The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-28
CLARK, UNDERWOOD, MURDOCH AND MANN
 MAINLY APPEAL FOR
 COLLEAGUES HELP
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the hands of the party-one the speaker of the House, the other the floor leader of the dominant party-were openly and actively arrayed against him. Speaker Clark, though he did not take the floor today had issued his eleventh hour at tack upon the plan to limit debate and announced that he would speak against the repeal bill Tuesday. Representative Underwood, who has been in the open against the President on the issue. plead ed urgently against the rule. and later delivered an attack on President Wilson s policy, denouncing the repeal of the toll exemption as an economic mistake and declaring the President to be wrong in his conclusion that exemption Is in vio- laton of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty. Other democratic cheftains, among them Representative Kitchen of North Caro- lima, broke with the President. Yet in the face of this opposition from men who heretofore had but to raise their voices to have the democrats of the House follow them, the President won within the party membership nearly four to one.
 When debate on the special rule began in the House, Representatives Adamson and Hardwick, for the administration, at tackled Speaker Clark's position, and in reply, Representative Underwood made his urgent plea for support from the col leagues who have held up my hands in this house." When the debate closed and the dronng voice of the clerk had called the roll, the democratic House leaders had been repudiated, and the Presidents ap- peal answered.
 With the cloture rule in force the House immediately began the 20 hours of general debate on the repeal bill.
 SIMS MAKES
 FIRST SPEECH
 Representative Sims of Tennessee the author of the repeal bill, made the first spech in support of his measure. He was interrupted frequently by applause and cheers, in which the crowds in the gall leries occasionally joined. He argued at length against the economic policy of the free passage of American ships through the canal
 Debate against the repeal was opened by Representative Underwod, who argued to show that under the various treaties the United States has the right to prescribe such tolls as it deems necessary for ves- sels using the canal. The House cheered the majority leaders argument, based on the treaties between America and Grea Britain. in which he held that the United States has the sovereign control of the canal zone and declared that to repeal the free tolls provision was to surrender that right Great Britain, he said, could not
 
 under the treaties is not free to exempt it's ships from tolls if it sees fit.
 Washington, March 27.-When the Panama tolls fight was resumed in the House of Representative today the battle lines were drawn taut in this wise:
 Fifty-five minutes remained for de- bate on the special rule to limit dis cussion to 20 hours on the Sims bill to repeal the exemption for coastwise ships
 Chairman Henry of the rules com mittee leading that phase of the bat tie for the administration forces, was ready at the conclusion of the 55 min utes to move "the previous question" parliamentary tactic to shut off de- bate on the rule and force a vote, the first real test of strength
 Opponents of the administration pro- gramme, strengthened by Speaker Clark's vigorous denunciation of the at tempt at cloture and renewed by his declaration that he would vote against limiting debate, were prepared to bring every resource into play to "beat the previous question:" and thus throw down the bars for unlimited debate. not only on the rule, but on the repeal bill itself
 On this first test vote hung not only the question of pressing the adminis- tration measure through, but also the greater one, that of opening it to amendment for the rule proposes that only one amendment may be permitted to intervene. That would be on mo- tion to recommit to the commerce com mittee.
 Leaders of the administration real ized that if beaten on the cloture rule the bill itself would be open to amend ments, one of which, gaining favor to- day was to repeal the exemption but to specifically provide that the coast wise right to grant free passage to