Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-07
CLARK DEFENDS MINORITY
Leader of Democrats Denies Party 1,
Divided by Tariff Fight,
REcoUNTs HISTORY OF STRUGGLE
SAYS democrat Have Come out Of
Battle More ThOrouEhly Unified
Thar They Have Becn for
n Generation.

WARRINGTON, Aug. Elm reply TO
what he terms the Misrepresentation Of
democrats in the papers, Champ CLARK.
leader OF the minority in TIE house OF rep.
resentatives, today gave out the following
statement regarding the course Of the dem
ocratic members OF the house In connec-
ton with the consideration Of the Payne
bill:
MANY newspapers-generHlly republican or
ACKNOWLEDGMENT more individuals,
keen mounting about the dissension among
the house democrats and the perfect unity
among house republicans, Notwithstanding
the truth known Of all men who care to
know. that the house democrats came out
OF the tariff fight more thoroughly united
on that question than they had been In a
generation and the republicans came out
OF II worse shattered than ever before.
Some papers, either through careless
ness Of malice, have gone so far as to say
that had the democrats not been absent
in large numbers impaired we would have
defeated the conference report on the
tariff bill. There is not a syllable OF
truth in II.
Now. mark how plain a tale will put
them down: on my motion last spring to
recommit the Payne bill with Instructions
WHICH llcAl AlO -
hensive democratic platform 30 far as the
tariff is concerned-all democrats voted
for IL except four. On the Payne bill itself,
voted on Immediately after my motion to
recommit was defeated, the republicans
lost one vote and the democrats lost four.
a net loss to the democrats of three-a
more nearly unanimous democratic vote
than has been cast on a tariff bill In a
generation.
Vote on Payne's Motion.
Let's examine into the comparative ma
tority among democrats and republicans.
on Mr.. Payne's motion to recommit ths
conference report all the democrats except
one voted for It and twenty republicans
with us. 30 that the republican machine
was victorious by only five majority, al
though they had a majority of forty-fivs
In the house. on that vote there were alb
sent six democrats and five republicans.
Among those absent, four democrats were
paired with four republicans, leaving two
democrats and one republican absent with
out pairs. II the two democrats absent
without pairs had been present and had
voted with us, we would have been de-
feated by three votes. Had one democrat,
who voted with the republicans, also voted
with us, we would still have been defeated
by one vote. on that vote to recommit the
conference report the democrats voted more
solidly than ever before since the close OF
the civil war, while the republicans were
worse split UP,
ION the vote OF the adoption of the con-
ference report. the house machine won by
twelve majority only. There were absent
six democrats and four republicans. As on
the motion to recommit, four democrats
we're paired with four republicans two
democrats were absent without pairs ana
two democrats voted with the republicans.
II the two impaired democrats had been
present and voted with us, the machine
majority would nave been reduced to 10,
and II the two democrats who voted with
the republicans had also voted with us.
the machine majority would have been re-
duced to six. That was a close call for the
machine, but nothing could have been done
to have turned their nardly-won victory
into defeat"
says Payne Was Fooled.
The reason that Chairman Payne moved
to recommit was that he fooled himself
into the belief that we were going to offer
a motion to recommit with Instructions and
he wanted to head us off. But we had no
idea OF moving to recommit with instruc-
lions because the situation absolutely for
babe It, 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-
ton to recommit with instructions. OF
course, Mr.. Payne voted against his own
motion TO recommit.
MANY newspapers are trying to make il
appear that the Psyne-Aldrich-Smoo bill
is a revision downward. This Is absolutely
untrue. The average OF rates OF the Payne
Aldrich-smoot bill Is about 2 per cent higher
than the average rate Of the Dinsley bill.
When the maximum goes into effect March
81, 1910, the average rate will be about q
per cent higher than the average OF the
Dingley bill"
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