Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-14

If Texas, ranking minority member, and
|regOn, chairman Of the ways and means
National Radio Forum.
sections and industries, but would treat
them all with as near exact fairness
as it is humanity possible to do. No in
dustry should be Disseminated against
in applying the economic principles OF
the tariff. Every section OF the country
and its products should be treated with
the same consideration. This is but
nomic policy.
Says Law Needs Changing.
The very fact that Congress is now
considering the revision of the. tariff
is confirmation Of the fact that the
present law does not meet conditions OF
today. I think 1t is agreed by all that
the present law in its incipiency greatly
discriminates against agriculture, and
that one of the economic causes for the
condition of agriculture during the past
eight years has been the want of SUI
ficient protection of certain Of its
products, and the high prices the far
mers have had TO pay for the overly
protected manufactured products. Both
| parties in the last election promised to
| to remedy this situation and the
| Democrats stand ready to fulfill that
promise.
Now the second problem can be dis
cusSed in few sentences; that is to
say. what basis of valuation you should
apply TO the rates IN the proposed bill
Snail it be the invoice price as al
present. or shall we change 1t tc
American" United States" domestic
valuations" All of these terms arc
more or less the same, and mean ir
effect that the present rates If applied
to such values, would become prohibit
tory. You might as well enact an EN-.
barge against importations, except
those things left on the free list. Be-
sides 1t Is quite impossible to administer
such a law, even If the rates were fixed
to apply to such valuations because nc
three men will arrive at the same con.
clusion as to what are American
United States, or domestic values, a.
the caes may be. 1t is very much like
the war excess profits tax, where In
theory it was just and equitable, but
ii practice it could not be admins
| tered.
AS usual. the Treasury comes forward
| with compromise remedy by which II
is proposed to take away from the Gus
| toms Court its Jurisdiction of the law
and facts and to beStow that discretion
in the Secretary of the Treasury. In
other words a complete bureaucracy OF
the administration Of the valuation pro-
vision of the law. No such proviSi ~
should be placed in any law. This policy
of giving bureau all power and dis
erection to determine matters of interest
between citizens is wrong, and especially
should not be applied to tariff taxes.
Future Is Third Problem.
The third problem is how to dea
with the tariff in the future. Shall VIZ
retain the present Tariff Commission
with extended powers, as suggested by
some of our Republican friends, or shall
We adopt some system by which Con.
gresS may function quickly and eff.
| fectively without materially disturbing
the general business of the country? ]
| think 1t has been demonstrated tha
the present Tariff Commission is no
workable and is unsatisfactory. 1t.
long delays, its chickering's of politica
nature, has been demonstrated over ane
over again since its creation, and while
the present commission Is proceeding
with greater efficiency and more salts.
! faction than heretofore, there is no as.
Surance that it could, or would, con
| tinue, because the personnel largely con
trolls that matter, and that can anc
probably will be changed in the future
propose, and feel that many of MI
colleagues are in accord, that we changi
the present commission to a fact-find
ing commission for the benefit of the
! House of Representatives, where tn,
1 Constitution requires all revenue legis
lation to originate, and by having tn;
facts before them the House could a
any moment report bill adjusting an,
paragraph that circumstances nigh
warrant and it could become, and prob
ably would become law. If it had merit
| to justify it, within two or three week;
| from the time it is reported.
The Constitution, in my judgment
will not permit Congress to empowel
the President to remove an article from
the free list to the dutiable list, and con.
versely from the dutiable list to the free
list because that would be virtual,
levying taxes and repeating taxes, which
the Constitution places solely in Con
gress, and such legislation must origi
nate in the House of Representatives
and therefore that body should equip it
self to meet emergencies at any tim,
they may arise.
such a fact-finding commission
could and would meet the situation
and thereby permit each paragraph t,
be considered upon its own merits, ant
ultimately take the tariff out of politics
/ Why should the tariff remain in poll
tics? There is no free party in thi
country, and the only question to b.
considered at any time is the rates t,
be applied at the custom house on thu
various articles that may be Offered
for sale in this country. All are agreed
that these rates should be the differ
ence in cost of production here ant
abroad as near as possible Now, VIII,
not ascertain the facts as to VIVA
those rates should be and apply then
without reference to party organization
Let me say in conclusion that I sin
cerely hope that the Republican organi
zation will give the House an oppor
tunity to present its views on this uues
ton in the form of amendments to tn
proposed bill. No gag" rule should b.
adopted. It cannot be defended unde
ordinary circumstances and surel,
should not be applied to great pieci
Of economic legislation such as tn
proposed tariff bill, especially in viey
of the fact that the Republican or
ganiZation has more than hundre,
i majority, and should not be afraid t,
trust its own membership to defend TIL
merits OF their bill.
4 ~