The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1911-08-18
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Cen
eral Topics from
the Capital.
Washington, August II, 1911.

Making raw wool dutiable at 20 per
cent. as basic rate. and adjusting the
duties on wooden manufactures accord
ingly throughout Schedule K, the con-
ferees of the Senate and the House ON
the Wool Bill late this afternoon reached
a complete understanding, and signed
the conference report disposing of the
measure as far as they were concerned.
The agreement will be submitted to
both Houses tomorrow.
With the chief obstacle in the way
I of wind-up of the special session of
Congress thus removed, confidence was
general in Washington tonight that ad-
journment will be reached by the end
of next week, perhaps by Thursday, and
there was JOY in consequence among all
who have to do with business at the
Capitol The fact that Senator La
Toilette, in the Senate today, insisted
that before the adjournment there must
be vote on the bill revising the cotton
schedule, and in connection Herewith
votes on Senator Bristow's revision of
the sugar schedule and Senator Cum
Minis revision of the iron and steel
schedule, did not dampen the hopes
that they would get away next week.
1t was felt that those matters would be
disposed of with a rush, if LaFollette
and the other insurgents insisted on ac-
ton. But the refusal of the Senate this
afternoon by vote of IS to "a to make
the Cotton Revision Bill the unfinished
business was taken as an indication that
no stubborn fight for action on cotton,
sugar and metals need be expected
/ A unique feature of the final meeting
of the full Conference Committee on the
| Wool Bill was that for the first time in
the history of Congress, so far as the
old-timers could recall, the conferees did
business with open doors and in the
presence of dozens of newspaper CORE
| spondents and other outsiders. This
concession to the demand for more pub
lIcity in transacting public affairs was
made, curiously enough, at the sugges-
gestion of Senator Bailey, of Texas, one
of the Democratic Senate confereeS.
| There was no objection to the sugges-
| ton from the other members of the Con-
ference Committee and there was no
good reason why there should be, be-
cause both sides to the contest knew just
what was to happen when they got
together. Chairman Underwood, repre-
senting the House of Representatives,
knew what he could afford to take, and
Senator LaFollelte knew what it was
safe for him to weld.
Senator LaFollette made final at
tempt to secure acceptance of the 80 per
cent. rate on raw wool for which he has
been SO stubbornly contending, but his
motion was lost by tie vote. The only
votes cast came from LaFolette, Bailey
and Simmons, in the affirmative, and
Underwood, Randell and Harrison in
the negative Senator Penrose was still
absent in Philadelphia and the other
regular Republican members of the
Conference Committee, Senator Cullom,
and Representatives Payne and Dalzell,
declining to take part in the final franz
ing up of the bill. Then Underwood
moved that the raw wool duty be placed
at 20 per cent, which he said that he
would accept provided that the wool
classification of the House Bill was sub
stituted for that of the Senate Bill. The
Senate conferees Welded on this classifi-
cation matter, the Underwood motion
for 20 per cent. wool carried and the
groundwork for the complete agreement
on the bill was laid.
1t then became a question of adjust
ing the rates on wooden manufactures
throughout the bill to the key-rate on
raw WOOL. This consumed the time of
the conferees and their expert assistants
for the remainder of the afternoon. 1t
was hoped that the work could be COM
pleted before the House adjourned, so
that the conference report could 60 to
that body this evening and thus be in
line for action under the rules tomorrow
The rules requires that a conference
report must lie over one day and be
printed in extenso IN the Record before
it can be acted upon.
| But as the House adjourned before
the report was completed, there will be
no action on it in the House until Mon
day Under the more flexible rules OF
the Senate the conference report may be
taken up by unanimous consent and dis
posed of in that body tomorrow.
AS stated by Chairman Underwood
in the conference committee this after
noon. his Instructions did not warrant
| him in sanctioning higher rate than 27 Y
per cent. on raw wool. In the meeting
| of the Wavs and Means Committee
Yesterday two members said that they
would ask for a caucus of the House
Democrats on the conference report in
case a higher duty than that named
above was placed on wool. But after
the terms of the agreement became
known tn S afternoon the disposition
of the House Democrats seemed to be
to accept the compromise Chairman
Underwood had secured and the predic'
ton was general that there would be nc
serious demand for caucus.
But there is one feature of the agree
ment that may cause hitch. The WOO
classification of the House Bill puts al
wools of whatever grade in one class
and thus all woods will bear duty o
20 per cent, ad valorem. Now the
original House Bill made all grades o
wool dutiable at 20 per cent. In the
I.aFolette Bill as it passed the Senate
wool was divided into two classes. the
second class being made dutiable ano
at 10 per cent. Therefore, the wool rate
as fixed by the conferees is higher on
low grade woods than it was III either
the House or Senate Bill When the
Payne- -Aldrich Bill was in conference il
was held by the parliamentary experts
of the House of Representatives that
the conferees, under the rules. could moi
fix rate of duty at higher figure than
the original bills had called for II this
point is raised when the conference re.
port on the Wool Bill comes up in the
House of Representatives it may cause
trouble and delay. 1t is certain to pro
woke sharp criticism from the Republl'
cans.
| n g. iii. co,ts aud casting off nre.