Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1913-04-18
SENATE ACCEPTS SCHEDULES
Fight for Free Wool Has Not Ended
Yet

toward President Wilson and the new
tariff bill became fairly well defined,
after another meeting of the Demo-
cratic members of the finance commit
tee. Briefly, the senate committee will
agree to accept the view of the presi-
dent and the house, as to free wool
and 1-cent sugar, with the free-in-three-
years attachment; but it will exercise
its right to amend other schedules and
provisions of the bill as it thinks best.
The conference with the president
brought working agreement, under
which both the executive and the SEN
ate leaders have yielded certain points.
The senate Democrats do not propose
to make any general increase in the
rates of the tariff bill, or to make the
senate liable to the charge of having i'm
peded the efforts of the president and
the house toward tariff reform.
Changes will be made in many sched-
ules, however, the work having been
started, with q consideration of the
first schedule in the bill. Some of the
changes regarded as necessary by the
senate leaders may be carried over to
the house and put into the bill in the
Democratic caucus still in progress
there.
The senate leaders reserve the right
to make changes after the bill reaches
the senate, where they consider them
necessary to make the tariff revision
more equitable and scientific. The de-
cision to stand with the president upon
the wool and sugar tariff issues has
brought the various forces of Democrat
ic control into practical unity, it is
claimed. Should the president and the
house majority refuse to accept any
change in the wool and sugar schedule,
it is understood the senate committee
will lend its support to the same pro-
gram.
The fight against free wool, however,
has become more acute at both ends of
the capitol; and several state delega-
tions in the house are appealing to
Democratic senators for support in the
fight to retain some duty.
The Democratic caucus Of the house
had reached only the third schedule os
the new BILL Represented xUnder-
wood and the other Democratic tariff
leaders were making no apparent effort
to limit debate or hasten party de-
cision on the bill. This deliberate prog
ress has raised the hope of the wool
and sugar interests that they may be
able to organize sufficient strength to
change the bill in the caucus, SO that
it will pass the house with at least a
small duty on wool and without the
provision to make sugar free in 1915.
This opinion is strengthened by the
attitude of the senate Democrats.
Many of them who favor at least q
small wool and sugar tariff are lend
ing their influence to the fight in the
house, in the hope that the issue can
be fought out there and viii not have
to be settled in the senate.
Representative Underwood and his
associates of the ways and means COM
mittee succeeded in piloting the tariff
bill through another days debate in
the house caucus without any changes
in its rates. Many phases of the tariff
were gone into, with demands for
changes in duties coming from many
quarters. The greater part of the day
was devoted to work on the earthen-
ware schedule, which finally was ap-
proved, after plea from Speaker Clark
and Representative Underwood for par
ty harmony.
The schedule evoked a lively express
sion of views. The present tariff is 60
per cent on most of the pottery. and rs
per cent on cheaper classes. The DEM
ocratic revision would reduce the 60
per cent pottery to So and 40 per cent
and the 25 per cent to Is per cent.
Representative Whitacre, from the
East Liverpool (O.) district, pleaded for
retention of the present tariff, and de-
clared that on an investment of 0,000,-
600 American pottery interested profited
barely per cent last year. When the
metal schedule was taken up, Repre-
sentative Webb of North Carolina and
others tried hard to get reduction Of
the proposed rate on card clothing,
material used on the machines OF tex
tile manufacturers. The present law
taxes card clothing SO per cent, and
the pending bill would make it 40 per
cent. Representative Underwood said
he thought the caucus would be almost
through with the bill By Saturday night,
and that he expected from the harmo-
ngs Of the caucus that the
house would pass the bill before May 1.
Representative Brousard win present
an amendment when the sugar sched-
ule Is taken up, and it is said that four
other Louisiana representatives are
counted upon to vote with him against
the bin if il comes up in the house
with anything like the present reduc
tion on sugar.