The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-06-22
SAYS IT'S A RIDICULOUS LIE
MINORITY LEADER CLARK GETS
INTO THE WATSON ROW
IN GEORGIA.
TARIFF WAS NOT INVOLVED

Refutes the Slander a Few Newspa'
pers aud Politicians Have Heaped
Upon Six Georgians and Other Con-
gressmen Who Did Not Cooper
ate With Him and Insurgents in
Fight on Rules.
WASHINGTON, D. C.-'The state
ment that those who were in favor
of the propaganda to revise the rules
of the house were attempting to hold
up tariff revision is a ridiculous lie, "
says Champ Clark, democratic leader
of the house of representative
THAT rules revision are contained
in letter from Mr.. Clark to Repre-
sentative Thomas NJ. Bell of Georgia,
democrat, which was received yes
terday. 1t is in response to a let
ter from Mr.. Bell to Mr.. Clark stat
ing that the impression has been ere
ated that the rules fight had some re-
lation to tariff revision.
Mr.. Clark says emphatically it is
not so. The defeat of his resolution,
says the democratic leader, had no
effect on tariff legislation, but was
entirely separate and distinct from
the consideration of the tariff bill.
The two things are as far apart
as sunshine and mOOnshine, as water
and wine, he declares.
Representatives Howard, Living
stOn, Brantley Edwards and Lee of
Georgia opposed the resolution of
Mr.. Clark to amend the rules. After
that was out of the way they fought
on the side of the democratic leader
in opposing the tariff bill and voted
against the republican measure on
its passage.
Mr.. Bell voted for the Clark reso-
luton. The Georgians who opposed
Mr.. Clark on the rules revision felt
that his answer completely cuts the
ground from under Hon. Thomas E.
Watson. In his letter to the demo-
cratic leader Mr. Bell says:
Mr.. Bells Letter.
Numerous inquiries and state
ments are being made throughout the
country to the effect that the defeat
of your resolution to amend the house
rules on March Is, 1903. affected
tariff legislation in congress and en-
abled the Payne-Aldrich bill to go
through the house, and that if our
rules resolution had been adopted the
said bill would not have passed. 1
am convinced that there is a misun-
derstanding on the part of some or a
desire to mistake the facts in this
connection, and | am writing to you
for an explanation about the mat
ter"
In his reply, dated June 1st, Hon.
Champ Clark has the following to
say in regard to the effect of his
rules resolution on tariff legislation:
81 might answer that it had none
and stop there, for that is the truth
about it. Anybody can find out by
examining the congressional record
of March Is, 1909"
He then recites his resolution call
ing for changes in the rules. One
of the principal clauses was the ap-
pointment of committee to consider
changes in the rules and to report
in December, nine months later.
Mr.. Clark also quotes from the
congressional record a colloquy in
which Representative Gardner of
Massachusetts, one of the insurgent
leaders, is quoted as saying: "MF,
Speaker, the alliance between the in
surgents and the democrats goes
merely to changing the rules. AS to
what happens when that committee
is appointed there is no understand
ing under heaven"
A little later Mr.. Clark made prac-
tically the same statement in his
own words, which he quotes in his
letter to Mr.. Bell He also quotes
the following extracts from his re-
marks at that time.
"a Ridiculous Lie"
There was hue and cry raised
in the newspapers that those of us
who were in favor of this propagan-
da to revise the rules were irving
to hold up tariff revision. That is
a very strange thing, is it not. that
l should be accused of undertaking
to hold up tariff revision downward
the very thing l have been urging in
season and out of season for a life
time, and that my distinguished
friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dali
zelD and my distinguished friend
from New York (Mr. Payne), and
the Speaker of the house, and Sen
ator Aldrich should be more inter-
ested in revising and expediting re-
vision down than | am? Did any
body ever hear of as ridiculous lie
as that?"
Hands Roast to Cannon,
In further insisting that the fight