Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-25
UNDERWOOD WILL
Be IN BACKGROUND
DURING TOLL FIGHT
Declares as Party Leader He
Cannot Organize Opposition
to Repeal.
BUT WILL MAKE STRONG
APPEAL FOR EXEMPTION
Townsend and Mccoy Will Vote
for Repeal BiIl-HamilI
Hears from Home.

WASHINGTON, March 25.-Final
preparations for the actual opening
of the fight for the repeal of the tolls
exemption provision of the Panama
canal act were taken today by lead
ers of the contending factions in the
House According to agreement the
issue will be formally presented at
noon tomorrow, and, under q special
rule-voted the rules committee, for
submission to the House TO-DAY, de-
bate would be limited to fifteen hours.
Democrats. Republicans and Pro-
gressiVes, aligned on both sides of
the controversy, We're agreed that the
contest would be the most spirited of
any staged In Congress in recent
years. Although the repeal advocates
reiterated their predictions of sue
cess for the Sims repeal bill by a large
majority. opponents of the measure
secuted the idea of a one-sided fight
and even expressed doubt of it's pas
sage.
Conservative estimates by Reprent-
ative Adamson, who will lead the
fight for the repeal forces, and other
leaders aligned with the opposition
today placed the number of sched-
uled speeches at more than 100 As
illustrating the unusual interest in
the fight 1t was said that fifty or
more members have prepared speeches
which they will seek to have printed
in the. record without reading or
otherwise consuming time.
Tamper with Underwood.
Administration manipulators. by
injecting Wilson into the leaders
campaign for senatorship In Ala
bama, sought to keep Underwood
from speaking against the Presidents
repeal program.
This was Underwood's answer to-
day:
THE President and all of my as
sociates know | am unalterably op-
posed to the repeal of the free tolls.
1t should be plain that, as Democratic
leader of the House, II would be i'm
proper for me to take an active part
in organizing fight against the
Democratic President.
This, however, does not interfere
with my individual vote, and will not
prevent me from expressing my views
in the strongest language l can COM
mand when the issue comes before
the House.
1t was announced that Underwood
will require at least one hour to ex-
press his views agsins seurrender-
fnE control ofsfhe caYlaL 20 Englka4c.
IFrom STAR Correspondent.1
WASHINGTON, March 25.- while
there IS no outward change in the at
titude of the New Jersey congress
sional delegation on the Panama tolls
question there are indications that
some OF them would be only to glad 10
veer. They are hearing from home.
Each of the representatives spoken
to by the Star representative frankly
admitted that he had heard from
home and what Is more, he was hear
ing from home with each Incoming
mail.
Congressman Hamill the dean of
the delegation, whose heart Is known
to have been set upon free tolls, is
now ready to support the policy of the
administration in its efforts to obtain
the repeal of the free tolls law
enacted two years ago. Represen- /
tative Hamill has a large and mixed |
constituency, and he asserts that his |
mail, if he was to go by that alone, !
was about evenly divided between
those who want free tolls and those
who wish to see the exemption law
repealed. But the Jersey City re-
ports say that Hamill is being de- |
there for his even thinking of |
repeal.
Townsend Is Very Happy.
Representative Townsend was
those who voted against the
measure when it was brought up in |
the Taft administration. The present |
situation does not present the diff |
cult!es to him that it does to some |
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