The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-12-11
lRv Winfield Jonesl

(By Mlnllelu jones'
Washington, ID. c., Dec. 1o.-The
democrats of the house, fighting for
record which will stand them in
good stead in 1912, are determined
that the tariff shall be the paramount
legislative issue of this session, to
This extent disregardng the message
sent in by the president who dealt eX-
clusvely with the trust question.
Revise the tariff first is the dem
ocratic legislative slogan. The major
ity leaders of the house admits that
the trusts may be bad; that the Sher-
man law may need amending, and thai
a federal incorporation act may some
day have TO be passed, but they take
direct issue with the president In his
efforts to subordinate the tariff and
force to the front the trust question.
Accordingly, the Ways and Means
committee of the house, headed by
Representative Underwood of Alobama
a presidential possibility, has already
begun on the work of tariff revision.
The report of the tariff board will be
received and laid before the committee
in all its details, but the report will
end there unless the tariff board
recommends in line with democratic
tariff principles.
Representative Underwood says that
the democrats of the house are willing
to treat the republicans fairly and that
they will await any reasonable length
of time for his tariff board report
Beyond this, however, the democrats
do not commit themselves, for thcy
have ideas of their own regarding the
revision of the tariff and these ideas
will be carried out regardless of any
thing the tariff board may say or do
1t is practically certain that before
the session ends the democratic house
will pass bills revising the following
schedules of the PAYNE tariff law:
Wool, cotton, iron and steel, and
chemicals.
If the session drags along until next
October, as is predicted by some of
the more pessmistic members of the
house, the deocrats will tackle other
schedules and will practically revise,
so far as the house is concerned, ev-
cry schedule in the Payne law before
the presidential campaign begin, " hen
the house has done its part it will be
up to the republican senate and re-
publican president to look out for the
interests of that party.
There seems to be disposition to
subordinate the tariff issue" said Sir.
Underwood in discussing the probable
attitude of the president and the re-
publican leaders in the senate and
house. 1--WE hold that the leading
message at this session of congress
should have dealt with the tariff The
country, we believe, regards the tariff
as the most vital thing confronting
the nation and its legislators today.
The president and some of his repub-
lican friends seem intent to focus at
tention upon the trust issue, and the
proposed amendments to the Sherman
law. letting the tariff play second
fiddle.
The democratic house will BE In
clined to regard the tariff as the more
important Of the two issues and We
win go right ahead with our revision
plans"
The fight over the tariff in both
branches of congress during this sest
sion is destined to be bitter. The
senate contains one man, Senator La
Follettee, who is an avowed candidate
for the republican nomination for
president and the Wisconsin senator
will overlook no opportunity to put
President Taft in a hole. 1t Nns
through a coalition of the insurgent
and democratic forces in the senate
last session that the tariff bills, later
vetoed by the president, were passed
At that time the president pIcaGeG
that he wanted to await the report
of the tariff board before signing any
bills revising the tariff, although the
executive did not deny that there were
some schedules in the Payne tariff
law that were bad. Now that the
tariff board is about ready to report,
Mr. Taft cannot fall back on this plea,
although he might refuse to veto sub
sequent bills on the theory that they
did not coincide with the findings of
the board. This. however, would be
dangerous political step for the
president to take, and it is not be-
lieved that he would dare to again
veto bills sent him by congress.
On the house side, there are two
tentative presidential candidates
Speaker Champ Clark and Represent
ative Underwood are both being boom
ed for the democratic nomination, and
ii is not beyond the range of posi-
bility that one or the other of them
will be the opponent of the republi-
can nominee.
Aside from the economic question
involved therefore, it is necessary
that the democratic house watch po-
litical fences closely. The house
wants to so to the country on tar
iff revision downward isSuan apd If