Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1909-07-26
From Washington.
ICorrevpondence Of the Alexandria GaEette. ]
Washington. July 26,


IL still 10 progress. A great deal OF sore
ness has been developed and The presi'
dent is being roundly denounced By
many of the stalWarts Of his own party
for the position he has taken. Senators
Warren and CLARK, of Wyoming; Garter
and Dixon, of Montana; Borah and
Heyburn. of Idaho, have announced
heir determination to continue the fight
against free hides to the end unless
Gather and boots aud shoes are also
placed on the free list. Bat they have
not yet gone so far as to declare that
hey will vote against the conference re-.
port if It should contain free hides al
though they intimate that such will be
their action.
The conference committee, after hold.
ing two Intellectual sessions yesterday,
adjourned until 2:30 O'Clock this after
noon to enable the speaker to make a
canvass of the House to determine
whether a joint resolution could be
adopted opening up the leather schedule
40 as to enable the coDfsrees to make
lower rates on leather goods than those
passed by either House or Senate. Al
the same time tariff count will be
made in the Senate to ascertain whether
report could go through there making
hides free without corresponding re-
duction ia leather manufactures. The
next step to be taken by the conierees
will be dependent upon the result OF
these inquiries. This is the one subject
that Is delaying the conference report
sud the adjournment of Congress. All
of the other items in the bill have been
adjusted, and with the leather schedule
agreed upon, the report could be COM
oleted within az hour. There must, Of
course, come an end to the deadlock be.
fore long and there is still hope ex-
pressed BY the Senate leaders that an
agreement may be reached this evening.
There were no signs of ill.feeIiDg re.
naming today IS result OF The little
flash of bad temper which occurred In
the conference committee last night be-
lween Chairman Payne aud Senator Al.
drich. Mr.. Payne had refused to allow
vote on motion to tsx hides z per
cent aud stood out for putting them on
he free list. Senator Aldrich is said TO
have told him that the committee wss
tired of his (Payne's) unyielding attitude
whereupon Payne is reported to have re-
torted that he would continue to per.
form his duty as he saw it and that he
had the president and the House behind
him. Shortly afterwards the confer
ence broke up. The incident showed that
the heat aud the strain OF the constant
struggle over the schedules had tempo
rarily disturbed the even tempers of the
two leaders but there was no t'ace OF ILL
feeling when they met today.
Besides their fear of the political ef.
feet of free hides 10 their states the
western senators have very practical
difficulty. When the bill passed the
House it psovided for free hides. II
now the conference report should COM
nit the Senate to the same thing to.
Qether with lower rates on leather goods
han those adopted by the House free
hides would be q settled thing. Bat the
low rates on leather would be subject to
point of order and, being stricken out,
the westerners would be left with free
hides and no corresponding reductions
on the manufactured products. This is
~ - .oaoox To- fha oHo,f m aaoura nyoott -
cal assurances that the whole leather
schedule shall be treated together by the
passage OF the resolution providing that
40 point of order shall lie against
changes made by the cOnferees in that
schedule. The westerners demand that
the president shall be Just ss insisteut
10 seeing that they get the reduced rates
on leather goods If they are to be forced
to accept free hides as be is that the
raw material 20 on the free list.
Up to the time OF the meeting of the
tariff conferees this afternoon the west
ern senators who are opposed to free
hides remained stesdisst, No arguments
could swerve them from the position
taey have taken. Conferences have
been in progress all day, but when the
conferees went into session the situation
was entirely unchanged. The western
senators take the position that If there is
free hides there must also be free boots
and shoes OF the kind that the farmers
use, free leather snd free harness and
ssddlery. An alternative to which they
would sgree is proportionste cut 10 the
duties on both hides Snd leather goods.
But they will not stand for a heavy re-
duction 10 the hide tariff, cay to 5 per
cent. because they claim that that would
be out of all proportion TO the proposed
rates of 20 per cent on ssddleTT and 10
per cent on boots and shoes.
They claim that it would give too much
benefit to the manufacturer. They also
point out that II the president cSn secure
Dy resolution or otherwise, some means OF
authorizing the conferees to write into the
bill lower rates on leather than those
now 10 dispute between The Two houses
be can just as we'll get an agreement to
put all leather on the free lis' with the
hides. They say that it would be i'm
possible for them to face their cOnstilu-
ents il they permitted the product of the
farmer to DE made tree while sll L,@
leather material that be purchased for
the use Of his family ard on the farm
remained taxed.