Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1909-04-16
The TARIFF BILL IS PASSED
Republican House Leaders Put
the Measure Through.
PASSED BY VOTE OF III TO 161
Four Louisiana Democrats Vote With
Republicans. Mr.. Clark's At
temp to Recommit Bill
Fails Signally.

OF consideration, the Payne tarin
bill was passed by the House of Rep
resentatives Friday night by vote
of 217 to 161. One Republican,
Austin (Tennessee), voted against
the measure and four Democrats, all
Tstopinal, Pujo and Wickliffe, voted
Estropinal, Pujo and Wickliffe, voted
for it. An attempt by Clark, the mi
mority leader, to recommit the bill
with instructions signally failed.
The day was filled with excitement
from the moment of the session be-
gan at noon until the last minute.
fhe members were keyed up to the
highest pitch, and a practically full
membership remained on duty
throughout. The final vote demon
strated the capacity of the Republi-
can organization to get together.
While more consideration in point
of time has been given by the House
to the Payne bill, it was passed in
fewer days than the Dingley bill was
acted upon after being reported to
the House. The Payne bill was in
troduced on March IT, reported to
the House by the Ways and Means
Committee on the following day, and
was under general debate for six
teen days. On Monday of the past
week the Rules Committee reported
a special order which closed the gen.
eral discussion and provided for the
consideration of the bill under the
five-minute rule. Chairman Payne
handled the time in such a way that
only paragraphs affected by commit
tee amendments and the amend
ments permitted by the special rule
had been considered when the time
to vote on the measure was reached.
The Dingley bill was under con-
longer than the Payne bill, but the
House was not in session as long
each day as during the consideration
of the latter measure. All during
the general debate on the Payne
bill the House set ten and one-half
hours each day, thus establishing a
record for that body. Mr.. Olmsted
Of Pennsylvania presided as chair
man of the committee of the whole
House on the state of the Union
throughout the twenty days that
were given to the bill.
One of the principal changes eff
fected in the Payne bill since it's in
PRODUCTION was the placing of pdro-
lcum on the free list. This involv-
ell a more seriously contested fight
than any of the other amendments.
Among the other important am
endments that have been made since
the bill came from committee, are
those stricking ont the provision for
a duty on tea and the countervaling
proviso OH coffee. The elimination
of the maximum duty of 20 per
cent on coffee, contained in the max
imum and minimum section of the
bill. was also significant
To the free list we're added ever
green seedlings, cloves and nut oil,
which is used in making varnish.
The patent law provision, intended
to retaliate for the new British pat
ent law, was stricken out on account
of an International convention. The
so-called Joker" in one cotton
cloth schedule, which it was claimed
would increase the duty of the Ding
ley bill several hundred per cent,
was corrected, the proviso for the
method of counting threads in the
cloth being made the same as in
the present law.
The section restricting the con-
tents of packages of tobacco was
amended to conform with the present
law in order that union labels may
not be excluded from such packages.
The drawback section was added so
that 1t could not be taken advantage
OF for the purpose of specializing In
grain. and the Philippine free trade
provision was amended so that the
rice will not be admitted free from
the island. The countervailing du-
ty clause on lumber was stricken out
but a strong effort to place lumber
on the free list did not succeed.
The duties on barley, barley malt,
charcoal iron pineapples In crates,
saccharine. mejicated cotton and cot
ton collars and cuffs, as originally in
the bill. were increased. To retail
ate against Turkey, which country
prohibits the importation of Ameri-
can filler tobacco. a proviso was in
cluded in the tobacco schedule in
creasing the duty on filler tobacco
from any country which prohibits
the importation OF the American to-
bacco. The internal revenue law
was also amended so that raisers of
tobacco will not have to pay a manu-
facturer's license In order to dispose
OF leaf tobacco.
There were several technical chan
ges In the steel schedule, principal
ly downward. and lace curtains and