The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-30
General Debate on Sims Bill in HOuse-Senate Dis
 cusses Side Issues
OPPOSITION READY
 FOR FINAL STRUGGLE
Lewis Will Discuss His Bill Giving the President Right to Suspend Tolls Whenever to Public Interest.
 Wilson Awaits Results

Washington. March 2s.--No legislative
 issue of recent years has excited Con gress as has the controversy over repeal of the toll exemption clause of the Pan anna canal act Last weeks events, which put on record a breach in the solidarity of the democratic party have caused no end of conflicting political predictions to increase the tensity of interest in the subject, The situation Is one fraught with many complications
 Oratorical strife over the repeal will be renewed tomorrow. The House will re- sume general debate on the Sims bill, leading up to a final vote in that branch probably late Tuesday night or Wednes- day, In the Senate discussion will re- volve around one of the many side is- sues that have arisen. Senator James Hamilton Lewis proposing to discuss a resolution and bill he has introduced to follow repeal as a sort of balm to the wounds of his party members. who thus far have opposed the President.
 Lewis Measure
 Senator Lewis measure would give the President authority to suspend tolls whenever he should deem it in the public interest so to do. The Illinois senator
 will cite long series of precedents on which he bases the right of Congress to extend such authority to the chief execu- tive. As against the proposal of Senator Lewis, the minority leader. Senator Gal finger, will urge resolution he intro- duced last week which would express 1t as the sense of Americans that Congress has the right to dc as it pleases with respect to American shipping through the Panama canal.
 In the House. opposing leaders are set ting the stage for the final struggle, all concedlng that scenes attending the clos ing hours of the debate and the final roll call will rival in sensational enthusiasm lany legislative climax in recent years.
 Speaker Champ Clark. wnose vigorous
 statement against the ru1e last week drew the curtain on the party breach, has pi epared an epilogue. and the House gal
 leries cannot accommodate the thousands
 who will scramble for the seats to hear 4 him deliver 1t.
 l The speaker has maintained silence | since his defeat on the cloture rule, when only 30 democratic members of the House l followed their recognized leaders, while l some 200 stood by the administration. but | he will break silence Tuesday. closing the debate on behalf of opponents of toll ex- | emption repeal. The speech has been guarded with the utmost care fearful lest | some hint of what the speaker will say | might find it's way Into the hands of the opposing forces.
 Close friends of the speaker assert there will be no bitterness expressed, no hark- | ing back to political imbrogllos, and no reflection cast on the opinions of others. They predict he proposes to discuss the | merits of the issue. On the other hand, some democrats hint that the speaker may surprise his friends and arouse his adversaries.
 Wilson Awaits Results
 As to the party strife that has been pre- i cipitated, President Wilson has made no comment and so far as known con | templates making none. He made his pleas and awaits results. The President close advisers insist, however that he bears no personal or political i'll will to- ward the leaders of the party who have opposed him in this crisis; that he en- tertains no thought of holding a political grudge and that any idea, such as has been intlmated from many sources, that he would attempt to have party leaders who oppose him punished politically Is | farthest from his thoughts While rum ors of party warfare are widely circu- | lated, the President. 1t is declared, is confident Congress will repeal the tolls issue. and proposes that "fnis" shall he written to- the controversy. when that is done, regardless of the circumstances | that attended 1t.
 l Breakers are declared ahead for the
 repeal. however, despite the situation | in the House where it generally Is conceded the fight already has been l fought and won.
 | The only uncertainty, however In | the minds of administration support
 CTS as to the outcome Is the size of 1 the majority Estimates of the ma | jority on the repeal vary from 30 l to 75 But the Senate Is yet to be 1 reckoned with. There no rule to | limit debate can be ordered and it mas be weeks before the question is | disposed of. Senator O'Gorman who will lead the opposition has said sem
 ators who propose for the repeal have
 told him they did not expect a vote 1 for six weeks. Senator Owen and
 other democratic champions of the 1 Presidents cause declare delay will
 serve no useful purpose and they hope
 to have the committee on interoceanic
 canals. of which Senator O'Gorman Is
 chairman, take up the sims blll as
 soon as it comes from the House. 1 The committee Is closely divided on l the issue. At present unless some
 members of the committee should an-
 nounce a change of view, 1t appears
 that opponents of the repeal might
 have a majority of one in the com
 mittee. There are other bills pertain