El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-09-10
HTASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 10
w Two Democratic senators voted
AGAINST the tariff bill while


senator Poindexter, a Progressive, voted
in favor of the measure, which passed
| the senate at SAB Tuesday afternoon
by a vote of A to 81, amid burst of
/ applause.
The Democrats had counted through
! out the long tariff fight upon losing the
( votes of senators Ramsdell and Thorn
| ton, of Louisiana, Democrats, who voted
I against the bill because it would put
( sugar on the free list. Until the names
: of senators La Toilette and Poindexter
! actually were called, however, no one
! knew definitely the stand they would
! take and their votes were greeted with
/ enthusiastic applause.
Predict Business Stimulus.
President Wilson expressed great
! qualification over the end of the long
struggle in the senate. Senator Sim
mons, chairman of the finance commit
| tee, who had piloted the bill through
/ the finance committee, the Democratic
I caucus and the senate, predicted that its
passage would bring immediate stimulus
OF the business of the country.
Bill Goes to Conference.
As it passed the senate. the tariff bill
represents an average reduction of more
than 4 percent from the original bill
that passed the house and nearly %
percent from the rates of existing laws.
ate has changed the bill that passed the
house, and a conference committee of
the two houses viii begin work We'd
nesday or Thursday to adjust their diff
ferences. Leaders of both houses pre-
diet that the conference viii consume
less than two weeks time. Each house
viii have an equal vote in the confer
ence committee, even though each does
not name the same number of cOnferees.
Ashurst Casts First Vote.
It was nearly $3.50 o'clock when the
vice president put the bill upon its pas
sage Senator AshuTst, first Oh the roll
shouted loudly ave" and the roll call
proceeded deliberately until the clerk
called ia Toilette" The Wisconsin
senator, seated in the front row, hest
tated a moment. His head was bowed
and resting on his hand He leaned
forward a trifle and vigorously answered
AYE"
Instantly the applause broke from the
galleries and senators on the Democratic
side Joined in enthusiastic hand clap
ping, nearly every Democrat on the
floor participating in the brief but Wig
orOus demonstration. When senator
Poindexter was reached an dhe contrib
uted his vote for the bill the applause
was repeated.
La Toilette Explains Action
After the vote senator La Toilette
said:
I realize the vote was a political
sacrifice but that within me compelled
me to vote for the bill The tariff act
of 1909 was but little short of a crime;
the bill passed is not a Democratic meas
ure, but is a protective measure. Every
change made BY the finance committee
was made by way of adjustment to a
protective basis, except such as free
md MI oh Z
mined upon outside. They treated the
agricultural schedule, I regret to say,
on a free trade basis. and / would have
retained more duty on cutlery and some
other article on which there IS no data.
Give the Democrats time and they viii
put everything on free trade basis,
but they have not done it in this bill"
Poindexter's View of the Bill.
Senator POindexter said of his vote:
I voted for the tariff bill because it
is as a whole a bettec bill than the
Payne-Aldrich law, now IN force. Fur
thermOre, it contains al income tax
which we have been trying to get for
20 years.
'Some of its rates are too high, and
some too low-but its general average
on manufactures is high enough. It's
classification is far from scientific. but
not more so than the existing law"
MluUI1LY RAISES SlMuOuS-
When the vote had been announced,
senator Gallinger, of New Hampshire,
leader of the minority, was recognized
and congratulated senator Simmons for
bis courteous, kindly and considerable
manner" in the conduct OF the debate.
lie said he knew of no tariff fight char
acterized by such good feeling through |
out, and attributed it to the personality !
Of senator Simmons.
"The bill itself is bad" he said, "bUt (
its management has been in every way |
creditable to the majority and eminently 4
fair to the minority"
Senator Simmons expressed his ap- /
probation. He said:
Il am greatly gTatIfIed that the bill /
has passed and | think that it viii not |
be long IN conference. In my opinion |
there has been some stagnation OF bust /
ness in the country pending the action !
of the senate. Now l believe that there
will be an immediate stimulus TO bust
ness and in the end we will have better !
times in this country
Thornton Scores Free Sugar.
Just before voting on amendments
began, senator La Toilette yielded few
of his time to senator Thornton,
of Louisiana, who was about to desert
his colleagues on the roll call.
ct Is hard for me to vote against this
bill" said the Louisiana senator. 1t
is a bill made a party measure by the
party with which I cast allegiance As
years ago. It is harder still that L am
forced to vote against it because my own
party seeks now to strike vital blow
against the great sugar industry OF my
state"
The senator said he was charged with
a duty from his state higher than any
duty he owned to the Democratic party,
and voting AGAINST the bill, he contend
ed, was keeping his pledge to his state
and to the Democratic party OF Louis
lana, which denounced free sugar in its
last convention. Free sugar, the senator
concluded. would destroy the sugar in
dustrv of Louisiana and deliver the
American people into the hands of
rapacious trust"
Catron Amendment Defeated
Income tax amendments by senators
Bristow and La Toilette similar to those
introduced several days ago, We're de-
feated bv votes of 81 to II and 81 to
is. respectively. An amendment by
senator GaIlinger that proposed to send
the whole tariff question over until
December. 1914, and submit the bill to