The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-04
MATTERS CLEARED UP At
WHITE HOUSE LUNCHEON
Four Of the Insurgent Leaders Dine
With Taft and Are Persuaded
That the Payne-Aldrich Bill .
is Best for Country.
BY WATTERsoN srEALEY.

Washington. August 3.-(SpeciaL)--
The tariff atmosphere became greatly
clarified today after Yesterdays
seismic storm over the leather and har-
ness Joker" of the conference report.
Under an agreement reached by unani-
nous consent this afternoon the Senate
agreed that the vote upon the confer
ence report shall be taken at o'clock
Thursday afternoon. The request which
brought about this result was made
by Senator Bailey of Texas. one of the
democratic conferees. and Immediately
after its adoption the Senate adjourned
early in the afternoon without any
very wide opening of the flood gates of
debate.
The agreement to vote Thursday
could not have been reached until after
the range senators from the west had
been brought back upon the reservation
through concessions intended to enable
the to save their faces with their con-
stituents. These concessions include the
adoption of a resolution authorizing
the engrosslng and enrolling clerks To
correct the hides and leather para
and boots made of all kinds of cattle
hides and skins would take a rate of
10 per cent and all harness and sad
dlery made out of cattle hides or skins
shall take rate OF 20 per cent. instead
of the Objectionable rates of Is and AZ
per cent In the joker.
Range Men Iassoed.
started out last night to capture the
recalcitrant range men and this mer,, =
ing they were all corraffed neat and
' pretty, and everything was serene ex-
| cept IN the vicinity of the republican
insurgent camp and upon the demo-
cratic side, where there is a movement
on foot to have the scope of the cor
ralling resolution enlarged SO as TO
include direction for the engrossing
clerk to shove cotton bagging back on
the free list where IL was under the
Senate bill
influences were also al work from the
White House having salutary ef-
rect upon The situation. President Taft
- ready TO attach his signature to the
Dill as altered by the conference re
port and inasmuch as he is about to
approve the measure he does not care
TO have the republican insurgents in
dulge IN rampant oratorial tactics
which may arouse the country and add
TO the accumulating emba arrassments
OF the republican party With the OBJ
Ject or reasoning with the insurgent
forces the President today invited SEN
ators Dolliver, Brown, Borah and Bev-
eridge to the White House for lunch
con-"
Talk on the Porch.
The gathering assembled at 1870
o o'clock and after half an hour of a
delicious menu the President and his
guests adjourned to the circular front
porch on the south side of the build
ing where with a balmy vista of
heaVy foliage, playing fountains and
the tall white shaft of the Washington
monument standing out before a back
ground OF cerulean skies, the tarff re-
port and the present situatio was dis
cussed over cigars. The President in
discussing the situation with the yis-
itors told them he was anxious to have
the conference report adopted by as
solid a republican vote as possible and
by the time the talk was over at 4
o'clock at least three of the senators
went away feeling more kindly toward
the bill, while the fourth, Mr. Dolli-
Yer, may vote for it, although this is
not absolutely definite at this moment.
Borah and Brown indicated that they
would vote for 1t. Beveridge leaned
y,
may do so If he can possibly say aye"
without somersaulting lis record in the
Senate
Agreement Is Reached.
So that while the four senators were
invited to luncheon" they imposed upon
the Presidents time for two hours and
half with the result that some good
proselyting was accomplished for the
cause OF the conference report. II is,
of course. understood that In voting for
the conference report these senators, like
the range men. do so with the distinct
understanding that the concurrent resoiu-
tion is to be introduced Immediately after
the adoption of the conference report
on Thursday. The line of talk at the
White House this afternoon was that
while the Payne-Aldrch bill may not be
perfect it was more nearly perfect after
than before its consideration by the con-
ference. and that ii was perhaps better
than the Dingley law. now on the statute
books. There are. however, many MEM
bers of Congress who have voted for
the conference report in the House. and
who intend to approve it in the Senate,
who, deep down in their hearts, look upon
the Dingley law as superior to the Payne
Aldrich act and this statement refers
to some tariff reductionists as well az
rate-boosters. Those who do not like the
reductions that have been made In the
Dingley rates prefer the Dingley law and
these are men who sincerely wished the
tariff had never been taken UP at all. On
the other hand, there are sincere tarir
reductionists who believe the whole bill
is from l to 2 per cent higher In its
average of rates than the Dingley law,
and that in spite of Its known iniouities
the Dingley law is better.
Promises To Western Men.
While the range senator's have been
promised and expect to have concur
rent resolution passed that will save them
embarrassment at home, it is not possi-
bly, certain that the corrections in the
shoe and harness rates will be obtained
by them through the concurrent resoiu-
ton method at this extra session and It
may happen that the whole matter may
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