The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-30
Progress on the Measure Is
Slow, But Talk Is
YociferOus
CLARK MAKES A
VIGOROUS SPEECH
Speaker Talks of Republican Attitude
Toward Proposed Commission.
Underwood Answers Mann
on Chemical Schedule
THE DAY IN CONGRESS
SENATE:

THE DAY IN CONGRESS
SENATE:
Not in session Meets Thursday
z Joint congressional committee began
q Investigation of foreign buying of
American tobacco.
Chairman Owen of banking and cur
rency committee announced commit
tee would formulate it's currency re-
, form plank Friday.
Senator DUPONT $ resolution to reveal
number and employment of all retired
army officers agreed to by military
affairs committee.
HOUSE:
Met at II a. m. Began reading of
tariff bill schedule by schedule under
five minute rule for amendment.
Representative Lindberg introduced
resolution to bar members of House
interested in banks from serving
on banking and currency committee
during preparation of currency reform
legislation.
Completed reading of chemical
schedule. all amendments having been
voted down.
Recessed at Sis p. M until 80 p m.
Adjourned II p. m. until II a. m. to-
day.
Washington, April 2a.-Excited de-
bate and heated wrangle today marked
the beginning of the reading of the
democratic tariff bill in the House for
Progress on the perfec-
tion of the measure was slow but the
talk was vociferous, and on one occa-
sion brought Speaker Clark on the
floor with vigorous speech.
All day the republicans offered
to the various paragraphs
in the chemical schedule and every
amendment was voted down by the big
democratic majority Several minor
amendments offered by the ways and
means committee to correct the phrase
ology of the bill were adopted
Most of the talk of the day turned
on the records of the democratic and
republican sides of the House on the
question of creating a tariff commission.
The republicans, led by Representative
N snn It Limos, a t1sei4 k7tacks
on the various provisionsof the first
schedule of the bill, the chemical sched
dule, by declaring that the weakness"
in the rates showed the need of the in
AcSilSd Vi d tdTll DOdTu 1NtDItSeH-
tative Underwood in reply declared that
the democrats had provided the bureau
of foreign and domestic commerce in
the department of commerce, and that
the failure of the Taft administration
to vitalize that bureau with sufficient
appropriations had prevented Its do
ing the work of tariff investigation.
Touches Off the Fireworks
Representative Gardner of Massa-
chusetts said Representative Under
wood and other democrats had voted
for the tariff commission in the Sixty
first Congress when the republicans
We're in power and urged that they sup
port the republican proposition now.
Then Representative Murdock the pro-
gressive leader touched off the fire.
works. He declared that both republi-
cans and democrats We're opposed to
the tariff commission scheme and re-
called the last day of the Sixty first
Congress Uncle Joe" Cannon's final ap-
pearance at the speakers desk when the
tariff commission bill was withdrawn
by the republicans in the face of a fill
buster led by Representative Fitzgerald
of New York
1.-The republicans In this chamber.
then,' shouted Mr.. Murdock, like the re-
publicans in this chamber now. was only
pretending to be for a. tariff commission
They had their chance to write that bill
into law then and failed. They will never
have another chance"
Republicans Excited
The republicans grew excited and Rep
resentative Gardner shouted there was no
foundation for Mr.. Murdock's charge that
the republican leaders were in conspir-
acy to defeat the tariff commission bill"
Gesticulating wildly, Mr.. Gardner de-
manded the opinion of Representative
Sherley of Kentucky as to the truth of
the charge. Mr.. Sherley said he believed
many of the republicans opposed the bill.
Then Representative Gardner shaking a
finger at Speaker Clark. demanded to
know whether he believed the charge. The
speaker strode to the center of the we'll of
the House and shouted:
MY Judgment is that there never was
a republican leader in this House really
in favor of a tariff commission"
Mr.. Gardner sat down and the speak
er went on. He declared he was against
tariff commission reporting to and re-
sponsible to the President ut is the
House that should have the information"
he said.
The speaker went into detail about the
the sixty-first Congress, explaining that
the democrats refused to follow him and
Representative Underwood.
Biblical Comparison
''They rolled US to a fare you-well," he
declared, land the republicans were
standing back and consentIng like Saul at
the stoning of Stephen. They actually
rolled up a majority against Underwood
and myself but it was the first time and
-~~~~-~-~-~-~~-~>>~~~-~ ~-~~-~>>~~-~~~~~~
Continued ON Page Nine)
ssssssssssssssssssssssssss
TODAY'S ACE-HERALD.