The Washington times., 1909-03-28
TAFT'S VETO HANGS
OVER TARIFF BILL
Payne Measure Cannot
Reach Executive in Pres
ent Form.
LOWER SCHEDULES
MUST BE PUT IN
President Tells Callers He Will
Insist on Free Lumber
and Hides.
By ]. C. WELLIvER.

President Taft has said a good many
times that he will veto a tariff bill that
does not impress him as right
He has within the last two days as
sured callers that he does not consider
the Payne bill right
As the bill stands today his visitors
have gathered, it would confront an
executive veto If it should pass.
This is o. course only suggestive. The
bill in its present form will not pass.
It will not pass in anything like its
Iresent form. Nobody takes the work
of the House very seriously. Even the
House has been a good deal bored with
its own performance the last few days.
The attendance has beer small, and
members nave listened indifferently. All
because the House itself knows that its
work will be unimportant even as a
guide to the Senate in making the real
bill.
But President Taft, to some of the
public men whose votes will have to do
with deciding what sort of bill shall go
10 him for approval or veto. has re-
Gently been telling some pretty definite
injections to the bin in its present form.
and outlining I'm some detail what he
thinks ought TO be taken out or put
into Il.
For Free Lumber.
The President has made plain that he
wants free lumber.
He has assured callers that the re-
ductjons on steel and iron. now pro-
Tfded in the bill. are not sufficient TO
satisfy him. He wants decidedly more
effective cuts.
He is not pleased with the taxes on
tea and coffee, and wants them taken
out of the measure.
He is earnestly insistent on having
free hides. and has told some of the
men from the livestock producing States
that they will be a good deal better off
IF they drop all thought of preserving
duty on hides, and join MIN in the
effort 10 frame 1t for free lumber.
The excessive duties on gloves, pro-
~ided in the Payne bill. are not salts
factory 10 President Taft, and he has
said as much TO some of his visitors.
Already the President is taking up
the serious business of organizing in
f1uence in the quarters where it will
be of practical use-that II, in the Sen
ate. He is wasting little time on the
House, because he knows 1t would be
waste. He is trying to line up support
enough in the Senate TO get the sort
OF bill he wants.
Pledged to Revision.
His pledges for revision that will
satisfy the country Mr.. Taft regards
as having just one significance 10 the
country He is sure the country thought
those pledges meant revision downward
and he has no patience whatever with
those publiciSts who have been arguing
OF late that the pledge in the Republican
platform did not say that he is GER
tain that he personally said that, and
that all the people thought he was fl
agreement with the platform. Now h'
proposes to get a revision which vii
keep mis- faith.
To get il. he must deal with the Sen
ate; and he has the negotiations wei
ia progress Some Of his callers hay'
been told that he is frankly worried
over the disposition OF some leaders q
rush the revision unduly, on the pie;
that business interests demand it.
The President wants the revision com
pleted Just as soon as possible; bu
he remenn bers enough OF political his
tory 10 be anxious to avoid the diss
ter OF 1890, when the country got re
vision which dissatisfied IT, and wa
promptly plunged into a red-hot tarii
campaign Immediately after the McKin
ley bill had been passed That sort o
a campaign is Just what Mr.. Tai
S6nts 20 avoid
want hedl REVISION
Re wants a revision that Will serv
the country's purpose; that will give
all II demands. that viii put an en-
TO tariff discussion as 4 paramount r
sue for a decade or so At the least.
The President, in view of all thes
things, would prefer that Congress pu
in a few weeks extra time now. ratht
than DO bad job and keep the cues
zion open during the next Congressions
campaign. He is pressing this vie
upon people who call upon him, som
Of them at their own initiative, an
others By his invitation
Since the report has got about tins
the President has insisted that he WI
allow no bill TO become a law withol
his signature. and that he will not a
fix his signature TO the Payne bill III
less IL is fundamentally changed. d.
cided renewal OF interest in influenti
quarters has been observed.
There was a time when the talk
a possible veto was taken TO be vel
much bluff. II Is not so regarded noI
by people who have heard Mr.. Ta
talk in the last few days. He has bee
looking farther into the details Of II
measure, and IS by no means PLEASE
with IL.