The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-30
Presidents Criticism Is As Ungrateful Performance
 As I Can Remember"
RIDICULES TAFT'S
 EXCUSE FOR VETOES
Wool Bill Was One of the Most Thoroughly and Carefully Con- sidered Bills Ever Presented
 to a President"

Quincy. H. lasust 2s.--champ Clark, speske id' al House of Representt wing here early toda - e atioally to Presiden fsts sf@ delivered at Hamilton Ns ss., last saturday. In a signed interview the speaker accused the President of not stating facts
 MT. Clark declared. among other things. that if the tariff board is to be used as a pretext for delaying tarifi revision downward. the democrats would cut off it's supplies.
 The President essayed the rather large stunt of running amuck on both the democrats and the insurgent re- publicans In Congress, singling out Chairman Underwood and myself par ticulariy as democratic targets, said Mir Clark. T accept his onslaught as badge of honor
 The President and l are personal friends. He Is an amiable gentleman but at the time he seems to have been in bad temper. because he sees de- feat staring him in the face. l would say nothing unkind about him, but l cannot, and will not permit his per sonal strictures and his bald mis- statement of historical facts to go un- challenged.
 The Presidents criticism of MT. Un- derwood and myself which is essen tiallv a criticism of all democrats in the House and Senate. because all dem ocrats stood together, is absolutely un- called for and Is as ungrateful per formance as I can remember Tor 1T It had not been for the action Of the democrats of the Sixtyfirst and Sixty second Congresses in lining up almost unanimously in favor of reciprocity with Canada, he would have been the most thoroughly discredited and hu- initiated President since the days of Andrew Johnson.
 .With all the influence and patron age of his great office. he could not mus q :. ranlp. ily of hvuse fepaa le.'as for recinrocity tn either the sixty first CT the sixts second Congresses,
 "The President says that we did not play politics anour reciprocity but thai we did play politics about th tarin The only politics we played was to keep faith with the people. If any politics was played on reciprocity, the President himself played il, personally at that.
 Was FOrewarned
 'He seemed to think that we ought to have adjourned as soon as reciprocity was disposed of-that is, he seems to think that Congress is composed Of lot of school boys to be ordered about by him as head teacher. But he was forewarned by MT. Underwood and my self that if he called the extraordinary session we would pass tariff bills and such other bills as the democrats deemed advisable. He will not deny that statement
 If we had done less than we did, we would not have been worthy Of so great a portion of public confidence as we now enjoy. We made the best rec ord of constructive statesmanship made by any Congress in the same length of time in a generation and that fact Is precisely what caused the Pres ident 10 assail the democrats in Con gress. -r-.
 He had said the rates of the wool schedules in the Payne Aldrich bill were too high and ought to be reduced. We reduced them. In the teeth of his other declaration that said rates were too high he vetoed our wool bill. there by going over boots and brooches to the standpatters.
 "The President endeavors to convey the impression that MT. Underwood and advocated his tariff commission. We did no such thing. We were never in favor of a tariff board or commission under the control of the President alone, responsible to him only. The Record will fully and clearly prove my contention herein stated.
 several members of the House. both republicans and democrats, including MT. Underwood and myself, have spent a lifetime studying and debating the tariff.
 The service of some House and Sem ate members even goes back to the Mc- Kinley bill, the Springer bills, the Mill Ter bill and the Morrison bills. Then, why should we wait for the verdict of the Presidents board of tariff non-ex- perts?"
 Ut will be noted that while the Pres ident's conscience would not permit him to sign bill revising even one schedule. he promptly signed the outrageous Payne Aldrich- Shoot tariff bill without the coun- sel. advice or tuition of any tariff board whatsoever.
 "It might as well be understood now as later that if the tarfff board is to be used as a pretext for delaying tariff revision downward its days will be few. for we will cut off it's supplies. This board ai- ready has cost S900,00o or $4000o0 and has not given to Congress any information Tn aiding to revise the tariff. .a
 Veto Unjustifiable
 "rhe President himself is man of large information, as well as a man of great. ability, but certainly he is not enough of a tariff expert to justify him in vetoing tariff bills which passed the House by majorities of more than two to one.
 .rhe President implies that he refused to sign the wool bill because it was Intro duced and rushed through without due Let's see. The caucus of members elected to the Sixty second Congress met January ly and se- lected the democratic members of the committee on ways and means. making MT Underwood chairman They person. ally, and with their helpers. at once began to assemble information on the wool schedule The bill was reported to the uouse about the middle of April. a period of three months on the preparation os ono schedule out of 14. whereas the hearing on the Payne bill. with IA schedules, began November Il and the bill was reported to the House March 1S a period of a little over four months devoted to 14 schedules. 
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