The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-12-11
A NEW TARIFF MEASURE
To be Evolved by the House Ways
and Means Committee.
IT WILL BE A MODERATE TARIFF.

Decided Upon at Meeting Of the Repub.
Iican Members of the Committee. and to
be Presented at the Extra Session to be
Called by President Mckinley.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-THE ways and
means committee Of the house will begin
work before the holiday recess of congress
upon the tariff bill, which will be the
chief feature of the policy of the incoming
administration, and will endeavor to per.
feet the bill so that 1t may be presented to
the house of the Fifty. fifth congress early
in the special session which President Nc.
Kinley will summon for revising the
tariff laws. This program was finally de-
cided upon last night by conference OF
the Republican members of the commit.
tee, held In General Grosvenors rooms at
the Cochrane hotel.
All the Republican ways and means
men attended tho conference except Mr..
Steele, Of Indiana, who was detained.
They decided that Chairman Dingley shall
call meeting of the full committee for
tomorrow, at which the usual Formally
of giving the minority members an oppor.
tunity to vote upon the program will be
enacted. The proposition to BIO laid be-
fore the committee is that hearings be
given BY the full committee, at which all
parties having an interest in the tariff
will be invited to give their views, these
hearings to be commenced within a few
days.
Apart from this official plan, the Re-
publicans determined to take up the franz
ing of the bill themselves-the usual
course pursued by q majority party-soon
after the hearings are under way, and to
work to that end informally ut once.
There will be no subcommittee given
charge of the measure, but the full report
contingent will work together although
the various members will devote their at
tention to the particular schedules with
which they are most familiar. Messrs.
Dalzell and Hopkins will give most of
their time to steel. Grosvenor will have
to do with wool, Russell with cotton and
machinery, Evans with spirits and wines,
and Dolliver, Tawney and Hopkins with
reciprocity.
According to the trend of the discus sion
the reciprocity policy is to be made an i'm
portant feature Of the Republican tariff
system, even more important than it was
in the Harrison administration, If prac-
teal scheme can be devised. Great diff,
culties have presented themselves in the
consideration of reciprocity, some of which
were made apparent during the investiga-
ton Of the subject made by q sub-commit-
tee last session, not u few of which arise
from changed conditions of the govern
ment's foreign relations. The reciprocity
features of the tariff will be woven into
the original bill.
The conference was Of two hours dura-
ton and the participants said that they
had been unanimous upon the policy 10
be pursued. "A moderate tariff bill, thcy
explained, was to be their object A mod
crate bill Is understood to be one whose
average rates will be somewhat lower
than the rates of the Mckinley bill of 1890
though considerable average advance
over tho Wilson German duties, and COM
mitteemen said that they would not hest
tate to advance rates beyond the Mckin-
ley bill in cases where experience had
shown advances to be advisable.
No appointment has been made to fill
the vacancy in the committee created by
the death Of ex-Speaker Crisp, and with
Mr. Turner, who is one of the Democratic
leaders, absent the minority might conf
plain that it was not properly represented.
Speaker Reed 1t is expected, will desig-
nate Mr.. Crisps successor this week. Mr..
Newlands, OF Nevada, has been discussed
as one qualified to fill the vacancy whose
selection might do something to help the
passage of tariff bill. Mr.. Newlands is
representative OF the Independent Silver
ticket, having formerly been Republic
can. 1t is thought by some that If recog-
milton were given the Independent Silver
men by such an appointment it would
tend to draw the support of several sem
ators belonging to that faction.