Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-25
The Senate Tariff.

Inc GdTI1 DILL pdSSSQ IIlt SSIluIc yes
terday by a substantial vote following
almost seven months of debate. What
ever may be said of the bill, the Senate
at least must escape the criticism of
having taken speedy action. Some of
the votes cast for the passage OF the
measure yesterday were predicated upon
the earlier action of a majority of the
Senate in writing into the bill the So
called debenture clause and the amend
ment removing from existing law the
flexible tariff provision. Had it not
been for these amendments, probably
Senator Borah of Idaho and other
Republican Progressives from the West
might have voted against the measure.
The bill still has to run the gauntlet
of conference and adjustment between
the two houses of Congress. In the end,
following It's rewriting in conference, 1t
must command a majority of both
houses and then the approval of the
President if it is to become law. Much
will depend upon what happens in the
conference committee room. President
Hoover has been represented as ada
nant against the debenture clause. The
House has turned deaf ear to the SEN
ate's coalition plea for the debenture in
the past. Eventually the Senate will
have to decide whether it wants the
debenture or prefers the defeat Of the
pending bill. Judging from the more
recent action of the Senate on various
schedules, the debenture is likely to die.
Nor will the mourners be as numerous
as might be supposed from the uproar
over the matter in the Senate. 1t is well
understood that there are Democrats
who voted for the debenture not so
much for love of it but because they
knew that President Hoover was opposed
to 1t. Nor has there been any great
demand from the farmers themselves for
this plan, which is supposed to be in
their aid.
The Senate has raised q number of
the rates of duty on agricultural
products. For those increases the
House Republicans from the West are
likely to stand. Increases have been
made by that body also In some of the
industrial rates, although the coalition
succeeded In preventing a number Of
proposed advances in rates. The Senate
finally raised the sugar duties above sx-
isting law despite the coalition, but not
TO the high level Of the House rate.
Under the circumstances the con-
ferees cannot avoid an increase in the
sugar tariff rate over the present law.
although they may keep the increase
down to the House figure.
= The conference committee should be
IA position to work out better bill
than that passed by the House or that
framed by the Senate. The Senate has
amended the measure 1853 times,
which gives some indication of the work
ahead of the conferees. The demand
from many quarters throughout the
country for final disposition of the
3 tariff bill and its enactment into law
il expected to give impetus to the con-
alteration Of the measure in conference
and also to bring about final action in
both houses on the conference report.
The country is fed up with delay. A
serious charge has been made that
politics, not the interests Of American
labor, agriculture and business, has
been the cause of much of the delay.
The Senators and Representatives
from the farm States of the West have,
however, much in their favor in the
stand they have taken in regard to the
tariff. The farmers Of the West have
never reaped the benefits from the tariff
law which have accrued to the industrial
worker and the manufacturer. The
farmers are entitled to a square deal
In this matter and the conferees should
see, as far as they may be able to do
50, that agriculture has equitable treat
naent.
The coalitionists Of the Senate who
supported debenture and the abolition
Of the flexible tariff provisions would
be in better case before the conference
committee if they had followed the lead
Of Senator Borah and voted for the bill.
A solid vote for the passage of the
tariff bill with all its amendments
would have made 1t difficult for the
House to combat these two amendments.
3ut many of the Democratic members
Of the coalition, who had lauded the
debenture to the skies, turned their
back on the measure in the end. de-
claring that they believed that deben-
ture would be eliminated. Probably
they are right. But their position does
not indicate such willingness to go to
the grave" with the debenture as that
evidenced by the Idaho Senator.