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Show SENATOR HITCHCOCK INSISTENT. Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska withdrew from tho Democratic caucus on tho tariff bill for the reason that he did not wish to bo bound or prevented pre-vented in his purpose of insisting upon his amendment for the progressive tax upo.n the production and manufacture of tobacco. Ho anticipatd, as will doubtless be the programme, a resolution resolu-tion that will bo adopted by the caucus, cau-cus, obligating all Democrats that attend at-tend the caucus deliberations, to support sup-port the results arrived at therein. Thus, if Sonator Hitchcock remained in tho caucus and that binding resolution resolu-tion wore adopted while he was there, he would be bound by it, and would be shut off from proposing his amendment amend-ment in the open Senate. That amendment has a curious history. his-tory. Senator Hitchcock offered it in the Finance Committee, with the statement state-ment that it was an administration measure. Pressed for an answer as to whetocr President 'Wilson was demanding de-manding that amendment, Senator Hitchcock was obliged to say that his information that it was au administrative administra-tive measure .was derived from Attorney-General McBeynolds. It will be remeiubored that the Attorney-General was so discontented with the result of the unmorging of the tobacco combine in pursuance of tho judgment of the U. S. Supreme Court, that he threatened threat-ened to reopen the whole case. But President Wilson, it appears, refused to support him in this, and then he switched off on to this proposed cumulative cumu-lative tax in order to get at the tobacco to-bacco people through the Congressional enactment of this tax. Inquiry at the While House led the Democratic Senators Sena-tors of the "Finance Committee to the conclusion that President Wilson -was not only not in favor of such a tax, but was opposed to it. It was an impracticable im-practicable proposition all through, apparently ap-parently merely a vindictive proposition proposi-tion on the part of Attorney-General McBeynolds. The sensational withdrawal of Senator Sena-tor Hitchcock from the caucus, called especial and powerful attention to this evidently misleading attitude of Attorney-General McBeynolds with respect to the proposition which he induced Senator Hitchcock to urge upon the Senate Finance Committee. Attorney-General Attorney-General McBeynolds appears, as a matter mat-ter of fact, to be a good deal of a misfit in his Cabinet position. Unless Senator Hitchcock is badly at fault, McBeynolds deceived him altogether as to tho attitude of the administration administra-tion toward this proposed tobacco tax. Besides this, and to say nothing of the California "white slave" cases, it is alleged that the Attorney-General recently re-cently sent a railroad lawyer to a leading Southern Representative, with the view of bringing about legislation to abolish tho Commerce Court, alleging alleg-ing here, ncain, that he was representing represent-ing the administration in this request. And so Attorney-Gen era I McReyuoIds is discrediting hiinscf rapjdy at Washington, Wash-ington, and it is not surprising that the Washington correspondents are predicting- his retirement, from the Cabinet at no late day. But with regard to the Hitchcock withdrawal from the Democratic caucus, cau-cus, he himself explains that the withdrawal with-drawal was not with the purpose of deserting de-serting his party, or even of opposing it on the main features of the pending tariff bill On the contrary, ho expects ex-pects to stand by tho caucus action except ex-cept only on its vote defeating his pro posed tobacco tax amendment, on i which it is difficult to see what Mr. Hitchcock can count on for support. Tho incidont In really nothing against Senator Hitchcock, but it brings into high relief tho meddlesome misrepresentations misrepre-sentations of Attorney-General McBeynolds. |