The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-11
VIII Agree to Accept Free
Wool and One Cent
Sugar
BUT MAY AMEND
OTHER SCHEDULES
Conference With President Brings
Working Agreement-No Rate
Change in the House in
Second days Debate

| Washington April 1o.-The Senate's
attitude toward President Wilson and
the now tariff bill became fairly well
defined today after another meeting
Of the democratic members of the
finance committee Briefly. the Senate
committee will agree to accept the
view of the President. and the House
as to free wool and 1-cent sugar, with
the free-in- n-three- years attachment;
but 1t will exercise it's right to amend
other schedules and provisions of tho
bill as II thinks best.
The conference with the President
yesterday brought a working agree
ment under which both the executive
and the Senate leaders have yielded
certain points. The Senate democrats
do not propose to make any general In
crease in the rates of the tariff bill,
or to make the Senate liable to the
charge of having impeded the efforts
of the President and the House toward
tariff reform.
Changes will be made In many sched-
ules, however, the work having been
the first schedule in the bill. Some OF
the changes regarded as necessary by
the Senate leaders may be carried over
to the House and put into the bill In
the democratic caucus still in progress
there
Stand With President
The Senate leaders reserve the right
to make changes after the bill reaches
the Senate where they, cansider them
necessary to make the tariff revision
more equitable and scientific. The do
clsion to stand with the President upon
the wool aud sugar tariff issues has
brought the various forces of demo-,
cratic control into practical unity, it II
| claimed Should the President and the
House majority refuse to accept any
change in the wool and sugar schedule
Is Is understood the Senate COMMITTEES
viii lend its support TO the same pro-
gramme
The fight against free wool. however,
has become more acute at both ends
of the capitol. and several state dele
cations in the House appealing to DEM
ccratic senators for support in the
fight to retain some duty.
E, The democratic caucus of the House
| had reached only the third schedule OF
the new bill at the end of today's
work Representative Underwood and
the other democratic tariff leaders
were making no apparent effort to
limit debate or hasten a party decision
on the bill. This deliberate progress
has raised the hopes of the wool and
sugar interests that they may be able
to organize sufficient strength to
change the bin In the caucus, so that
| IL will pass the House with at least
small duty on wool and without the
provision to make sugar free in 1915.
This opinion is strengthened by the
| attitude of the Senate democrats Many
! of them who favor at least a small
wool and sugar tariff are lending their
influence to the fight in the House,
In the hope that the issue can be
fought out there and viii not have to
be settled in the Senate.
No Change in Rates
Representative Underwood and his
assistants of the ways and means COM
mittee succeeded in plotting the tariff
bill through another days debate In
the House caucus without any change
In its rates. Many phases of the tariff
were gone into, with demands for
changes in duties coming from many
quarters. The greater part of the day
was devoted to work on the earthen-
proved after plea from Speaker Clark
and Representative Underwood for
party harmony.
The schedule evoked a lively express
sion of views The present tariff Is go
per cent on most of the pottery and
% per cent on cheaper classes. The
democratic revision would reduce the
so per cent pottery to 35 and 40 per
cent and the 25 per cent to ID per
cent.
Representative Whitacre, from the
East Liverpool, o.. district pleaded for
retention of the present tariff and de-
clared that on an investment of S60,-
900, 900 American pottery interests
profited barely per cent last year.
When the metal schedule was taken
up Representative Webb of North Car
olIna and others tried hard to get a
reduction of the proposed rate on card
| tContInued Page Sine.)