The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-27
ISSUE TO BIZ MADE.
REPUBLICAN MEMBERS WILL EN-
DEAvOR TO FORCE THROUGH
PUERTO RICAN MEASURE
some SLIGHT NOTIFICATIONS
TWO-YEAR TENURE OF THE LAW
WILL BE ONE OF THE AMEND
MENTS ACCEPTED
PRESIDENT FAvoRs THE BILL

1hEnS1OLN E II VO1IS 4AG DILL
Mr. Mckinley Has Been Sounded,
and 1t Is Announced That He
Will Sign the Measure If 1t Is
Passed by the Congress-Senator
Jones and Mr.. Bryan Discuss Is
sues for the Next Campaign.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26.-At the con-
ference of house Republicans tonight on
the Puerto Rican tariff BILL assurances
were gwen that the president believed
the measure constitutional and would ap-
prove 1t If it came to him, and an agree
ment was reached to limit the operation
of the bill to two years and to reduce
the duty imposed by it from Is to Is per
cent of the American tariff.
AS result the Republican leaders claim
that the bill will have the support Of all
the Republicans except four-Messrs.
Mccall, of Massachusetts,; Lttlefeld, of
Maine; Lorimer, Of Illinois, and Crum-
packer, Of Indiana and that this loss will
be offset by affirmative votes Of the op-
position.
They claim the passage Of the modified
bill 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:
1.-THE conference requested the ways
and means committee to offer an amend
ment to the bill as follows:
Amend the title to make it an act
temporarily to provide revenue for the
island Of Puerto Rico and for other pur-
poses, and to add the following sec
ton: This act shall be taken and held
to be provisional in its purpose, In,
tended to meet pressing present need
for revenue for the island Of Puerto
Rico. and is not to continue in force
after March /, 1902
'These amendments were adopted with
practical unanimity Another to re-
duce the duty imposed by the act from
Is to Is per cent was adopted by a vote
of 105 to H.
"a further amendment Is to be offered
by the ways and means committee 10
make it clear that no double duty is i'm
nosed: that the payment of one internal
revenue tax is the total tax on importa-
tions."
HOW IT WAS DONE.
About 125 Republican members attended
the second conference. The members had
been in consultation during the day, dls-
cussing plans for allaying the opposition
tn the bill and bringing the recalcitranrs
into line. So much had been made by the
kickers of the alleged opposition OF the
president to the measure that the man
ayers were particularly desirous of beng
able to offer some assurances that would
remove all objections 10 the measure on
that score and this afternoon the Repuo-
lican members of the ways and means
committee with the exception OF Mf. NC
Call, the Massachusetts dissenter called
on the president at the Whlte mouse.
After that call Mr.. Hopkins of Illinois,
authorized the following statement OF the
presidents position:
1.-THE president earnestly hopes that the
Republicans will unite and stand to-
gether on this measure and not allow the
Democrats to take control OF the house.
The Republican members of the ways
and means committee, together with
Speaker Henderson, remained at the cap
itol canvassing the situation during the
interval between adjournment of the
the conference at o'clock.
Chairman Cannon presided over the
caucus. AS soon as it had been called to
order. Mr.. Payne, of New York, the floor
leader, submitted two amendments which
he said the ways and means commlttee
were prepared to offer to the bill. one
of them changed the title of the measure
to make 1t a bill for temporarily raising
revenue for Puerto Rico. The other add
ed a new section to the bill limiting ITS
operation to March 2, 1909, unless sooner
repealed.
APPEAL TO PARTISANSHIP.
Gen. Shattuc, of Ohio, opened the pro-
ceedings with a plain statement to the ef-
feet that he was willing to defer his
opinion in this matter to the wishes OF
the president although he was convinced
that his constituents favored free trade
with Puerto Rico. He demanded to know,
however, and he wanted no equivocation
about it, whether the president believed
the bill was constitutional and whether
he favored the measure If he did not,
Mr.. Shattuc announced that he would not
be bound by the action of the caucus.
This brought Mr.. Payne to his feet.
He said he had seen the president this
afternoon, and he announced emphatic
ally that the president was convinced
that the bill was constitutional, ana that
he would sign the bill.
Mr.. Corliss, of Michigan, backed up
Mr.. Payne with the statement that he
had seen the president since the house
adjourned and that the president de-
sired the bill to pass.
Mr.. Grow, Of Pennsylvania, the vener-
able ex-Speaker of the house, said that
| the amendments proposed made the Dill
an emergency measure against which the
question of constitutionality ought not 10
be raised, and Mr.. March, of Illinois,
| earnest appealed to recalcitrants to rally
around the Republican standard and
| bury their dissensions.
This drew statements from Messrs. Nc
Call and Littlefield, the two leaders of the
Republican revolt. Both spoke in good
| temper, but abated not one bit their op-
| position to the measure. Mr.. Mccall said
| that the notifications offered and the
assurance from the president might
remove the objections of those who had
| opposed the bill on the ground Of expe-
| diency, but his objections going deeper
| to the constitutional question could not
be assuaged by any such amendments. He
| should he announced, vote against the
| BILL Mr.. Littlefelds speech was along
/ the same lines. He, too, he said, must op-
| pose the bill.
Mr. II. c. Smith, of Michigan, then Of
| fered an amendment to reduce the duty
| imposed by the bill from % to Is per cent.
Mr.. POWERS wEAKENs.
Mr.. Powers, of Vermont, who was one
of the objectors, and who was on the
| committee to meet the committee of the
friends of the bill, then announced his
willingness to vote for the bill. The time
limit placed upon it, he said, did not
remove his objections, but he said he