Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-05-14
Reciprocity d Misnomer


l committee thrccycar renewal Of the delegation
OF power 20 Secretary Hull negotiate reciprocal trade
treaties and the statement made by Samuel CroWthcr,
author sc3non- and farmer before the same committee,
present To the American people one OF the gravest do
nestle ISSUES confronting. thon-
That ISSUE is the continued abdlcaton Of the treaty
and taUtt-makuC powers of Congress and the growing
dominance of executive and bureaucratic powers
THE minority members OF Tho ways and means com.
l mittrc after announcing that they are not neces-
sary opposed TO mutually beneficial tariff schedules with
foreign nations expose the real import of the present
manner in making zrIc1 treaties i'm these words:
1t involves obviously unconstitutional delegation
of the tari0 and treaty making powers of the
Congress
O-The trade treaties negotiated are truly rccip-
rocal since the concessions which this country made
with individual countries have been extended gratuOusly
10 the whole world without cndeaNoring TO secure recip-
rocal concessions.
0-Thc fact that the administration of the act the
J principal object of reciprocity (which is to exchange
SurpluNeN for goods do not produce-has been
ignored.
t-"Fhe fact that tariff duties on competitive foreign
products have been reduced drasticay aud indS-
crimnatey without proper regard for the protection of
domestic agriculture labor and industry from unfair and
destructive foreign competition"
IN A word these reciprocal" trade treaties besides
1 being eXtra-constitutonal are not RECIPROCAL
at all.
1t is wdeopen free trade an economic fallacy that
nearly ruined England and that would do the same to
for the highest paid labor in the world-American labor
cannot successfully compete with labor paid on much
lower levels.
Samuel Crowther in his statement before the
mee boldly told its members that the bill before them
ALMOST NOTHING TO DO WITH TRADE" The real
issue said Mr.. Crowther, is
'Shal you abdcate as a Congress and deed to the
Chief Executive the arbitrary and absolute power to form
present and postwar United States according to his
judgment or his fancy, or shall YOU regain the right,
which have considered naenabe of the American
people Ia determine their own future through their
Congress-"
THE fundamental move-and therefore, the basic
issue-of this bill asserts Mr.. Crowther, is DELEGA-
TION OF POWER, not tariff schedules This motive is
being lodged because, says Mr.. Crowther
This administration is engaged i'm program of
international commitments which, to the extent that they
be dscerned, form fantastic picture that it does
judgment"
He riddles the arguments for the Hull fiat trade
treaties thiswise;
In 1894 they were urged on the ground that they
would put 100000 to work in a few months.
They did not do
In fact unemployment grew.
In 1887 the free traders byukase urged the "recip
rocal' treaties a of achieving world peace"
The answer to that is obvious.
In 1910 RECIPROCITY" was urged as a measure to
keep us out of war Comment on that is unnecessary
THOUGH we profess to be fighting this war for the
~ continuance of democratic procedure the whole
tendency Of this administration has been usurp
stitutonal democratic procedure by little by little"
establishing procedure that smacks of toaltaran
procedure-and of which the Hull reciprocal trade
treaties of the most glazing examples
Mr.. Crowther told the committee in unmistakabe
terms:
IF nation is maintain a reputation for frank
il is plain duty to make clear TO all the world that
is still constitutional government that the powers
of the President limited and that the final decision i'm
foreign policy rests with people through their Con-
gresS
THE very reasons which the secretary Of state
advances for the adoption this bill THE COMPEL
LING REASONS WHY 1T SHOULD BE REJECTED.
I'VE must not permit executive to MISREPRE-
SENT TO the world"
Those compelling reasons delegations of
powers that now above other time should
the HANDS OF CONGRESS, where the wisdom of the
founding fathers placed them.
PRIVATE BUCK :. By Clyde Lewis