The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-04-02
THE SENATE
MAJORITY Is
Canal Toll Repeal Certain
of Passage in That
Body
STRUGGLE WILL BE
HOT, HOWEVER
Senator Lodge Is to Uphold
the President on Pat
riotic Grounds

Washington, April 2.-Sixteen major
ity in the Senate for repeal is the mar
gin President Wilson is said to expect
in his favor when the vote is taken
on the Panama canal tolls repeal bill.
The extreme estimate of the White
House vote was IS majority, and the
House made it Sc. The fact that de-
spite the sensational address of Speaker
Clark, less than 25 per cent of the House
Democrats voted against the president
has served to cheer up the administra-
ton senators, even though they realize
that a senator habitually pays little
attention to House action and systemat-
ically declines to construe it as accurate
Iy rejecting the sentiment of the coun-
try. The White House figures have sur
prised even the Republican senators who
will vote with the president, for they
know that many Democrats have been
"shaky" up to date and they realize also
that some of their Republican colleagues
may find it hard to resist the tempta-
ton to play politics with the issue. For
the reason that they are thus tempted
the administration leaders are the more
certain of victory for men of both par
ties are unanimous in agreeing that
nothing more disastrous to the DEM
ocratic party could occur than the de-
feat of President Wilson on this bill.
Such a. disaster would be redeemable,
and so far only about 90 Republicans
are being counted upon as willing to
forego their political chance and TO sup
port the president because they believe
his stand on this issue will make for
the welfare of the United States.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massa-
chusetts is expected to make the most
important speech on the presidents side.
The Democrats have no speaker of the
commanding scholarship and power OF
Lodge, who can present the issue with
freedom and exceptional ability. Sena-
tor Root may be the intellectual equal
of Lodge, although not his superior in
the history of diplomacy, but Mr.. Root
already has spoken on the tolls ques-
ton. The Massachusetts, senator will
occupy peculiar ground also, in that he
does not believe that the free tolls clause
violates the Hay Pauncefote treaty and
he is not hostile to ship subsidy. He
knows, however, perhaps better than any
other senator, how momentous are the
issues which hang on wise DISPOSE
tion Of the tolls question and his speech
is expected to supply some of the
marked deficiencies in the too brief and
not altogether diplomatic message of the
president. The attitude of Senator
Lodge will be an answer, moreover, to
the critics who have denounced the pres
ident as trucking to England" for no
American senator in the past has shown
more independence of British influence,
to put it mildly, than Senator Lodge.
If in his Forthcoming address Senator
Lodge does not rise to the full stature
of a great American statesman, his
friends will be surprised. Strange as
it may sound to persons unfamiliar with
the ways of legislation, the Lodge speech
is being counted on actually to make
votes.
The fight in the Senate will be for
blood. O'Gorman of New York, chair
man of the committee on inter- oceanic
canals, is leading the forces against the
president and may begin a flibuster by
refusing to call his committee together
to consider the House bill. A majority
of the committee are opposed to the
bill, and at the White House yesterday,
Senator Owen of Oklahoma, a member,
intimated in so many words that if a
meeting were not called within week
the Senate would force the committee
to act. A vote upon motion to dis
charge the committee would be meas