The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1910-12-22
.DEMOCRATS0n
|. THE TARIFF BILL

Washington, Dec. 17.--Now that
the fight over the question OF taking
from the speaker the power to APP
point committees is practically over
and the progressive or radical demo-
Gratis have received assurances that
the speaker will be stripped of his
authority to name the committees,
the big question looming up ahead Of
the democrats in the house and SEN
ate is the tariff.
After all, it is the tariff question
that is the threatening one ahead of
the democrats in congress and many
Of them realize it. Wide differences
OF opinion prevail among them as to
how to deal with It,
One plan is for 10 per cent. re-
duction in the Jariff duties at first,
to. be followed by other horizontal re-
auctions from year to year. Another
plan is for tariff for revenue. Still
another plan is for the house COM
mittee on ways and means to take up
awf few important schedules and re-
duce them materially, one by one.
In other wards, this plan is for sched-
ule by schedule revision, covering a
small number of important schedules.
Favor Politics.
A large element of the democrats
in the house is in favor of playing
politics with the tariff to the extent
OF making such reductions in a num-
Der of important schedules that the
republicans will not stand for them.
or course, republican opposition
cannot avail In the house, in all like
lihood, with the democratic majority
in that body what 1t is. But in the
senate the situation is such that the
united opposition OF the senate regu-
lar republicans, with the aid of pro-
lection democrats, would doubtless
check any effortsof the house demo-
Gratis TO cut duties on important
schedules to the bone.
II situation could be brought
about that would seem to the coun-
try to make the senate republicans
responsible for blocking an attempt
to get lower duties, the democratic
leaders would be pleased, and would
like to go into the 1912 campaign
under those conditions.
The senate finance committee,
dominated by high tariff republicans,
is the instrument which the house
democrats who are talking about the
blocking of tariff reform measure
by the republicans, are relying on.
They think perhaps that IL a bill
SHOULD go through cutting duties on
some schedules TO the bone, Presi-
dent Taft would veto it. Or, IL 1t
should become law, they think the
democrats would get the credit for IL.
What is giving large number OF
the democrats worriment has rela-
tion 10 the memories of what hap
pened TO the Wilson measure back
In 1894, the measure that finally
went TO the statute books as the
Wilson-Gorman law. This was so
altered through the influence OF lead
ing senate democrats, OF whom Sena-
tor Arthur Pue German was one, and
Senator James Smith, Jr., OF New
Jersey, was another. that ample pro-
lection was afforded in a number OF
schedules. The sugar schedule is
one most frequently spoken of in
this connection.
Would Hurt Party.
Plenty OF democrats I'M congress
realize that II at any stage of the
proceedings for tariff revision con-
siderable element OF the democrats
assume the attitude OF trying to get
ample protection for Industries in
which their sections are interested,
II will be damaging to the party.
Yet, in view OF the fact that num-
Der Of the democrats from the south
are protection democrats, the ques-
ton Is how such manifestation is
going 20 be escaped.
Those democrats OF the progress
sive wing OF their party who are
lanxious for a thorough revision OF
the tariff, minus any favored sched-
ules. without any jokers. say that a
good deal will depend on how the in
surgent or progressive republicans at
both ends of the capitol behave.
II the republican progressives re-
fuse to cooperate with the democrats
then the progressive democrats say
they fear the democrats In congress
are not going TO be able TO accomp-
lish enough on tariff or any other big
questions to win the strong approval