Evening star., 1938-03-15
j. 5. TRADE PACTS
ASSA|LED BY FISH
Treaties Not Instruments
of Peace, New Yorker
Tells Hearing.
BY BLAIR BOLLES.

"bunkum and humbug on the Amer
ican people" when 1t points to the
reciprocal trade agreements As instru-
ments for peace, Representative Ham,
ilton Fish, Republican, Of New York
complained today to the Committee on
Reciprocity, conducting hearings in
the Commerce Department Auditorium
on the proposed trade agreement with
Great Britain.
II see no more connection between
peace and trade agreements than do
between cheese and chalk" said Mr.
Fish, for 10 years q member Of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
He spoke in general opposition to the
whole theory Of reciprocal agreements
and their MISREPRESENTATION prin-
ciple, which extends to almost all
countries. except notably Germany, the
tariff lowering benefits on items in
cluded in agreements made with sim
gle countries.
II wish the State Department
would cease issuing statements daily" "
Mr.. Fish continued, that these trade
agreements are synonymous with
peace. We have an agreement with
Czechoslovakia. but 1t wouldn't keep
Czechoslovakia out OF war. and this
agreement under consideration
wouldn't keep Great Britain out of
war"
Says 1t Lowers Wages.
Mr.. Fish condemned the most
Approximation principle as lower
ing our wage and living standards
which might. in the next two decades,
make it possible for Japan, where he
said workers get 20 cents q day for
labor which pays 50 4 day in the
United States, to turn out automobiles
with very low-paid labor competing
with Aportcan automobiles.
Henry F. Grady. chairman Of the
Reciprocity Committee. who is presid-
ing at the hearings which opened yes
terday. remarked that the Republican
President Mckinley was a supporter of
reciprocity and the Republican Secre-
tary of State Hughes made the most
favored-nation clause q part Of our
commercial policy.
so you see it is good Republican
principle Mr.. Grady said. The pur-
pose of the agreements is to increase
employment and promote industry and
agriculture. We get many millions OF
dollars through the operation OF the
INSTRUMENTATION clause"
Cites Belgian Case.
Mr.. Grady pointed out that the
Belgian trade agreement included a
concession by Belgium on United
States automobile accessories. Soon
after the agreement was approved,
Belgium signed an agreement with
France which lowered further the Bel
gian accessories. This country got the
benefit Of that lowered duty because
OF the MISREPRESENTATION clause, Mr..
Grady said. whereas without the
clause the duty on United States acces-
sories would have remained so high
that We would have lost the market
THE Observation-Disclosures principle
Is Just good common business sense" :"
Mr.. Grady said
Gov. Robert E. Quinn Of Rhode Is
land. preceding Mr.. Fish to the Wit
ness stand, urged the committee to
make no concessions to Great Britain
in lowering tariffs on the three prin-
cipal manufactures Of Rhode Island
cottons. woolens and worsteds. The
Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act Of
1884 permits the lowering or raising
Of duties in the Smoot- -Hawley tariff
Of 1890 by so per cent.
"Competition within the United
States among manufacturers of textiles
as in other industries Is sufficiently
keen to warrant saying that the wage
dif1erentials are so great that to allow
imports from the United Kingdom,
where wages are SO much lower per
hour than even our lowest here in the
United States, industry in Rhode Is
land and other parts of New England
will be compelled to fold up and enter
other lines Of industry" Gov. Quinn
said.