Evening star., 1929-07-28

cient search for duties that could be re.
duced. Probably the minds Of the COM
mittee were not on reductions; they
were focused on the commodities forced
upon their attention, commodities as to
which raises were demanded.
In any event, we know now that the
wavs and means committee could have
reduced, as one example, the tariff on
automobiles without objection from the
automobile manufacturers.
The net fact is that the bill as origi-
nally written by the ways and means
committe was not so seriously subject
to objections as it later became.
After the ways and means committee
had written its first draft of the bill
there ensued hectic period. partici-
pated in by the members of the House
as whole, in which members who had
been disappointed by the committee
made a last-ditch fight. It was in that
period that the tariff took on most Of
the features that later we're assaued by
public opinion.
The passage Of the bill by the Lower
evolution. The farmers spokesmen were
almost, though not quite, satisfied. The
state OF mind of the manufacturers was
expressed by one who said they had got
good deal in the Lower House and
would get more in the Senate.
The bill went to the Senate. The uni
versal expectation was that the Senate
would write higher duties than the
House. But several things happened
Senator Borah introduced resolution
to the effect that the tariff revision
should be confined to farm commodities
only, including only such manufactured
goods as are incidental to farm crops.
The resolution. supported by combina-
ton of insurgent Republicans with sub
stantially all the Democrats, came with
in one vote of passing the Senate. That
showed the high-tariff Republicans in
the Senate that they had formidable
opposition.
In the meantime, most Of the press Of
the country and practically all the press
in the farming sections denounced the
bill, especially the increased rate on
sugar.
In the meantime. also. members Of
the Lower House went back to their dis
trlcts for vacation. There, especially in
the farming districts, they learned the
state of public feeling They recalled, or
had recalled to them. what happened to
the Republican Congress which in 1909
wrote tariff higher than the public
approved. Members of the Lower House.
subjected to these influences, began to
regret the height of the bill they had
passed and their regret communicated
itself through party channels to Repub-
lican Senators.
Another Powerful Factor.
There was another powerful factor.
Many foreign nations protested against
the rates in the new bill Ordinarily
such protests from abroad about our
tariff are jeered at. But this time, If
the foreign protests did not make a
direct impression on Senators, they
made an impression on American busi-
ness men and thereafter indirectly on
Senators. Many of the largest figures
in American industry are exporters.
ample, depend on exports for the future
expansion of their trade. Therefore
they want good will abroad. And
therefore several sections of American
business threw their weight behind the
sentiment for making the tariff more
moderate
AS the resultant of these and other
pressures, the Senate finance commit
tee. according to common belief, will
write a version of the tariff bill con-
spicuously lower than the House ver-
sion. Thereafter the Senate as whole
will, in Senator Hef1in's expressive
phrase, Operate" on the hill. The tend
ency of the Senate operation" will
be to make the bill lower yet.
Yet it would be rash to predict that
conspicuously low tariff bill will be
passed by this Congress. 1 have said
that atmosphere counts much in a
conspicuously low or conspicuously
high. One can realize the cause by
considering the case Of almost any in
dividual Congressman.
A Congressman as a rule has In his
district one industry which wants a
high tariff If this Congressman can
get this one high duty he is willing
that other Congressman shall get the
high duties they wish. Usually he Is
more than willing. Usually he will CO.
operate-and this is the process called
log rolling.
Two Choices for Legislators.
But if this Congressman cannot get
the one high duty he wants, then he
is likely to be for a low tariff all
around or for no tariff revision at all.
A Congressman has two choices. He
can please the owners and workers In
an industry in his district by getting
a high tariff for it--and this Is the
choice a Congressman usually makes
if he can. His minor choice is to 1den-
tify himself with a movement for a low
tariff on everything-and thereby ap-
peal to all the people in his district In
their role of consumers.
From this picture it will be seen -that
if the present atmosphere continues the
tariff is likely to be low. But II tarln
is to be low, nobody has any powerful
motive for bringing it about. Conse-
uuently. it is one of the possibilities that
this session, somewhere toward the END,
NAV throw up its hands and take no
action on the tariff whatever.
Congressmen and Senators, and busi-
ness men as well, are likely to reason
that if they cannot get higher tariff
they had best get along with the tarlh
as it is and has been since 1922. This
state of mind is the more likely because
business as a whole is not imperat1vely
eager for a tariff revision. The evi-
dence of this is that at the present mo-
ment American business as whole has
greater volume and greater prosperity
than at any time in its history. This
could not be so if a new tariff were i'm
peratively needed.
The possibility of no tariff revision at
all is further increased by the attitude
of those spokesmen who represent them
selves as speaking for the farmer. They
are repeating their demand for tariff
on bananas and for an exclusive tariff
on jute. They are identifying them
selves with the House rate on sugar,
which they say is farm crop and must
have whatever duty the raisers of sugar
ask for. They are standing by the
House rate on sugar, which practically
all the rest Of the country has con-
demned 1t is common saying in SEN
ate circles that the farmers; or those
who purport to represent the farmers,
are overreaching. If this sentiment
should become general, the original mo-
tive for any tariff revision at all, which
was to help the farmer, would cease to
be potent.