The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-12
Concessions Must Be Made By Both House and Senate
 to Make Headuay
ALDRICH STANDS PAT
 FOR THE HIGHER RATES
House conferees Claim That House Bill Is More Nearly What the People Want Than the
 Senate Measure.

Washington, July 11.Making tariff law that will most nearly meet the wishes of the greatest number of people and will at the same time raise sufficient revenue for the expenses of the govern ment-that Is the task with which for four months both houses of Congress have wrestled, and which now has reached the conference stage Eleven men-five republican Senators and six republican Representatives-haye shoul- dered the responsibility of evolving from the two tariff bills passed by the Senate and House law that will be acceptable not only to both houses of Congress, but also to the President, and, above all, to the mass of the people.
 While the conferees from both houses desire to have retained in the bill tho schedules as approved by their respective branches, none realize better than they that they must make concessions. Their present determination not to yield will give way .o more conciliatory attitude as the conference wears on.
 The Senate made S47 changes, many of them merely verbal, in the tariff bill as it passed the House. Members of the House claim the latter measure comes closer to answering the public demand for revision down than does the Senate bill. Whether 1t would provide all the revenue needed to run the government is a aues- ton. The fight hinges upon-the number of the changes madd by the Senate that the House conferees can be induced to accept.
 Aldricfs Contention.
 Upon the one hand Senator Aldrich will be found contending for the higher reve- nue-raising tariff On the other will be found Representative Serano Payne lead ing the house, fighting for lower duties
 Senator Aldrich reiterates the state ment that the Senate bill would not im- pose additional burdens upon the consum- CT. Isolated cases of increases of rates are taken and the entire bill condemned because of these" said MT Aldrich.
 Gen. T. s. Sharretts, the veteran tariff expert, who has been member of the board of general appraisers in New York for many years, is authority for the state ment that the Senate bill will show a per cent reduction from the rates of the Dingley bill and very material reduc- tion from the House rates.
 Some folks may say that per cent is not a great reduction" said General Sharretts today, but when you consider that the rates of the Wilson bill, the democratic measure, adopted during the Cleveland administration, were not per cent lower than the rates of the existing law, you will realize how extensive a per cent reduction really is."
 General Sharretts, who is a democrat is assisting the conference committee in its deliberations He performed the same office for the democrats when the Wilson uya in f&f uable assistance.
 House Rates Lower.
 This viewpoint is not shared by Repre- sentative Payne, who said tonight that the rates of the House bill judged from the standpoint of the interest of the gen eral public, are materially lower than those of the Senate bill. MT. Payne points out that hides tallow. iron ore, licorice extracts and other articles of great im- portance to the consuming public were transferred to the dutiable list by the Sem ate, while alligator skins. radium. certain spices. COCOA oleo and miners safety appliances were the most important arr ticles placed on the free list by the Sem ate.
 MT. Payne declined to discuss at this time the relative merits of the separate provisions of the two bills.
 Tt Is unfair to compare the two bills by figuring the average ad valorem rates of each" said MT. Payne. The only way to compare the bills Is to con- slider what each house did with the important items
 Members of the House tonight called attention to the fact coal. wire nails, scrap iron, shoes and leather, cotton and wool manufactures. petroleum, po- tatoes, rough lumber, lead paints, struc- tural iron, cutlery, zinc, bullion, lead and other articles of general consump- ton were increased over the Housa rates, while dressed lumber, gloves, hosiery and certain iron and steel prod ucts were the principal Senate reduc- tions of interest to the general public.
 The conferees hope to conclude their work by the end of next week, hold ing lengthy sessions daily and extend ing them late into the evening. In the meantime, both houses will mark time. holding sessions every three days. The House will meet on Monday and the Senate on Tuesday, but having no busi- ness to transact, will immediately ad- journ.
 Leaders in both houses are hopeful of finally dlsposing of the tarff bill before the end of the present month.