The Washington herald., 1913-03-24
TARIFF Views
UP TO wilson
Ways and Means Members to
Confer with President on
Schedules This Week.
DIFFERENCES DEVELOP
Senate Leaders Also Will Be Called
Into Conference to Secure
Harmony.

PRESIDENT wilson Is now giving ueep
study to the tariff, with a view to COM
municating views on the subject to the
readers upon whom will devolve the duty
of presenting and passing the revision
programme through the two houses at
the special session of Congress that will
begin on April Z.
1t is the general understanding that the
President will uphold those Democrats
who are urging a moderate revision or
the tariff as opposed to those VINO ad-
vocate sharp cuts in the rates in every
schedule of the law and a material am
plification of the free list Up to date,
the President has discussed the tarin
only in very general terms. He will soon
get down to cases and conferences will be
held this week with Representative
Underwood and otter Democratic MEM
bers of the Committee on Ways and
Means. Both sides TO the controversy
in the committee nave presented their
respective stories to the President, and
the radicals are inclined to the belief
that on some feature of the proposed
revision they will have the support of
the administration.
1t is understood that a copy of the ten
tative draft of the tariff bill prepared
by Chairman Underwood and his asso-
ciates will be placed in the hands OF the
President this week He is expected to
concerning the measure. There appears
to be a general disposition to MAKE the
bill an administration measure. With
this end in view, members of the tariff
making committee of the Senate have
been taken into the confidence of the
House committee, and there Is reason
to believe that a conference soon will he
held at the White House in the hope of
reconciling differences on the subject.
Free List Troubles.
1t has become known within the past
few days that President Wilson will. in
all probability. make some suggestions
relative to the agricultural schedule.
This is the schedule that provoked
lively row in the Committee on Ways and
Means Radical members insisted that
practically all farm products should be
transferred to the free list. They
wanted meat flour. bread, cattle, grain,
dairy products and practically all other
products of the farm admitted duty free.
They We're beaten on this proposition.
Representative Hammond of Minnesota,
who is the spokesman of members from
the Central West. who want some pro-
lection for farm products. led the fight
for a moderate revision of his schedule.
The radicals were conceded free meat
Cattle, grain. barley. and -four were re-
tanned on the dutiable list. although the
rates in every case, with. the possible ex-
ception of cattle, were reduced some
what
Raising the cry of free food" the
radicals intend to renew the fight on the
agricultural schedule in the party caucus
that will be held early in April. unless
they are called of by the administration.
There is some reason to believe that
President Wilson may side with the
radicals on the agricultural schedule.
Friends of the agricultural interests have
received information that cause them un-
caSinesS. They fear that the President
already has made UP his mind that many
agricultural products are no longer in
need of protection. and that the con-
sumner might possibly benefit by their
transfer to the free list. Members from
agricultural States intend to see to it
that their side of the case is presented
to the President in the strongest possible
light. They do not intend to lose the
support of the administration by default.
Income Tax and Revenue.
The exact form of the income tax bill
will not be decided until the committee
has received from experts an estimate
as TO the amount of revenue that would
be yielded by the tentative tariff bill
completed in committee last week. At
the outside the House committee will
not attempt to raise more than $500
600 through the medium of the income
tax 1t is realized by all concerned that
there must be a strict limitation in this
regard. The radicals in the committee
would like to see customs rates slashed
right and left and large revenue raised
by tax on incomes.