Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01
TARIFF BILL CONFORMING
FOLLOWERS IDEAS LIKELY
Quick Compromise Taking Form of
Lower Rates i'm Senate Measure
Is Expected.

a hostile reception. Realization that
the Lower House had departed from the
| Presidents recommendation had
potent effect of 1isapproval.
Another agency of disapprobation
| came from important sections Of big
business. 1t came to be realized that
there has grown up in America during
the seven years since the last tariff re-
vision formidable section of American
industry which does not want or need
tariff protection for itself and which
further has distaste for high tariff
in general. This section of American
business has come to be engaged to an
increasing degree in exporting its prod
uctS to foreign countries. Indeed, the
export field is the one counted upon for
the future expansion Of American man
ufacturing.
This latter type Of business leader
has come to be more important factor
in American business as a whole than
the type that needs and asks for protec-
| ton. In a quiet way and partly in a
negative way the force of some of the
most important business men in Amer
| lea has been thrown on the side of dis
approval Of the tariff bill as it was when
1t passed the House.
There was still another condition re-
lated closely to the one just mentioned
American business as a whole was and
is enormously prosperous. This very
month of August, during which the bill
has been considered by the Senate
finance committee, has been the best
month in the whole history of Amer
lean buSlness-has been marked by the
greatest volume, the greatest profits
and the least unemployment. The ex-
istence of this condition has worked
against the industrial part of the tariff
In two ways: In the first place, it made
American business content with exist
ing conditions, including the existing
tariff, and heSitant to do anything that
might cause change: in the second
place this prosperous condition gave
| an argument to the opponents and
critics of the revision.
Finance Group Begins Work.
1t was under these circumstances that
the Senate finance committee took
hold OF the bill for the purpose OF
making tentative draft of changes
| for consideration by the Senate as a
whole. Normally, the Senate is conf
| IDENTIFY expected to make rates higher
than the House rates-and this expec-
tation existed when the Senate finance
| committee began its work The expec-
| tation was held most confidently bv
those beneiciarieS of the tariff who had
House. AS one of them said, I'VE got
a good deal that We wanted in the
Lower House and we'll get the rest in
the Senate"
But, In fact, the Senate finance COM
mlttee took account of the conditions
described above. If the committee ever
mad any anticipation that its work
would consist of further revision up
ward 1t quickly abandoned it.
Probably it is unfair to the commit
tee to imply 1t had any such ex-
pectation. Any one who has watched
the committee at work knows that the
work has been carefully and conscien-
tlously done. For many weeks all the
committee, and for further weeks the
Republican members of the committee,
has set for an average. probably, of
eight hours a day, in a Senate Office
which Is no Summer resort, at a time
and In the midst of Washington Sum-
mer that has been torrid
The mental attitude of the members
OF the committee has been one of in
qu1ry. Its work is free from any charge
| OF resembling the oldtime tariff re-
visions. The characteristics of revisions
made by Republican majorities of
nnance committees in the days of AID
rich were conSpicuous-tfem members of
| former committees did not really I'M
|
trlcately complicated figures on which
tariff revision should rest; their dispo-
Sltion was to listen to what the tariff
oenenclarles asked for, to accept the
figures given them and to write the
rates that the beneficiaries asked for.
| House Rates Cut Materially.
Nothing Of that kind went on in the
case OF the work of the present Re-
publican majority of the finance COM
mlttee. The atmosphere Of the commit
tee room was hostile to that sort of
thing. It was an attitude that listened
carefully, croSS-examined infinitely, re-
CURED every propoSer of an increased
rate to make out his case, and often
found holes in his argument
The result of the work of the Senate
| nnance committee on the present tariff
bill was as whole a material reduction
OF the rates as passed by the Lower
House. This is an almost unheard-of
thing. The existence of it now consti-
tutes an index. a sign pointing the
direction that the remaining steps of
this tariff revision are likely TO take.
The tentative bill as written by the
Senate finance committee will be laid
before the Senate as a whole next week.
The certain fact is that it will be torn
| to pieces. The practically universal
prediction is that when, after several
weeks Of debate, the pieces are reassem-
bled and the Senate as a whole writes
| Its version of the tariff bill-the univer-
sal expectation is that the Senate ver-
| sion will be very much lower than the
bill as it is now lower than the bill
has been in any stage of its existence.
After the Senate is through there will
remain, of course, the ultimate stage
the conference between the committee
OF the Senate and the committee Of the
House. 1t is "in conference" as the
| phrase Is, that many tariff bills, the
same as other legislation. takes its final
form in which the real intent and dis
position OF Congress expresses itself and
crystallizes.
| Quick Compromise Likely.
One can conceive, theoretically, this
conference turning out to be a tug-of-
war between House and Senate-the
Senate holding out for its lower version
and the House for the higher version
1t has already passed. But the common
judgment of Washington is that COM
promise will be reached quickly anG
that the compromise will take the form
of close approximation to the lower
Senate bill. The bulk of the members
Of the House have themselves changed
front and now prefer bill conforming
at once to the Presidents recommended
ton and to the attitude of the country.
It Is possible-indeed, one may say
it Is probable-that the bill as ulti-
mateiy enacted will come close to con-
forming to President Hoover's recon-
mendation; that is, broad and gen.
erous revision as respects agriculture,
but as respects other industries strict
ly limited" revision.
If this should turn out to be so, there
will be an interesting parallel between
the tariff and farm relief. AS respects
farm relief, Mr.. Hoover IN the Begin
Il 4 :.