AMERICAN TARIFF.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1212, 22 August 1911, Page 5

AMERICAN TARIFF.

FREE LIST BILL DEFEATED. By Teleiraph—Press Association—Copyrteht Washington, August 20. Tho United States House of Representatives failed to pass the Farmers' Frca List Bill with the necessary majority to •' over-rulo tho Presidential veto. Mr. 0. James, a Kentucky Democrat, denounced President laft's action as a bold and flagrant defiance of the will of the American people. He declared that tho veto was based on the fact that the Tariff board had had no opportunity to report on tho schedules affected by the free list. MR. TAFT AND CONGRESS. Since President Tuft has laid a relentless hand upon Congress and compelled it to deal with the Canadian Bill, it can be no less than appropriate (wrote tho "Review of Reviews") that Congress should pass up to him a series of Bills mising Payne-Aldrieh schedules, and giving him the responsibility cither of approving them or of vetoing them. He had no possible chance to get his reciprocity measure, except as it became the Underwood Bill, bearing the name of the Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Since Mr. Underwood and his friends have given tbe'Prerident his reciprocity, might they not fairly expect- that the President in turn would help them to have th-eir wood Bill and their cotton Bill, and also their free list Bill, brought to a successful enactment? There is the more reason for taking this view of it, bs-cause it was well known two years ago that Mr. Taft strongly desired the revision of these textile schedules. By a stroke of his hand, Mr. Taft could easily qualify as the logical candidate of the Democratic party for the Presidential nomination nest year. He has not been in any sense, on any subject, a partisan President—his original Cabinet containing sevtTal Democrats; and he has worked more efficiently and harmoniously with the Democratic party in Congress than he has at any time with the Republicans. All of which goes to showthat when practical emergencies arise jour parties have become rather a 'nominal affair and do not seem to stand out very clearly for contrasting programmes. Perhaps ive are approaching a period of party reorganisation—or perhaps partisanship is outgrown. .