Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-05-18
Still Grinding g Tariff.
A Days Grist of Speeches or
 the Mills Bill.
MANY OPINIONS EXPRESSED.
Congressman Cox says the Surplus. Is as Bad e . Powder Mm in Tophet-Mr. Mason Makes Charges Against the Com mittee-Other Speeches.

Mason Makes Charges Against the Com
 mittee-Other Speeches.
 WASHINGTON, May 1s-The house resumed consideration of the tariff bill yesterday.
 Mir. Peters, of Kansas, argued that if pro- tective tariff was robbery, then the Mills bill only sectionalized that robbery. If protec- tion were robbery, and the Democratic party was not in favor of free trade, every Demo- crat who supported protection was robber, and if the Mills bill was not free trade measure, every Democratic member of the ways and means committee was a robber.
 MT. Anderson. of Illinois, opposed the pro tective system for having enriched a chosen few, and for having accumulated a danger ous surplus in the treasury. He denied that a return to a revenue basis would reduce wages, or that the protective system had built up the manufacturing industries of Illinois
 MT. Breckinridge, of Arkansas, eulogized the presidents message, and said it had met with great popular favor. It was the mo nopoly strata solely of the tariff that the bill sought to make @ cut at.
 MT. Breckenridge contended that none of the industries of the country affected by the measure would be crippled. He denied that the free wool proposition was sectional, be- eAA0 south than of the states that were clamoring against that feature of the bill.
 MT. Stewart, of Vermont, opposed the bill and said that the free wool clause was not asked for or wanted by the wool grower, the wool manufacturer or workingman. The only persons who wanted it were the repre- sentatives on this floor of the traditions of an- other age, and of the British manufacturer.
 MT. Cox, of New York, put in good word for his committee on the census by referring to the frequency with which the reports of the last census had been drawn upon for infor- nation during this debate. On the first day of the session he had said that be believed the tariff to be a business question, and it should be so considered, and kept aloof from per sonalities and parties.
 MT. Cox was willing to reduce taxation in almost any way. He would do almost any thing to get rid of the surplus, which menaced and paralyzed the industries of the country. Governor Allen, of Ohio, once said that a surplus was the worst thing government could have, and that it was we'll to run 8 powder mill in hell as an honest government with plethoric treasury.
 MT. Cox opposed extravagance as a mean: of getting rid of the surplus, and taxes should be raised on principle of equality. The pro tectionists argued that the United States had
  tion brought high wages. As we'll say tha England had the house of lords and lov 1 wages, therefore the house of lords made low wages; the United States had tramps an, high wages, therefore the tramps made higl wages; Ireland had no snakes ard no wages therefore snakes made high wages Tn truth was that wages were utterly irrelevan to discussion of the tariff.
 In concluding, MT. Cox made a plea fo commercial liberty; to give our men tn, right to the earnings of their own labor, ans not take from one class to give to another. MT. Mason, of Illinois, said he represented district in favor of tariff reform and party pledged to reform inequalities of tn, tariff; but knowing that the Mills bill was il the hands of the free trade Democracy, h looked with suspicion upon their efforts to re form the tariff.
 | Criticising the Mills bill, he said it wa framed ill the interests of trusts and syndi cates, especially of the sugar trusts Presi l dent Cleveland was the most popular Ameri can in England to-day, for he advocated tn passage of laws in the interest of ever, nation under the sun but our own.
 MT. Mason declared himself opposed to fire whisky. Whisky was not only @ paupe breeder, but a multiplier of Democrats. At tacking the committee on ways and means he said he believed that an agent of the Eng lsh manufacturers had been in consultation with the committee, and had been influentia in preparing some parts of the Mills bill H accused the committee of attempting to fram the bill in every particular in the interest o the south, and wholly regardless of the inter ests of the north, east and west
 MT. Herman, of Oregon, opposed the bill urged the necessity for sea coast defenses an suggested that much of the surplus migh proftably be used for that purpose.