Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-03-23
CONGRESSIONAL.
Tnrln nebate in the Senate.
Tea and Coffee on the Free List.
SENATE.
Mormon Wives.

ladies state that a large majority of the
| signers have been residents of Utah and
members of the Mormon Church for many
years; that numbers of them had personal
and very bitter experience of the practical
workings of polygamy, and that they have
/ every reason to believe that their wrongs
would be continued and greatly intensified
! by the admission of Utah into the Union
and consequent accession Of power to the
| Mormon priesthood. The papers were Or
dered printed.
Mr.. Caldwell, from the Committee on
Private Land Claims, reported bill ex-
! tending for three years the act for the final
adjustment of land claims in Louisiana,
| Florida and Missouri.
Mr.. Logan called up the bill to enable
discharged soldiers and sailors or their
widows to acquire homesteads on the pub
lie land.
At the expiration Of the morning hour
the tariff bill came up, but Mr.. Window
asked it TO be laid aside so'that this bill
could pass.
Mr.. Logan said 400 soldiers petitioned its
passage.
Mr.. Sherman objected.
On call of yeas and noes u voted to
| lay the tariff bill aside to 10 against.
Messrs. Logan, Window and Stewart
then advocated the soldiers homestead bill,
and it passed.
! The tariff bill was then taken up, Mr..
Corbett having the floor.
Mr.. Corbett criticised the bill as making
too great reduction in duties, and tending
| to produce stagnatiOn of trade, and argued
that as the premium on gold went down,
| the necessity for high protective duties in
creased.
Mr.. Morton said that while prohibitOry
! tariff was an obsolete idea, free trade was
! out of the question and the doctrine gene
rally accepted by the American people at
! this time seemed to be a tariff for revenue
| so adjusted as to discriminate in favor of
! American industry. On this tariff question
| political parties were divided and portion
! Of the Democrats seemed to be opposed to
/ a reduction of duties on articles in the pro-
/ duction of which their particular States
were interested and in favor Of liberal re-
duction on all other articles.
! Mr.. Hamilton, of Indiana, said the
/ Democrats were i'll favor of reducing the
duties on all articles.
Mr.. Morton read from the Democratic
platform of 1868 on the question of tariff,
and said he understood there was to be a
new party formed in that
Political MOrgue
which had been opened in Cincinnati for the
/ receptions of bodies, which bodies he thought
would not be recognized after the meeting
/ by their best friends. That movement had
! started on a free trade ssis, but it was
/ feared that it would not work well; so it
was decided that it should be neutral on the
] FTl,o NovsH ho cold q
! question of labor and wages more than
| anything else. Wages in England
were about seven tWelftbs
of American wages and in Germany and
Belgium were only one-third as much as in
the United States, and with such disparity
in wages it was idle TO suppose that our in
dustries could thrive without protection.
There was an impression abroad that
American manufacturers were making
enormous profits. He believed this to be
erroneous and he asked Anthony to state
his opinion as to the average profit of man
UfaltUring in Rhode Island during the last
Eve gears.
~ -a~-s a-as, 49, s--e z---'- -,at
be more than eight per cent
Mr. Morton asked Nr. MOrr1l, Of Yer
mont, his opinion On the subject.
Mr.. Morrill, said that during the war
some New England manufacturers had
made large. profits chiefly by the great rise
in the value Of raw material they had on
hand at the beginning; but that their profits
on the average didn't exceed eight per cent.
Mr.. Morton asked Mr.. Scott to state the
average profits of the iron manufacturers of
Pennsylvania.
Mr.. Scott could not state the average
throughout the State. He said that in his
region, the Juniata iron region, very few Of
those who had established manufactures
had been able to maintain themselves
through the period Of depression that came
on the trade.
Mr.. Morton said further, that while he
was in favor Of tariff which would protect
American industry, he did not favor pro-
hibitOry tariff but one which would
produce a healthy competition between
American and foreign producers. The
tariff could never be regarded as settled. II
must be adjusted from time to time. Pass
ing to details he said he was in favor OF
placing tea, coffee and coal on the free list
and reducing The duty on salt and textile
fabrics.
Mr.. Morrill,, Of Vermont, thought we
could not afford to make
Tea and Coffee Free
vet, but favored a reduction of the duty.
The question was taken on Mr.. Scott's
amendment, putting tea and coffee on the
free list, and it was agreed to. Among the
nays we notice Senators Blair, Schurz
Sumner and TrUmbull.
Mr.. Morrill,, of Vermont, moved to
strike out the second section of the bill re-
ducing the duties ten per cent. on cOttons
woolens, silks, iron, steel, and other metals,
eathen ware and glassware, leather rubber,
cloth, etc.
Mr.. Sherman favored the motion, and
said that if Morrill, had anticipated him he
would have moved on behalf of the COM
mittee to strike out the second section, and
also to retain the duty on rice and other
articles. He argued that the question OF
repeating the duties on tea and cstfee was
now settled, and advised the business men
of the country to make their arrangements
accordingly; but putting those articles on
the free list would strike off over So ,00O,-
5000 of revenue and no further material re-
duction of the tariff could be made unless
we were to retain our internal revenue
taxes or stop all payments on the principal
of the national debt.
Mr.. TrumbUll argued that the second
section ought to be retained because the
articles embraced in it were largely used by
the masses and were, in fact, necessaries
of life.
The Senate without voting on the pend
ing motion adjourned to Monday.
HOUSE.
A memorial was presented from the Ma
I g,CU 10