Evening star., 1934-03-01
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

Oy Vs VOUSO AHsCOsUs i
The administration plan for lower
ing the trade barriers between the
United States and other countries
and 80 bring about . very consider
able revival Of the foreign commerce
Of this country has been revealed In
its bald outline. Following q con-
ference at the White House yester-
day, the Democratic leader Of the
Senate, Senator Robinson Of Arkan-
sas, announced that the President
would ask of Congress the authority
to make reciprocal trade agreements
with other nations. and, as means
] to bring about these agreements, au-
| thority to lower the tariff duties-or
raise them-within fifty per cent
limit during o period Of three years.
There will be no authority asked to
change in any way the present free
list Of importations, either to add to 1t
| or take away from It, Senator Robin
son said. The plan is hedged around
with limitations, which, it is hoped,
will make it more palatable to the
| Congress, and yet Of sufncient hexi-
bility to make real and valuable trade
agreements possible.
&HH+
When the plan Is actually put be-
fore the Congress in legislative form.
however, there are bound to be severe
attacks upon it, not only from Re-
publican, but also from Democratic
sources. The tariff Is something that
touches American industries and agri-
culture so closely from so many diff
| ferent directions that whatever Is done
about it always raises a howl. What
is one industry's meat Is another's
poison when 1t comes to the tariff.
To leave the matter in the hands OF
! the President to deal with for three
years does not appeal to many men,
| bers of Congress or to their con-
stituents, whose interests may be vital
ly affected by any changes that the
President may bring about in the tar
If. even under a fifty per cent range.
Only those articles now on the free
list are, apparently, to be exempt from
the authority of the President. Al
ready there are suggestions that GER
tain other articles now on the dutiable
list should be excepted from the gen.
eral authority of the President to
lower the tariff duties. II once Con-
gress began to make such exceptions,
| however, there might be no end to the
list Of exceptions, and the whole pur-
~ Iva af tha yN1o ~ urOl,1d he
lost.
It would seem to be clear to Amer
leans neutrality-suspicious. as well
as Democrats-that something has
gone wrong with the international
trade of this country. For a great
many years the United States was a
| leader in the protective tariff theory,
adopted to permit infant industries"
to get on their feet in this country.
and then continued to make a higher
standard Of living for labor in this
country possible and also to line the
pockets of industriahsts in this coun-
try with millions of dollars. The
World War, with its debts, started
the nations of the world on a drive
for -suffciency. Each nation
wished to produce whatever it needed
as far as possible. Trade barriers
| Of all kinds were raised toward this
| end. until the tariff wall of the United
States looked rather puny. This
meant shutting out American prod
ucts on a large scale. On the other
| hand. foreign products could not en-
| ter the United States because of the
high tariffs, and the foreigners had
no way to pay for American goods,
anyway, or to pay their debts to this
country.
The administration Is about to
tackle this difficult problem. Ordi-
narily the Democrats might be expect
ed to 90 ahead and lower the Ameri-
can tariff duties through congress
sional action in the usual way, with
a revision of the general tariff laws.
But the administration probably sees
that such action would be a benefit
merely to the foreign nations. There
must be some kind Of reciprocity In
this matter Of lowered trade a5Diers
If the United States is to benefit. And
reciprocity can be obtained only
through action Of the executive
branch of the Government, through
negotiation.
Doubtless there will be a demand
! in Congress that after an agreement
with another nation has been nego-
tiated 1t shall be submitted to the
Congress for ratification. But the ad-
ministration holds that such a course
would lead to great delay. and pos
sibly to defeat Of the whole plan.
John Dickinson, Assistant Secre-
tary of Commerce. speaking in Cleve-
land, Ohio, not slong ago, put very
clearly the need Of some step which
will permit freer now Of foreign
commerce in this country. Mr.. Dick
inson said:
The problem in any particular case
Is simply whether more American
capital and labor is injured by the
cessation of the exports than would
be injured by the admission of i'm
ports needed to pay for them. 1t can
be shown, and has been shown by
statistical investigation, that there
are many types of goods now practi-
cally excluded which could be i'm
ported into this country from abroad
with only . slight displacement Of
American labor and capital, because
they are not really competitive with
American goods, or because the
American production Is too insignifi-
cant to supply our home market. If.
for the sake Of protecting the in
significant interests which might pos
sibly be affected adversely by such
importations, we exclude imports
which would pay for exported prod
ucts that would keep q large volume
| Of American labor and capital en-
ployed, I submit we are not giving
protection to American industry. Such
| shortsighted attempt at protection
which defeats its own ends Is not
protection-it is yelled and covert
destruction"
4
The announcement made by Gov.
| 0Tovd u 01eoy, ~ AEipnocoto ~, Mon,