Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-17
CAUCUS RESUMES
WORK ON TARIFF
Underwood Bill Expected to Be
Ready for House Early
Next Week.
FIGHT ON DISCOUNT
WAGEO BY HARRISON
Mississippian Calls It Concealed
Ship Subsidy-No Protests by
Foreign Governments.

The democratic House caucus resum-
ed consideration of the tariff bill to-
day. with every prospect OF rapid COM
pletion of the measure and it's presen-
tat1on to the House early next week.
With the fight over free wool and free
sugar settled. the free list and adj
ministrative provisions remained as
important issues ahead.
Representative Harrison Of Missis-
sippi "a member of the new foreign
affairs committee, and others are
planning fight against the provision
to permit a discount Of 5 per cent
on all duties imposed on goods i'm
ported in vessels built in the United
States and wholly the property OF
United States citizens. They contend
that amounts to a ship subsidy, and
that it is contrary to the spirit Of
some treaties.
Would Cause Trouble.
There is but one tariff bill that ever
before carried such a provision" declared
Representative Harrison today, land
that was the first tariff, passed in 1888 as
a retaliation against similar acts of other
countries. Thomas Jefferson advocated
it for no other reason than that. The pro-
vison was changed in all subsequent
tariff acts. If such a provision is retained
| 1t will cause every foreign country with
which We have commercial treaties
about thirty of them-to either serve no.
tice OF abrogation upon us or to retail
ate by increasing their duties on the i'm
ports from, or exports to, the United
States"
The caucus took up the remainder of
| the wool schedule when the discussion
| was resumed. Earlier the ways and
! means committee majority held a meeting
| to consider the protests of foreign coun-
| tries against certain provisions of the
| administrative features of the bill, COM
munications forwarded to Chairman I'm
derwood by Secretary Bryan.
Republican Amendments Ready.
Republican members of the House were
| busy today preparing for further discus
| sion of the tariff bill at a caucus tonight.
| Many amendments to various Sections of
| the bill had been prepared and will be
| offered in tonght's caucus. Substitute
sections are being prepared by republi-
| cans of the ways and means committee,
| to be offered in the House in place of the
| Underwood bills schedules on cotton and
wool.
No Foreign Protests.
When the ways and means committee
| looked over communications forwarded
from the State Department no protests
against any features in the proposed bill
were found. If any had been received
| by the State Department Secretary
Bryan had not yet forwarded them.
There were two communications, how
ever one of them from the Argentine
Republic. asking that the committee
favorabdy consider reducing the tariff
on quebracho and other tanning mate
rails Such materials already have been
placed on the free list in the proposed
bill. A communication from Spain asked
for a reduction in the tariff on almonds,
which the committee has disposed of with
a duty of cents a pound a reduction OF
/ cent from the present rate.
Caucus Resumes.
The big fight of yesterday in the demo-
cratic caucus was on schedule k-the
wool schedule. The democrats upheld
the free listing of raw wool after a
strenuous appeal from Representative
Underwood himself Representative Dies
of Texas offered the amendment to place
wool on the dutiable list, but it was voted
down, 100 to AZ. This vote was not SO
close as several others which have pre-
coded it.