The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-22
DEMOCRATS PLAN
FIRST BASIC CHANGE
IN TARIFF MEASURE
Continued from Page One,

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stock and free lists all fresh meat; a
duty of 10 cents per bushel on whea
and oats and free lists wheat flour
and oatmeal. Representative Under
wood, chairman of the House ways and
means committee, when asked about
proposed Senate changes today, said
that he had heard nothing about them
and that he did not intend to take any
part in the tariff consideration until the
bill gets to conference
Great Many Changes
That there are to be a great many
changes in the bill in the Senate was
admitted today by Senator Simmons,
chairman of the finance committee He
announced, however, that next We'd
nesday the subcommittee would begin
framing the various schedules and that
they hoped to have the bill ready for
the finance committee by June l. The
democratic caucus, he said, would be
called for consideration of the bill about
June and an effort will be made to
report it to the Senate the following &
week
The decision today of the majority
members of the finance committee to
close all private hearings on the bill
next Tuesday has not met with repub-
lican approval and an attack on this
pan 10 ioChcu lOI III tho otHdle lO-
morrow. Senator Simmons insists, how
ever, that the private hearings must
be ended by that time so committee
members can begin redrafting the bill.
The committee decided to print all
briefs of manufacturers not hereto
fore published and to receive briefs
until the bill reaches the Senate floor.
Anti-Dumping Clause
Another problem confronting the
democratic leaders is the anti dump
ing clause" in the Underwood bill
which makes no provision for articles
on the free list. This clause would as
sess an additional duty not to exceed
Is per cent on imports sold in this
country for less than the foreign price
but it is not made to apply to the free
list and some democrats insist that the
free list should be included.
Soap manufacturers appeared before
Senator Johnsons subcommittee today
protesting against taking certain essen
tial oils from the free list and placing
them on the dutiable list. They main
tanned that the ways and means COM
mittee thought that by putting a duty OF
20 per cent on essential oils they were
taxing oils used exclusively in perfumes
while as a matter OF fact many oils in
cluded are not used in perfume but ir
laundry soap. This, they argued, would
put tax on the poor mans soap"
Senator Stones subcommittee was al
work all day on the woolen manufac
turers' schedule, while the subcommittee
headed by Senator Williams took up the
sugar schedule and listened to the plea!
from Louisiana and Porto Rico cane
growers for a higher duty than promised
in the Underwood bill.
Henry Pharr, president of the Louisiana
Cane Growers association. made the ar
gument for the growers of his state anc
promised to file more extended state
ment Senators Thornton and Ransdel
and many planters listened to his state
ment and added their comments for thu
| committees information. According tC
! Mr. Pharr the American Sugar Refinins
/ company, the sugar trust, would he th'
main beneficiary by the Underwood bill
| He said the factories of Louisiana would
! be turned into useless junk. and that th'
sugar growing lands of his state would
| be reduced in value millions of dollar:
! If Congress agreed on free sugar. Ht
| said there were thousands of small sugar
| growers in Louisiana and insisted thai
the industry is not in the hands of g
| few big planters.
Mr. Pharr told the committee that
neither President Wilson nor the demo.
cratic platform had given the people OF
Louisiana reason to fear free sugar. He
said the President had wired positive
refusal to approve free sugar to the col
lector of the port of New Orleans. Asked
by Senator Williams if the cane growers
could mot turn their lands over to the
cultivation of other products, Mr.. Pharr
argued that investigation had proved that
in no other way could the lands be made
so profitable.