The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-14
New York Speech is Qlistnyy , Up)n NerIes of Val
 Street Brokers
CHAMP CLARK TAXES
 WHACK AT THE SPEECH
Democratic Leader Says That Tafts Utterances Will Fail to Convince the Country That Tariff Was
 Revised Downward
By wATTERsoN sTEALEY

By WATTERsON STEALEY Washington, February 1S.-(SpecialD sThe Presidents declaration of intent to enforce the, law but not to run | amuck seems a prospect of justice tenn pered with mercy The best thing that could happen to the country would be an honest and coura geous prosecution of all lawbreakers. It would Ee decid- edly interesting and illumina ting to
 know what per cent of those applaud
 ing banqueters last night were law
 breakers and how much they contrib
 uted to the last republican campaign
 fund. That speech will alarm no crimi-
 nal.'
 Representative Champ Clark of Mis-
 souri, the democratic House leader
 gave expression to the above toh' ght in
 discussing the Presidents Lincoln day
 speech. MT. Clark is of the be'i'f that at a banquet 'rbetwixt the wa.nuts and
 the wine applause s usually abundant and, things are applauded which under
 other circumstances would seem fiat,
 stale and unprofitable"
 Applause Is Cheap "It would have been bad form not to have applauded the Presidents utter ances," says the democratic leader, and then the chances are that nearly every man at the banquet expects an office or some other favor from the admjnistra- Zion or the New York republicans. The President" said Mir Clark, "endtavored to offset republican differences with certain remarks about democratic quar- rels. That is the latest Illustration Of the force of habit. The President must certainly read only expurgated editions of the daily papers. otherwise he would know that the democrats in the House of Representatives and throughout the country are more thoroughly united than they have been since 1892, ana that the republicans are worse split up than at any time since the republican party was organized. Factionalism among the republicans cannot be whis- tied down the wind or laughed out of court even by a republican President. That portion Of the Presidents speech pertaining to the Payne -Aldrich- Shoot tariff act is almost identical with the tariff portion of his Winona speech" continued MT. Clark. G The Speech Failed "That speech failed, as this speech will fail, to convince the country that that monstrous measure Is an improvement on the Dingley act or that 1t is a revision downward. The President still uses MT. Chairman Payne's exploded figures as the basis of his remarks-figures so pre- posterous as to be the hugest joke of the season not even excepting that of Dr. Cook. Surely when the President pre- pared his New York speech he had not studied the poll of western editors in  tariff act That poll l take 1t Is a much moro Illuminating verdict on those two II questions than the applause of a lot of re- H publican banqueters along toward mid H night. It's dollars to doughnuts that the Il Presidents Lincoln day speech will not H convince or convert a single western re- H publican editor.
 H ''The fact remains," added Mir Clark
 s'after all speeches, Presidential or other
 wise, that more people are suffering from
 cold and hunger this winter under the | Payne -Aldrich-Smoot measure than there | were under the Dingley bill, which was so | bad that in order to win In 1908 the re- .publicans had to promise to revise it down and then repudiated their promise.' What Taft Proposes to Do Washington, February 13-The fact \ that President Taft in his New York
 
 | jects as postal savings banks, interstate
 commerce legislation, anti-injunction,
 statehood and conservation of natural
 resources, seems to mark these subjects
 for early consideration by Congress. Es-
 pecially is this true for the reason that
 measures to carry out these party pledges
 have reached advanced stages before the
 appropriate committees
 l.. It is remarked also that the character N If MT. Taft's allusions to the federal ' Jlincorporation bill would hardly justify >S Sthe placing of that measure in the first I rank of administration measures, while | the fact that ship subsidy was ignored al- \ together, makes it questionable whether
 the executive will bring pressure to bear I to promote it's chances.
 The ship subsidy legislation seems all I most certain to pass the senate but the \ democrats in the house are preparing to \ line up against the bill and they believe \ with some republican assistance they will \ be able to defeat it. It is not improbable A that the Senate would then resort to Il placing the measure upon the postoffce & appropriation bill. as a rider, in which . event a second contest would be precipi- : tated in the House.
 Cost of Living Inquiry
 It is expected that the select committee il of the Senate designed to conduct the pro- U posed inquiry regarding the price of food products and other necessares of E life, twill be announced tomorrow or If
 not then at an early day of the present 9 week. There is little doubt that the republi 8 can membership of the committee will
 consist as heretofore announced, of Sen
 ator Lodge, chairman, and Senators FL
 kins. McCumber, Snoot and Crawford. ] The democratic membership has not been | determined definitely. but the indications
 are that Senator Simmons of North Car ' olina and Senator Clarke of Arkansag ! will be asked to officiate on behalf of the ! minority membership.
 If the committee thus should be com II
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