The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-07
HOUSE BADLY SCARED.
Republicans Haunted by specter of
 Tariff Revision.
=ss<&@se%e@@N

Republicans Haunted by specter of Tariff Revision.
 Walter Wellman's Washington Special to Chicago Record-Herald.
 Whether to do something for Cuba and nothing for American consumers, or something for both the Cubans and the people of the United States, Is the prob- lem with which the Republican managers of the House of Representatives are prayerfully, almost tearfully, wrestling Today the majority side of the House was in a state of unwonted agitation terday in the Committee on Ways and Means. and Speaker Henderson and his lieutenants have not yet recovered from their fright.
 It is just dawning upon the House managers that out fin the West there Is a strong sentiment in favor of reduc- ing the tariff on the products of the steel trust and of other great trusts. From that section of the country comes a great demand for doing something for
 the consumers in our own country. Ii the tariff question Is to be opened for the benefit of foreigners. they say, why not open 1t for the benefit of our own peo- pie? In this way the general tariff aues- ton and the question of concessions to Cuba are bound together.
 President Roosevelt stands firm for Cuba, and he has almost convinced the Republican managers of the House that they will have to grant concession. But at the first sign of yielding to Cuba, many Western representatives, whose constituents are interested in beet sugar, or who are demanding action that will reduce the prices on trust-made goods. come forward with their proposition to go into general tariff legislation as well as to grant favors to the Cubans. This conflict of forces has brought about a most haZQr1ntfa Sffuaf fi1n Thn can majority In the House is in danger or going to pieces.
 What Speaker Henderson and his lieu tenants fear is that Mir Babcock and those Republicans who stand with him, will stand with the Democrats and force consideration of the Babcock steel bill on the floor. even If they cannot get tnat measure through the Ways and Means Committee.
 Today the Speaker and. his aids deter mined upon drastic measures to shut out the proposed tariff legislation and to hold the Republican majority together. The experience In the Committee on Ways and Means yesterday. when two Republi- can members voted with the Democrats to attach the Babcock bill as an amend ment to the war tax repeal bill, and the ruinors which were thick in the caucus last niRht to the effect that other Re- publfc9n members of the Committee are wavering. caused the leaders to resort to unuoual methods today: They have pre- pared q petition which lis being circulat- cd among the Republican members of the House addressed to the Committee on Rules, asking that Committee to bring m rule which shall make it impossl- ble for the House to consider tariff re- vision at the present session. The peti- tien asks the Committee to declare it out or order for anyone to offer as an amendment to any bill, any proposition involving revision ot the tariff sched- ules.
 Recourse to such extreme measures demonstrates clearly the -embarra ssing situation confronting the House leaders Suoh, a proposition is unusual, unheard ot; It has never been attempted in the memory Of the oldest members To make It out of order to suggest tariff revision
 70 remove the power of the House to even consider such bills if majority so Wlsn. Is wholly unprecedented.
 sentiment in favor of tariff revision is growing so rapidly among House mem4 Ders that 1t IS necessary for the leaders to adopt some harsh measures to restrain 1t. Tariff making is log-rolling. That is 10 say. combinations are necessary tt enact any tariff bill. Members from one
 state, are interested in certain items; items; By combining this strength and sible. -S P0'-
 This organization or log-rolling, as the NA~NNAS teA III IL, IS TdDlQlY Dr0GrGS9lnQ. For some time there has been desuItory talk in various. Congressional delegations suggesting a revision of tha tariff duties upoE certain imports. This agitation is sasMng ssltng form and is being strenuously re- happen to bs in the majority on the Ways and Means Committee, and also In the Committee on Rules.
 When MT. Babcccl of Wisconsin. q emDer of the Wave and mittee, became convinced that that com Tnlttee intended to pigeon-hole his bill 10 place certain products of the Steel Trust upon the free list, he prepared ana circulated among the Republican members of the House d petition urging the committee to take some action. He had obtained about seventy signatures to tho petition when Chairman Payne anu ms ultra protectionist associates on the committee decided that tho move ment was obtaining such proportions that something must be done. To side track it temporarily, the announcement was suddenly made that hearings would be granted by the committee to those interested in the reduction of the war tax on beer and the repeal of the tax on tea. A date was set for these hear lngs. It was whispered about the corri- dors of the House that an attempt was being made to appease MT. Babcock who Is urgently demanding a reduction of the tax on beer.
 If the action of the committee was in- tended to quiet him and suppress his tariff bill, 1t failed. He continued his agitation and the movement continued to gain strength. Then the Ways and Means Committee with surprising haste, decided that all the war revenue taxes should be repealed. This would reduce the revenue of the government about $75,O00,000 and thus weaken the position of those advocating tariff revision. With the receipts of the government cut down close to expenditures, and with only a small surplus left the argument could
 he advanced that tariff revision would entail 6 deficit.
 The tariff revisionists needed not the
 warnings issued by the protectionist leaders. When the Ways and Means Committee yesterday acted formally upon the war revenue repeal bill, Mir. Bab- cock urged his bill as an amendment. It was a narrow escape for the leaders. They gasped. They realized that they were losing control over the House. Something must be done. They entered the caucus last night with fear that tariff revision might be brought up. and Therefore they utilized every opportunity to intensity the feeling aroused by the Crumpacker bill, upon which the caucus was called and succeeded in occupying the evening and forcing adj ourument Midnight oil was burned in devising a scheme that would bridle the obstreper- ous heretics from the West and North west, Republicans who listen to the voice majority. The Borough of Richmond is in the Seventh Congressional District and is nominally Democratic by l.500. Mir Belmont was defeated for Congress by 3S9