The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-04-01
MILLS TARIFF BILL.
Its Prospects Before the
House.
IT WILL PROBABLY PASS IN MAY
Governments Creditors Want Their
Money - Interesting General
News Paragraphs.

WASHINGTON, D. c., March 27.-L5pec'
ial 10 THE HERALD. The ways and
means committee, about whose de
lay" the Republicans have been crying
aloud so much, is moving much more
rapidly than those Republicans desire.
1t is holding me tings both by day and
night, and making as much progress
with the Mills tariff bill as the stubborn,
angry and exasperating opposition OF
the Republican minority will permit.
That minority always haggles as long
as possible over each item of the bill
and often tries to browbeat the major
ity. Mr.. Reed, of Maine, is especially
active in pursuing this line of tactics.
He uses insulting (by inferenee)
language, and attempts to play the role
of bully. He cannot bully the majority
members of the committee, but his
course and that of his Republican con-
ferees causes some delay. Their main
object is to prevent the House coming
to vote on tariff reform before the
the meeting of the National Democratic
Convention at st. Louis. They
think that should the convention come
on before such a vote was taken, the
Democrats in convention would be
greatly embarrassed. And they greatly
fear, and with reason, toe, that a vote
on the Mills bill will result in its pas
sage. Mr.. Mills, however, despite the
opposition which he meets with al
every step, is of the opinion that he
will get the bill before the House in
plenty of time to allow debate of two
weeks, and reach vote in the early
part of May-at least month before
the meeting of the convention. What
will the result of that vote be? No one
can say with any assured degree of
certainty, but there is tariff reform
work going on outside as well as inside
the meetings of the ways and means
committee. 1t will take 16S votes to
pass bill. The most reliable calcula-
ton puts between 143 and 148 members
as positively in favor of it, with suffi-
cient number doubtful to Insure by
JUDLCIoUs MANAGEMENT AND CHANGES
in the bill reasonable certainty that
when the ayes and noes are called that
the number of ayes will foot up to the
necessary 163. The sugar duty will be
so changed as to secure the votes of the
six louisiana members, and there will be
from the northwest, who,
it is probable, will also be found in the
column of ayes. How
many there will be of such Republicans
will depend upon what sort of bill Mr..
Reed snd the other Republican mem
bers of the ways and means committee,
together with the Republican members
of the finance committee of the Senate,
put together. They are at work on
such bill, but they are by no means
harmonious. They find so many ele-
ments in their party when the questions
of the tariff and the internal revenue
are taken up for consideration, that
harmony evinces an unmistakable de-
sire to go off and hold a caucus by it.
self, ALI of which adds to the prospects
of tariff bill being put through the
House by tine Democratic majority.
The Acknowledgement is daily in re-
ceipt of letters from people to whom
the government is indebted, asking
when they can expect to get their
money. There is, besides, not single
head of an executive department who
is not in receipt of similar letters, The
letters received by theAttorney.G General
are specially cited because they in
Yolve
MATTER OF PARTICULAR HARDSHIP.
The men who write them are, as gen.
eneral rule, poor men, and the money
iue them is for fees as witnesses or |
jurors. They served the government |
n those capacities ct time when, |
owing to a failure by Congress to ap
3ropriate a sufficient sum of money, |
witnesses and jurors had to accept |
promises of pay instead Of the money |
tself. If they had not done so, the |
courts would, of necessity. have been
closed. Their services we're rendered |
1early year ago, and they have never
.eceived cent for them. AS soon as
Congress met last December, its atten-
ion was directly called to the matter
put it has never done anything for the
.elief of the governments conditions.
It put an item, it IS true, for the settle
nent of the claims of jurors witnesses,
Ind others in the urgency deficiency bill
And they have been monkeying WITH
hat bill off and on ever since. Both
Houses have passed it, but in differen
hapes, and the bill is now in confer
,nce. How long it will remain there,
t would be impossible to say. What
makes the matter worse is that Con-
.ress knew that such deficiencies would
rise. The appropriation committee
we're fully informed of what would be
necessary by the heads of the depart
aents, but they refused to give the
money. And this happens every year.
{ would seem as if congressman did
lot bslieve that
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