The Washington herald., 1911-08-04
COTTON REVISION
BILL Is PASSED
House Democrats Get Sup
port OF 26 Republicans.
TAFT WILL VETO MEASURE
Payne Asks What Is Object of Pass
ing Tariff Bills When 1t IL
Foregone Conclusion They Will Be
KiIled-Sharp Tilts Between Party
Leaders-Amendme in senate.

The Democratic cotton revision BILL
! which just about cuts the cotton rates Of
the present tariff law in half, was passed
in the House of Representatives yester-
day by a vote of 2o2 to 81. Twenty-six
Republicans, Representative Aiken, Of
New York, who is unclassifed politically.
and Representative Berger. the Milwau-
kee Socialist, helped TO jam the measure
through.
Yesterdays debate on the cotton bill
was the most animated that has been
witnessed in the House this session. In
their attacks the Republicans showed
great bitterness, paying their respects
particularly to the caucus system by
which the Democrats have pushed their
tariff bills through the House without
change.
Representative Payne. of New York. a
minority member of the Committee on
Ways and Means, started the ball rolling
He began by denouncing the rule of the
caucus, declaring that it was utterly use
less to offer amendments. as each individ-
ual of the ma jority was tied hand and
foot. and bound to follow the lead of
Representative Underwood, chairman of
the Committee on Ways and Means.
Other Republicans, among them Insur-
gent Cooper, of Wisconsin, took the cue
from Mr.. Payne. and for two hours or
more there was rough and tumble de-
bate, in which members Of the majority
charged the Democrats with subscribing
TO the rule of Boss Underwood
Taft Ready with Veto.
good deal of significance was at
tached to a prediction made by Mr..
Payne that President Taft would veto
all the tariff bills sent 10 him during
passing this bill for?" asked Mr.. Payne
DO you expect it to become a law?
You are trying TO put the President in a
hole. are you? Why, If you sent bills
to him from now until December l it
will not be n marker by way of putting
the President in a hole. That gentle
man. statesman, man of brains. and man
of character has certain settled con-
victions, and one of them is in favor of
tariff board for collecting evidence
and using II in the making up of sched-
ules Do you suppose you embarrass
him by sending these crude, ill-examined
bills to the White House? Why, he has
the greatest opportunity that a Presi-
dent has ever had in years to stand up
to the convictions which he has so long
espoused by vetoing these measures one
after another" This statement was
wildly cheered by the Republicans.
Training his batteries on the Demo-
cratic caucus, Insurgent Cooper insisted
that the oath administered to members
Of the House should be changed. 1T
should read this way" he said We
promise to support the Constitution to
the best of our ability, provided our
acts are approved by the caucus The
caucus enables mediocrity and coward
ice to hide. behind the will OF the ma
jority" Mr.. Cooper predicted that the
caucus. as conducted by the Democrats.
would soon become a more pronounced
issue in the United States than Cam
nonism" ever was. Representative
Madison, of Kansas. another insurgent.
also denounced the caucus system.
Recalls Republican Rule.
Defending the caucus plan of the
Democrats. Leader Underwood contrast
ed present methods with practices that
obtained when the Republicans were in
control of the House. You passed
bills" he said. addressing Mra Payne.
under the whip and spur. You limited
debate and erected bar against
amendments. We have let debate run
on uninterruptedly. and have not shut
out amendments that are germane to
a particular bill" i
Debate had proceeded for more than
six hours when Leader Underwood
moved the previous question on the bill |
Representative Payne made motion
that the bill be recommitted with in
structions TO the Ways and Means Com
mittee to hold It until the tariff board
had an opportunity to make a report on
the cotton schedule. This motion was
defeated by vote Of 1o6 to 1S7. The !
yeas and nays were called for on the |
pIil with the result as stated. The Re-
publicans who voted for the Democratic
bill were Representatives Davis, Ander- |
son. Miller, Lindbergh, Steenerson, and
volstead. of Minnesota; Esch, Kopp. |
Lenroot, Morse, and Nelson, of Wiscon-
sin: Hanna and Helgesen. Of North Da-
kota; Hubbard, Haugen, and Woods. Of
Iowa: Jackson and Madison. Of Kan
sas; Kent and Stephens, Of California;
Kinkaid and Sloan. OF Nebraska; Laf-
ferty. of Oregon, and Warburton and
La Toilette. OF Washington.
The Democratic cotton bill will be for
warded TO the Senate to-day. The In
sursents In the Senate are hopeful that