The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-25
DEMOCRATS STUCK ID THE PROGRAMME House Is Through Except
 For Schedule k' HAVE KEPT TOGETHER Critics of Party Predicted Departure From Programme, Arranged,
 But Adherence Has Been
 Very Strict
nx nopENIcK CLIFFORD

By HODENlCk ClltFoHD
 Washington, June 24-(special.) )-when the House of Representatives passes the bill lowering the duty on wool known as Schedule K, the democrats of that body will have completed their legislative pro- | eranme They will have finished all the | work which they set out to do when President Taft announced that he would convene Congress in extra session. At the time this programme was an- nounced, it was predicted by the repub- lcans and by many democrats themselves that the present majority in the House would never hold together long enough to pass more than one or perhaps two of the big measures which the caucus de- cided upon.
 Right there is where the miscalculation came in The democrats have pulled to- gether from the beginning. They have disagreed in many instances and one or two serious ruptures were threatened, but lasting trouble was averted and be- fore the end of June their whole pro- gramme will have been passed on to the republican Senate and the republican President for action.
 This now famous programme embraced the following measures: revision of Schedule K by the lower ing of the tariff on manufactured and raw ! wool.
 The Canadian reciprocity bill. forming a trade agreement with the Dominion. bill providing for the publicity of campaign contributions
 A resolution for an amendment to the constitution providing for the direct cleo
 tion of senators. free list bill providing for the re- moval of the duty on many of the neces- sites of life.
 Bills providing for the admission of the territories of Arizona and New Mex leo.
 Only the wool revision bill Is yet to be
 acted upon by the House. All the other
 promises have been kept, and the bills and resolutions carrying them into ef- feet are now before the Senate commit tees. As result of this weeping mass of legislation, the House will find itself with little to do after the wool schedule is revised. that is, little to do until the
 Senate takes some action.
 One of the very first bills to go through
 the House under democratic rule was
 the reciprocity measure, proposed and
 urged by republican President This
 bill was not amended in the House, but
 went to the Senate just as it was rec
 commended by President Taft. The Sem
 ate, has, however, required two months
 for it's finance committee to consider this
 bill, and the indications now are that six
 weeks or more will be necessary for de- bate in the upper body.
 Right on the heels of the reciprocity
 bill came the vote on the campaign con
 tributon publicity bill. This measure diff fers with that proposed by the republic ans in only one particular. It makes 1t I compulsory on the part of an individual
 running for federal office to announce
 publicly the amount of money he re-
 Aft.AI RA- Aaf,1r.o trn !,
 source, before, instead of after, the cleo
 tion. The republican party thought the
 elections sufficiently safeguarded by the
 requirement that the contributions be
 published after the election.
 Probably the most energetic debate in
 the House during the extra session has
 centered around the bill known as the
 farmers free list bill. This removed
 the tariff from a score or more of articles
 which were necessary to the farmers. The
 republicans opposed these measures with
 the greatest vigor, declaring in every
 speech they made that the democrats
 were offering the bills for political ef-
 feet and with no patriotic intent what
 ever. Just the same, the bills went through.
 AS for the admission of Arizona and New Mexico, the democrats pledged
 themselves to this policy in the first cau- GUS, and as soon as their committee on territories could report out a bill that would pass muster they passed 1t through the House. The present measure allows admission but makes it necessary for both territories to vote upon amendments to their constitutions, as a condition of admission
 In the case of New Mexico the people of that state must say whether or not they are willing the amendments to their constitution shall be made easier than now provided for. Arizona must take a poll aRaip detern1ina whathar be people actually want power to recall their officials.
 But the democrats have gone little further in the way of actual legislation. They have begun their policy of economy. Rey have cut down their own "operat- i1G expenses about 10 per cent. This they did by looping off useless positions t4put the House. More than 100 sine E4res were abolished and while there 4Hs much protest, there was no appeal fvbm the decision.
 3&f 5remains to be seen whether or not HfVe activities of the democrats in the puDe proved to be futile. The Senate 4DHrepublican The President Is repub &1&4n. Almost every measure which has sU&en passed by the democrats is opposed b4 the standpat republicans. Some of the in&urge1t republicans, it is true, will sup part thfs legislative programme. but not aH of them
 tt is. therefore, practically certain that fle republican Senate will kill some of the biEls which have gone over to 1t from the Houo8 The farmers free list bills and the wool revision, for instance, are not expecte6 to get by the Senate. The statehood bills and reciprocity. however
 will be voted upon and may finally get through
 But after alI the bills have run the gauntlet Of the Senate they must go be- fore President Taft. It is question and probi4N1nt3 me, what he will do to the dersf Slo programme when he