Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-08
Fiftieth Congress--First Session
WASHINGTON. Feb. 2.

1 Presidents message. He had shown yester- 1 day, he said, that the Presidents message
 meant the absolute and final destruction of | the protective system, that he meant practl- | cal and absolute free trade; and that it could result in nothing else than the downfall ot the protective system of the country. He could not but assume that the Democratic party intended to follow the recommenda- tions of it's commander-in-chief. There had been, indeed, some straws that looked as It there might be some question about that, as l if there would be an attempt at some compro- mise, as if there would be studied effort on the part of the Democratic party to do noth- ing at this session in the line of the Prss1- dents recommendations and then to go once more to the country on the Presidents free trade message as it's platform. But he could not assume that the Democratic party and the Democratic leaders in Congress really ln- tended that course of action. He admitted the necessity of some reduction of the into an, abandonment of the protective system by the Presidents "raw head and bloody pones'' figures. As to the
 surplus in the treasury, he denied that there was any necessity for such an accumulation. The question of a reduction of taxation had very little to do with relieving the treasury of what the President called it's "cengested
 condition. The great talk about the surplus
 ceuld be for no other purpose, it appeared to him, than to hold out an inducement to break
 down the protective system. Why had the accumulation in the treasury been permitted?
 Why had taxation been reduceds Why mad not the Democratic party in power in the House of Representatives (where revenue
 bills had to originate) not sent to the Senate some bill looking to the reduction of taxa.
 tion! That party stood pledged by it's plat form and by the professions of it's leaders on
 every stump to take steps immediately on
 it's accession to power for the reduction of the
 surplus. The Senate had waited now nearly three years for 0 reduction of taxation to come from the House and had wondered
 why it's coming was so long delayed. Eight
 long weeks had passed since Congress had
 treasury and no heed had yet been reported
 in the House looking to reduction of the
 surplus. This was not Republican admin istration, and if money had been allowed to
 accumulate in the treasury and no effort made for it's reduction the fault was that of the party in power. What reason could be given for that delay in the past9 What req
 son could be given for the delay to day if it were not that the accumulation in the treas ury was being used, and deliberately used,
 to force Congress into destruction of the
 protective system in the ceuntrya Why did
 refuse appropriations for the needs
 of the government. Why refuse
 payment of the governments just
 obligations; why constantly resist necessary
 expenditures; why pass no bill for forti6ca-
 tions, none for coast defences and none Qast
 year, for the improvement of rivers and
 harbors? Why, unless there had been de-
 sire to hold up the surplus as menace to the
 business interests of the country. But was
 there no proper employment for the surplus?
 In three years, on the first of January, 1891, government bonds to the amount of $332 ,000,-
 900 will fall due and the four per cent bonds
 will fall due in 1907. Why not try to pay hat daht in odv Ionf ho1
 cast doubt upon the existence of any author
 ity for the treasury to buy up bonds because
 the authority was contained in an appropria-
 tion bill. But the President seemed to for
 get that his own authority for drawing
 salary of $50, 900 year instead of $25, ,0Oe was also an appropriation bill, the legislative bill of 1873. It seemed to make a diff ference "whose OK was gored".
 Whether the President wanted to do thing or wanted not to do it. If the mysterious agents fitting between New York importers and the White House and committee room of the House of Representatives had turned their attention to negotiations between the government and the bondholders there would have been no difficulty in arriving at some arrangement by which the debt would have been anticipated and the treasury re- lievad of it's accumulation. There was no force in the objection made by the President that there would be combination of bond
 holders to put up the price of bonds.
 MT. Plumb called attention to the fact that when the Secretary of the Treasury was pur- chasing bonds recently he had himself fixed the price.
 MT. Platt coincided in that remark and added that "what man has done man can do."
 MT. Plumb also suggested that the price of those bonds had been at all times since lower. Mr. Platt went on to argue that there was no need of s1o0, 0,000,0 900 reduction of revenue and that such reduction could not be made with wise regard to the national finances. He asked why the reduction should not be made by the abolition or reduction of inter nal revenue. It was because the protective system would then be left in force. Internal revenue taxation was a taxation on American products, tobacco and corn, and it was tax that operated uueaually. And yet the Presi- dent said that nobody objected to it. The repeal of the tax on tobacco would reduce the revenue by $10,000,000. The repeal of the tax on alcohol used in the arts (even if con fined to that) would reduce it by $10, ,000, ,000 more. If more reduction was needed why not abolish the tax on sugar or reduce l it by twenty-five per cent, which would be equivalent to $15,OO0, 900, or why not take half the tax off tobacco and whiskey. which would effect reduction of | $59, ,000, 900. There was but one answer. If ! there really existed any fear of the eonse- quences of an accumulated surplus, if there was no coming presidential campaign and if a reduction of revenue was the only thing aimed at it could be easily accomplished by dealing with internal revenue taxation. He wanted the Democratic party to follow its leader, to obey it's commander, to take of | the mask and have Q square fight on the is- sue presented by the President, and he ! quoted from the speech of Senator Kenna I where he declared that ''both the internal ! and external tax systems will be treated as a ! whole" Was that, MT. Platt asked, the rec l ommendation of the President? Were the | Democrats in Congress going to attempt to | claiming the President to be free trad | CT. He further quoted a sentence ! from Senator sKenna's speech to the effect ! that iron and coal and wool and other prod ucts would not be sacrificed in the proposed revisien and commented on 1t by saying that | it was pretty hard to find 8 free trader who was not protectionist for the matters in his | own State. He instanced also the Senator l from Alabama (MOrgan), who had lauded the President declaring himself as standing witt
 both feet on the message, but did not want ! any free ore for Alabama. Was the Presi dent, he asked, to be deserted by the party | leaders? Were not his recommendations tc
 be fo1loweds Were they not equal to a com nands They all knew what the President
 meant. He meant free trade. But what dic ] the Democratic leaders mean? The line wa. drawn. On which side did the Presiden stands Where did the Democratic part,
 stands He P1att) as a Republicall was protectionist with all
 that the word implied; but was the Presiden
 of the United States or was the Democratic party in any sense protectionists9 The bene
 fits of protection were extensive as the oeun
 try's boundaries. Protection was the policy
 of United America in it's competition witt
 the world. Unless Democratic Presiden
 and so-called Democratic party were per
 mitted to destroy this safeguard United
 America would continue to beat the world il
 the grand struggle for human advancement Nr. Platt concluded his speech at 2:15p m
 and then MT. Delph addressed the Senate il
 favor of the bill reported by him for the pay
 ment of the Oregon and Washington Indial
 war claims for suppression of Indian hostili
 ties in 1885 and '86.
 The Senate at 3:15 proceeded to executiv
 business and at 4:35 adjourned.
 HousE.-Mr. Belmont of New York, iron
 the committee on foreign affairs reported th
 diplomatic and consular appropriation bill
 committee of the whole. Qt appropriate $1. .405, ,867)
 Tn fha cnnsidaratinu y,onrnin0 hour Mir