The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-05
HILL BITTERLY
 ATTACKS FREE
 LIST MEASURE Republican Reciprocity Ad- vocate Declares Bill Is Crude and Indefinite FOCHT AND SIMS IN AN AMUSING TILT
Pennsylvania Representative Says Mexican Invasion Will Occur At Any Moment and That Can
 ada Wants Annexation

 ago has the debate in the House de- veloped such attack on the measure as was made today by Representative Iill of Connecticut republican member of the ways and means committee and one of the leading republican advocates of the Canadian reciprocity bill
 Mir. Hill declared that the bill devised by the democratic leaders removing the tariff duties from many food products and manufactured articles, was so crudely drawn and so indefinite in it's terms that no estimate could be made of the revenues 1t would cut or the effect it would have on business and commerce. He declared that instead of s10,000,000 reduction in revenue, as the democrats expected, it might make a reduction of s5O,OOO,OOO. and that it's effect upon business would be to trans fer many flourishing industries to Eu- rope.
 You intended to hit the trusts said MT Hill to the democrats; you will wake up to find you have in fact helped the trusts; taken away the reve- nues of the government and put the money into the pockets of the trusts \ instead of into the pockets of the peo- pie whom you claim to be helping"
 MT. Hill explained that the Inter- national Harvester Machine company, the large sewing machine companies ] and other great manufacturers would be able under the democratic bill to manufacture parts of their machines cheaper abroad and bring them to this country to be assembled by the cheap labor here. American skilled labor would suffer loss of employment.
 Too General in Terms 6l He declared the dempcratic bill was so general in terms as to admit almost anything free. of duty Woolen goods. i. all kinds of wire, all sorts of fabrics, zinc lead, pig iron and number of other things he specifically mentioned.
 MT. Hill particularly attacked the bill for making many manufactured prod ucts free of duty, like harness, saddlery and the like, while leaving duty against the raw materials that American manu- facturers have to import. He said also that In attempting to make free of duty the bagging used to wrap up cotton bales, the democratic bill would let in free the bagging used by the fertilizer trust" the cement mills of the United States Steel corporation and by other lnonopoies, which would give no core spending reduction In prices to con sumers
 Chairman Underwood of the ways and means committee, interjected that MT. flll's whole argument was from the standpoint of the American manufactur- CT; that it's real purpose was to reduce prices and cost of living for the American people" '7f'-'"t
 Mir. Hill declared that the reductions ~xl-- by the big corporations that controlled the markets. The speech was enivened by many interruptions and much partis- an comment from both sides of the House.
 MT Focht of Pennsylvania, also against the bill, had an amusing tilt with MT. Sims of Tennessee, who objected to Mir Tocht's statement that the tariff debate ln the extra session vas costing the coun- try S10,OC0 miEute MT. Sims said the expense to the country would be the same whether tho House were in session or not
 we did not call the extra session." re- torted Mir. Focht. You had to make your agreement with the White House that you would pass the reciprocity bill" Whose White Horse is it?" asked MT. Sims.
 "You claim that and everything else that Is in sight" said MT. Focht. ''Who owns the White House?" persist ed MT Sims.
 An Illustration
 You act as If you did," returned Mir Focht, ''and you act as though you really had the president now. believe you have discounted democratic success for ss years ahead. but you are entirely mis- taken. The optimism of these democrats reminds me of the man who jumped off the thirty-second story of the Singer
 
 +o about the fifteenth floor he hollered '1'm all right so far but when he landed on the sidewalk there was not enough left of him to hold a post mortem upon and so it will be with you when you hit the sidewalk in 1912"
 MT. Focht predicted an early invasion of Mexico, saying an army officer asso- ciated with him had told him that the army was going over the Mexican bor- der ''to stay"
 '"I would not think the President would ohiect.' said MT Focht. we have been absorbing everything they did not want in Europe for years and years We have taken as stock in trade what nobody wanted in the Philippines-another white man's burden. We added little more down here in the West Indies. Why couldn't we occupy something that Is worth something and where we could be of some great good 10 somebody"
 "1 am not soldier or fortune. uo A not expect to be at the head of the army, but believe this will be mighty in- teresting question before the House ad- 5ourns."
 Mr. Focht contended that the United States waited to be an empire and it was about to follow the lure of gold and the call of adventure"
 House leaders today express the hope that the so-called free list farm !. CTS bill could be brought to vote on Saturday. Many members are still pressing for time to debate the meas i,re. however, and there may be fur ther delay. Chairman Underwood of th e ways and means committee is anxious ] to got the free list bill ont of the way so that his committee can go ahead ! with its proposed revision of schedule K of the Payne-A Aldrich bill. dealing {, with wool and woolens.
 | Representative Focht also made the I somewhat startling declaration that 4 Canada desires annexation to the Unit Y ed States. Representative Shirley of Kansas insisted that Canada's ambition was to remain In the British empire, where she enjoyed practical sover- eighty.