The Washington times., 1913-01-02
SPECIAL. SESSIONS
CALL PLANNEDFOR
MIDDLE Of MARCH
Democratic Leaders Expect
to Have Tariff in Shape
BY That Time.

The Democratic leaders of the House,
with the resssemblinS of Congress 20.
day, went to work with the assumpuon
that the extra session will be called
March Is and that all tariff bills should
be ready for presentation to the House
on that date.
The date of the extra session, it is
learned, viii depend upon the signal
from the Ways and Means Committee
Of the House. President-elect Wilson
has told members of the House that he
wants to call the extra session as soon
as the tariff bills are ready. Follow
ing recent conferences between the
President-elect and House leaders, it is
learned:
That Mr.. Wilson will call the extra
session of Congress as soon as the
Ways and Means Committee gives the
signal.
That the committee will map out its
complete tariff revision program before
reporting any bill to the House.
That all tariff bills probably will be
presented simultaneously to the party
caucus and the caucus will Decide what
schedule is to be first considered,
undertaken, or whether the House shall
undertake. at one swoop. a revision of
the tariff by one big bill.
Caucus to Decide.
That the President-elect thinks Con-
gress should be assembled in extra
session by the middle of March. il the
Ways and Means Committee can be
ready. II the committee is not prepared
10 present its entire program for the
revision of the Payne law, Mr.. Wilson
is inclined to hold of awaiting the COM
pletion of its labors.
1t is learned that when the hearings
are concluded by the Ways and Means
Committee January g, rough drafts of
all the tariff bills will be prepared at
once.
wood and his associates to estimate the
required revenues of the Government
and to impose upon each schedule SO
much of revenue production. This plan
of procedure necessitates general re-
vision Of the tariff at one time. although
the revision may be subdivided into
schedule by schedule bills.
Results To Be Explained.
When the tariff bills are presented to
the caucus. just prior to the convening
Of the extra session. members of the
Ways and Means Committee expect to
be In position to show what each sched-
ule viii produce and the nature of the
revision each schedule will bear. The
caucus viii then be asked to determine:
Shall the House combine all these
II undertake schedule by. schedule
reyision?" EFs
Present indications are that the latter
QHn VIII be adopted eventually. al
though there is division of opinion re-
garding the best method of presenting
the tariff problem to the Senate, where
me danger of log-rolling Is more men,
acing than in the lower body
The Democratic leaders of the House
contemplate that the income tax bill
will be one of the greatest revenue pro-
ducers of all their tariff measures. "a
tax upon the wealthy Is to go hand in
hand with our tariff revision scheme"
said q Democrat leader today.
r Il For Income Tar.
IL tuo more States ratify the income
tax amendment before the convening Of
the extra ses-ion, a genuine income tax
bill will be drawn. II there has been
no ratification. the Ways and Means
Committee will fall back upon the UE-
derwood bill extending the present in
come tax, this latter measure being a
companion bill to the free sugar bill of
last session.
In their talks with the President-elect,
the Democratic leaders Of the House
have learned that Mr.. Wilson is yet
the work which he viii ask the extra
sessionsto perform. Mr.. Wilson favors
a prompt revision of the currency laws
and legislation affecting the trusts but
10 undecided whether to ask the extra
session to confine itself exclusively to
the tariff.
It has been suggested to the House
Democrats that President Taft called
an extra session of Congress to con-
slider Canadian reciprocity, but that the
House entered upon tariff revision
despite the specific nature OF the Presi-
dents proclamation. The usual Demo-
cratic answer Is:
Yes. but Mr. Wilson is to be our
President and the Democratic House
Will want to work in harmony and
will be governed by his wishes. The
same feeling did not exist toward a
President of an opposite party"
For Three Reasons.
In his recent conferences with Demo-
cratic leaders. It is learned. President
elect Wilson has sought views regard
ing the practlcability of calling an extra
session for the threefoId purpose of re-
vising the tariff. amending the Sher-
man law. and enacting currency legis-
lation. Sentiment I'm the House Is Ia
vorable toward a long extra session,
during which these three leading ques-
tions may be considered.
While Representative Underwood Is
naturally reticent concerning the details
OF his conference with the President
elect. he returned TO Washington with
the knowledge that the date of the
extra SESSION would depend largely
upon the action of the Ways and Means
Committee. and House leaders who
nave talked with the majority leader
have been impressed with the necessity
Of quick and concerted action, in order
that there may not be too long a delay
between the adjournment of the Sixty
second Congress and the convening Of
the SiKty-third. The word has also
gone out that the committee is 10 pre-
pare during the month of February and
the first two weeks In March a general
plan Of tariff revision. including an in
come tax law. SO that the extra session
may be called, II possible, not later
than March is.