The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-19
Provision VIII Enable Standard OII Company to Make
 Bigger Profits
FAVORABLE REPORT IS
 MADE ON TARIFF BIL.
Democrats Have No Certain Plan of Action Upon This Bill, But Will
 Demand Plenty of Time
 for General Debate.
By PATTERSON sTEALEY.

ny WA EhSON | BAILEY.
 Washington, March 1S.-lspecal.)-It develops that the Standard oil trust, which has just won complete victory from the government on it's $29 0OO,0 GOO fine, is well taken care of in the Payne tarin bill. The old Dingley bill provision is inserted verbatim. The provision is tech | nically known as a joker Petroleum. crude or refined. for example, is placed l on the free list" and then comes this proviso:
 That if there be imported into the Uni | ted States crude petroleum or the prod uets of crude petroleum produced in any county which imposes a duty on petrol cum or it's products exported from the United States. there shall in such cases be levied. paid and collected duty upon said crude petroleum or it's products so imported equal to the duty imposed by such country"
 This looks fair enough until it is known that Russia is the only country which can export petroleum to this country, and therefore the Russian duty controls The Russian duty amounts to about 175 per cent.
 The provision will be vigorously opposed in the House. and should it get through, will be fought in the Senate
 Payne Bill Reported.
 The ways and means committee today favorably reported the Payne tariff bill which will be taken up in the House on Monday. Representative Broussard of Louisiana, elected as a democrat did what was expected of him and voted with the republicans. He withdrew from the | democratic minority ways 5nd means committee conference held after tie re- | port of the bill and can no longer be con sidered a democrat Representative Clark of Missouri will write the democratic mil nority report. and will be assisted by Representative Underwood of Alabama
 The tariff bill ought to get through the House in little over a fortnight It is doubtful if the House will make material changes. Whether a special rule will be brought in to expedite the bill is unde- cided. but this will likely happen None of the democrats became acquainted with the provisions of the measure until it was introduced by Representative Payne yesterday Champ Clark. the minority leader, and the leading member of his party on the ways and means commit tee. was as much in ignorance of the con- tents of the bill as any of his colleagues until that moment arrived. In fact, every newspaper in the country had a full syn opsis of the proposed legislation in type long before Champ Clark knew with eer- tainty any one of it's provisions.
 Democrats Have No Plan.
 Because of the brief time they have had in which to glance over the bill. the dem- ocrats have not yet outlined their plan of action. They have not prepared bill of their own to present as a substitute, but they will prepare a minority report which will set forth any objections they may have to the measure as presented by the republicans There is no intention on their part to delay action in the committees, but they will insist that ample time be given to them on the floor of the House to present amendments. The bill Is ap- parently such d genuine revision of the tariff that they are disposed to be suspic- jous of it, and are eagerly searching its pages to find a possible joker
 At the Senate end of the capitol there are many expressions of disapproval among republicans of the proposed rate cuts and 1t is evident that a great many amendments will be proposed. There it Is expected that at least a couple of months will be required to pass the bill in the Senate and then there will be week or two during which representatives of the House and Senate will meet to ad- just the differences between the two houses. This conference committee, to be composed of six men, three from either house, will put the final touches on the bill and until their work is com pleted no one will know just what the new tariff law will be. June is regarded as conservative prediction as to the date when the bill may be sent to the President for his signature.
 Tariff on Tea.
 Importers of tea generally do not believe that the proposed tax of cents a pound on imports from producing and cents from non producing countries, in the new tariff schedule, will stand, but a mem- Der of one of the largest distributing concerns said that it might prevail if there was not united opposition. It was learned that the National Coffee and Tea association would take steps at once to fight the tariff The opinion of importers was that the duty would fall on the con sumers and retailers, and that there would be no reve<pe for the government for over IS months after the duty went into effect.
 w. A. w Melville. representing Sir Thomas J. Lipton, said that he was sur prised that it was proposed to put the tariff tea and not on coffee. He be- lieved that the change would be made in the Senate, because duty on coffee would protect Porto Rican planters, whereas duty tea would be no pro- lection, and would not yield revenue for over a year and a half, as heavy stocks would be laid in to forestall the duty.
 If the tariff should be imposed, MT. Melville said, the cost to the consumer. adding interest to the added cost of the tea, would advance at least 10 cents q pound. Cheaper teas would be used and the consumption would decrease Tea had become a necessity and was no longer q luxury he declared, and the better classes of all nationalities were using I. more and more. especially the Hebrews. Germans also were becoming large users. and the demand for better grades had ateadily increased.