Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-21
INSURGENTS PLAN
H TARIFF PRESSURE
Only Depressed Industries
Will Have Chance of Get
!s ting Upward Revision.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

With Congress waiting on the Senate
finance committee to frame a new tariff
bin, the assumption has been that the
committee hearing would be merely a
repetition of what occurred before the
House ways and means committee, but
1t now becomes apparent that the Sen
ate hearing will take an entirely differ
ent tack
Pressure from the coalition of inSur-
gent Republicans and Democrats is
forcing the issue to be one of proving
that a change in rates is necessary
rather than a request for a situation
that would yield more profits to the in
dividual industry concerned. In other
words only those industries which have
been depressed and are really struggling
against foreign competition will in the
end have much chance Of getting any
tariff revision upward This principle
has not been announced by the Senate
finance committee, but it is known to
be the fundamental policy just the
same.
There are several reasons for this
determination. One is that President
Hoover did not favor opening the whole
tariff bill, and considers the House bill
unsatisfactory. The other is that even
II MIR. Hoover were favorable to the
House bill, 1t could never pass the SEN
ate. The Democrats and insurgent Re
pubncans would prevent it.
The President is fortunate in having
aligned on his side the inSurgent Re-
publ1cans and the Democrats, although
it is too early to know how much the
President and these groups are in
harmony. The truth Is that the demand
for high protective duty comes from
States where the regular Republican
organizations are powerful. All con-
versation with such leaders to the effect
that their requests were exorbitant has
failed to do any good, so MIR. Hoover is
in the position of letting the Senate
factions fight it out. Thus the old
guard Republicans will not be thwarted
necessarily by Mr.. Hoover but by the
new coalition in the Senate.
Word has gone forth that a group Of
1nsurgent Republican and Democratic
Senators will stand by the Washington
schedule and study the hearing before
the Senate finance committee. There
fore the ways and means committee as
compared with the affirmative request
for increased duties. In the Senate
finance committee the situation will be
reversed. Every demand for higher
duty will have to be fully supported and
the burden Of proof will be on those
requesting a change In existing duties.
Llc 1dSt 4ldS AlOb pCC1L AlCdL0 Va bAAC
farm debenture plan, which will get
tangled up in the tariff bill when the
Senate resumes its session in the latter
part of August. It is unlikely, however,
that the debenture plan will command
the support in this case that it did as
part of the farm relief bill, because in
the latter instance the plan was OPP
tional and several Of the conservative
Democratic Senators did not assume
responsibility for the soundness of the
measure, whereas In the tariff bill it
would become mandatory on the Gov
eminent to apply the debenture plan.
The pressure also from the farm
region for q farm relief plan has been
met at this time to some extent by the
legislation already passed, so that some
Senators win feel that they have dis
charged their obligation on the plan
with the vote they cast when the plan
was a part of farm relief legislation.
Senator Norris Of Nebraska, however,
Is hopeful that the debenture plan viii
gain advocates. Others In the Senate
think that the debenture plan will be
better understood as a part OF the
tariff bill and more logically belongs
In the revenue legislation; but here
again the likelihood that the House will
eliminate the clause makes it doubtful
of ultimately finding its way into law.
ALI these things, however, will tend to
delay passage of the tariff bill until
late this year If at all.
(Copyright. 1920