The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-07-28

speaker Cannon does not altogether
sympathIze with Chairman Payne's ex-
peetat1ons and named eonferees who in
one or two instances were disappoint.
ing to the chairman. He put upon the
committee Representative Boutell, of
Illinois, a very capable man, who will
serve there as the Speakers represen-
tative and viii keep the Speaker in
formed of the trend of events. In
some things Chairman Payne has been
so determined to have his way, whether
the Speaker approved or not, that Mr..
Cannon felt the need of a special repre-
sentative. Mr.. Boutell not only comes
from Illinois, the same state as the
Speaker, but he is a close friend of
the member from Danville, who yields
the House gavel.
Then the Speaker put an extra con-
fierce upon the House ist-Representa
tive Fordney, Of Michigan, who repre-
sents the Speakers rather than Chair
man Payne's views on some matters
of high protection. It was taken for
granted the moment that Mr.. Fordney s
name was announced that the higher
Senate rates of duty upon, lumber would
prevail as a result, for Mr.. Fordney is
a believer in high duties on lumber
and has been engaged in the lumber
business all his life. But he is also
a personal representative of the Speak
er, rather than colleague of the Chair
man of Ways and Means on the confer
ence. It was Mr.. Fordney who jumped
into the breach last year and by hercu-
lanean efforts had the first delegates
for the nomination of Mr.. Cannon as
president, chosen in his Michigan dis
trict.
The Speaker felt 1t was imperative
to make these personal selections for
eonferees lest Mr.. Payne be so insistent
upon the acceptance of the House bill
that he would deadlock the conference
and keep the House and Senate hang
ing around Washington for a number
of weeks. Then Mr.. Payne who is an
excellent fighter, has an ancient grudge
against Senator Aldrich. When the last
tariff bill was in conference they lock-
ed horns over the sugar differential and
after week or more of fighting Mr..
Payne had to give in. He would like
now to have one on Senator Aldrieh
and to get it would spend a week or
Speaker Cannon thinks any such pro-
gram would be. unwise. The country
is waiting for the completed tariff bill.
Business is expected to take fresh
start once that bill is signed and placed
upon the statute books. And with
these two personal representatives on
the conference to execute the Speaker s
will, Chairman Payne's plans to fight
Senator Aldrich to finish will prob
ably be cireumvented in a measure.
When an unsophisticated inquirer
asked Senator Aldrich, Chairman of
: Finance, the other night for list of
revision increases and reductions in the
tariff bill, he was given printed table
of the latter changes and informed that
the committee had no printed column
of increases. The incident illustrates
the determination of Republican lead
ers to keep the tariff reductions to the
fore. 1t has been conspicuous ever
since the tariff bill was brought into
the House, as a matter of fact, and
is preliminary to the party efforts,
which always follow the enactment of
tariff law, to persuade the people
that the new statute is good for them.
But against this program of the
Finance Committee Senator La Toilette
has fought tremendously. Just before
the bill was passed, he obtained prom
Use that by the time the conference
report is completed there will be at
hand statistical comparison of rates
in the Dingley law and of the new rates
as agreed upon by the eonferees. This
will be matter of public record and
from the figures. in all probability, the
country will obtain more authentic in
formation about the tariff law than
from any table of figures ever before
printed regarding a tariff measure.
1t is pretty generally understood that
a tariff bill is SO comprehensive and SO
complicated that willy politician can
make almost any kind of an argument
about it, if he is willing to tell only
a half truth. Senator La Toilette,
however, has apparently brought it
about that almost any man who really
wants to know something authentic
about the trend of the rates can have
the information without difficulty. The
House and later the Senate compiled
some figures about the rates, as com
pared with the Dingley law. They were
like Greek to the average citizen, Sen
ator La Toilette insisted upon having
the specific and advalorem rates trans
lated into an equivalent advalorem
which was done in comparison be-
tween the Dingley law and the Senate
rates. 1t was long step in advance
of anything that had been done. With
this as basis, he had very eompre-
hensive calculations made about the
significance of new rates. He has
taken care that the work should be
done, or be approved by the Treasury
Bureau of statistics. Otherwise, it
would be attacked Immediately as I'M
official and therefore unreliable.
But once the conferees have finished
their tasks and the bill is passed by
both houses and signed by the Presi-
dent, the value of these figures viii be
impaired, because of the numerous
changes which the conferees will make
While a large portion of the figures
will remain the same, their correctness
could easily be assailed by the state.
ment that they did not represent the
reductions in conference. But Senator
La Toilette proposes TO have "equiva'
lent advalorems'' on the completed
bill and before the debate is over he
win have them inserted in the Con.
gressional Record.
No one could be more positive than
L L.