The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-07
PAYNE BILL FAR FROM
REVISION DOWNWARD
Clark Declares That New Bill Aver
ages Two Per Cent Higher
Than the Dineey Rates
Now in Force.


With seven republican senator's voting
with the Senate democrats and 20 re-
publican House members joining in oppo-
sition to the bill; with no democrat vot-
ing for the measure in the Senate and
only two in the House, stories of demo-
cratic disaffection will, of course, be
taken with considerable allowance.
Throughout the tariff votes there has
been little difference on the democratic
side in either the House or the Senate
and the party has been more nearly
united than on any other tariff vote in
the history of tariff legislation.
In discussing the matter today Repre-
sentative Champ Clark, the minority
House leader. said:
1.-THE old saying that habit is second
nature was never more strkingly Illus
trated than by the fact that many news
papers-generally republican or near-re-
publlcan-and more individuals keep
mounting about the dissentions among
House democrats and the perfect unity
among House republicans, notwithstand-
ing the truth known of all men who
care to know it that the House democrats
came out of the tariff fight more thor
oughly united on that question than they
have been in a generation and the re-
publicans came out of 1t worse shattered
than ever befor
Criticism of Papers.
Some papers, either through careless
ness or malice have gone so far as tc
say that had the democrats not been
absent in large numbers impaired we
fe,.
port on the tariff bill. There isn't a syl-
liable of truth in 1t, and to SO charge is
either unadulterated malice or criminal
negligence.
''Now mark how plain tale will put
them down. Upon my motion last spring
to recommt the Payne bill with instruc-
tions-which Instructions constitute
comprehensive democratic platform so far
as the tariff is concerned-all democrats
voted for it except four. On the Payne
bill itself, voted on Immediately after
my motion to recommit defeated, the
republicans lost one vote and the dem
ocrats lost four, a net loss to the dem
ocrats of three--a more nearly unanimous
democratic vote than has been cast on
tariff bill in a generation.
true, that on some of the items a few
democrats flew the track, but SO did more
republicans.
Unity in Party.
Lets examine into the comparative
unity among democrats and republicans.
On Mr.. Payne's motion to recommit the
conference report all the democrats
except one voted for it, and 20 republi-
cans voted with us, so that the repub-
lican machine was victorious by only
five majority. although they had ma
jority of As in the House. On that vote
there were absent about six democrats,
and five republicans. Among the alb
sentees four democrats were paired
with four republicans, leaving two
democrats and one republican absent
without pairs. If the two democrats
absent without pairs had been present
and had voted with us, we would have
been defeated by three votes Had the
one democrat who voted with the
publicans also voted with us the con-
ference report would still have been
adopted by one majority. On that
vote to recommit the conference report
the democrats voted more solidly than
they ever voted on any tariff question
since the close of the civil war while
the republicans were worse split up.
'On the vote on the adoption of the
conference report the House machine
won by IL majority only. There were
absent six democrats and four repub-
5.
four democrats were paired with four
republicans, and two democrats were
absent without pairs and two demo-
Gratis voted with the republicans. If
the two impaired democrats had been
present and voted with us the machine
majority would have been reduced to
10; and If the two democrats who voted
with the republicans had also voted
with us, the machine majority would
have been reduced to six. That was
close call for the machine, but nothing
could have been done to have turned
their hardly won victory into a de-
feat.
Why Payne Was Fooled.
"The reason that Chairman Payne
moved to recommit was that he fooled
himself in the belief that we were go-
ing to offer a motion to recommit, with
instructions and he wanted to head
that off, and by an arrangement with
the speaker undertook to do SO; but
we had no idea of moving to recon-
NIT with instructions, because the sit
uation absolutely forbade 1t, for the
republicans who voted with us in
favor of the Payne motion to simply
recommit would have voted with the
republican machinists against our mo-
tion to recommit with Instructions
which instructions would have been
acknowledgements OF course Mr..
Payne voted against his own motion
to recommit. Many newspapers are
trying to make it appear that the
Payne Aldrich -Smoot bill is a revision
downward. That is absolutely untrue.
The average of rates of the Payne
Alrlch -Smoot bill is about per cent
higher than the average rate of the
Dingley bill When the maximum goes
into effect, March 81, 1910 the aver
age rate will be about 27 per cent high
er than the average of the Dingley