Evening star., 1932-10-22
HOOVER ADDRESS
ON TARIFF ISSUE
Talk at Charleston Also
Stresses Need for Coal
Cooperation.
BY the Associated Eress.

BY the Associated FreSs.
CHARLESTON, w. Va, October a.
The full te,t of President Hoover's ad-
dress here today follows:
The Democratic candidate for Presi-
dent has said that he and his party
that the protective tariff is ghastly
lest. That becomes a curious descrip-
ton of the great industrial develop
ment Of this State
Right here the Kanawha Valley, once
q wilderness, has become the great
chemical center of our country. That
industry would never have been Gre
ated except by the protective tariff, and
1t cannot survive today. and the people
obtaining their daily bread from it could
not continue their jobs, If the tariff be
reduced.
The protective tariff made possible
all the plants in this valley and the
employment in them. That great Amer
lean policy. adopted and defended by
the Republican party, has also made
possible the steel, glass and pottery in
dustries in this State. All these plants
are today the backbone of your employ
ment and business. They give the mar
ket for your agriculture. They will con-
tinue to do so for generations unless
they are destroyed by this promised ac-
tion of the Democratic party.
Tariffs Impaired.
Due to deprecated currencies in for
eign countries. the tariffs have been
seriously impaired lately in the number
Of commodities. The depreciation in
currency in foreign countries has in
effect lowered wages and lowered stand
ards of living in those countries.
Four years ago I directed a survey
to be made of the cost of living among
workers in foreign countries, using as
common denominator the amount Of
bread and butter that could be pur-
chased at retail with a workmsn's wages
in each country I found that in the
highest wage countries they could pur-
chase about one-half as much bread
and butter with current wages as could
be purchased by the workman in the
United States in comparable jobs, and
I found that in the countries Of lowest
wages they could purchase with their
wages about one e-third Ct the amount
of bread and butter that could be pur-
chased by the American workman.
Recently I had this situation re-
surveyed in view of deprecated curren-
cies. I found that in the highest paid
countries instead of being able to pur-
chase one-half as much bread and
butter as an American workman they
could only purchase one-third as much.
and in the countries of lowest standards
of living instead of purchasing one
third as much they could only purchase
one eighth as much.
Orders Tariff Probe.
In the face Of this, the Democratic
party promises to reduce your tariffs.
In the face of this, l have asked the
Tariff Commission to reinvestigate the
whole rates on many commodities to see
whether the tariff is giving the protec
tion provided in the law.
And now the Democratic party prom
ises to destroy the effectiveness of the
Tariff Commission. That is a bi-par-
tisan body directed upon application of
any substantial person to investigate
and determine what is the difference in
cost of production at home and abroad
and to report their recommendations to
the President for any change in the tar
if. The President makes these changes
effective by executive order
The Democratic party proposes to
take away this power Of recommended
ton to the President, reduce the COM
mission to a statistical body reporting
to Congress This effective authority of
the Tariff Commission was secured by
me with the help Of the Senator from
your state in the last tariff bill.
To take that authority away means
to take away the ability to change the
tariff with changing tides of economic
life It means that no remedy may be
had except by action of Congress, which
means the old scenes of log rolling,
greed and compromise. with stagnation
of business for years before final action
Is arrived at.
have said many times that no tariff
bill is perfect. but under the commits
sion its inequities can be removed and
the rates of duty can be adjusted in
the shifting &c onomic situation, sched-
ule by schedule, without disturbance of
business and based solely on fact.
The reason they wish to destroy this
independent authority is obvious So
long as the Tariff Commission holds in
this position they do not dare to criti-
once any valid criticism could be
promptly answered by Investigation and
remedy through the commission. But
of more importance from this purely
political point, the Democratic party
would not wish to reduce the tariffs
and have the Tariff Commission prompt
ly restore them.
In order to attack the tariff they
have set up an ingenious hypothesis
that 1t prevents imports into the United
States and thereby decreases the ability