Flexible Flip-Flop

Last week the House and Senate conferees' compromise on tariff flexibility (TIME, June 2) went for naught when in the Senate Vice President Curtis ruled it out of order. Grounds: the conferees had exceeded their parliamentary authority. Their plan, whereby the Tariff Commission might promulgate rate changes in cases where the President did not act upon their specific recommendations, was found to be new legislative matter which, in their original bills, neither the House nor the Senate had sanctioned.

Confused at this adverse tariff turn, Senator Reed Smoot, in charge of the bill, marched back to conference, where was patched up a second compromise under which only the President would have power to flex rates on specifications (limited to 50% up or down on the substantive law) supplied by the Tariff Commission.

President Hoover was reported "pleased" at this change.

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