The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-12-12
River and HarbOr Bill Passes
House
AS TO TARIFF COMMISSION
Conservative Republicans Are Inclined
to Favor 1t, But Plenty Of
Opportunity for Strife
Remains.

Washington, Dec. u The only doubt
in regard to the actual creation OF a
permanent tariff board at the present
session Of Congress now appears to hinge
upon the attitude of the Senate Demo-
Gratis and the possibility of their en-
ploying filibustering tactics. Senator
Crane expressed the opinion Saturday
that the conservative Republicans would
be inclined to favor creating a perma-
nent commission on the model OF the
existing board and that they would be
ready to increase its membership from
three to five ii a move were made for
that change There will remain, how
ever, plenty of opportunity for strife
between the conservatives and insurgents
over the details of the commissions or
ganization. In fact, the real milk in
the cocoanut will be found in the ques-
tions as to the extent Of the powers
with which the commission shall be
clothed, the manner in which it may be
provided with funds, the extent to which
ii must publicly account for their eX-
penditure, and the higher authority-the
president or Congress-to which it shall
report. These are matters on which
the lines have yet to be definitely
formed. For the present, the import
ant thing is the apparently almost
unanimous opinion among leading Re-
publicans that permanent commission
OF some sort must be established before
the session ends.
Meantime the Democratic senators APP
pear set against the commission idea,
and also against the Cummins amend
ment of the Senate rules, whereby the
tariff might be taken up schedule by
schedule In regard to this latter ques-
ton, however, Champ Clark, the Demo-
cratic leader in the House, is authority
for the statement that the tendency
among Democratic representatives is to
look with less disfavor on such piece
meal revision Temporary resistance to
change in the Senate rules may per-
haps not be an oyerdangerous perform
ance for the Democrats, but in the pres
ent state of public opinion to prevent
the creation of a permanent tariff COM
mission would be hailed as monu-
mental Democratic blunder. Moreover,
from the signs of the times as they
are observable here the change in the
rules must come sooner or later.
The House of Representatives Satur-
day afternoon established a record by
passing the rivers and harbors bill on
the sixth day Of the session. Follow
ing the passage of the Indian appropria-
ton bin Saturday, this indicates the
businesslike rapidity with which the
House is going ahead Four other APP
preparation or supply bills are to be put
through before the Christmas holidays,
according to present plans. In other
years it has taken months to accomplish
what this year will have been done in
less than three weeks. The Importance
of this lies in its demonstration that
the House can dispose of routine mat
tiers with sufficient rapidity in spite of
the new rules, and in its prospectively
clearing the decks for more or less gem
eral legislation to be taken up later in
the winter in response to the urgings
Of the president However, it is only
reasonable to expect some snags and de-
lays that are now unforeseen.