New-York tribune., 1884-01-28
THE DEMOCRATIC DILEMMA.
PUZZLED WHAT TO DO WITH THE TARIFF.
prNoRs OF WHAT CHAIRMAN MORRISON AND A. G.
HEWITT pRoposE-MR. RANDALL's ATTITUDE OF
,nr TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUNE.l

VI
HEWITT PRoposE-MR. RANDALLs ATTITUDE OF
OPPOSITION.
iBr TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUNE.i
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27.--Aceording TO the Repub-
Ncan members of the Ways and Means Committee
the subject of tariff legislation has not been
broached in any meeting of the committee since 1t
was organized nor have they received any intlnla-
.;on from Chairman Morrison or other Democratic
members of the committee as to what are the pur-
noses Of the majority. They have heard several
runors but nothing definite.
One rumor is that Colonel Morrison has con-
cluded to present bill providing for " horl-
gontal" reduction of duties on artlcieS
;ncuded in number of schedules of the Tariff Law
and for the transfer to the free list of several i'm
portant articles upon which duties are now imposed
The Republicans understand that the chairman will
aim at an average reduction of about 20 per cent,
taking the entire dutiable list into consideration
As they do not expect he will propose reduction
ON wines and liauors tobacco, silk and silk goods
and some other schedules they believe that ON some
of them--say cotton goods, metals and woollen
Voods-the reduction proposed will exceed 70 per
cent. Among the articles which they believe he
will ask to have placed the free list are salt,
lumber and iron ore.
WHAT MIR. HEWITT is SAID TO DE DOING.
Another rumor is that Abram L. Hewttisengagcd
IN the nreparatlon of an itemzed BILL based on the
ideas set forth in his recent letter on the SUBJECT
Mr. Hewitt saws that he is investigating the matter,
but is not ready to state what he will propose 10 do'
That the majority of the committee VIII propose
some kind of q bill, and report 1t to the
House, there is reason to doubt. The free-trade
Democrats are sure it will be done and that the
measure viii be satisfactory to them, that they are
willing TO wait patiently for the expected move
ients of Chairman Morrison and his colleagues
whom they believe to be quite as earnest ana serl-
Gus as they themselves are. Meantime Chalr-
man Randall of the Appropriations COMMITTEE,
seems patient and complacent as well as deliberate
in his movements He was asked yesterday when
the House might expect some of the appropriation
bills.
"I guess some of them will be reported next week
or the week after and then they will come along
pretty steadily" he replied. In response to re-
mark that three tariff bills will probably be pro-
posed TO the Ways and Means Committee he said {:
''Well, there is lack in odd numbers. Three ought
10 be better than two"
MR. RANDALI's DECLARATION.
In another conversation he is reported as saying:
al stand now upon the same platform that stood
during the contest for the Speakership.
That was a contest of principle and not of
individuals and am moro convinced now than
ever that the attitude then presented ON the tarf
question is the true one for the Democratic party
10 take. We have seen enough already to show
that the people of the country want the tariif
question to be let alone and have determined as
far as am concerned to do all in my power to that
end am sorry that this issue has been force
upon the party at this time, but those who mace
the issue must shoulder the responsibility. have
not inquired to the purposes of those who
advocate what they call tariff REFORM but am told
4b1 nj will "a
the sole purpose in view. believe that, while the
object of customs duties as that Of any other sys
tenn of taxation. Is undoubtedly revenue, rates
should be so fixed as to afford protection to our
manufactures and the labor of our own people.
Because by Over-productiOn another country has
been forced to fix prices at minimum
rate at the expense of labor, l do not
believe in applying such a policy to our
own laboring classes. / am now speaking formySelf
only, but believe that there are many Democrats
who entertain the same opinions"
MR. RANDALL's PROBABLE PURPOSE.
Some Congressmen, Democrats well as Repub-
licans. believe that Mr.. Randals purpose is TO hold
hack the appropriation bills long possible, and
then to bring them in, after another and press
their consideration, to the exclusion of all other
business including any general legislation affecting
the tariff which may be proposed by the Ways and
Means Committee. If such be the programme Mr..
Randall has laid down, he expects that
10y the time the appropriation bills
have been disposed of, it will be too late for the
House to undertake to discuss and pass tariff bill
at this session Some color is given to is theory
of Mr. Randalls purposes by the apparent lnaction
of the Appropriations Committee None of the bills
has been completed by subcommittee aud prob
ably the first one will not reach the House until
after February |.
At the first session Of the XLIVth Congress,
when Mr. Randall was Chairman of the ApprOpra-
tons Committee, two OF the regular appropriation
bills were reported early as January IL,
and two others before February /. That
session of Congress lasted until the middle OF
August, but II not account of the apprOpTia-
tiOn bills. Four years ago three of the regular ap-
preparation bills were brought into the House in
december and two in January and, another was re-
ported on February 3. During the con est for the
Speakership Mr. Randall declared himself TO be in
favor of a short sessiOn-One to end by May /, II
practicable. Ii he still adheres to that policy it is
pretty easy TO see that he will fnd little difficulty
in keeping the House fully occupied with the APP
preparation bills during the remainder of the period
that there will bo little no chance for taTlf egis-
latiOn.
PTOcTastinatiOn cannot govern much longer, and
within the next ten days the leaders of the Oppos-
ing factions of the majority in the House must dis
close their policy and purposes.