THE TARIFF: Impelled to Passage

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of the Ways & Means Committee had silenced the noisy uprising of farm state Congressmen by drafting a few changes in the agricultural schedules of the Tariff Bill. Then last week into the House Chamber were herded some 200 Republicans by their leaders, to ratify these changes. The doors were shut and locked after the manner of the Senate in executive session. There, out of the public eye, the party fought out its differences, the Democrats on the outside listening anxiously to the triumphant cheers from within.

Point by point the opposition was beaten down. By a vote of 206 to 24, the G. O. P. House members agreed to the will of their leaders. The Tariff Bill was as good as written and passed through the House at that point.

Bargains Won. Concessions which brought agreement were made on the basis of increasing duties on certain farm products above those reported in the original bill, in return for farm support on the remainder of the measure. Farm state Congressmen won and lost in this process of appeasement. They won on:

Potatoes, the duty on which was increased from 50¢ to 75¢ per 100 lb. The Maine Republican delegation had vowed it would not support the Tariff Bill without this provision.

Hides, which were removed from the free list and made dutiable at 10% ad valorem to satisfy U. S. cattle-raisers, despite the fact that nine in ten of them sell their hides on the hoof and can profit by this increase only in the form of higher live cattle prices.

Butter, the duty on which was moved up from 12¢ to 14¢ per lb. to keep in line G. O. P. dairymen, especially in Minnesota.

Live Cattle (see hides), on which the graduated tariff was increased ½¢ per Ib. and the weight of stock for the bottom rates reduced 250 lb.

Figs, on which the duty was raised from 2¢ to 4¢ to appease California Republicans.

Canned tomatoes, on which the duty was increased from 25% to 40% ad valorem to satisfy Eastern vegetable growers.

Onions, on which the tariff was raised from 1¾¢ to 2¢ per lb.

Bargains Lost. In return for these advantages Republican farm state Congressmen surrendered on:

Cement, brick, building materials, shingles, hardwood, on which the new high tariff was retained, thus keeping in line Western lumbermen, Eastern brick and cement producers.

Sugar, on which the 3¢ world rate (2.4¢ Cuban rate) was left unchanged, thus giving the Midwestern beet-sugar growers, the Louisiana cane-sugar growers, what they wanted.

Flaxseed, on which the proposed rate of 56¢ per bushel was not raised to the farm demand level of 80¢ per bushel.

Casein, on which the farmers' cry for an 8¢ rate brought sufficiently loud objections from the coated paper and glue manufacturers to hold the proposed duty down to 2½¢.

Blackstrap, on which farmers had sought an 8¢ per gal. duty in hopes of diverting makers of industrial alcohol from this molasses by-product to domestic corn. The Tariff Bill first allowed them a 2 1/6¢ per gal. duty. Paint makers, medicine makers, automobile makers protested effectively, warned of higher prices. The G. O. P. conference agreed to reduce the blackstrap rate back to 1/6¢ per gal.

Boots & Shoes, which were removed from the free list and made dutiable at 20% ad valorem, as a "compensation" for the new tariff on hides.