The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-12-04
TARIFF DRIVES
BUSINESS INTO
OTHER LANDS
Congress to Air Stampede
of u. S. Industries to
Canada, Europe.
JOB LOSS IN THOUSANDS
Branch Plants Are Built as
Trade Warfare Grips
World.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS
Scripps-Howard Foreign Editor

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4.-Con-
gress is preparing to air the grow
ing stampede of American indus
tries to Canada and other foreign
lands resulting in the loss of thou
sands of jobs in this country.
While approximately 100000
American workers are out of en-
ployment in the United States, con-
gress will be told, hundreds Of i'm
portant American concerns have
built, or are building, branch plants
abroad and hiring tens of thousands
Of foreigners.
The blame will not be laid on the
concerns. The situation is seen as
a direct result of the tariff war be-
gun at washington and carried to
such extremes by the Hawley-
Smoot measure of last year that
practically the entire world is re-
taliating.
American exporters, thus cut off
from their foreign markets, it will
be shown, have been forced to build
branch plants in Canada and other
foreign countries from which to sup
ply the trade. This, obviously, means
fewer jobs at home.
Abandon Free Trade
Great Britain last week aban-
doned free trade and imposed so
per cent tariff which, in many in
stances, is prohibitive. When that
is not high enough, the Board of
Trade can boost it to 100 per cent
on any item or items it chooses by
the simple signing of an order.
President Won Hindenburg has
granted similar powers to the Ger
man government. BY decree, it is
authorized to make duties on i'm
ports prohibitive.
Today" the Toronto industrial
commission declared, "the British
empire is on the verge of the most
momentous economic decisions
among world peoples of modern
times.
"It generally is forecast that
within the next few months, various
parts of the British empire will eff
feet preferential trade treaties
among themselves, creating the
greatest elf-contained manufac-
turing, selling and buying market
in the worlds history"
Zero Hour Signal
In a telegram to Scripps- Howard
newspapers, General Manager H. B.
Keenleyside, of the Toronto COM
mission, declared that the British
tariff act was "the zero-hour signal
for another rush of American con-
Germs to set up branches inside the
Canadian and British empire wall.
Already" he wired, lover 300
United States manufacturers have
established branch plants in the
Toronto area and are in position to
take advantage of the momentouS
opportunities now opening before
them" Numerous others, he said,
ARE studying events and the likely
consequences of them" while
several important American con-
Germs now are on the ground, max
ing plans to manufacture their
products here"
The exodus of American industry
and American jobs to foreign lands,
it is held here, is the logical result
of our own tariff policy. According
ly that policy will have to be altered
if the situation is to be remedied.
Hull Leads Protest
Senator Cordell Hull of Tennes-
see, former chairman of the Demo-
cratic national committee; Repre-
sentative James w. Collier of Miss
isSippi, next chairman of the i'm
portant ways and means commit
tee, if the Democrats organize the
house as they are expected to do;
Representative Emanuel Celler of
New York, and others, are urging
that something be done.
Representative Celler declared to
the writer that in a world of pro-
hibitive trade-killing tariffs, the
United States, as the inStigator of
the tariff war, should undertake to
t1nd a remedy. Among other things,
he advocates tariff reciprocity with
Canada and has written to Premier
Bennett and President Hoover urg-
ing action along these lines.
In CellerS opinion, however, the
initiative should come from Canada,
rather than the United States, as
our last effort in that direction
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