The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-08-03
SENATOR LODGE IS BLAMED FOR JOKER
 ON FREE HIDES
Especial from United Press.)

Washington, Aug. 3.-The storm
 that struck the Payne-Aldrich ship yesterday, has blown over. Oil has
 been poured on the troubled waters and unless unexpected squalls come from other directions the officers in command still hope to bring the ves- sel into port before the week is overi Senator Aldrich officially announced today that after a conference with the President and tariff conferees, the ob- jectionable joker" in the leather | schedule will be removed. The pro- ference report on the tariff bill. Then during the time it is being eIr<5lled and before its submission to the President for his approval both
 lution correcting the language of the leather schedule.
 The bill and the resolution will then
 go to the President to get his sigma ture. The result will be that all boots
 and shoes, of whatever grade. made from any kind of leather, will be made dutiable at ten per cent. in stead of 25 per cent in existing law; 20 per cent; harness and saddlery 20 per cent instead of 45 per cent; band
 belting and sole leather five per cent
 instead of 20 per cent in existing law.
 These lower figures are mostly those for which the President asked earlier
 in the session and finally accepted by Senators from cattle raising states and from boot and shoe and leather manufacturers in exchange for free hides.
 But the men understood that the re- auctions were to apply only to the products >of "hides of cattle," while the western Senators, in giving their agreement to the compromise. thought that they were to- apply to manufac- lures of calf-skin, etc, or in other
 words, to the boots and shoes and leather of ordinary wear and use So when the conference committee made
 its report and it was seen that low
 ra tes would apply only to raw skin boots, which are not used any more, even by the farmers, and the heav-
 fest kinds of harness there was a re-
 volt. Proclaiming that they had
 been "buncoed'' the western Senators
 became insurgents and joining hands
 with the Progressive Republicans.
 some other discontented ones and the
 Democrats. they were liable to show
 enoueh votes to defeat the passage of the tariff bill.
 There hurried consultations
 Aldrich went to the White House and
 talked two hours with the President.
 The President wrote letters to Borah
 and Brown assuring them that they
 were mistaken in assuming that they had been "buncoed." But 1t was no use. The western Senators declared
 that if they were to go home and
 say that hides had been made free but that the manufactures Of leath CT which go. into every day use had
 been left dutiable at high rates. their constituents would accuse them of having been asleep and would inevit- ably retire them from office.
 So a special meeting of the conferees
 was called, the westerners making it plain that they would stand for op- position unless the matter was cor
 rected and the upshot of the matter
 was a definite answer was given them. backed by the assurances of
 the President, that their case would
 be properly attended to.
 The insertion of the objectionable language in the leather schedule is fairly credited to Senator Lodge, Representative Gardner, his Son-in-law and Representative Mccall, the lat
 ter being a member of the conference
 committee. The three are frorS Mas
 sachusetts. They are also credited with having given President Taft his impression that the boots and shoes worn by the man on the street were made from the cattle hides which were to be put on the free list. There is some interest manifested in
 the question as to whether the rum pus raised over this matter and em- barra ssment caused the President and
 delay necessitated by the passage of corrective legislation, will not tend to lessen the prestige of Senator Lodge at the White House.