The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-07
c. 0. p. SOLONS
FROM WEST ARE
RULING SENATE
Harding is Worried
About Lack of
Harmony.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Copyright. 1929

] Especial u Inc AEBuS.j
Washington. Oct 6.-The Solidar-
Ity of the Republican party hangs
in the balance Temporarily. at
least, the administration leaders
have achieved a truce This agri-
cultural bloc. as the group of west
ern Republicans are called, has
succeeded in making such d show
of insurgency as to alarm the east
erR leaders with the result that
peace overtures have been made by
the latter.
Senator Lodge, administration
leader, spent an hour with Pres
. ideut Harding Immediately after
the conference at the home of SEN
= ator Capper of Kansas, at which
: the agricultural senators, were pc
utloned to keep in mind the future e
: OF the Republican party. Mr..
Lodge appeared in the role of peace
maker and avoided committing
himself to any definite program but
carried word that Senator Jim
| Watson of Indiana, Senator Pen
: rose Of Pennsylvania and the other
administration Republicans, were
> willing to make concessions to
meet concessions to meet the Hest-
CA Ii SS16LOt Hall way
D Want R R. Tax Repeal.
! Just what price the eastern Re
< publicans will have to pay for
J. party solidarity has not yet devel-
}, oped. Some of the agricultural
bloc were of the opinion that sur
taxes on the higher incomes would
: have to be restored and that i'm
q mediate repeal of the transporta-
tion taxes would have to be agreed
to before there would be any break
| in their ranks. AS for a sales tax
{ or manufacturers tax, the agricul-
> tuTal senators made plain their un-
u u aiterable opposition Some of them
are more favorable to the manufac-
d turers' tax as proposed by Senator
I Smoot than any of the earlier plans
> for sales tax but the majority o.
3 the western Republicans will no
: accept even that form of taxation.
President Harding is plainl.
worried He has been conferrinl
D with individual senators in tht
hope of getting harmony. His ad
, ministration Spokesmen are work
ing night and day in an effort Il
prevent a break between the east
4 ern and western senator's. 1t lOokeC
for a time as if the agriculture
Republicans would form a Coali
tion with certain Democrats whit
il feel as they do and bring abou
the passage of amendments TO tht
house bill which would greatly EN-
barrass the Republican program.
Fear Bad Split
e Senator Watson appealed to hi
Il Republican colleagues from tn,
p west to thresh things out on on,
side of the aisle in the senate an
forego the humiliation of party di
Il vision on the first great issue o
% the Harding administration. Hi
l., appeals were needed, however. onl!
when he siglified a Willingness Il
Il surrender to the western Republi
II cans on some essential points.
~ The western Republicans indi
Gated that they were very much en-
y Couraged by the results of Senate
Il Capper's conference and the iufOr
NAL statements of administrator
IS leaders. Meanwhile the Democrat!
/ are playing their usual shreWd tao
: tics, AS a minority party they al
IS ways have managed to get alOns
IS better than as majority. Sen
ator Simmons of North Carolina
n Democrat, who knows a whole 10
le about taxation, is framing SOM
Is plausible tax amendments which !
i'd will be difficult IOr some Republi
le cans to vote against. All tn
a, troubles of tariff making in the ol,
o. days have been revived only wit
o. ever so many more complication
v and combinations.
B. Crisis Means Much.
ed The crisis means more to tn
Ia Republican party at this mOmel
e, than the Democrats for the fOrne
have the responsibility of powe
The fight between the Republican
representing agricultural state
and those coming from the POI
ulous eastern constituencies wkeT
big business and manufacturin
r enterprises reside is only in its il
p fancy The same lines of cleavag
IN are also apparent IN the contrC
versy over the railroad fundin
bill. The Westerners say freigh
tn rates must come down before the
will help the railroads. If Pres
ident Harding and Senator Lod g
can preserve the solidarity OF III
party, however. in the senate o
I'd lax issues they ~ill H@'e @sShiSt 9 =
. q great moral victory and thei
:, prospects of getting the railroai
III bill through VIII be corresponding g
lie il brighter But 1t looks 10 tay "a,
i if the agricultural Republican
1r were converting the easterners t
their viewpoint and that the tru
ID adership OF the Republican part.
s is coming out of the west eye
/. though the titular leadership ma.
70 be vested in the eastern group.