Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-16


transmitted to Washington, to cause
the Capitol to conclude that the net
attitude Of the country as a whole is
thumbs down." With this attitude OF
disapprobation goes general under
standing that the bill is still subject to
change, that it is now IN the Senate,
and that the Senate can make unllm-
tied changes.
A thoroughly calm. we'll balanced
newspaper which reflects the North
west, the Minneapolis Journal ex-
presses this attitude Of disapproval OF
the tariff: and reflects also complete
understanding of the strategy necessary
to bring about desired changes. Ths
journal says
1.-THE building material schedule is
grossly unfair not only to the North
The logic of the attack on building ma
terial tariffs, which is nationwide, is
unassailable The passage Of
the House bill is only the first round
In a battle that is not likely to be
settled until next September. The next
round is to be fought in the Senate,
where the chances of restoring build
ing material to the free list and making
other changes to help Northwestern
srricultiIre are good. Then will come
the final adjustment of the differences
between the Houses in conference.
What is needed, above all, is good gen.
eralship on the part of the Northwest,
good strategy in keeping what has al
ready been won and in securing every
possible further concession"
Reflects Western Sentiment.
IN the same spirit newspaper which
reflects dominant sentiment in large
section of the West, the Wichita Eagle.
begins by saying: There is bit OF
daylight in prospect for the farmers"
The Eagle then explains that the SEN
ate will now spend some two months
making changes and that thereafter, in
the Fall, these changes will come up
for decision in conference between
House and Senate. BY the time that
conference comes, the Eagle says, the
House will have had time to find out
how the country feels. and will be In
a mood to. accept downward changes
made by the Senate. As the Eagle puts
It:
'There is every chance in he world
that when the House returns to WASH
tneton in September, after recess, 1t
will be in temper an entirely different
House The. reception the farmers
are preparing to give the Republican
members of the House when they re-
turn this Summer from Washington
will be warm, everywhere west Of the
AlleEhenies. Scores Of members will
60 back to Washington determined not
to vote to disagree with sthe Senate
amendments reducing ditics."
In partially the same spirit, from the
South, the Atlantic Constitution says:
SThe buck and wing dancing in
Congress over the tariff schedules Is
nov due to begin. The House Re-
publicans have passed over to the
Senate a tariff scheme that Is calling
forth mess of conflicting criticism
from the press and the business In
terests of the Country"
Voice of Three Leading Journals.
The passages quoted above are from
three outstanding papers in three sec
tions of the country, the Northwest,
the West and the Southwest. 1t can
be said with safety that as respects
these three sections, the papers here
quoted are sufficiently typical. 1t Is
q sufficiently accurate generalization to
say that the tariff, as it now stands,
is opposed by nine-tenths OF the West
ern and Northwestern press aIS1 by
much more than half the Southern
press.
AS respects the Eastern press, the
situation is different-but is not OPP
posed The bulk of the Eastern press
is either critical Of the tarth or only
tepidly accepts it. Some parts of the
Eastern press are angrily critical. But
the Eastern press differs from the West
ern and Northwestern press as to the
parts of the tariff which 1t disapproves.
All this foreshadows exciting events
In the two months or more of discus
sion which the Senate and its finance
committee will give to the tariff. To
understand the outlines of what Is
about to happen, Qualification Is de-
- t..
sary to keep in mind always one broad
distinction-the distinction between ag-
rteultural products and non-agricultural
products.
Duty Placed on Congress:
This session of Congress was called
solely for the purpose of helping agri-
culture. Had it not been for that
motive, the session would not have
been called The help to agriculture
was to take two forms-frst q farm
relief bill, and, second, a revision of
the tariff in the interest of agriculture.
It Is not quite accurate to say that
the action on the tariff by this session
of SCongress was intended solely for
the purpose of helping the farmer. 1t
is accurate to say that but for the
purpose of wanting to help the farmer,
the session would not have been called
1t is accurate to say that but for the
purpose of helping the farmer, nothing
would have been done about the tariff
The only qualification necessary to add
is merely to say that is kind of
postscript to helping the farmer the in
tent1on was TO make very small num-
Der Of changes in the tariff rates on
an extremely limited number of nom
agricultural commodities.
When the idea of having a special
session of Congress and of having a
tariff readjustment first crystallized,
the only industry other than farming
that was in mind was the textile in
dustry. Other than this there was a
tentative attitude that If any other
industries could make out as good a
case for revision as the textile industry,
they might be added But no industry
other than agriculture and textiles was
mentioned in the campaign last year
or at any step in the series of events
that led up to this session Of Congress
and this tariff revision.
Farming Needs Stressed.
AS respects agriculture, the intention
was that the tariff changes should
be unlimited. The earnest and un-
qualified wish was TO do everything for
the farmer that changes in the tariff
could be made to do for him.
This program about agriculture has
been practically lived up to, though
not quite. Practically every farm prod
uct raised in the United States has
been given a strongly protective tariff
In almost all cases every farm croE
raised in the United States has beer
given whatever tarif rate was asked
for. The only exceptions are that but.
ter and a few other minor farm prod.
ucts were not given quite as high q
rate as some farmers representative;
elsmanded-though they we're giver
substantial raises.
In the net it is a fair generalization