Tariffs Hurt New England, Harris States

Government tariff and tax exemption policies tend to injure industrially depressed areas, Seymore E. Harris, professor of Economics, said yesterday in testimony before Senator John Kennedy (D-Mass) and the Senate sub-committee on Labor and Public Welfare.

Charging that New England industry suffers directly from Japanese textile imports, Harris said, "It is irresponsible of Washington to say we will cut tariffs on textiles ... when the textile industry is losing so much of its income every year."

In addition, Harris continued, food prices supported by parity, have gone up at the same time that New England industry has declined. In this way, New Englanders pay dearly for what they buy, and receive little for what they sell, he added.

The Federal Government's tax policies have also had serious effects, Harris said, because leading New England states have been refunded a relatively smaller amount of the taxes they pay than the major industrial states in the south.

Help Nation

He admitted that many of these policies are helping the nation as a whole. "But," Harris added, "we have also to take into consideration regional effects of national policy."

Harris suggested that greater care be taken "not to hurt further depressed industries and labor surplus areas" and that federal funds be made available on a loan basis at rates below cost to stimulate industry in such regions.