Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-10
SMOOT ABANDONS
PLAN FOR SLIDING
TARIFF ON SUGAR
Colleagues Hold Scale Pro-
posed Would Be InadvisabIe,
Utahan Says.
lNOUSTRY'S LEADERS
OPPOSED MEASURE
Schedule Probably to Be Taken Up
by Committee Majority Tuesday,
Senator Indicates.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Definite abandonment of the sliding
scale sugar tariff plan as substitute
for the fat increased duty proposed in
the House tariff bill was announced to-
day by Chairman Smoot.
The Utah Senator said he had de-
cided to ditch" the flexible rate plan
after sounding out the sentiment of his
Republican colleagues on the finance
committee.
This sentiment, Smoot said. was that
lnasmuch as representatives Of the sugar
interests were unanimous in opposing
his scale plan. 1t would be tnadviSable
to 60 ahead with it..
Declines Flat Rate Comment.
The sugar schedule, he added. prob
ably would be taken up for action by
the committee majority on Tuesday,
but would not indicate. however. vheth-
er the fiat rate to be voted into the
bill would be lower than the 2.40 cents
a pound on Cuban raw sugar Eow IN
the measures. as against 1.76 cents in
the rate under present law.
Although the Republican tariff
trainers of the Senate finance commit
tee are consistently withholding author
itative statements as to the general
trend Of rate changes they are making,
news Of reductions in the imposts voted
by the House continues to trickle out
Of their guarded workroom.
Downward revision of number of
che increases proposed in the House
bill on which they are working already
have been disclosed, affecting chiefly in
dustrial products. This has been Off
set. as far as the incomplete fnforrna-
tion made available to the public Is
concerned. by only few increases on
commodities, mainly agricultural in ma
ture.
Wool Schedule Is Example.
The controversial wool schedule. how
ever. is one of the latest examples OF
the committees activities along the line
of Shearing increases of the House bill.
In that bill, the rate on raw wool was
placed cents higher than in the pres
! ent tariff law: that is, at "a cents a
pound instead of 81. The Senate COM
mitteemen put IT. back at 81 cents. At
the same time. they have restored the
House increase on flg duties, one Of the
few farm products they are known to
have cut.
In the information which seeped out
about the wool schedule. It was not
made clear. whether changes were made
in the House rates on manufactured
wool. The House voted increases in
these duties all along the line to COM
pensate for the raise voted in the raw
wool impost.
The indication was that the commit
/ teemen had virtually finished with the
wool schedule, but no sign was given
whether they were still considering or
planned to act later on a proposal by
Henry Scheel, vice president of the
Botany Worsted Mills Of Passaic, N. j.,
that differences in labor costs here and
abroad be made the basis for these
rates.
Regarded as a new idea In tariff
making, Scheels plan was laid before
the subcommittee. which conducted
hearings on the wool schedule, and two
of the Republican members. Bingham
of Connecticut, and Sackett of Ken
lucky, are understood to be giving 1t
serious consideration.
Sugar Rates Again Are Hit.
Both the Smoot sliding scale pro-
posal and the House sugar rate came
under continued fire yesterday David J.
Lewis former member of the Tariff
| Commission, in a statement issued
! through the Democratic national COM
| mittee, said the Smoot plan applied
{ would cost the American public S348.-
/ 100000 a year in excessive prices, as
against $3.50, 10000 under the existing
! tariff.
| Senator Harris. Democrat. of Georgia
/ declared no one could defend the lex
| orbitant duty" proposed by the House.
He said that the beet sugar producers
not only wanted the higher duty but
were demanding that the immigration
doors be kept wide open to permit entry
! of thousands of cheap Mexican labor
| ers" for work on the beet farms.