Winnings & Losings

"Greedy monopoly . . . plain robbery . . . patriotic duty . . . finest bill ever . . . protection for all ... utterly indefensible . . . stricken agriculture . . . an All-American bill . . . murderous competition . . . excessive profits . . . cost of production . . . outrageous. . . ."

Such well-worn legislative phrases jumbled about in the House of Representatives for three days last week as that body got in its last licks on the Tariff Bill. Before the House was a conference report on the measure which settled all but eight items of dispute with the Senate. These eight items were thrown open for House debate and action.

Master of tariff ceremonies was Oregon's Republican Representative Willis Chatman Hawley, chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee and No. 1 House conferee with the Senate. Big, slow-spoken, slow-witted, substantial, Congressman Hawley is a high protectionist to the bone. Only too proud is he to have his name go down to posterity on the 1930 Tariff Act. In last week's House contest he personified the orthodox high tariff Republican ideal. Against him were arrayed insurgent Republicans and low-tariff Democrats, leaderless through the absence of Texas' Congressman John Nance Garner, minority chief, who was ill with influenza.

When the House voting was over Chairman Hawley cast up his winnings and his losings. He had triumphed on only three points while his low-tariff adversaries had trounced him badly on five others. By and large the House had turned against his super-protectionist proposals, had sided with the Senate for lower rates. Hawley winnings:

Silver. At the chairman's request and over the protest of Southwestern members the House voted to drop a 30-c- per oz. duty on this metal, restore it to the free list.

Export Depenture. To help eliminate this hard-fought Senate provision from the bill whereby farmers would be guaranteed a bonus on their exported commodities, Republican Leader Tilson flipped out a letter from President Hoover, read into it a threat of veto for the whole measure unless the debenture plan was killed.

A hush fell over the chamber when Illinois' Representative Charles Adkins, onetime State Director of Agriculture under Governor Frank Orren Lowden, rose to remark: "If there was any proposition up which would enable the farmer to stick his hands down into Uncle Sam's rockets, I'd be for it. But I don't see that opportunity in voting 'for this debenture plan." Neither did a House majority which voted (231-to-161) to strike the proposal from the bill.

Flexibility. Jealous of the President's power to flex tariff rates 50%, the Senate amended the bill to nut flexibility entirely in the hands of Congress. Aware of President Hoover's liking for this flexing power Chairman Hawley rounded up a substantial House majority to exclude the Senate provision from the bill.

On tariff rates Chairman Hawley's losings were as follows:

Cement. House rate: 8-c- per cwt. Senate rate: 6-c- per cwt. The House voted (221-to-167) for the low Senate figure.

Lumber. House rate: $1.50 per 1,000 ft. Senate rate: free. With pitiful tales of 80,000 lumbermen jobless in the northwest, due to Canadian competition, did Chairman Hawley plead for the House rate. Sensing defeat, he offered to compromise at 75-c- per 1,000 ft. But the House, in a low-tariff mood, would not compromise, voted (250-to-143) for the Senate's freelisting of lumber.

Shingles. House rate: 25% ad valorem. Senate rate: free. Again Chairman Hawley pleaded for the top rate, again he offered to compromise on 15% ad valorem, again the House swept him aside, put shingles on the free list (279-to-100).

Logs. House rate: $1 per 1,000 ft. Senate rate: free. The House, on second thought, adopted the Senate rate.

Sugar (Cuban). House rate: 2.40-c- per lb. Senate rate: 2-c- per Ib. Chairman Hawley begged for a 2.40-c- per lb. duty: "Sugar is the cheapest food we have. This is an industry that needs protection and the additional cost (60-c- per family per year) is so small it won't be felt." When defeat loomed again, he again tried to compromise at 2.20-c- per lb. But the House, now thoroughly insurgent against top-notch rates, turned savagely upon bewildered Chairman Hawley, voted (229-to-160) for the low Senate rate, an increase of 24 100-c- per lb. over the present low.

Significance. The conference report, thus completed by the House, went back to the Senate 'for final approval. No longer in controversy were the rates on silver, cement, lumber, shingles, logs and sugar. Chief remaining issues before the measure can be sent to President Hoover for approval: Export Debenture and Flexibility.

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