Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1929-10-25
Flnried Administration.

Destruction of the Smoot- Hawley tariff
bill-for the bewilderment of the admin
istration forces in Congress and their desper-
ate laundering around to try to save some
thing from the wreck, means that the meas
ure as it was conceived by the Republican
leaders who sought this way of paying off
campaign debts has failed-is one of the
most wholesome things that has happened
at the Capital for long time.
The insolence of the pretense that farm
relief was the object of the tariff, which
was planned to put an additional burden
Of more than $700.OOO.0OO year on the
consuming public of the United States,
has been thoroughly exposed. Not only is
the defeat OF the worst of the attempted
extorticns forecast, but the additional
punishment is inflicted on the powers of
privilege of having the meritricious flexible
provision stricken out The power this
conferred on the President was departure
from one Of the highest principles of
Democratic government and was only OBJ.
tanned by the representation that it was an
emergency measure compelled by the crash
in foreign exchange following the war. and
was procured with the implicit promise
that it should not be prolonged beyond
the duration Of that emergency. Originally
represented as being particularly intended
to enable the President to cut down rates
at which the country demurred. the power
OF the President to change duties has been
exercised almost entirely toward increasing
those duties.
There was no excuse for a General tariff
revision at this session of Congress. Ac-
cordine to the figures Of the Department of
Commerce, of which Mr.. Hoover himself
was the head during the period of the sur
vey. the big corporations were making
greater profits than at any time in their
history. They might have been content
with the bounties they were getting under
the Fordney- McCumber bill, but the oppor
tunity for another raid afforded by the call
ing Of the special session was too Great for
greedy corporations to overlook, and they
charged down on Congress, where a COM
placent administration eagerly attempted
to give them everything they asked.
Apart from the satisfaction of correcting
an economic blunder, which resulted in
placing in the hands of the Chief Execu-
tive political weapon too great to be
entrusted to any single man-for it gives
the President power of life and death over
the country's industries-the elimination
OF the flexible tariff brings a comforting
glow for the retribution it visits on the
exploiters of the people. Their cupidity
caused them to Over-reach themselves. Had
they dreamed that forcing tariff fight at
this time would have resulted in the loss
OF this process Of building superstructurc
on the high rates they could get from a
Republican Congress, they never would
have ventured on this buccaneerne cruise.
is unthinkable that the Democrats and
those Senate Republicans who have stood
with them in the fight so far should ever
permit the restoration Of the flexible tariff.
though the pressure that will be brought
on individual Senators by auth lrs of special
duties on the products Of their individual
States will be enormous. it appears that
this time the old. nefarious system of log
rolling and trading will break down. Feel
ers are already being extended by the
Hurried administration in this direction.
But, as the Baltimore Sun recently put it..
the Democrats and the Insurgents should
put away all Machiavellan schemes. In
any negotiations with the Republicans
they should insist upon the elimination of
the extortionate industrial schedules. II
denied that, they should drive, as they
havedriven up to this time, head-on against
the gigantic fraud. What they have done
80 far is proof Of what they can do"