New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1909-08-02
THE TOLL AND TURMOIL
ARE ALMOST OYER.
Senate,s 4pmoUal, Which Is As
sured, and Presidents Signature
VIII Make Bill Lac.
From The Tribune Bureau. ]

the Senate and the formal approval Of the Presi-
dent both Of which assured. To-morro"
forenoon the Senate will begin its consideration
of the conference report. which comes to 1t with
the Endorsement OF a majority in the House and
the clearly and cordially expressed although in
formal. approval of the President
The week Just closed has been the most in
teresting in the history Of the tariff bill. The
Presidents firm stand for free hides and cor
relative reductions in the leather schedule final
" convinced the conferress Of the necessity OF
abiding by his wishes I'm that regard but having
done that they deemed the time opportune to
procure his consent TO an increase of the lumber
duty from 81 Is a thousand on rough lumber TO
81 So despite the fact that they had previously
assured him the 81 % rate would be adopted. So
too. the conferrees. acting at the instance OF
Speaker Cannon, sought to induce the President
TO withdraw his opposition to the fulflment Of
Mr.. Cannon's obligation to eX-Representative
Littauer. which fulhlment consisted Of radical
increases in the rates on women's gloves This,
too, the conferrees had assured the President
they would abandon, and when he saw that they
were trying TO exact return for their conces-
sion to his advocacy Of free hides Mr.. Taft be-
came obdurate
Senator Aldrich advised the President that
his position would make necessary the aban-
donment OF the bill. Mr. Taft replied that
If the Senate the two houses cared TO take
the responsibility for failure of the measure he
had nothing to say; that he certainly had no in
tention of yielding his convictions and that II
the bill were abandoned now he would convene
Congress In special session in October to resume
fits task. It finally became necessary for the
President to write letter to Representative
Payne. in which he made 1t perfectly clear that
he would disapprove the measure II 1t contained
higher rate lumber than 81 % a thousand
and higher rates on women's gloves than
provided in the Dingley law. which rates the
Senate had adopted Then and then only, did
the conterrees realize the full force Of the de-
termination of the Chief Executive. and realizing
It. they lost no time in reaching agreement
along the lines he indicated.
THE PRESIDENTS ATTITUDE.
There has been disposition TO criticse the
President in the light Of his victory in the
Of a few rates because he did not earlier take
a hand and attempt to force down the rates all
along the line. Such criticism is based on
total lack Of understanding Of the Presidents
position. With that intense respect for the
Constitution which doubtless comes Of his long
training as a jurist. he determined that in no
way would he interfere with the course 81 Con-
gress a coordinate branch OF the government
unless he we're asked TO do so. He made II per
fectIy clear when asked by newspaper friends
that he would veto any bill which did not In his
Judgment, make good the pledge Of the party
10 revise the tarih downward When these
statements appeared in print the leaders in Con
gress persisted in treating them as ridiculous
Time demonstrated completely the error ~ their
view.
The President consistently refrained from Of.
fering advice or suggesting any SPECIFIC rates
until he consulted by the conferrees after.
Of course. the DILL had gone N conference. When
asked he expressed his views without reserve.
but even then he made public utterance
until q group Of stand pat Representatives
/ learned OF the advice he had given the
ferrees and came 10 the White House n pro
test. IIe told them plainly what his views
and then took occasion 10 make public
servative statement or those views II soon de
veloped tat the tariff bill could not pass the
House without some indication from the Exec
utive that the measure agreed u in confer
ence met with mis- approval. That afforded him
! his opportunity again. and he calmly explained
to the conferTses that unless the measure CON
/ tanned certain specific reductions he would re-
| frain from expressing any approval. So impor-
! tant did the majority OF the conference commit
tee deem Mr. Taft's appreciation that they kept
1 in constant touch with him, although they mis-
/ Judged his earnestness and determination until
! the last.
the last few days regarding the rates agreed
! upon that II would be a work Of supererogation
70 review them here. II is sufficient to say that
| the bill finally agreed to so far carried out
the pedges OF the party that the President has
taken occasion to voice clearly his pleasure at
the result and has exerted his influence TO
cause its adoption in both houses of Congress
WAR AMI RUMORs OF WAR.
No sooner had the report been made than the
air was filled with reports of instructions I'm
both houses The opponents Of the reductions
advocated and procured by the President were
up in arms, maintaining that although they had
voted for those reductions when the bill be-
fore the House they did with a private under
standing with Speaker Cannon that the rates
would be increased TO their satisfaction in the
Senate and that the increases Of the upper house
would be preserved in conference. The Speaker.
it is true did his best to make good his promise
by overruling the recommendation of Represent
alive Payne and packing" the conference CON-
mittee against the views Of the chairman Of the
Ways and Means Committee, a course which
would doubtless have proven successful but for
the firm attitude of the President with whom
Mr.. Payne in entire accord. Then there
were the habitual insurgents who opposed the
bill because the rates too high, and who
would probably have opposed It had they been
lower because they were too low. Another
/ group opposed the bill because Of the duty fixed
/ by the conferrees print paper. SO % ton
and still another group opposed it because OF
/ the corporation tax. AS is usual with House in
surrections, however, the opposition faded away
and the combined influence Of the President and
the organization resulted in the adoption Of the
/ report by vote of 1876 to 1873
20 ole -gtt