Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-18
Blocking Business.

March IS WITHIN naming distance ana
still the tariff bill clogs the way in
the Senate. The END of the debate on
this measure is not yet definitely in
sight. For limited revision" of the
tariff. the length of the discussion ap-
pears quite unlimited. The Senate has
become the great forum of politics
New parties are set up; coalitions are
formed, and still the American people
are compelled to wait the pleasure of
the Upper House. Debate is valuable
when it is informative and corrective
But. after all. there are limits beyond
which debate ceases to be anything but
a clog on the wheels of legislation. That
point has been reached in the con-
sideration of the tariff bill.
Representative Tilson, the Republi-
can leader of the House, and the other
House leaders admit that the situation
is becoming alarming. The House has
put through a majority of the great
annual supply bills for the running of
the Government during the next fiscal
year. But they have not been acted
upon in the Senate. Tariff has the
right of way in that body-except when
politics steps in. The bill for the trans
fer of prohibition enforcement from
the Treasury to the Department of
Justice in the interest of greater eff
cheney in the enforcement of the law
has been passed by the House and IS
now awaiting consideration in the Sem
ate judiciary committee. The argu-
ment Of the Senators has been that
even committee consideration of the
prohibition enforcement program must
await final disposition of the tariff in
the Senate itself. And now proposal
IL advanced that the Senate judiciary
committee shall investigate the en-
forcement officers, charged with the
duty of seeing that the liquor laws are
not violated and if they are violated
that the violators shall be punished.
In some quarters this proposal is re-
garded merely as plan to delay action
on the prohibition enforcement legis-
lation, now awaiting consideration.
The Senate did turn aside from the
consideration of the tariff bill for three
or four days last week to discuss the
nomination Of Chief Justice Hughes.
The great directors knew at the time
that their objections would not pre-
vail But here was chance to seek
political advantage, to launch cam
paign, even though it involved the
Supreme Court itself.
1t is a tradition that political party
control falls when times become hard.
It does not seem possible that the most
determined opposition to the present
administration would lend itself to
fostering a situation that would bring
hard times. Yet it is fact that bust
ness In America waits on tariff legis-
lation. It is SO whenever tariff legis-
lation is undertaken. It is more than
q year now since the House ways and
means committee began work on the
pending tariff bill. During all that
time American industry has been at sea
regarding the final outcome Of the legis-
lation. The House passed the bill and
sent it to the Senate more than half
q year ago. and in the Upper House it
still hangs fire. 1t is a contribution
toward stabilizing conditions in this
country which Congress is in a position
TO make. provided the Senate will vote.
The Senate can be led to the brink of
the legislative pool, but it is difficult
to make it drink therefrom.