The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-09-18
La TOILETTE AMENDMENT
WAS The BEST PROPOSED.
Majority Leaders Gave No Assurance
That Democrats Would Amend In
come Tax Feature-Pays High Trib-
ute to Little Giant from Wisconsin,"


Washington, Sept. 1870 much has
been said about Senator Vardaman's
"bolting" the caucus on the income
tax provision of the tariff bill, and such
diversity of views have been express
ed, that your correspondent today call
ed on the junior senator and obtained
from him a full statement of his YER
sion of the affair.
When asked why he violated the
caucus understanding and voted for
the LaFollette amendment, Senator
Vardaman said
AT the close of the consideration
of the tariff bill, |, along with other
Democrats, agreed to support it and
vote down every amendment that
might be offered by the opposition,
with this understanding: That if, in
the consideration of the bill by the
Senate, an amendment should be Of
fered, the provisions of which were
preferred by any Democratic senator
to our bill, it was agreed that such
senator should go to the chairman of
the finance committee, make his wish
es known. and that the chairman of
| the committee should have the section
of the tariff bill under consideration,
together with all proposed amend
ments, recommitted to the finance
committee, and, after considering tie
matter, if the committee thought Or
er, a caucus of all the Democr
should be called to consider the wi
question.
Senator Borah proposed an ann
ment to the income tax paragraph
our bill. I preferred Mr.. Bor
amendment to the provision in
bill, but voted against it. Then
ator Bristow introduced an amendment
which l thought better than our bill,
but I voted against that also.
Senator LaFollette then proposed
an amendment which I thought more
nearly approached the perfect than
anything had seen in the matter Of
levying a tax on incomes, so went
to the chairman of the finance commit
tee. Mr.. Simmons and told him that
I wanted the paragraph under consid-
GRAFTON, together with the LaFollette
proposed amendment recommitted to
the finance committee. stated to him
that I thought La Follette's amend
ment, If adopted, would greatly i'm
prove our bill, and in addition to i'm
proving the bill, might commend it to
the favorable consideration of LaFol-
lette and those who affiliated with him
in politics, and that knew Of nothing
that would do more to popularize the
bill with the American people, Or
, large element of them, than for it to
have Senator La Follette's endorse
ment.
81 also suggested to Senator Sim
e mons that President Wilson, whom he
S was fond of quoting, had said that the
: Democratic party is minority party.
s and I thought our only hope of re-
cruits was from the ranks Of the dis
e satisfied Republicans who are known
y as Progressivee. But my views were
S not popular with the chairman of the
J. committee. He very promptly inform
ed me that he did not, nor did the
It committee, care to consult Mr.. La
e Toilette in the preparation of the bill
n, nor did they want him to have any
IN thing to do with Its formation.
IN Il then suggested to Mr.. Simmoni
W that the truth from La Toilette wa
rt as good as the truth from any othe
"a man. If the Progressives had an,
m. truths to offer, l was in favor of az
its propriating them And I suggeste
in that we might take the ideas of tn
progressive republicans If they suite
to us, put them in the melting pot of tn
es Democratic caucus, make a Democrat
Ter measure of them and then present
on to the Senate and thereby put th
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