The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-18
He Says Those Who Voted Against Payne Bill Are No
 Longer Republicans
TARIFF BILL STURD|LY
 DEFENDED AT WINONA
President Claims by Figures Which He Submits That Tariff is ln- creased on Luxuries and De-
 ceased on Necessities.

winona. Minn.. September H.-In the most important utterance he has made since his occupancy of the White House, President Taft here tonight, in state which Is the hotbed of the insurgents movement within the republican party. de- tended the Payne tariff bill as the best tariff bill the people have ever known.
 The President boldly asserted that ths insurgents who voted against the bill had abandoned the republican party.
 Was 1t the duty of the members of Congress who believed that the bill did not accomplish everything that it ought to accomplish to vote against it?7 asked the President
 "I am here to justify those who answer this question in the negative. I not here to defend those who voted for ths Payne bill. but 10 support them.' To this statement the crowd in the opera house responded with cheer which could be heard far down the street. It | was shouted by the adherents of Repre-
 sentatives James A. Tawney of this dis l trict, chairman of the House committee on appropriations. who has been on the | defensive ever since the adjournment nf l Congress, because he did not vote with i the other members of the delegation from l Minnesota. both in the House and Sen l ate, against the bill
 Tawney Meets Taft l MT. Tawney met the President at La 1 Crosse, Wis. this afternoon and accom- panied him to this city, his home town
 It had been reported for some time tha. l the President intended defending MT. | Tawney for his party regularity, but l there were none to predict that the Pres
 ident would go as far as he did tonight
 in charaeterizing the position taken by
 the insurgent senators and representa-
 lives. The President had met Senator
 LaFollette of Wisconsin, one of the lead
 CTS of the insurgents at Milwaukee dur
 ing the forenoon and had greeted him 1 quite cordially.
 1 ITO make party government effective l said the President tonight the members l of that party should surrender their per l sonal predilections of comparative less im- l rortance I am not here to criticise those who felt so strongly and believed so in- tensely that it was their duty to vote against the tariff bill, because it did not contain all they thought II should.
 Ut was question for each man to set tie for himself. In matters of this kind it Is a question with the party represen- tative whether he shall help maintain the party solidarity for accomplishing its chief purposes or whether the departure from principle in the bill he regards it is so extreme that he must in conscience aban- don the party"
 Last Shot at Insurgents. Further along the President gave final word to the insurgents. T am glad to see that those who voted against the bill still insist that they are republicans and that they intend to keep I up the fight for still lower tariff rates within the party.
 That Is their right and in their views of things is their duty.
 All l have to say in respect to MT. Tawneys action in voting for the bill and my action in signing 1t is that I believel that the interests of the country. the interests of the party required me to sacrifice the accomplishment for certain things in the revision of the tariff which had hoped for in order to maitain party solidarity, which I believe to be much more important than the reduction of rates in one or two schedules of the tariff
 The President by means of table pre- pared at his request by MT. Payne showed that the tariff had been increased on arti- cles whose consumption in this coun- try amounts yearly to 1851 100000 and that of this amount s579, 000 GOO is repre- sented by such luxures as silks, wines, liquors, perfumes and pomades, leaving a balance of $272, ,000, GOO representing in- creases on articles not luxuries. Against this the President set. with great em- phasis in his delivery, the fact that the tariff had been reduced articles, mostly tls country amounts annually to $5,0Oo, ,O00 900.
 Woolen Schedule.
 As to the woolen schedule MT. Taft declared without equivocation that the rates of the Payne bill were too high It was found early in the fight, how ever he asserted that the wool and wool en manufacturing interests in the repub- lican party were so strong that any att tempt to change the Dingley rates would result in defeat of the bill.
 "I am sorry that this Is so.' said the President, "and I wish it could have been otherwise.
 Tt is the one important defect in the bill and in the performance of the prom ises of the republican platform. That 1t will increase the price of woolen goods or clothes, however, I very much doubt.''
 As to cotton goods the President as- serted that 1t was found by the taking of evidence that on the lower grades of goods the manufacturers were making a decent profit. As to the higher grades 1t was found that through court decisions the rates had been reduced to point below those charged on the lower grades.
 "As to whether the rates on cotton goods are higher than they ought to be-" said the President, 'it was question of evidence"
 Collecting Facts.
 President Taft declared it would be use less and distressing to business to bring about further discussion of the tariff during the present oryrlext session of Congress. and adde> at it would require the three years of his administration for the new tariff commissions to collect facts which would justify the taking up of the tariff on a more scientific basis than ever before.
 By that time. he asserted. the party
 lCONTlNVWD ON RAGH aN