Norwich bulletin., 1921-02-02
Opponents Talking Down Fordney Bi||
The Fate of the Tariff Bill at This Session of the Senate Probably Will Be Decided Today.

Washington, Feb. With Senator McCumber, republican, North Dakota. as it's only consistent defender in the debate, the Fordney emergency tariff bill went l through another series of hard knocks in the senate today, opponents of the measure accepting every opIcrtunity to attack 1t.
 | Whether the bill will be side-tracked or consideration continued under limita- | tion Of debate will be decided tomorrow when the Penrose resolution for c.otu:e comes to vote. The most ardent sup
 porters of cloture and of the bill admit
 ted, tonight that defeat of the resJlu-
 tion to limit future speeches on the bill
 was inevitable.
 Prospects of cloture, however caused
 a deluge of amendments, especially after
 Vice President Marshall had ruled that
 all amendments must be submitted and
 read before the vote on cloture, set for
 ne clck Every senator who wanted
 changes in the bill therefore began load ing il down and demanding that they be
 read.
 Then. there was the declaration by
 Senator Townsend, republican, Michigan,
 that he proposed to call up the post of-
 flee appropriation bill for consideration
 immediately after the cloture vote. He
 criticised the senate for wasting time
 When important legislation was pending
 and challenged opponents of the Fordney measure to continue filibustering against Legitimate legislation and take the con- sequences.'
 Mir. Townsend's statement preci7itated } heated debate in which half a score oi : senators participated. It was the first day in which the bill actually was to the fore in all discussion and it's enemies 9 picked flaws in every item. Aitnougf ) Senator Thomas, democrat Colorado, de
 livered a lengthy speech against it, the full force Cf the attack developed after Q ward and continued until the senate re l cessed.
 Senator Harrison, democrat, Mississip pi, entered the fray and answered tn, Townsend challenge with the accusation 5 that the republican leadership was at
 tempting "gag and ham-sring the mi
 nority" and throw the burdens Of the bil
 on the people without a full and ire E discussion" He said the republicans
 with the exception of Mir. McCumber e had not spoken word in behalf of tn e bill and that the North Dakota senate $ had discussed only the wheat rates '- State statisticians also got into tn l. discussion. senators Simmons of Mort Carolina and Wash of Massachusett $ both democrats, producing fl igures t u show the effect of the bill on living cos, r if it became a law. MT. Walsh base
 his calculations on the population C d his state and declared passage of tn F. measure meant an. addition tax Of s5 es per family. of apprsximately SS5. 900 co = on the peo2le of Massaehusetts.s -duTfn :. the measure life of ten months. H ~ said it would add approximately s1.16 { the budget of each family of six fc a every week. The items he mentione A. on which ahe cost would be increased il 70 cluded. WhGnt, beans, sugar, meat, bu se ter, milk, cheese, rice, potatoes an
 onions
 n- Senator Simmons presented figures % show that the nation would be taxed ,h something like $500, DO. 900 by the ra .s of 40 cents a bushel on wheat in u nd ten months period. He said noboc lis could estimate what it would cosl u IS. entire nation on all of the eighteen iten al protected by the original measure. b CT made the guess that it would be high l." than S1,OO0, 1000, 900.
 ut Senator Harrison charged that SUI so porters of the bill were mot looking na the side of the picture showing the 1 on creased living costs" and declared tn st. resentment and retaliation from Cana lie and South American countries wou en follow enactment of the bill. it. Prior to Mir. Townsend's admonit;cn lc- his republican colleagues to permit t ire senate ito get some business done.'' del .rd ocrats planning to -upp1rt the hill we ys' likewise charged by Senator Thom m- with inidelity to party policiesi in fave ey inr +ha measure Mir Thomas i
 clared those senators had deserted {
 cardinal principles of the demecra
 party at time when 1t was at its To ES est ebb in history" He asked whett
 these senators desired to have the pa ne ty commit suicide"