Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-02-15
Fifteen Days More Of Congress.

There is to be no delay on reciprocity
and opponents have been unable It
sidctrack the agreement, The House
votes 10 take up the discussion i'm
mediately. The test vote ON Monda!
was 1876 for, to 12f against Repubii
cans formed greater part of tat
minority. and the passage by tht
House tlius seems 10 be assured
President Taft is continuing his cam
paign with vigor. while several cabi'
net members will take the stump this
week in favor of the agreement
President Taft believes that only tho
policy Of reciprocity will serve to head
off the complete overturning OF the
barriers of protection. This was thu
view to which he gave expression In
his speech before the Illinois lcgisla-
tors.
With but IL days left In which to
transact national business at this scs-
sion of Congress many important
measures are still pending. Only one
supply bill has gone to the President
and big fight is bound to come on
the bill providing for fortitication OF
the Canal.
The expenses OF the government art
provided in fourteen supply bills, as
follows: The legislative. sundry civil.
general deficiency, urgent deficiency,
fortifications, pensions. District ot
Columbia. Indian. army. military acad-
emy. navy, diplomatic. post office and
a agricultural bills. Eight Of these
measures have been passed by the
House and all of them are either pend
ing in the senate or in conference
representing the two
houses. Only one, the legislative bill,
has gone TO the President for approx
al. Six OF the supply bills remain to
be acted upon by the House. They
are the bill for the military academy,
the sundry civil, the diplomatic bill,
the naval bill, the measure providing
for deficiencies in the expenditures of
fications bill. Only two are likely to
provoke extended debate. the naval
bill and the sundry civil bill. The
latter carries an appropriation for the
of the Panama Canal.
A week ago the bill to provide for q
permanent tariff board seemed to be
in danger of defeat by reason Of al
most solid Democratic opposition but
since that time there has been consid-
arable change of sentiment among the
Democrats of the Senate. A number
IF those who believed the passage of
he bill would strengthen President
Taft politically have reached the con-
fusion that Democratic opposition
would simply convince the country
hat the Democrats of the Senate and
House were not pulling together.
Democrats also who have been
studying the situation are convinced
that the House reapportionment bill
will give. the Republicans at least 70
additional votes in the electoral COL
lege and hence would be a great ad-
in 1872 campaign. The AZ ad
members provided for by the
-runpacker- Burleigh bill are scat
.ered among 25 states and these A.
electoral votes. allowing the maximum
o the Republicans, would be redistri-
,uted:
Republican-Califor 3, Idaho l;
illinois .. Massachusetts =. Michigan
/, Minnesota /. Montana /, New Jer.
icy ., New York s. No. Dakota I, Ore
son !, Pennsylva mia 4. Rhode Island 1.
South Dakota /. Utah I. Washington
and West Virginia 1. Total 81.
Observation-Disclosures /. Colorado /,
Florida /. Georgia !, Louisiana, /,
Oklahoma and Texas .. Total II.
This figures net gain of 20 to the
But If the Democrats
should carry the States in 1872 where
they triumphed in the State and Con-
gress elections last fall they would
profit by TIE added electoral votes in
New York, New Jersey and West Eir-
ginia, d total of ., giving them in the
entire table % against 90 for the Re-
publicans.