The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-15
Representative Underwood of Alabama Speaks in
 Favor of the Bill
VOTE FOLLOWS LONG
 AND BITTER DEBATE
Champ Clark Has Clash With Dal. zell-Ol!ie James Presides in Chair-How They
 Voted


 ada was ratified in the House of Rep resentatives tonight through the sup port of an almost solid democratic vote.
 The Mccall bill. carrying the agree ment Into effect was passed 221 to 92. A majority of the republicans present voted against the measure. the divi- sion being 7s ayes and ST hayes. The democratic vote was 143 ayes and only 5 hayes. majority of the repub lican insurgents present voted for the bill.
 The Mccall bill now goes to the Senate. What it's fate will be In that body is problematical at this time. President Taft believes that if fill buster can be avoided and a vote taken the bill will pass. He Is insistent that the Senate shall act. and has indicated that he would call an extra session of Congress if It does not do so.
 Underwood Speaks
 Representative Underwood of Alabama began debate in favor of the measure. The reciprocity bill. MT. Underwood de- clared was made necessary by the fail ure of the maximum and minimum pro- vision of the Payne-Aldrich law. Those provisions he claimed, were wrong in principle. They made the minimum rate the general rates and provided for an increased rate as a retaliation for high rates against this country. The principle thus established was one of coercion and not calculated to bring about good feel ing.
 Mir Underwood contended that in an ideal bill the maximum should be the general rate. That the President could grant substantial concessions to those countries willing to do the same toward this country.
 Representative Dalzell followed MT. Un- derwood with the principal speech In op- position. He began by assailing the news papers of the country and denouncing the reciprocity agreement. MT. Dalzell com complained bitterly of the past with which the bill had been rushed through by the committee of ways and means and brought before the House.
 Follows Bitter Debate
 The passage of the bill In the House came at the end of long debate, which, at times, was as bitter as has been heard on the floor of that cham Der in years. The fight was confined almost wholly to the republican side. Democratic members joined in occa- sionally and taunted the majority mem bers for their lack of unity. The den- ocratic leaders also put in the claim that the reciprocity agreement was good democratic doctrine and said they were glad to welcome President Taft and many of the House republicans into the democratic fold The sugges- tion came from the republican side tn t Mir. Taft and Champ Clark might be rivals for the next democratic presi- dentia1 nomination. MT. Clark claimed that in contest of that sort he would win hands down."
 A final vote was reached only through the application of a cloture rule which shut off amendments and even dis pensed. with the reading of the bill.
 This procedure was decided upon only after MT. Mccall. In charge of the bill. had failed to get unanimous con sent to do away with the calendar Wed nesday (tomorrow). If that had been se- cured he said he would have been glad to let the debate continue for another legislative day The republicans op- posed to the bill fought the rule to tie last. denouncing 1t in caustic language. They directed their fire especially s against the democrats and accused them, on the eve of going into power in the : house. of enforcing a gag rule" as drastic as anything against which they past. The democrats laughed at this and seemed thoroughly to enjoy the discomfture of their old-time enemies.
 Champ Clark Replies
 Champ Clark took Representative Dalzell of Pennsylvania to task for complaining of the undue haste" with which the House was acting on the re- ciprocity measure The speaker-to- be said the democrats had been set for years. bound and gagged. while tho gentleman from Pennsylvania and his associates had brought in rules and had rushed Legislation through without giv- ing opportunity for amendment.
 Under the cloture rule which was adopted by an overwhelming vote the only 1oophole left to the opponents of the measure was motion to recommit the bill to a committee of the whole House with instructions to report cer- tain amendments. When the time came to do this half a dozen members were clamoring for recognition.
 MT. Dalzell was recognized by Speak or Cannon. He proposed that meat and meat products, flour, prepared cereals, lumber and several other articles be put on the free list.
 The democrats. were not shaken by this and the motion was lost IA to 
 The cloture rule had been agreed to previously by vote of 19S to TOT. It has been apaprent for several days that the reciprocity measure would have an overwhelming majority in the House. This seemed to make its op- ponents all the more bitter.
 Give Way to Feelings
 The feeling displayed in the House today was so intense at times that 1t surprised members of both sides of the House.
 Some of the old guard republican leaders, like Dalzell of Pennsylvania and Fordney of Michigan, yelled but thinly their predictions that the re- publican party would be defeated by reason of what they characterized q departure from the principle of pro- lection and the espousal of free trade. Mir. Dalzell proposed to stand where he had stood for 40 years and to go down" with his party. MT. Fordney said he feared that democratic times were coming and 1t made him sweat blood" to contemplate the melancholy fact.
 The other speeches from the repub- lican opposition were in much the same vein.
 Speaker Cannon took no part in the debate either yesterday or today. He was in the chamber constantly, now ~---
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