Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-06-08
WILL MAKE EFFORT TO AMEND
RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT
BEFORE SENATE.
WISHES OF PRESIDENT
TAFT TO az IGNORED
La Toilette and Cummirs to Be Lead.
ers in Fight to Broaden Scope Of
Trsaty-hish Tariff Republicans
and Protection Democrats May Dc.
feat Plans.

Washington, June with the d.
rect elections amendment soon to be
voted on, with a reinvestiGation order
ed in the Lorimer case, and with the
finance committee thru with the rec1-
procity agreement, the senate Is ABOUT
ready to plunge into the real business
OF the extra session, the consideration
on the floor of the reciprocity compact
The week following this one Is when
the engagement on reciprocity IS ex
pected to become general. The direct
elections amendmnt will be voted on
a week from Monday and then there
will be no longer excuse for not get
ting down to business on the reclPro-
city question.
Insurgents Great influences.
With the insurgents holding the
balance Of power, the position they as
sumo will be of much moment. More
over, while a split among themselves
and among the democrats may prevent
them from having a numerical balance
of power on reciprocity. they are GER
tain to WELD great influence ana
what they say vii! have large effect on
the country.
The insurgent republicans in the
to the reciprocity agreement. but this
does not mean that they are going to
content themselves with mere policy
Of obstruction. On the contrary, they
are going to undertake what appears
to them to be a great constructive pol
icy.
They are going to seek by amend
ments to perfect the reciprocity meas
ure. as they view it. They contend the
existing agreement is defective. that II
Is one-sided, that it will not afford the
public the relief it needs, and that the
scope Of the agreement must be broad
ened. They contend this can be done
without making the agreement Invalid
Moreover, they insist that II the demo-
Gratis will stand for the broadening OF
the scope Of the agreement, 1t can DO
broadeped and q large number OF ar
ticles can be admitted free as the re-
suit Of It The insurgents are not pre-
pared to swallow the democratic free
list whole, but they will stand Tor some
OF its features.
cummins and Ia Toilette.
Senator La Toilette and Senator
Cummins will be the leaders In the
fight for broadening the scope OF the
agreement. s1f they get 1t broadened
SAey. Will UNDOUBTEDLY NOSC 4oA 49, 49,
will most of the senate progressiveA
Should 1t fail OF amendment, there IL
a probability that considerable num-
her ~ the insurgents will vote for the
agreement anyhow.
The insurgent leaders have been
working on tariff matters for weeks
and they do not intend to content
themselves with perfunctory discus
sion OF reciprocity. They intend to deal
with all phases Of It, intend to show
wherein the present agreement can be
improved, and doubtless before they
get thru they will go into general tarin
revision deeply.
On the house side the tarin discus
sions, including those on reciprocity
have been more or less perfunctory
and wearisome. But on the senate
side the signs are that one Of the
historic fights of that body on
the tariff is impending and that 1t Will
be extremely interesting and Animal
ed.
In some respects the situation now
recalls tia situation at the outset OF
the fight over the railroad bin In the
beginning Of the long session OF the
last congress. President TS1t SUP
mitted railroad bill and 1naisted It
should be passed without amendment.
It went thru the house without much
amendment, but In the senate the in
surgents attacked It, reconstructed 1t
and made it more drastic.
Taft Against Amendments.
President Taft wants no amend
ments Of the reciprocity agreement.
But the insurgents believe they are
going to be able to repeat what they
did in the railroad bill fight and put
thru the senate stronger measure
than Senator Taft has proposed. II
they do this they think the house VIII
have to accept it and the president
sign it.
II amendments along the lines they
suggest are prevented, they look Tor
it to be done by combination Of high
tariff republicans and protection dem
ocrats led by Senator Bailey. Senator
Bailey makes no secret OF his Oppose
ton to the reciprocity measure and Is
20 onvoSo n in anV form,