The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-07-31
C0NFEREES END LlDORs.
FIXING RATES is CONCLUDED
1t is Up to the President NOw-Ald
rich and Payne Hurry Out to Fort
Meyer to Get Taft's 80. X" on the
RepOrt-Leaders Satisfied-(oaI
Senators Fail

|
ing for nearly three weeks at what
| proved to be one Of the longest and
| most anxious tasks ever experienced
| In tariff building, the majority mem
bers of the conference committee on
| the Payne-Aldrich bill brought their
| labors to a sudden close at O'Clock
| tonight Without a moments delay.
the senate and house leaders, whose
names are carried by the bill, started
away by automobile with the inten-.
tion of laying their report before
President Taft, who had gone to Fort
M eyer to see what had been intended
to be the last official aeroplane flight
of the Wright brothers. All day long
the conferees had struggled with the
question Of bringing down the house
| rates on gloves and the senate rates
on lumber to figures they felt would
| meet with executive approval. In this
effort they failed.
Lumber was made duitabIe at rates
only little below those named by
the senate bill and there was q very
sight shading from the house rates on
gloves of good quality. Although it
was not admitted by the conferees.
the general impression drawn from
Tile hurried trip to Fort Meyer was
That Messrs. Aldrich and Payne had
been authorized by their colleagues :
TO incorporate in the conference re-
port such figures as could be agreed
upon with the president in so far as
they come within range of what the
leaders believe acceptable in the
house and senate.
Returning from the conference at
Fort Meyer Messrs. AIdrfch and
Payne seemed to be entirely satisfied
with the outcome Of their mission.
although neither would discuss the
conclusions reached
1t was. announced officially that the
Democratic members of the confer
ence committee would be called into
the session tomorrow.
In view of President Taftrs utter
| ances, senate and house leaders were
predicting tonight that the conferences,
rates on gloves and lumber would
not prove satisfactory to him.
1t required roll call to. fix the
rates on lumber which are as fol-
| lows:
Lumber, rough, S1.40 thousand
feet, The house rate was 81 and the
senate rate S1.5O. The The senate
diferentials were adopted.
Gloves were made duitabIe at rates
| considerable in advance of the dutios
f1Xed by the senate bill, which for the
most part were the same as the Ding
ley rates.
Unquestionably the session today was
the business of the three weeks to be
held in conference. Dozens of sena-
tors sought audiences and were re-
ceived by the senate members of the
committee and there called also many
members of the house, encouraging
the members favoring anti-free raw
materials.
In the corridors swarmed agents of
special interests who seemed 10 real.
ze that the crucial period of the con-
ference had arrived.
Senators Elkins and Scott of West
Virginia and Clark of Wyoming en-
deavored to get the conferees to make
the rate of As cents a ton on coal D.
ply to the short ton, which, it is said.
would make a difference of about s
cents ton and would operate 10 ad-
vance the rate to the equivalent of so
| cents. The senators interested in get
ting all the protection possible for
| coal were not successful in their mis-
sion
Just before the close of the session
the rate on print paper was fixed al
1915 ton. This is only 25 cents
| less than the senate rate and S1.75
| more than the house rate 1t is 1925
ton less than the existing rate.
There was some discussion today Of
the iron ore question. Senator Bur-
rows made an effort to get the rate
fixed at 20 cents instead of Is cents
a ton.
Hides were left on the free list,
contingent upon the adoption of the
rule in the house making in order the
| action of the cOnferees in going be-
low the house rates in fixing the
| rates on leather.
] If the report is laid before the
house on Friday, according to the
present programme, it will be printed