The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-11
FOR A new TARIFF.
Ways and Means Committee 10 Be-
gin Work at Once.

Washington, Dec. 10.-The ways and
means COMMITTEE of the House will begin
work before he holiday recess of Con-
gress upon the tariff bill, which is to be
the chief feature i'll the policy of the in
coming administration, and will en-.
deavor to perfect the bill so that it NAV
be presented to the House of the Fifty
fifth Congress early in the special SEES
sion, which President Mckinley will
summon for revising the tariff laws.
This programme was formally decided
upon to- night by II conference of the Re-
publican members of the committee held
in General Grosvcnor's rooms at the
Cochran Hotel. 1t gives semi-ofIicial
continuation to the announcements made
by the Associated Press II week ago that
the President. elect had concluded TO have
an extra session, and that the Republican
LEADERS, had abandoned the DinpIcv hill
the temporary measure which was passed
By tn, House in the last session, and
amended with II free silver substitute by
the Senate.
All Republican ways and means r:en
attended the conference to. night cXccpt
Mr.. Steele, of Indiana, who was detained.
They were; Dingley, of Maine; Payne,
of New York; Dalzcll, of Pennsylvania:
Hopkins, of Illinois; Grosvenor, of Ohio:
Russell, of Connecticut Deliver. of
Iowa; johnson, of North Dakota: Evans.
OF Kentucky, and Tawney, of Minnesota.
They decided that Chairman Dinrlev
should call II meeting of the full commit
tee for Saturday, ut which the usual
foTmality of giving the minority members
I'M opportunity to vote upon the pro.
gramme will he enacted. The pronosi
ton to be laid before the committee is
that hearings he given by the full com.
mittee ut which Ill parties having an in
terest in the tariff will be invited to give
their views, these hearings to he com.
mcnced within IL few days.
Apart from this official plan. the Re.
publicans determined to take up the
framing Of the bill themselves, the usual
course pursued by il majority party, socn
after the hearings are under way and to
work to that end informally at once.
There Will he no sub committees given
charge OF the measure, but the full Re-
publican contingent will work together.
ALTHOUGH the various members will devote
their attention to the particular schedules
with which they are most familiar.
Dalzell and Hopkins viii! give most of
their time to steel; Grosvenor will have
most to do with wool; Russell with cot
ton ami machinery; Evans with spirits
and wines, and Doliver, Tawncv and
hopkins with reciprocity. According to
the trend of discussion the reciprocity
policy IS to he made i'm important feature
OF the Republican tariff system, even
more important than it was in the Harri-
sou administration if II practical scheme
can he devised. Great difficulties have
presented themselves in the consideration
OF reciprocity, some of which were made
apparent during the Investigation of the
subject made by IL subcommittee last
session; not Il few of which arise from
changed conditions Of the governments
foreign relations. The reciprocity features
OF the tariff will be woven into the orig
mai bill. In the last Republican tariff
they were mostly after thoughts
10 nights conference was of two hours
duration, and the participants said that
they had been unanimous upon the policy
to he pursued
y moderate tariff bill is understood
to be one whose average rates will be
somewhat lower than the rates OF the
Mckinley hill of 1890, though II consider
able average advance over the Wilson.
German duties, and the committeeman
say they would not hesitate to advance
rates beyond the Mckinley bill in cases
where experience had shown the advance
to be advisable
Gen. Grosvenor and Mr.. Dingley, it is
understood, conveyed the views of the
President elect upon the programme to
their colleagues.
More tl:an half of the two hours, it was
said, was given to discussion of the diff
culties in the path of the Republican
programme, the overshadowing being the
possibility of an unfriendly Senate in the
next Congress. One of the members said
that they recognized distinct possibility
chat the next Senate might block the
tariff legislation, but hoped that the free
silver Senators who walked out of the St.
Louis convention would be ready TO co.
operate in establishing protective tariff.