Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-24
No Tariff in Santa's Sock.

Christmas, 1929 will come and &c
without new tariff law in the in
terests of the American farmers and
those industries which have been hard
hit by foreign competition. But the
cheering word is now passed around
ate" by February Is. 1t is almost a
year now since consideration of the
tariff revision was begun by the House
committee on ways and means, re-
vision which President Hoover hoped
would be limited" Who can tell
what the situation today would be
If the President and the Congress
had really undertaken general" re-
vision of the tariff? Selfish interests
and politics--the latter is merely an
other way of saying the first-have
been responsible for the long delay in
framing the new tariff. law. No one
group in the Senate or the House is
without blame. In the meantime
American agriculture and American
business have been compelled to wait.
The tariff bill is to be taken up when
the Senate returns January and kept
before the Senate until it is passed to
the exclusion of all other business
unless the Senate decides otherwise.
But whether the tariff bill is before
the Senate or not will probably make
little difference in the deluge of words
that will be poured forth in that body
on every conceivable subject. The con-
gressional campaign is in the making.
Reports from the Senate lobby investi-
eating committee, attacks upon the ad-
ministration by Democrats, near Demo-
Gratis and insurgent Republicans, are
likely to be the order of the day. All
Of which adds to the elaboration of
the greatest deliberstive body in the
world"
The Senate looks with distaste on the
suggestion that its rules be changed so
that unlimited debate is not permitted.
Such a change, Senators say, would
break down the greatest legislative body
and make it mere rubber stamp, like
the House." But 1t does seem as
though the Senate might well amend
its rules so as to provide for relevancy
of the debate to the subject actually
before the Senate for consideration.
Such a change would be in the interest
Of the orderly handling of business. 1t
would not deny to any Senator the
right to talk as long as he wished on
the bill or resolution or nomination
that might happen to be under con-
sideration. 1t would merely prevent
the Senate's debate from going off at
tangent, with hours wasted in the dis
cussion of matters not before the Sem
ate at all.
The tariff bill not only has to pass
the Senate: it must run the gantlet OF
the conference between representatives
of the two houses Of Congress and, after
that committee has reported, the Senate
and House must agree to the conference
report before the bill can be sent to the
President for his approval. 1t is well
understood that a long battle will be
waged when the bill is in the confer
ence stage. The democrats have had
their wish. The tariff bill will be in
the making when the congressional
primary campaigns are on, as some of
them are already, and will not become
q law-if at all-until just before the
campaign for the general election is
beginning. Whether the country will
approve of the tactics adopted by the
various groups in the Senate remains
to be seen. The so-called "old guard"
however, cannot with justice shake a
finger of disapproval at the. other
groups. 1t erred in the first place in
the manner In which it raised rates all
along the line.