The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-22
Will Mark Close of Most Bitter Fight in
 Years
ALL PARTY LINES
 HAVE BEEN IGNORED
Predicted That SO Senators Out of 91 Will Vote for Bill and Measure Will Soon Become
 Law @

procity bill, an issue before two Sessloiis of Congress, will be passed by the Sen ate by a decisive vote.
 That at least sixty senators, out of a total membership of 91 will vote in favor of the measure was predicted tonight by senators of both political parties This vote will include all but four or five of the democrats and will include also a great proportion of the so-called 'stal- wart' republicans. Opposed to the bill will be a majority of republican insur- gents who came from northwestern states, a few of the republican regulars and a handful of democrats.
 For a. time today the Senate leaders hoped they might get the bill to the President before he leaves for Beverly tomorrow, but visit by Senators Pen rose and Crane to Speaker Clark of the House, soon dispeled the expectation, as the speaker explained 1t would be impossible to hold the House in session long enough to receive the measure.
 It is not expected that the Senate ses- sion tomorrow will be greatly prolonged but the House, having little to dc, rarely has a quorum present these days. That Deln2 nkely t0nOTrOW, as the SpedkST pointed out, it was agreed that the plan was impracticable. As the House will adjourn from tomorrow until next We'd nesday. the bill cannot be received until the latter date.
 The measure has not been and undoubt- edly will not be changed in any respect by the Senate, and when it is signed by the vice president and the speaker it will be dispatched to the President.
 Senator LaFollette featured in the speech-mai<ing today with vigorous ar ralgnment of President Taft and the bill lie attacked the democrats of the Senate cn the ground that they were deliberately trying to carry the tariff issue over to the next campaign for political purposes, and pointed out that the democrats had con slstently voted down amendments propos- ing general tariff reductions. Their ex- cuse, he said, had been that the Presi- dent would not sign the reciprocity bill if it was encountered with any general tariff amendments.
 LaFollette Attacks Bill
 Talk about his vetoing the reciprocity hill with a revision of the wooden sched- ule added to it as an amendments, said Senator LaF'olette, ifs preposterous. You might as well expect drowning man tc relinquish his hold on life preserver.
 You have voted against these amend Ihents on the pretext that it was jeopar- tizing the bill to adopt them. That is only because you want to save the tariff Tor the campaign. You do not want to dispose of the question at this time. You know that the President has become enamored of this so-called Canadian reef procity. He is led to believe that he has struck at last after running the entire .l,.% %rl a,,1 ic tt,o mo thing upon which he relies to restore his administration to favor"
 Several amendments to the reciprocity tili were defeated including those by MT Bristow to reduce duties on lead products and by MT. Townsend for an all lisnce with Canada to enlarge the St. Lawrence waterway.
 Senator Smith of Michigan. attacking the bill, declared Canada would not be the only menace to American industries. lie said British capital in great abund- ance is waiting to be poured into Cam ada when the reciprocity agreement is ratified, and that from the advantageous ground across the golden border' British industries will flood this country with competitive goods
 There are 9 amendments to the meas ure to be acted upon before the final vote on the passabe ~of bill. Many of these propose to affix general tariff changes to the agreement. President Taft has insist ed that any changes of this character threaten the defeat of the entire recfproc- ity agreement.
 The pending amendments include the IaFollette amendments to the octton and woolen schedules; the Nelson amendments restoring half the duty on agricultural products: the Clapp amendments enlarg- ing the free list and removing all re- strctions on the importation of paper amendments hy Senators Crawford and Gore reducing the duty on fresh meats and several similar amendments by Sem ators Cummins, Bristow and others.
 Party Lines Ignored
 Party lines have disappeared during the consideration of the bill. Tariff affilia- tions to outward appearance have been completely changed. President Taft has had the general support of the demo- cratic and of the republican regulars and in this union forces he has had enougn support that the bill has never been in danger of defeat or serious amendment since the session began.
 Canadian reciprocity in its present form is the outgrowth of the conferences with Dominion representatives over the settle ment of the maximum and minimum rates of the Payne-Aldrich law of 1909.
 President Taft, w. s. Fielding. minister of finance of Canada and William Patter- son, minister of customs. met at formal conference at Albany, N. Y., in March, 1910, for the first discussion of the sub ject. Open negotiations began in Novem- Der, when Henry M. Hoyt and Charles M Pepper of the state department, went to Ottawa to confer with the Canadian government officials.
 Tn January Eialatn "a ssson came to washing v erc the work. From JanuaN. anuary 2l these Ca- madam repref -atives, closeted with Sec retary of State Knox and other off cials in Washington, threshed cut the various provisions of the reciprocity ultareously to the parliament of Canada and the Congress of the United States.
 The agreement backed by an official message of ndorsement from President Taft went to the House of Representa- tives January 26. From that time un to the present it has held the cente, of the stage in American political dis cussions, has caused party dissention in this country and in Canada and has developed tariff discussions upon new and novel lines
 The House passed the bill in the las. session of Congress, February 14. f went to the Senate, was reported ou. by the finance committee eight days before adjournment and remained un-
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