The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-12-23
If CHAMP CLARK IS
SPEAKER
DEMOCRATIC LEADER ISSUES
STATEMENT OUTLINING
HIS PLATFORM.
Eavors Caucus on Committees and De-
eIares He Wants No Appointing
Poyser-Favors a Revision OF the
Tariff by Separate Schedules and
Many Bills, Endorsing Plan Urged
by President Taft.

q
by President Taft.
Washington, Dec. 17.-Representa-
tive Champ Clark issued statement
Last night fully outlining his platform
as prospective speaker of the Demo
cratic house of representatives in the
next congress.
He proclaims himself in favor of the
appointment of house committees by
a committee, rather than by the speak
er- and he states his belief that the
tariff should be revised, schedule by
schedule, rather than in one single bill.
Those two subjects, says Mr.. Clark,
are the ones upon which he has been
continually importuned to make some
statement. Democratic house members
sent out a call yesterday for caucus
January 10 of the Democratic member
ship of the next house of representa-
tiyes-
Caucus to Work.
Mr.. Clarks statement is both an ex-
PLANTATION of the call and declaration
of his own platform as the probable
speaker of the house. The caucus will
select a ways and means committee
and a rules committee, somewhat larg-
er than the present committee of
seven.
Mr. Clark believes one of these COM
mittees should then be empowered to
select the other committees of the
house.
There are two theories of tariff re-
VISION" says Mr.. Clark in his state
ment, revision by one general bill,
arate schedules. This is a matter not
of principle, but of method.
Favors Many Bills.
Individually, prefer the scheme of
separate bills for separate schedules,
taking the schedules with the most
obnoxious features first, perhaps in
certain cases having separate bills for
particular items
The statement proceeds to say that
whatever method is decided upon, full
hearing as comprehensive as that
which preceded the framing of the
Payne-Aldrich law, will be had by the
new ways and means committee.
The, assumption, growing out of
ignorance in certain quarters" says
Mr.. Clark, that President Taft or Sen
~atOr Cummins or any other Republican
has discovered something new in tariff
revision by the separate schedule
scheme is preposterous.
1As far back as the Fifty-second con-
gress Chairman Springer introduced
separate bills for separate schedules
and even for particular items, which
were derisiTely denominated Spring
er's gun bills by ribald Republican
speakers and writer's; and several
years before Judge Springer was chair
man of the committee on ways and
means Mr.. Mckenzie, of Kentucky,
achieved both great renown and the
ssobriquet of 1Quinine Jim by securing
the passage of a bill putting quinine
ON the free list, and touching no other
item whatsoever in any tariff sched-
ule."
To Invite Members.
MIR, Clark declares that he is heart
lily in favor of inviting to the caucus
all Democratic members-elect. He says
his efforts for two years have been d.
rected to the unifcation of the Demo-
Gratis in the house and for that reason
members-elect should be given every
opportunity to express their choice in
fhn roynipo Of oOr,o N, tooc
The questions of interest to the
country, as Mr.. Clark sees it, is how
the Democrats will select their COM
mittees and what the party will do
with the tariff. This last question has
been answered, and proceeding to the
first he says:
AS to the mode of selecting commit
tees in the event of my own election
To the speakership l would not care
the snap of my finger to exercise the
power of appointing them. / have
stated that to every Democratic mem
her who cared to inquire my opinion
The exercise of that power would un
doabtedly have certain unpleasant fea
lures"
OF the two plans for the election oil
OmHaittees, by the Democratic caucus
or directly by the house itself, Mr.
Clark favors the latter This is based
ON the fact that in the debatable states
the independent voters appear to favor
1t and the future speaker of the house
frankly acknowledges that it may be
adopted because of the influence i
would have in returning Democrat,
president and Democratic congress.
in 1872
indications are that any tariff meas
ure brought in by its Democratic mem
oers OF the ways and means committe,
IN the next congress win be along til,
line Of revision schedule by schedule.
The call for the caucus was circulat
ed at the instance Of Champ Clark an,
OF MI. Underwood of Alabama, hi
right arm In <rr, <rv<<rrss