Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-06-24
HURLs DOWN
GAUNTLET ON POSTAL BILL

WASHINGTON, June 21.-Abandoning
ate from Yale, and announcing that ne
would stay in Washington "all summer"
If need be, President Taft today began
his first open fight with the United
States senate.
The postal savings bank bill is the is
| sue between the White House and the
north wing of the capitol. The presi-
dent has announced that the senate must
adopt the house bill. Several insurgents
and some of the regulars are strongly OPP
posed to the postal bill and rumor of a
| hlibuster against the measure filled the
air this morning. 1t was because of
these reports and the further prediction
that the absence of the president from
Washington would be taken advantage of
so as to amend the bill in the senate as
to make its passage impossible in either
branch of the national legislature, that
the president decided to remain at the
White House from now until the day Of
adjournment.
MANY ANGLES TO FIGHT.
The fight over the postal savings bank
bill has many angles. The most interest
ing, perhaps, is the fact that the meas
ure which the insurgents helped to frame
and fully approved in the house. is round
ly denounced by the insurgents in the
senate.
President Taft has promised to stand by
the house measure and he believed IL to
be tacit agreement, it is said. that In
return for the acceptance by the house
OF the senate statehood bill, the senate
would accept the house postal bank bill
The river and harbor bill, containing
some hundreds of items in which repre-
senatives and senators are generally in
terested. is still unsigned in the presi-
dents desk and subject to veto. The
public buildings bill, affecting nearly
every state in the union, is about to
pass the senate and then will have to
receive executive approval before 1t be-
comes a law and makes appropriations
available. Mr.. Taft is said not to be I'M
mindful Of the influence of these two
measures. Meantime the spectre of q
flibuster threatens, and Mr.. Taft is re-
ported as being fighting mad. He sum-
moned a score of senators to the White
House today and talked to them with
directness and forcefulness which left
no debate as to how he felt about the
matter. The fact that some Of the reg
ulars in the senate are quietly working
against the measure has particularly
aroused the president, and he is anxious
that they shall be put on record as early
as possible.
Mr. Taft fatty announced today that
senator's voting against the house bill
would be understood as simply oppos-
ing any system of postal banks at all
end therefore repudiating the party's
platform pledge in this respect.
Opposition to the postal bank bill comes
first from the country bankers of the
middle west, and they have been bonn
harding their senator's and representa-
| tives with letters and kilograms ever
since the bill first came up. The sec
ond cource Of opposition is from the
surely bond group or guaranty compa-
MES. These companies want an amend
ment written into the bill requiring banks
to give indemnity bonds for postal de-
posits. The president is strongly oppos-
ed to the proposition.
PRESIDENTS POSITION.
The only one OF the regular appropria-
ton bills which has not passed both
houses, the postal savings bank bill, the
public land withdrawal bill. the reclama-
ton land bill, the campaign publicity bill
and the Appalachian forest bill are to be
put through according to statements
made congressional leaders today.
The senate amendments to the house
bill to provide a uniform system of bank
0ruptcy throughout the United States
were agreed to by the house today, and
the measure will at once be sent to
the president for his approval.
On receiving message from the
senate today that a nlibuster was
proposed there by some OF the
insurgents against the postal saw
ings bank bill, President Taft decided
to abandon his projected visit to New
Haven, where he expected to see his
son graduate from Yale tomorrow.
The president said he would remain in
Washington TO look after the legislation
and that he would stay here all summer
K necessary to get the postal savings
bank measure through in satisfactory
form. 1t is his desire that the house
bill be adopted by the senate without
amendment.
Early today he sent for several OF
the recalcitrant senator's and had a long
and earnest talk with them The presi-
dent is said to be thoroughly aroused
over the situation.
Several Of the so-called regular Re-
publicans in the senate, 1t was said to-
day, had been discovered off the reser-
walton in the final roundup on the pos
tai savings bank bill. This phase of
the situation has particularly annoyed
the president. Reports which reached
the White House this morning were to
the eeffct that while the president was
at New Haven tomorrow IL was the in
tention of the senators TO so ameAd the
postal savings bank bill as to kin any
chance of its passage by congress at
this session.
AS soon as the president learned of this
plan he directed Secretary Norton to
cancel his trip to the Yale commence
ment and also to send for the senate
leaders The president was in fighting
humor all morning and callers at the
White House declared he was very for
chile in his references to the senate sit
uation.
The president, for more than a year. |
had been looking forward to this New
Haven trip, which was abandoned today. !
He said some time ago that he would |