Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1940-03-02
By CHARLES P. STEWART
Central Press COlumniSt

Washington, March Am espe-
cailly interesting detail Of the Re-
publican program committees state
ment of principles, with a view to
the coming national campaign, is to
be found in the organizations partial
acuuiescence in State Secretary
Hulps reciprocal trade policy, which
he's been developing since early IN
the Roosevelt regime.
Secretary Hull, if not an out-and-
out free trader, at least is very low
tariff advocate. My own impression
is that his reciprocal treaties aim at
the ultimate abolition Of custom
houses, or tariffs for revenue only.
Evidently, however, the state depart
mental head thinks this would be
an overdose, all at once, for coun-
try so habituated to the protective
philosophy as ours is. and is trying
to accomplish his end, through his
reciprocal bargains, by degrees.
That is to say, if some other ma
vor, we'll correspondingly lower ours
cor, we'll correspondingly lower ours
in favor of the other chaps.
For instance, Brazil produces lot
of tropical stuff that we need, being
entirely untropical ourselves, where
dis Brazil needs plenty OF our manu-
featured goods, being mainly nom
industrial realm. So Secretary Hull
proposes a big reduction in our tar
ifs on tropical raw material in re-
turn LOT a brazilian reduction on our
processed junk.
He has concluded 20-odd of these
compacts with other governments,
and reliable calculations show thai
they've been mutually very benfi-
ciaI. A few narrow interests spokeS-
men deny il, but the figures general
ly arc accepted, as indicated by the
Republican program committees re-
pOrt-that committee being one of
which Wouldn't be likely 10 speak
we'll Of tnC Hull plan if it &ian't sill
ccrcly think we'll o. /, n modcra-
ton.
Partisan Tsaai,.r"s.
Or cOlrS@, tn, ;.,........t'C ufIty
has been lruuIt.ul-.. .a..gy tHG.
or tariff Tor roy. F.. - i...
so Theoretically IT. -. .....- inis h@sn ,
been altogether liz cj,C. Democratic
legislators qu!ty uniformly nave vut-
ed for high tarhI, against imports;
which threatened To encourage for
eign competitions by cuuMiI2S p"otuc-
tive Of commodities That their own
localities are rich in.
I
have been high protcctonistS. Yet a
few Of them have preached, not free
trade, but reciprOCity-frce world
exchanges Of nOn-cUmpCtitive COM
modjties. James c. Blaine was an
early reciprocity apostle. But, just
following the last World war. Re-
publicanism went proectionalistical-
ly bit cuckoo. AS Senator 4. +.
Costigan Of Colorado, who had been
member of the Federal Tariff Com
mission, once told me, protection
seemed to him to have become Moth
ing short of ''religiOn' TO such law
makers as Senator Reed SmOot and
Representative HaWley, trainers Of
the celebrated Smoot-HaWley Sche-
dule soon after President Hoover's
election. Parenthetically, Hoover
never pretended overly to like that
law.
At that Smoot-Hawley hearing,
preceding the laws enactment, I re-
call that Yankee apple growers de-
manded prohibitive tariff against
bananas (Which we can't grow, ex-
cept under glass; in order to make
eat apples.
Earlier Principles.
Republicans of today, as suggest
ed by Chairman Glenn Frank of the
c.. o. P. program committee, are
getting back to Blaine (Republican)-
Hull (Democratic) reciprocity.
Here's where they clash:
Hull got congressional authoriza-
ton to conclude pacts without any
legislative .. k. The constitution pro-
vides that an executive treaty re-
quires senatorial approval to become
effective. Secretary Hull has been