Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-07
President Expected to State
Views on Class Exemptions.
CLAUSE VETOED BY TAFT
Provision in Sundry Civil Bill Re.
garded as Unconstitutional.
CABINET IN SESSION TODAY
Business Transacted by Presidents
Advisers to Be Made Public.
White House Callers.

President Wilson must make it clear
to his party in the House and Senate
within a few days whether he will sane
,, tion the same provision in the sundry civil
| bill that caused President Taft to veto
that bill In the last minutes of the recenr
session of Congress. Those who know
| the President best said today they be-
lieved he would not agree to exempt labor
or farmers organizations from the en-
forcement of the antitrust or other laws
and that he will frankly state that he
does not believe in class legislation. IL
he SO expresses himself the democratic
| leaders of the two bodies of Congress will
not permit the provisions to go into the
sundry civil bill or any other bill. and a
veto, such as Mr.. Taft had to face and
make, will be unnecessary.
| Mr.. Wilson has declared he will hold
the office seekers away from the White
House, but he welcomes conferences and
consultations with democratic members
of Congress and party leaders. The lead
| ers want this. also, and 1t is safe TO say
that anything Mr.. Wilson objects TO IN
| the next year or SO will not be done ia
Congress-by democrats, at least-and get
anything he wants he Is almost sure 10
get.
Basis of Taft Veto.
| The sundry civil bill was vetoed be-
| cause 1t contained provision that no
part Of the 100000 appropriated for the
enforcement of the antitrust laws should
be spent IN the prosecution of ''any or
ganization or individual for entering into
any combination or agreement having IN
view the increasing OF wages, shortening
Of hours OF lettering the condition OF
labor, or for any act done i'm furtheranec
thereof" with further provisions that
none of the money should be expended
..for the prosecution OF producers of farm
products and associations OF farmers VINO
cooperate and organize I'm an effort to
obtain and maintain a fair and reason
able price for their products"
| President Taft objected to this pro-
vision and vetoed the entire appropria-
| ton bill in a statement that the pro-
| vision is class legislation or the most
vicious sort and was so clearly uncon-
stitutional as to leave no doubt that the
| courts would disapprove 1t. President
Taft went on to say that no matter bow
| wicked, how cruel how deliDerate the
| acts OF organizations of this class might
operations Of the law. AS to the farm
/ ers' organisations. Mr.. Taft added: AT
a time when there Is widespread COM
iplaint of the high cost of living 1t GER
statute books of the United States an
! act in effect, preventing the prosecu-
fjon of combinations of producers OF
l farm products for the purpose of arti-
ficially controlling prices
Opposed by Fitzgerald.
Representative Fitzgerald, the chair
man of the House committee on appropri
ations, whose course in seeking to hold
expenditures down as much as possible
/ was strongly approved by President Wi.
son some months ago. opposed the eA-
| emption from prosecution of the organ
| fzations named and fought the amend
| ment bitterly. He was oyerriden, now
| ever. Mr. Fitzgerald today spent more
!! than half an hour with President Wilson
| discussing the two appropriation biiis
| that failed to get through the last CoIi-
! gress-sundry civil and Indian
| There Is little question that MI fltz-
| gerald went away with pretty ciear
! ,daa of what President Wilson will stano
/, for AS to some of the items In both bills
that are questioned in Congress. tut Il
is also understood that the President
before announcing definitely mis- attitude.
and before the bills are made up, VIII
confer with democratic congressional
The president has had no time tar.
because of the demands of callers and the
lpreliminalfes i'm getting his administration
started, to talk the big questions over
| with the leaders. but he Will begin that
next week and continue II right along.
! futie- OF Mr.. Wilson was unequivocal IN
opposition to anything bordering Oh class
! legislation, and the prediction Is Hitde
| thst ne Will maintain that attitude on all
national questions
Not Proper Place for Exemptions.
There was strong indirect tip at tile
| White House today that the President is
] most likely to give the democratic lead
/ ers to understand that he does not regard
an appropriation bill as the proper place
| TO make laws exempting organizations
| from operation Of existing laws. and that
he thinks such questions as these should
| be taken up when Congress is ready to
| consider the revision of the Sherman anti
trust laws with the view of making them
clearer to the courts and the country.
President Wilson's discussion of vitality
big questions has shown at all times that
he considers the Sherman antitrust laws
the nucleus for building up of broader
and greater laws dealing with the whole
scope of the relations of the corporations
and the people and the government, and
there is said to be practically no doubt
that in the next year he VIII devote an
immense amount of his time to consider
ing changes that should be made in that
law to conform to his own views of
peoples government and the deliverance
of the masses from expressions that he
believes to exist.
Confers With Cabinet.
In pursuance of his policy of meet
ing each day with his cabinet advisers
until the wheels of the government be-
gin to go around smoothly, President
Wilson went into session with the
members of his official family and re-
mained with them more than an hour.
When the cabinet meeting broke up.
President Wilson let ii be known
thfbugh Secretary Daniels of the navy
that he proposed as far possible to
pursue a policy OF publicity regard.
ing what takes place around the cab
|inet table Today's meeting, IL was
said. took up the work OF organization
where Yesterdays left off. 1t is the
p,an to make public In formal way
at the end OF each session hereafter
what has been disposed of.
Large List of Callers.
Beginning at 8 o'clock this morning.
as on other days, the President con-
ferred with Secretary Tuniulty. dictated
some letters. signed a few papers ana
then began receiving visitors. Senator
TiIlman sof South Carolina, for Hhom