The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-21
There Are Many Knots To Be
 UnraVeIed By Experts
MANY KICKS ON NEW RATES
Coffee Is Not on the Free List By Any Means, as Brazil Causes a Hitch, and 1t Is Said Hides
 Will Be Higher.
By WILLIAM ROSTER.

ident Taft today called Senator Aldrieh, chairman of the Senate finance commit tee, into conference at the White House on the Payne tariff bill. In addition to Senator Aldrich there were present Sec retary of the Treasury MaeVeigh and Secretary of State Knox The entire merits of the Payne bill threshed out. Some understandings were reached. There will be further conferences.
 Todays conference was the first move of the President in his plan to reconcile all the conflicting elements on a tariff bill that may be passed quickly by both houses of Congress and enacted into law. Since the Payne bill was 1ntro- duced on Wednesday Washington has been full of rumors as to what the Sen ate proposed to do with the measure when it reached the upper chamber.
 The conference was designed by the President to forestan drastic Senate &C., ton. If there is to be a tariff fight he aims to have it behind closed doors and not in full view of the audience More than that, he does not propose to give the Senate leaders an opportunity to start recklessly into the Payne bill with out ryhme or reason.
 Taft Approves Bill.
 The President approves the Payne bill on principle and he plans so far as he is able to have that bill enacted into law. He will not submit to such changes in the measure on the part of the Sen ate as will materially affect the prin- uples of the bill.
 Tt is to forestall any possibility of the
 snate doing to the Payne bill what the same body did to the Wilson bill un- der the Cleveland administration that the President has adopted the diplomatic course of calling the leaders of his ad- ministration into conference. By this means he hopes to so arrange matters that the Payne bill will have as easy a time in going through the Senate as it promises to have in it's passage through the House.
 MT. Payne and Mir Aldrich will meet the President at the White House some day next week and from time to time other leaders will be invited to call and confer, especially those who feel that they have grievances In the way of reduced rates ip some schedules and increased
  arbitrator. placator and pacifer, so far as possible, throughout, keeping always in mind the principle of the Payne bill, to which he Is committed and which was practically framed under his eye.
 By this plan the President will to great extent disarm the Senate and will at the same time facilitate the speedy enactment of a tariff revision bill down ward and in line with what he believes the people demand.
 Features of Bill.
 Today's conference was largely oc- cupied with a discussion of the max mum and minimum features of the Payne bill. Senator Aldrich is an ex- pert authority on treaty regulations re- ferring to commerce between the United States and all other nations and their colonies. Secretary Knox was present both as the Presidents inti- mate adviser and as the official who must deal with foreign states in the matter of maximum and minimum rates Secretary MacVeagh attended to give his views as to the sufficiency of the schedules in the Payne bill to raise the required revenues to run the gov ernment.
 It is understood that Senator Aldrich complained that the Payne bill Is not sufficiently clear as to what is meant by maximum and minimum rates. The sena tor imparted to the President his ideas on the meaning of a maximum and minimum rate and he conveyed the broad hint that it will be desirable to rewrite that portion of the bill which touches upon maximum and minimum. Presumably Senator Aldrich himself will submit a rewritten maximum and minimum clause.
 Must Be Explicit.
 The senator referred particularly to Germany and declared that 1t was ab- solutely necessary to have the maxi mum and minimum clauses clear and explicit in order that they may be wholly intelligibe to manufacturers and exporters.
 It was developed at the conference also that neither Senator Aldrich nor Secretary MacVaugh is satisfied that the bill will derive sufficient revenue to run the government and that ad- vantage may have to be taken of the proposal to issue government certif- icates which are In all respects tanta- mount to bond issue.
 The feeling is general. however. that no extraordinary menas, not even those provided for Tn the bill, will be neces- sary because it is believed that the bill has within itself the possibilities and proba bilties of largely increased trade and therefore revenue.
 Senator Aldrich stated that the bill would be disposed of in the Senate finance committee as rapidly as il was disposed of in the committee of the whole House. When ever a schedule is argued and disposed of by the House 1t will be taken up on the same day by the republicans of the finance com mittee of the Senate and gotten out of the way in time for a discussion of the next article taken up in the House