Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-28

always been customary to select members
of the committee of finance.
Mr.. ingalls, declared that ne had no in
tention to offer any affront either to the
presiding officer or the senator from Yer
mont, (Mr. Morrill), but it was a matter OF
great importance to know into whose
hands the bill was to go, if conference
should be agreed to-; and as the selection
had been made and names were soon to be
announced, to say that this was a confden-
tial communication between senators was
a laughable travesty.
The President-The paper was handed
to the chair by senator, and the chair
! handed it back have not got any paper.
Laughter.
Mr. Voorhees, criticized the action of the
house, asking a conference without naming
its own conferrees.
Mr.. Edmunds said the house conferrees,
when appointed, would represent only the
house, and that nobody else need take any
trouble about their selection.
Mr.. Morgan insisted upon his point that
this question was not privileged SO as to be
entitled to immediate consideration.
The president said the practice had al
ways been to consider messages asking q
conference Immediately upon receiving
them, and overruled the point of order.
Mr. Morgan said he would uot appeal
from the decision because he supposed the
rules of the senate were to be interpreted
entirely for the accommodation of the ma
jority, without reference to the minority.
The action Of the senate on this tariff bill
had been peculiar from the beginning.
The senate, after a great deal of labor
passed a bill affecting every interest in the
country and had sent it to the house, and
the house had instantly rejected it.
Everybody knew this rejection was
not the result of consideration by
the house. Everybody knew the bill could
not even have been read in the house; and
now it was proposed to put the taxing
power of the government into the hands
of manufacturers and let them make the
tariff law. A conference would doubtless
be agreed to, and whatever change was
made in the bill, would, of course, be ad-
verse to the greatest interests in the
country-that of the agriculturists, who
paid taxes and supplied the treasury, yet
men calling themselves Democrats, |
would be found voting for it,
whatever shape it might take. This would |
be memorable as the first law that eyer
got upon the statute book without having
been at least read in both houses of con-
gress and the people would have the right |
to hold those who were responsible for it
to reckoning, which would have its effect |
in the senate for half century.
Several senators insisted on knowing |
the name of the conferrees and what the |
programme would be.
The president announced that the chair |
did not know.
Mr.. Voorhees, said there was an air of |
jugglery about this bill, about this bust
ness which was not creditable to those |
concerned, and why there should be such
an assumption of mystery he did not know.
He was a member of the committee on
nance, yet he had to sit and hear gentle
nen not connected with the committee
their possession of knowledge
which he had not, in relation to the com
nittee on conference. He thought, however,
le could guess pretty well who the mem
'ers of the committee would be, because
le knew who they ought to be, and he
lamod Morrill,, Sherman and Aldrich on
he Republican and Bayard and Beck on
he Democratic side.
The senate having voted to insist on
is action, and to agree to conference,
he conferrees to be appointed by the chair,
he president named Messrs. Morrill,,
sherman, Aldrich, Bayard and Beck
MIR. Beck at first declined to serve, on
he ground that he was fully occupied as a
member of subcommittee of the COM
nittee on appropriations on the
undry civil bill and if that bill
hould fail an extra session would
re necessary; but after Messrs.
Toorhees, Harris and Morrill, had
insisted upon his serving as
member of the conference committee
g agreed to do so.
The senate held brief executive session
nd adjourned.