Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1911-07-01
RECIPROCITY SAT- {
Pact Will Pass Senate With.
out Amendment.
WILL REVISE TARIFF LATER
New Coalition Cannot Prevent tia
Passage of the Canadian Treaty
Next Month Without
Amendment.
|wlll REVISE TARIFF LATER

Washington, June 24.--The reciproc
ity situation, In the estimation OF an
overwhelming majority OF the Demo
cratic members Of the senate, has not
been changed by the action of the
finance committee In adversely report
Ing the wool and farmers free list
bill.
Reciprocity will now be put through
without amendment by the votes OF
Republican regulars and a majority oil
the Democratic senators. Even If other
tariff revision amendments are offered
they will be voted down, and revision
of the various existing schedules OF
the Payne-Aldrich law will be taken
up later as independent propositions.
President Taft has been assured
that the agreement will be passed
without any amendment. The informa
ton has been conveyed to him bJ
Senator Crane, of Massachusetts.
The message conveyed is of the ut
most significance. 1t means that Crane
has canvassed the senate situation
Efficiently to ascertain that the Dem.
ocrats of that body are going to break
their coalition with the insurgents.
The Democrats, with few exceptions,
will refuse consent to the insurgent
Republican plan of loading the reel.
procity bnl with amendments that
amount to general tariff revision.
The assurance that Senator Crane
has carried to the president is borne
out by statements of Democratic sena-
tors. They have caught their breath
again and have found out where they
are at. Unless driven otherwise by de-
velopments they do not expect they
will vote against the amendments to
reciprocity proposed by the insurgents
The course of the tariff matter in
the senate, as ii appears, will be this:
The insurgents will make great
fight to put through the senate com
prehensive bill embodying reciprocity
and general tariff revision. They will
be beaten by combined votes of Dem
ocrats and regulars. Then will come
the question of what to do about the
free list bill, the wool bill, the cotton
bill and other measures sent over from
the house
The indications are that any such
bills will pass the senate by the votes
of insurgents and Democrats; but Ii
the insurgents have their way. such
bills will be disposed of before reel
procity is acted upon. Some Of the
Democrats also want prior action on
these bills. A senate Democratic eau
Gus is expected soon, and this may
serve to clear up much-mixed sit
uation. Nothing has occurred to
change the situation as to the outlook
for a protracted session.
Close friends of the president insist
that he will veto all tariff bills except
reciprocity.
Chairman Penrose, of the finance
committee, said of the insurgent-Dem
ocratic coalition:
at is a rope of sand, and il will not
hold. The performance of the insur
gents and Democrats on Wednesday
was effective for the time, but the
differences between the two elements
are so radical that the combination
will not continue"
Senator Norris Brown, Of Nebraska
one of the prominent insurgents, said:
Reciprocity will pass unamended,
and after that the senate will give its
attention to a general rivision of the
tariff, not emily wool, but steel. cotton
sugar and other big schedules. Ter
mination of debate on reciprocity de-
ponds largely on how fully Cummins
and LaFollette decide to record their
antagonism. Just as soon as they con-
clude their speeches and realize the
bill will pass anyhow, it will be easy
"a ax n hato for the Gnnl unta %