New Britain herald., 1930-01-07
SEES FREE TRADE
 AS GAINING HOLD
Congressman Huddleston Says
 This Tariff Fight Is Last

Washington, Jan. 7.-The current tariff fight is only the beginning of last, decisive struggle over the pro- teCtive theory.
 There will be more tariff fights, continues Congressman George Hud- dleston of Alabama, until in 10 or Is or perhaps 20 years general reversal of opinion will have de- veloped and the free trader again will have come into his own.
 Important branches of industry are already coming to realize that the protective tariff system is a handicap to them. Huddleston says. and as soon as the farmers become fully aware of the same thing in their own case the destruction of the system will be In plain sight.
 F1nanCiers Don't Want It
 "Wc have observed some rays of light this year." says Huddleston, which forecast the future. Rccog- milton is growing all the time in great section of American public opinion. especially among financiers and industrial leaders who are look ing abroad for business, that all tariffs are handicaps to internation- al commerce.
 That goes even for certain lines of American manufacture. The au- tomobile business, for instance. is looking to foreign markets. The tariff can't help 1t because it's prices are fixed by domestic competition. They have an important exportable surplus and the tariff system flinders them because of the high duties placed by foreign nations on Amer ican cars.
 "The textils and coal industries are in poor shape. In both the costs of production are increased by the protective system. Everything the textile mills buy in the way of ""''; .. ment if not in raw materials Is in- creased in price. The man operating coal mine buys his machinery and great deal of expensive equipment for higher prices. When he sells coal it's on a basis of domestic con- petition. The same condition is true in the coarser grades of textiles and it is becoming increasingly true with the finer textiles.
 American textile manufacturers cant compete with foreign manu- lecturers because their costs are so enhanced by tariffs and it's the same way with automobile manufa cturers and many others.
 II think most of these farm state senators are supporting the higher agricultural rates with tongues in their checks, realizing that few of these agricultural tariffs will be ef- fcctive. Everyone knows that they are not effective on such important agricultural products as wheat and cotton and corn because of the large exportable surpluses.
 Put the constituents of these senators, not realizing it as well as they do, are not yet ready to sup port them in a fight on the protec- tive system.
 "Of course we know that the farmers costs of production and his costs of living are greatly increased by the tariff It is not onceivable that the farmer, aware of this and realizing that he cannot become a beneficiary of the tariff, will cling much longer to his acceptance of the system.
 Already, I believe, the farmers are saying to themselves: We are going to see if this tariff works for us and if it doesn't we'll tear down the whole playhouse'."
 Senator HowclIS Plan
 There are farm state senators who think as Huddleston does, for those from the grain belt admit that there is no salvation in the tariff for agri- culture.
 Senator Howell once proposed that in answer to the industrial east fol- lowing the Coolidge vetoes of the McNary-Haugen bill. the supporters of that measure begin to tear down the protective tariff wall stone by stone, or schedule by schedule. He argued that if agriculture could not be brought up to the level Sf indus