The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-27
HOUSE REPUBLICANS AGREE.
PERATION OF PORTO RICAN BILL
LIMITED TO TWO YEARS.

Duty Imposed by IL Reduced From
- to IL Per Cent of the American
Tarih-PresIdent Mckinley said
to Approve the Bill and VIII Sign
It-RePublicans Claim That the
Passage of the Modified Bill Is Ger
tain
Washington, Feb 26.--At the conference
of House Republicans tonight on the Por-
20 Rican tariff bill, assurances were given
that the President believed the measure
constitutional, and would approve II If il
came to him, and an agreement was
reached to limit the operation of the bill
to two years and 90 reduce the duty inn
posed by il from % to 10 per cent of the
American Tariff. As a result the Repub-
lican leaders claim that the hill will have
the support of all the Republicans except
four, Messrs. Mccall of Massachusetts.
Littlefield of Maine. Lormer of Illinois,
and Crumpacker of Indiana and that this
loss will be offset by affirmative votes of
The opposition. They claim the passage of
the modified bin is certain.
After the conference adjourned at II
O'Clock Chairman Cannon gave out the
following statement of The amendments
agreed upon by the conference:
Amendments Agreed Upon.
"The conference requested the Ways
and Means Committee to offer an amend
ment 10 the bill as follows:
Amend the title to make 1t an act
temporarily to provide revenue for the
Island of Porto Rico and for other pur-
poses and to add the following section:
This act shall be taken and held to be
provisional in its purpose. intended to
meet pressing, present need for revenue
of the Island of Porto Rico and is not TO
continue in force after March /, 1902.
These amendments were adopted with
practical unanimity. Another to reduce
the duty imposed by tho act from 25 TO
Is per cent. was adopted by vote of 105
to II. A further amendment is to be Of
fered by the Ways and Means Committee
to make it clear that no double duty is i'm
posed; that the payment of one internal
revenue tax Is the total tax on importa-
tions.''
President FnvOrs the Bill.
About 1875 Republicans attended the con-
ference The leaders had been in consul
tation during the day discussing plans for
allaying the opposition to the bill and
asssassiheE@.tha- -recalcitrants into line. The
Republican members of the Ways and
Means Committee, except Mr.. Mccall OF
Massachusetts, the dissenting Republican,
called upon the President at the White
House this afternoon to ascertain definite,
ly the Presidents position. Assurance
that he favored the passage of the bill
was given out afterward.
The Republican members of the Ways
and Means Committee. together with
Speaker Henderson, remained at the Capt.
to canvassing the situation during the
interim between the adjournment of the
House at o'clock and the assembling of
the conference at s o'clock. Chairman
Cannon presided over the caucus. When
Mr. Payne submitted the two amendments
mentioned Gen. Shatuck of Ohio made a
vigorous inquiry regarding the President 3
position, to which Mr.. Payne responded,
announcing emphatically that the Presi-
dent was convinced that the bill was con-
stitutional and that he wound sign the
bill Mr.. Grow of Pennsylvania, the ven.
cradle ex-Speaker of the House. said that
the amendments proposed made the bin
an emergency measures, against which
the question of constitutionality ought not
to be raised Mr. Mccall and Mr. Little
field spoke in good temper, but abated not
one jot their individual opposition TO the
bill