Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-08-10
DEMOCRATS SOLID,
SAYS CHAMP CLARK
Minority Leader Declares =
Members of Party Were United
in Their Stand on Tariff Bill in
House and Senate. ''..

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6.-In reply to
what he terms The misrepresentation
of Democrats in the papers Champ
Clark. leader Of the minority in the house
of representatives, today gave out the fol-
lowing statement regarding the course Of
the Democratic members Of the house in
connection with the. consideration OF the
Payne tariff bill: -.-
The old saying that habit is second
nature was never more strikingly illus
trated than by the fact that many news
papers-generally Republican or near-Re-
publican-and more individuals, keep
mounting about the discussions among
the house Democrats and the perfect i'm
munity among house Republicans, not
withstanding the truth known of all men
who care to know il that the house DEM
ocrats came out of the tariff fight more
thoroughly united on that question than
they have been in a generation and the
Republicans came out of II worse shat
tered than ever before.
Some papers, either through careless
ness or malice. have gone so far as to
say that had the Democrats not been abb
sent in large numbers until paired we
would have defeated the conference re-
port on the tariff bill. There is not a
is either unadulterated malice or GRIM
inal negligence.
DEMOCLATs UNITED.
Now mark how plain tale will put
them down: upon my motion last spring
to recommit the Payne bill with instruc-
tions-which instructions constitute a
comprehensive Democratic platform so
far as the .ariff is concerned-aIl Demo-
Gratis voted for It except four. On the
Payne bill itself. voted on Immediately
after my motion to recommit was de-
feated, the Republicans lost one vote and
the Democrats lost four, a net loss to
the Democrats OF three-a more nearly
unanimous Democgatic vote than has been
cast on tariff bill in a generation.
True, that on some of the items a
few Democrats flew the track, but so did
more Republicans.
Let's examine into the comparative
majority among Democrats and Republi-
cans. On Mr.. Payne's motion to recon-
NIT the conference report all the Demo-
| Gratis except one voted for 1t and 20 Re-
publicans voted with US. so that the Re-
publican machine was victorious by only
five majority, although they had a ma
jortty OF 40 in the house. .'.
"On that vote there was absent six
Democrats and five Republicans. Among
the absentees four Democrats were paired
with four Republicans, leaving two Demo
Gratis and one Republican absent without
pairs. II the two Democrats absen,
without pairs had been present and had
voted with US. we would. have been de-
feated by three votes Had the one Dem.
| ocrat who voted with the Republicans
| also voted with us. we would still have
been defeated by one vote. On that vote
to reoommit the conference report the
1 Democrats voted more solidly than they
ever. voted on any tarinf question sine,
the close of the civil war, while the Re-
publicans were worse split up.
qe- HOUSE MACHINE WON. IS, 81
/ 1'Qp the vote on the adoption of the
conference report, the house machine wor
by IL majority only. There were absent
6 Democrats and 4 Republicans. As OF
the motion TO recommit, Democrats wer,
paired with Republicans and 3 Demo
Gratis were absent without pairs and
| Democrats voted with the Republicans
II the impaired Democrats had beer
present and voted with us. the machine
majority would have been reduced to 10
and If the a.. Democrats who voted will
the Republicans had also voted with US
| the machine majority would have beer
reduced to 6. That was a close call fol
! the machine, but nothing could have beer
done to have turned their hardly-won vic
tory into a defeat.
The reason that Chairman Payn,
moved to recommit was that he was fool
| ed himself into the belief that we wer,
| going to offer motion to recommi
with instructions, and he wanted to heaC
that off and by an arrangement with tn,
speaker undertook to do so; but we haC
no idea Of moving to recommlt with In
! structions. because the situation absolute
| ly forbade 1t, for the Republicans wht
voted with US In favor of the Payne mo
+ ton simply to recommit would have voted
with the Republican machinists agains
! our motion to recommit with instruction
-which instructions would have beer
Democratic propositions OF course, Mr.
Payne voted against his own motion L
| recommIt.
THE full Democratic attendance wal
largely due to the idelity, vigilance anC
industry to the Democratic whip, Hon
! Thomas M. Bell, and to his two assist
ants. Hon. John Garner and Hon. VIII
liam Hughes. They did all that morta
men could do to have every Democrat
! present.
NO DOWNWARD REVISION.
MANY newspapers are trying to max,
1t appear that the Payne Aldrich-S
bill is a revision downward. That is alb
| solutely untrue. The average OF rates o
the Payne-Aldrich-Smo bill Is about
per cent higher than the average rat
of the Dingley bill. When the maximum
goes into effect, March 81, 1910, the aver
age rate will be about q per cent highe
than the average Of the Dingiey BILL"