The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1888-06-01
WASHINGTON.
BOTH PARTIES CAUCUS OVER THE
TARIFF BILL.

: The Democrats Improve its DetaiIs-Th
Republicans Prefer to Waste the None,
Rather Than Reduce Taxes-Frye FrOth
Over the Fisheries-S0me Other Business
Several amendments to the Mills tariff bill
! have been accepted by the ways and mean
committee as the result OF the party canvasse
and the requests of members. Glue is allow
ed to remain ut its present rate; plate glass
, larger than "a by 20, liquorice, nitrite o
soda, bone black, hatters' furs and plaster o.
paris have also been restored to old rates, ant
rough marble has been put mt A. cents pei
cubic foot. The entire list of articles TAX En-
from the free list, and restored to the duti@
BILE list. paid less than $2,000,000 last veal
and form less than tenth of the reductions
! proposed by the free list. Jute, grain bags
paying nearly 100000 and Paris green have
been added to the free list. The classifca-
ton of rice, flour and rice meal fixed in the
bill is wiped out and the present duty is re-
duced from 30 to IL per cent. ad vOlorem.
The caucus decided wednesday night to call
up the tariff bill as soon as the Legislative
Appropriation bill is finished, ana motions
were adopted requiring all members to be
present or to secure pairs during the five
minute debate and binding all members to
vote aga nst amendments, which had not pre-
viOusly been submitted to the Ways and
Means committee. The North Carolina and
California members declared that they would
not do this. but should insist on the total re-
peal of the tobacco and fruit brandy taxes.
Perry Belmont will probably renew in the
House the fight he made in caucus against
restoring works of art to the dutiable list.
They were not restored as a measure of pro.
lection, but be cause some of the backwoOds
members objected to relieving luXuries from
taxation, while farming tools continued to
| be taxed.
The Republican caucus Saturday night was
| fruitless of any plan of revenue reduction. or
anything but blind and reckless opposition to
THE Democratic plans. Representative Hovey
of Indiana urged his associates to take de-
cided stand for pension legislation, and par
ticularly the bill removing restrictions upon
the payment of arrears of pensions, thus fore
ing the Democrats into opposition. Finally
it was unanimously decided to instruct the
committee on rules to assign DAYS for a con-.
sderation of all pension legislation until tits.
disposed of; which means that Hovey's>ulan
is to be carried out. This arrears of pension
bill alone means an expenditure of 500, 0O0.-
900, and the necessity Of maintaining the
present burden of surplus taxation for years
to Come. Manifestly, under such a plan, no
tariff or revenue reduction bill is necessary,
and consequently Mr.. Kelley and others vigo-
rously protested against the formation Of any
such bill. Both houses adjourned over Decora-
ton day and the senate took its usual rest
from Friday until Monday.
Senator Stewart made a long speech last
week Thursday on his proposed constitutions
al amendment, reducing to simple majority
the vote necessary to override presidential
veto. He showed that the whole number of
presidential vetoes up to the incoming of the
present administration had been only 1855. In
a little over three years President Cleveland
had vetoed III bills. and had pocketed or re-
fused to sign 30. And he pictured in alarm
ing colors the peril of the president, with his
control of the patronage, his favoritism to
banks and financial institutions, making an
other Napoleon of himself. and quitting an
imperial crown upon his head. The people
admired courage, Independence, audacity and
will. These qualities were possessed in a
high degree, he admitted, by Mr.. Cleveland,
but he thought they were dangerous. The
house has passed the senate bill for an inter-
national marine conference, to establish uni
form signals. rules, and charts for navigation.
Monday the senate voted to discuss the
fishery treaty in open session, the first time a
treaty has been so considered in the history
of the government. Mr.. Morgan moved to |
postpone the whole subject until December,
but was ruled out of order, and then the |
Democrats finding that Hale had yielded to
party pressure in favor of an open session,
returned to their first position, and supported
a motion by Morgan to remove the injunction
of secrecy. The river and barbor bill was re-
ported with additions of 81 $50, 900 to the
house appropriations. The house completed
the consideration of go of the 10 pages OF the
legislative, executive and judicial appropria-
ton bill. Kerr of Iowa read a circular letter
to federal otfice-holders in Iowa. written by
the secretary of the Democratic state COM
mittee OF Iowa, asking for voluntary contri-
buttons.
The senate Friday passed the house Gus
toms deficiency bill. The house pushed
through 3S private pension bills, and listened
to writings from both sides as to which party
had shown the most hypocrisy on civil SER
Y "a with tho usual Rpr,uhii To-
of the president for making re-
movals. McCOmas of Maryland declared
that in whole century there had never
been such clean sweep of general officers as
here bad been under Cleveland. Clements
of Georgia showed that the last Republican
within II months before the
of the present administration had
made more removals than had been made in
any one year since.
Senator Frye opened the speech making on
the fishery treaty Tuesday, and spoke in his
most bitter temper. He denounced the treaty
as complete and humiliating surrender of
American rights. He paid glowing tribute
10 the yalOr and patriotic services of Yam
kee tirshemen ," in the wars of revolution
Of 1872 and of the rebe lion, and asked whether
such men were EMIT ed to be treated with con
empt. Since our victorious war of 1872 the
United states had grown in power and impor-
ance, and had grown immensely as to her |
markets. Great Britain and Canada looked at
hose markets with ayaricious- ewes and deter
mined to possess them. There was no hesita- |
ion, no question of rights or decency or hospi.
atty. lie reviewed the different treaties and
aid that the Canadians continued their out | $
ages in season and out of season, and that the
congress of the UIited States was just on the
Joint OF ssing a retaliatory law in response
o petition from the FISHERMEN of New Eng y
and, when dip omacy was again resorted to-
nder this treaty, Investigated the matter and
ound tibet we must pay Great Britain and Can y
da s5,5oO,Ooo. We paid it. but after paying and
within very short time we asked Great Britain |
allow.us TO abrogate that treaty. Great Brit
in refused, though we had paid for the whole y
years; She still had such good bargain that :
he would not give 1t up. During the IL years 4
re RENTED sin duties to Canada over S6,OOO- \
D0 making Sll 100000 we paid for that attempt ,
diplomacy. During the whole IL years we
aptured in British waters about 100000 worth
I fish and the capture cost us 81 100000 Dur
ig the last three years of the treaty there was
OF dozen American fishing vessels in British
alters. After the passage of the sbro-
ating resolution of 1856 the peace was once
lore broken, and the next year and half 10
merican vessels were seized in those waters
nder every conceivable pretense. Vessels
ere driven to sea in storms, they were refused
they were treated so barbarousiy -
lat Democratic secretary of the treasury de 10 10
AIRED the treatment to be brutal. VI
representative Whitthorne of Tennessee
I'D the house saturday that, while he stood
:. complainant against the administration
n not turning Republicans out and putting
emocrats in, he had reason to admire the
lelity of the president to the pledges made
his letter and his course in the execution
the laws. He said he spoke from personal
lperience for whenever he had applied for
e removal of officials because they were
epubicans the president had stood immov-
lie: and in Tennessee not presidential APP
,intee had been removed. but in all cases
e president had waited till their terms had
.pired.
The irrepressible Senator Blair introduced
bill to preserve the sabbath: has also Joint
proposing an amendment to the
to the effect that no state shall
ar m