correct. then
speaking roughly. certain principles ap'
near. One is: Revision of the tariff by
4 Congress. one commodity At time
will always result in revision down
ward, never upward.
The other principle is: Revision o.
the staff by Congress, acting on sew
eral schedules simultaneously q; e.. gen