Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-14
ANOTHER WEEK OF TALK.
LARGE NUMBER OF STATESMEN YET
FULL OF EuooUeNcE.

nshend and Cannon. of IL
Iinois. on the FloOr-CapitaI Gossip.
WASHINGTON CITY, May l4--It was ar
ranged Saturday by the ways and means
committee that the debate on the Mills bill
us n whole will continue throughout the
present week in the house and close on Sat
urday with the speeches of the Republican
leader, Reed, and Speaker Carlisle. Ran
dall's speech is now set for Thursday. Mills
says ii is not certain when debate can be
closed on the bill by sections it may linger
for some time, He thinks that the measure
will eventually pass the house substantially
as it was reported from committee.
A member of the ways and means commit
tee said "There is a Democratic majority in
the house Of eleven, and we count on the
votes of three Republicans-knute Nelson,
Lind Of Minnesota, Kitch of New York, and
three independents, Smith OF Wisconsin, An
derson of Iowa, and Hopkins of Virginia. As
an offset we expect to lose the Randall Dem
ocrats; Randall and Sowden Of Pensylva.
mia, and Foran of Ohio, certainly, and per-
haps McAdoo of New Jersey, Vance Of Con-
necticut, Wilkins of Ohio, Bliss, Commings,
Merriman. and Campbell of New York.
Even If all the doubtful Democrats should
vote with the opposition we shall still be able
TO pass the bill.n
In the house Saturday Townshend of Illinois
spoke in support Of the bill The issue
raised by the bill was whether congress
would reduce the high tariff created during
the war, which was wholly unnecessary now,
and produced distress among the masses of the
people The bill did not go 50 far as the
president had intended it should so, nor so
far as Senator Sherman had declared it
might safely go, yet it gave relief to an over
"a oil
iudicious modification of tho tariff on fair
business basis In 1871 Gen. Garfield had
voted to put coal and salt on the fr0e list,
and so had Frye, Hale and Dawes.
Kelley desired TO say word in regard to
Garfield. After the visiting statesmen tof
whom he was one and Garfield anotherl went
to New Orleans and visited Lawrence'S sugar
plantation he never doubted Gurlield's com
plete regeneration from the sins Of the Cob
den club doctrines
Townshend inquired what was the date of
that incident and Kelley said it was in the
fall of 1916 Townshend replied; "rbe gentle
mans J mory must be treachcrous, for he
stated that he voted against Garfield for
speaker because he believed Garfield to be a
free trader. Now he says Garfield had
changed his opinion year before he was
nominated for speaker A year after Gar
field convinced the gentleman that he was no
longer n free trader the gentleman refused
to obey the dictates OF the caucus and vote
for Garfield for speaker"
Kelley remarked that whatever might have
been his deviation from party discipline the
fact remained that in 1876 he bad seen the
avowed and absolute conversion of James a.
Garfield.
ETownshend-Wha hat was your reason for
disobeying the action of the Republican
caucus a ear after Garfed's conversionl
Keley-What right have you to interro-
gate me as 10 my personal relations and per-
sonal reasons? There are other questions
than the tariff in the world.
Townshend disclaimed any intention of de-
string to pry into Kelley's personal affairs,
and went on to say that the question was not
between protection and free trade. The only
point raised by the bill was whether congress
would reduce the high tariff created by the
war aud wholly Unnecessary now. Protec- |
tioniss should be thankful that n more rad- |
cal measure had not been demanded, and |
he warned them that if this fair and reason |
able proposition was rejected, the people |
would send representatives here who would |
adopt far more extreme measure. No rep |
resentative from the west could vote against |
the bill without betraying his constituents.
Allen of Mississippi spoke in support of the |
bill and in opposition to the system. Refer |
ring to a remark made by Morrow of Cali |
fornia, that the recent failure of Coleman az |
Go. was attributable to the fact that the Mills |
bill put boraX on the free list, he said the |
firm was in combination to raise the price of |
borax and he hoped the Mills bill would treat |
every other trust in the same way. With |
reference to some remarks made by Foran of |
Ohio concerning the south, he said he wondered |
where the gentlemen learned all he knew |
about the south. If the gentleman knew |
no more about the doctrines of protection
and free trade than he did about the south,
he never ought to speak about the tariff.
Foran said he learned something about the
south in 1864.
Allen said the gentleman ought to belong
to the Republican party. Allen then advo-
Gated the provisions of the bill and attacked
the protective system.
Cannon of Illinois said that the highest
ambition of his colleague [Townshendl
seemed to be to show that somebody who dis
agreed with him now agreed with him some
time ago Saul of Tarsus, who was born at
the foot of Baal, was stricken down and be-
came Christian. His colleague mad said
that he [Cannonl msrepresented his constitu-
ents in the interest of Massachusetts. Illinois
10 day had more wealth than Massachusetts,,
and had as many manufactures as Mas
,achusetts and some of these days the Rip
Van Wrinkle sleep of the district his colleague
represented would be broken, and the sound of
he hammer and the spindle would be heard
here Then his colleague would be con
,erted
Speeches were made against the bill by
Milliken, Kean and Lehlback.
The only other business transacted by the |
house was the passage of n few bills of no
particular interest, one authorizing the
Rainy Lake River 81 Southwestern Railway
company to bridge the Red River of the
North. The house adjourned at $50.
There appears to be some misunderstood
ing as to the nature of the tariff bill which
he Republicans of the ways and means cons
nittee are preparing. The bill does not pro-
pose a systematic revision of the tariff. 1t Is
a bill simply for the reduction of the surplus,
md the main features are to be confined to
these propositions: The abolition Of all in
ternal revenue taxes on tobacco, except upon
cigars and cigarettes. The abolition of the
revenue tax on alcohol used in
the arts, a large reduction of the duty on
sugar, the substitution of the woolischedule
adopted by the wool association for the sched-
lle of the present tariff This new schedule
IS an increase over that of the existing law.
The total reduction which, it is claimed,
would be effected by this bill is s6:., 600 900.
The denial that the Republicans will present
4 tariff bill is simply denial of a report that
hey will propose "a bill to revise the tariff as
whole. Their only purpose is to present
substitute tax reduction bill, which some who
IRE dis osed to be technical do not care to
all tariff bill.
Retirement of Gen. PIsasanton.
WASHINGTON CITY, May 14.-The house
,ill to retire Gen Alfred Pleasanton with
he rank of colonel is antagonized by the
enate bill to retire him with the rank of
major. The senate committee on military
Affairs has established a rule, or precedent, ,
the retirement of army officers at