Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-03-03
THE PORTO RICO TARIFF
Amended to Prevent It's Defeat in
the National House.
ONLY A TEMPORARY MEASURE.


Changes Agreed to Limit the Opera
tion of the Tariff 10 Two Years and
Reduce the Duty Imposed From
Twenty-Five to Fifteen Per Cent.
Washington, Feb. 27.-About 125 Re-
publican members attended the sec
ond conference on the Porto Rican
tariff bill in the hall of the house Of
representatives last night. The lead
ers had been in consultation during
the day discussing plans for allaying
the opposition to the bill and bringing
the recalcitrants into line. So much
had been made by the kickers of the
alleged opposition of the president to
the measure that the managers were
particularly DESTROYS of being able to
offer some assurances that would re-
move all objections to the measure on
that score and in the afternoon the
Republican members of the ways and
means committee, with the exception
of Mr.. Mccall, of Massachusetts, the
dissenting Republican, called on the
president at the White House.
The Republican members Of the
ways and means committee, together
with Speaker Henderson, remained at
the Capitol canvassing the situation
during the interim between the ad
journment of the house at o'clock and
the assembling of the conference at 3.
Chairman Cannon presided over the
caucus. AS soon as il had been called
to order Mr.. Payne, of New York, the
floor leader, submitted two amend
ments which he said the ways and
means committee were prepared to Of
fer to the bill One of them changed
the title of the measure to make it
bill for temporarily raising revenue
for Puerto Rico. The other added
new section to the bill, limiting its
sooner repealed.
General Shattuck. of Ohio, opened
proceedings with a plain statement to
the effect that he was willing to defer
his own opinion in this matter to the
wishes of the president, although he
was convinced that his constituents
favored free trade with Porto Rico.
He demanded to know, however, and
he wanted no eQuivocatiOn about it,
whether the president believed the bill
was constitutional and whether he ia
vored the measure. If he did not Mr.
Shattuck 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 dur
ing the afternoon, and he announced
emphatically that the president was
convinced that the bill was constitu-
tional, and that he would sign the
measure. Mr.. Corlies. of Michigan,
backed up Mr.. Payne with the state
ment that he had seen the president
since the house adjourned and that the
president desired the bill to pass. Mr..
Grow, of Pennsylvania, the venerable
ex-speaker of the house, said that the
amendments proposed made the bill an
emergency measure, against which the
question of constitutionality ought not
to be raised, and Mr.. Marsh, of ILL
nois, earnestly appealed to the recalci-
trants to rally around the Republican
standard and bury their discussions.
This drew statements from Mr.. Nc
SdAl anu NIL LlbOlCAClN, lAAO lWO 4OlO-
ers of the Republican revolt. Both
spoke in good temper, but abated not
one jot their individual opposition to
the measure. They announced that
they would oppose the bill to the end.
Mr. H. c. Smith, of Michigan, then
offered an amendment to reduce the
duty imposed by the bill from 25 to Is
per cent. This was agreed to by
vote Of 105 to II.
AS result of the conference the Re-
publican leaders claim that the bill
will have the support of all the Re-
publicans except Messrs. Mccall Of
Massachusetts, Littlefeld of Maine,
Lorimer of Illinois and Crumpacker Of
Indiana, and this loss will be offset
by affirmative votes of the opposition.
They claim the passage of the modified
bill is certain.