The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-31
LEGISLATION |S NOW UP ID SENATE Length of Session Depends
 Upon Action ARE 1 BIG. MEASURES House Leaders Have Upper Hand No Matter What Senate Decides to
 Do-Summer Work Not An
 tieipated With Joy
ARE 4 BIG. MEASURES
py nopERrcK CLIFFORD

within the next two or three weeks depends on the length of the first regu- lar session of the Sixty-second Con gross, and some 300 odd members on the House side are patiently awaiting
 the verdict. It will either be a quick getaway about the first of June or hot, tiresome session which may drag along into July. or even August. No member of the House looks with pleasure upon the latter prospect. Polit- teal fences are in a bad way, according
 to some of the memebers, and the legis- ators are anxious to get on the hust- ings and get themselves alright with the voting populace. Everything depends, however, on the staid and dignified Senate which is podding along in the same old way and which shows no in- elination to hurry with the considera- ition of the various measures which have been sent over by the House of Rep resentatives.
 The House leaders say if the Senate puts the soft pedal on all tariff revision, lit will be possible to adjourn the ses- sion early. In this event, of course. the democratic House could go to the country and claim that the Senate pre- vented a revision of the Payne law. and
 
 from a campaign standpoint as one based on an actual revision of the tariff. The House takes the position that If the Senate intends to sidetrack every tariff measure sent over by the House. there is absolutely no sense in pro- longing the session far into the hot summer months.
 On the other hand, if the Senate shows the slightest symptoms of a de- sire to accept the House tarif measures, or to pass them in amended form, the
 am mbitious members of the House are wiling to stay in Washington for weeks
 and weeks, hoping that revision of the tariff will pull every democratic member through even if he does not have much time to do campaig igning. The House has sent over to the Senate
 so far four important tariff meas lures These are the steel bill. the chem ical bill, the free sugar bill and the excise tax bill the latter being a com
 panion measure to the one placing
 sugar on the free list.
 The Senate has shown no disposition
 10 take up any of these measures, all
 though the bill revising the steel sched- ule has been with the upper body some thing like two months It remained in the finance committee for long time and that committee finally ordered an adverse report on the measure. Unless the Senate shows a disposition to hurry matters a little, it may be a week be- fore the steel bill is put on its final passage.
 After having sounded out the senti-
 ment of the Senate insurgents on stee., however, it is likely that the Senate | will proceed with more energy to the | discussion of the other tariff bills which | the House has insisted on firing at the opposite end of the capitol every few days The defeat of the steel bill would presage a similar fate for the other democratic measures, and the mem bers would begin to look up the time tables
 of the train going toward home
 But if the Senate perks up and shows anything like a desire to pass any bill revising the Payne schedule, a mighty
 shout will go up from the democratic House and d long ano heated session will follow.
 Representative Underwood. chairman of the ways and means committee and
 ma jority leader of the House, is re- sponsible for the prediction that, if the
 Senate will meet the House half way, Ithe democrats of the latter body will lattempt to revise the entire Payne
 Aldrich tariff law before the gavel falls
 and adjourns this session sine die Tho democrats are determined to make the tariff the paramount issue in the na- tional campaign next fall. They will go to the country on one or two records: A revision of the Payne law, aided by the insurgents of the Senate or An attempt to revise the Payne law. which attempt was blocked in the Sen
 ate or by the President.
 One of these statements of fact will undoubtedly be the democratic battle cry from the hustings next fall. From a purely political standpoint, the demo- crats figure it makes little difference | |. works out. They believe the country will applaud if the tariff is revised, and they are just as confident of public approval in the event the democrats do the best they can to revise the tariff and are baked by republican Senate or a republican President.
 With four tariff bills before the Sem ate--for the excise tax measure is vir- tually a tariff bill, since it is a twin bill to free sugar-the democrats will make
 one more effort to revise the tariff be- fore Knocking off" to await the slow
 motions of the Senate. This will be in
 the passage of bill revising the wooden schedule. which will be the next thin g tackled by the democrats of the ways and means committee. The wool bill can be put through the House within
 four days after it's favorable report and the prospects are that. after it is out of the way, the House will begin 10 mark time and watch the deliberate
 maneverings of the Senate The House
 has done practically all the work of the present session. In addition to passing tariff bills, 1t is disposfng of the appro- priation budgets as rapidly as possible. It meets every day at noon and fre- lquently remains in session until after 1 6 o'clock. Several night sessions have been held.
 The Senate has gone about the legis- Ilative programme in just the opposite way The upper body meets at ? o'clock. remains in session sometimes but a few minutes and frequently adjourns over for a day or so at a time. 1t doesn't | frighten the Senate a bit when the l House measures come pouring over every day or so, for when the Sena .e | gets started, 1t has a habit of passing Ibills appropriating millions without | Hong -winded debate. Of course if con- stitutionaI question is involved in any measure. the Senate reserves the right | to talk 1t to death.
 1 With spring fever rapidly seizing those legislators at the House end of
 the capitol, many anxious glances are being cast toward the opposite end of | the big white building. Washington is | a dull hot, sticky place along about July and August and, 6 poll or the House were to be takea, the vote prob bably would be overwhelmingly for ad- journment about June 1. Having prom ised the country to revise the tariff, however, the democrats of the House are willing to stick it out, even If cleo tric fans have to be installed. and it Is now up to the Senate so far as ad- journment is concerned.
 If the Senate says i've won't pass