New-York tribune., 1901-02-10
A WAR OF PREROGATIVE
CLASH BETWEEN HOUSE AND SENATE
OVER THE WAR REVENUE RE
DTCTION BILL.
In TIL ,GRAFH TO TIVE rRrerxE.1

Washington. Feb. 9-Not little wonder. tenn
pered by amusemnt. has been excited by the
attitude of certain Republican leaders in the
House Of Representatives who propose TO dis
cipline the Finance Committee Of the Senate
for alleged usurpatio Of constitutional pre-
rogative by refusing 70 ask a conference on the
Emergency Revenue Reduction bill In the
view Of these leaders the Senate under the
guidance of its Finance Committee invaded the
rights 81 the popular branch by substituting an
entirely scheme of tax reduction for that
re7' 20 81 for aNorovat Iest December by the
House. As the House possesses the exclusive
power 10 Initiate revenue legislation this
wholesale population of its particular project
~ tax reduction held hy the House man
ayers alluded to affront To the dignity and
honor of the popular branch. In the Ways and
Means COMMITTEES yesterday an unsuccessful
effort was made To commit the House to the
theory that the Senate had exceeded it's just
powers IN sidetrackrg the House scheme Of les
sencd duties. and substituting new one OF it's
own. Chairman Payne refused his assent to the
proposed declaration of against the upper
house. and TWO other Republican members
Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Ratcock-refused to take
sides on the issue. The Democratic vote with
Chairman Payne's carried the day. and a re-
quest for conference was recommended. Some
Of the other Republican committeeman now
threaten to carry the fight into the House. in
the hope of neEativing the request for con-
ference favored by the committee
The impatiencc shown i'm the committee over
the Senate's action is only another symptom
Of irritation which has shown itself this
winter on numerous occasions Last December
when the House was considering the Appor-
tionment bill. practically all the leaders on both
sides combined in an effort to hold the mem-
bar Of ba bra at itc
Their acknowledged purpose was to check that
dispersion Of power in the House which had
lessened from decade decade the personal
authority and influence of the Representative
compared with the Senator A revolt arose
however among the rank and file. especially in
those State delegations which either lost I'm
numbers o. failed 10 gain natural increase
under the so-callyi Hopkins scheme of reap
portionment. Although opposed by nearly all
the Important committee chairmen and party
managers on both sides, the advocates Of q
larger House developed irresistible strength and
carried their point by a decisive majority
number of Senators took an active part in the
fight which led 10 the defeat of the Hopkins
bill ard this fact added To the soreness felt
by the House leaders over their discontinue
In the last two or three weeks the House
has gone out OF its way TO insist on a new FRO
Cedure for governing the electoral count and for
conducting the Inauguration ceremony AT tne
Capitol this procedure repudiating certain
encroachments which il was held had been made
on the rights and privileges Of the popular
branch. The effort made in the Ways and
Means Committee is another expression of the
dissatisfaction with which the RAPIDLY expand
ing power and influence of the Senate in legis-
Iation is viewed from the ether end of the Capt.
toI of course. the contention of the House lead
eTs that the passage by the Senate of a sub
Stitute scheme of tax reduction was an in
vasion of the rights OF the House is a rather
fine drawn one: for the Senate has for many
sessions past rewritten tariff and revenue bills
from the first pages 10 the last, and the House
has in more than one case accepted Senate
substitute without the change of letter a
punctuation mark. II is not probable that the
rank and file in the lower house will care to
raise an issue with the Senate on the mere
question of theoretical prerogative, especially
as the precedents at hand scarcely sustain the
contention Of the radical House leaders
A conference will in all likelihood be arranged
and the emergency reduction bill will pass
through it's final stages In much the same way
as previous revenue legislation