St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-21
The House of REPRESENTATIVES.

| the sitting member was heard in his own behalf
| At the conclusion of his speech, and after a
| further debate, resolution declaring Garrison
| entitled to the seat was unanimously adopted
/ and that gentleman appeared and took the oath
| of office.
| On motion of Mr. Keifer the conference report
on the military academy appropriation bill was
taken up, and agreed to. The bill as passed, ap-
| propriates S314,516.
Mr.. Ryan asked consent to refer the senate
bill for the eradication of the foot and mouth
| disease to the committe on agriculture, with
| leave to report at any time.
Mr.. Mills objected to the latter part of the re-
| quest, and the bill must take the usual
! course.
| The morning hour was dispensed with, and the
| house, without opposition, went into committee
of the whole, Mr.. Dorsheimer in the chair, on
the bonded extension bill. Its features were ex-
| planned by Mr. Willis, who declared that fail
ure to pass the bill meant bankruptcy and ruin to
many of the most important and influential firms
| in Kentucky and throughout the west 1t meant
| bankruptcy and ruin, not only to the manufac-
turers but to the innocent holders of whisky. 1t
meant bankruptcy and ruin to many leading
banking interests in the west AS a result of the
taxation, the whisky interest had been obliged to
come to the last congress and ask relief and the
| committee ways and means had unanimously
reported back the bill for unlimited extension
| Mr.. Randall called the gentlemans attention
to the fact, that although there has been no mi
nority report the bill had not been favored by all
! the members of the committee, any more than
that all the members of the present committee
were in favor of the pending bill, although there
| was no minority report. He had been absent
during the vote, and therefore had not recorded
on either side, but the gentleman had no right to
| assume, because he had been member of the
| ways and means committee, he had been in favor
| of the bill.
Mr. Willis rpnpatad his StatamnOt hat tha paO
tleman was a member of the committee at the
last congress, and that the committee had re-
ported the bill snd there was no minority report
Mr.. Randall-''Just as there is none now.''
| Mr.. Willis denied any intention of making a
| personal attack upon the gentleman from Penn
sylvania. He had merely stated facts. The bill
was passed under suspension of the rules, with
only twenty mine votes recorded in the negative
Mr.. Willis then reviewed the course
| of the bill in the last con-
gress, and declared, though Secretary Folger
had objected to it, he had done so simply because
| the extension was unlimited. This was not
special legislation it was an effort to remove the
only special legislation which disgraced the stat
ule books of the country. Distilled spirits were
the only victims of special legislation in the land,
| Alcohol was the only taxable article that, under
the law, was compelled to pay tax before it
| reached its consumer. In the last thirty days,
the prices of whisky had shrunk five cents per
SdiIOn rTOH uHduoldl stduu point, ne asked
the members toSiCok around them and see the
condition of the country, there had been a
shrnkage in grain and stocks in the last few years
| amounting to billion dollars. There has been a
shrnkage of 0000 009 in the value of this ware
| house property. England, one of the great pur-
chasers of American grain, had, during the last
| year, supplied herself from India with one-third
of all the grain she needed, and it was predicted.
| that in less than three years, she would be
| independent of the United States What
would become of the hundreds of millions of
| bushels of grain raised in this country which
was now consumed in England? If this bill
failed, and if the distieries were closed and the
demand cut down, the time would come again,
when the farmers would bnrn their corn for fuel
| in the western states. AS plain, economic
| question, recommended by the secretary of the
| treasury and the commissioner Of internal reve-
nue., he asked the house to pass the bill He
was going on to show the amount of tax derived
from whisky, when he was interrupted by Mr..
Milliken, with the question, How much taxes
| whisky had made2
| Mr. Willis replied, that question had no con-
nection with the pending bill, but it gave him an
opportunity TO say, that IN. eh opposition to the
! bill came from men who wanted to make whisky
free. He stood here for dear whisky.
| Mr.. Blount said, though member of the COM
mtttee on ways and means, he had refrained
| from bringing in minority report, preferring to
state his objections to the bill in the open house
| The house was asked to extend the time for the
payment of the tax ON 20, 100000 gallons of whis-
ky, the sum involved amounting to S66, 900, 600.
The present depression in the whisky interest
resulted from over production. But over produc-
ton was not peculiar to that industry. He ex-
pressed his sympathy for the troubles of the dis
tillers, but opposed the bill principle of public
policy, regarding it as proposition to lend them
sixty-six millions. If the government did not
need this tax for public purposes, it had no right
to collect it. The tariff was a war tariff, and
| should be reduced. The government had no right
to continue it, in order to lend money to anybody
in distress. He did not believe this bill was go
| ing to remedy the evil with which the distillers
were afflicted On the contrary, he believed the
extension would only aggravate the evil and that
the proposition was not in the interest of public
policy. The allegation that the legis-
lation of the country had been hostile to the dis
tillers would not bear examination. There was q
growing disposition to repeal the internal reve-
nue. taxes. While we do not concur in it entire
| ly, the time not far distant when the country
would be in a condition to repeal those taxes
| Suppose that in 1887 they were repealed. By
| that time the taxes on the bonded whisky if the
| bill passed, would amount to two hundred mil
| lions, and congress would be asked to grant q
| rebate of those taxes. 1t would be argued, that
as the internal revenue tax law kad been repeal
ed to compel the payment Of these taxes, it would
| be absolute confscation.
Mr. Reese regarded the bill as the worst spe-
| cies of bad legislation he had ever known pre-
sented to the American congress- The owners
of whisky were more entitled to relief than any
other class of spectators, and the measure was
wrong in principle and dangerous as a precedent,
He was in favor of the repeal of the whole inter.
nal revenue system, not, ON the idea that it would
enable protectionists to get higher duty but be-
| cause he did not believe that there was any au-
thority for it, except in time of war.
Mr. Cox, of New York, delivered an elaborate
| speech on the general subject of the tariff and
| the revenue laws. He supported the Morrison
| bill, and said the conservative opinion of the
! country demanded reduction in the present
tariff He admitted there was some division in
| the party on the question, but he trusted they
would be reconciled, and he believed the party
would be harmonious on the tariff. He explained
| his motion to adjourn, which was interjected to
| keep out the ''woof, bill, and was not on ac-
count of cowardce, but to prevent duelo be-
| tween the two Ohio statesmen as to what duty
| should be imposed.
Mr.. Brodhead brought the debate back to the
bill under discussion with short speech in sup
| port of the bill, which he favored on business
principles. There was in the treasury, withdrawn
from circulation,a surplus of S250000, ,O00 and he
did not think the currency should be further con-
tracted by the addition to that surplus of the
revenue derived from 45,000,00O gallons of
whisky. The bill was just, fair and right one,
and failure to pass it would cause great distress.
Mr.. Belford favored the bill and Herbert op-
posed it. Pending action, the committee rose.
As tomorrow is private bill day, and it will re-
quire two-thirds vote to take up the bonded ex-
tension bill it is not probable its consideration
will be resumed before Saturday.
The speaker laid before the house communi-
cation from the secretary of war, transmitting
an estimate of $4,000 for pedestal of the statue
of General Garfield, to be erected in Washing
&0nh h, - H. TONf1. -
Adjourned.
The Sharon Divorce Case.
SAN Francisco, March 20.-In the Sharon
divorce case to-day, Miss Hill, the plaintiff,
| resumed. She denied she instructed Nelson,
her attorney, to have Sharon arrested TO,
| adultery He did 1t ON his own rnsnonsi