The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1911-07-28
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Gem
eral Topics from
the Capital.
Washington, July 23. 1911.

The removal of Canadian reciprocity
from the Congressional stage has left the
Capitol in a decidedly mixed condition
The Senate launched into the wool
tariff fight on Monday, but it is
anticipated that the discussion will not
stick closely to the wool question, but
will run the whole gamut OF tariff revis-
ion.
The House Democrats caucus Tues
day, and the cotton tariff bill, with their
Endorsement, is expected to come into
the House Wednesday. The House of
Representatives is going to pass its
cotton tariff measure, but the fate of the
wool bill in the Senate is a matter of
conjecture.
Democratic leaders in the House of
Representatives, or some of them at
least are still skeptical as to whether
the Senate will pass any of the bills now
before it. They have tried to obtain
some definite information from the
Senate leaders as to what will be done,
but very little is forthcoming.
The Senate situation refuses to un-
ravel. The Democrats want a wool re-
vision and SO do the Republican Insur-
gents, but they cannot agree on the
kind. The Democrats want to pass a
Democratic measure if possible, but
above all, they want to pass some kind
OF bill, in the hope of embarrassing the
President, who has characterized the
Payne Aldrich wool tariff rates as "inde-
fensible.'
If they cannot get their own bill
through, the Democrats may support
the LaFollette Insurgent Republican bill,
which was defeated on Saturday as an
amendment to the reciprocity bill, but
which will come IN again this week as au
independent measure. With Democrats
and insurgents united the LaFollette bill
might easily be passed.
But at this point the parliamentary
bugbear intervenes. The Democratic
wool bill is officially before the Senate
and the LaFolIette bill must come in as
substitute. Under the rules of the
Senate the substitute must be voted
upon first. If the Democrats vote for it
they lose chance to vote on their own
bill, and if they vote against it they con-
front the certain defeat of their own
measure on the next vote.
Either the Democrats who favor the
adoption of the LaFollette Bill in order
to be sure of some revision will win out
in Democratic Senate caucus this week
OF else it will be determined to put the
wool revision in again as an amendment
to the free list bill. The wool vote comes
next Thursday by agreement; the free
list vote the following Tuesday, August
ISt.
II both the wool bills are voted down
/ Thursday the subject probably will come
| back as an amendment to the free list
bill. The Democratic leaders much pre-
fer, however, that President Taft be
compelled to deal with the wool revision
as separate and distinct proposition.
Senator Pomerene, of Ohio, expects
to secure definite action tomorrow on
his resolution instructing the Attorney
General to begin criminal prosecutions
against the officers of the Standard Oil
and the American Tobacco Companies
Democratic leader Underwood ex-
poets the House debate on the cotton
bill to begin Thursday and run four or
| five days.
The Senator Lorimer election COM
mittee will resume its hearings tomorrow.
The House investigating committees will
be very active part OF the week. The
Steel Trust Committee will resume work
tomorrow and meet Thursday in New
York. The Sugar Trust Committee is
in New York. The Controller Bay.
Alaska, land inquiry is dormant.
The Rucker Campaign Publicity Bill,
which passed the Senate last week, car
rying several important amendments, will
be taken up by the House Immediately
after the cotton bill, to be introduced
Wednesday, is out of the way Judge
Rucker, Chairman of the House Com
mittee on Elections of President, Vice
President and Representatives, and the
author OF the bill that bears his name,
said today that the House would pass
the Publicity Bill with the Senate amend
ment.
Il believe some gentlemen are quak-
ing today" said Mr.. Rucker to Repre-
sentative Payne in the House, mot for
fear that the House of Representatives
will pass the bill which has been tend.
cred by the Senate. and we'll they may
quake. If you do not favor the Senate
amendments you would better remain out
OF the House of Representatives next
week, because you will be put to the
test"
Majority leader Underwood has de-
clared that he personally favored the
acceptance of the Senate amendments,
and 1t looks now as if there would not
be serious opposition to the bill in its
present form. The Reed amendment
| also limits the amount of money that
a candidate for the House of Repre-
sentatives or the Senate can spend.