The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-15
FIXING UPTHE MILLS BILL
SEVERAL MEMBERS GIVEN A
HEARING BY THE COMMITTEE.

Debate.
WASHINGTON, May 14.-Proposed amend
ments to the tariff bill continue to flow in
upon the Ways and Means Committee.
Another batch was received this morning
and it is known that many others are in
course of preparation. The Democratic
members of the committee have already
held several meetings to discuss the amend
ments, but up to the present time final
action has not been taken in the case of
single amendment. Hearings have been
given to half dozen Representatives upon
the subject matter of amendments proposed
10y them, but the effect has not been to
simplify the labors of the committee because
of the wide variance of views Expressed by
Representatives upon identical clauses of
the bill. One Democrat, for instance,
proposed to put finished building stone on
the free list while placing high duty on
the rough stone. Others ask for free build
ing stone in rough blocks and protection for
the dressed product. A New York member
offered an amendment to change the exist
ing law in exactly the manner already pro-
posed by the bill, while a prominent Yves
tern member wants that particular article
of manufacture placed on the free list.
These differences of opinion have increased
the difficulty experienced by the Demo
cratic members Of the committee in dealing
with the amendments, and for this reason,
the additional time offered by the extension
of the general debate in the House is con-
siderable relief to them.
The first subject taken up was the rice
schedule Mr. Dibble, of South Carolina,
had presented an amendment TO change the
standard wire sieve from No. 10, which it
is proposed i'll the Mills bill to use, to No.
- He and Mr. Elliott made arguments in
favor of this amendment. Then Messrs.
Gambler and Stewart, of Georgia, and Mr..
Earle, President of the American Marble
Company of Georgia, appeared, and asked
to have marble taken from the free list,
where it is placed in the pending bin and a
duty placed on it. Under the existing
law the duty Is 65c. per cubic foot These
gentlemen declared that if it was allowed
to come in free the Southern marble men
would Rave to close their works They did
ent duty retained, saying that they would
be satisfied if it was placed at SOC. per cubic
foot.
THE WEEKS sPEECHMAKERS.
The principal speakers on the tariff bill
during the remalnler of tine week will be:
Mr. Butterworth on Tuesday, Mr.. Randall
on Wednesday, Mr.. Breckenridge, of
Arkansas, on Thursday, Messrs. Mckinley
and Breckinridge, of Kentucky, on Friday
and Messrs. Reed and Carlisle on Saturday.
IN THE HOUSE.
In the House to-day, Mr.. Mills, of Texas,
from the Committee on Rules. reported, and
the House adopted without discussion or di-
vision, a resolution providing that the gem
eral debate on the tariff bill shall close on
Saturday next. On the call of the States
number of bills were introduced and re-
ferred The House then went into commit
tee of the whole, with Mr.. Springer in the
chair, on the tariff bill, and was addressed
by Mr.. Hatch, of Missouri.
Mr.. Hatch said he was opposed to the
present system of protection, and he
regretted that the pending bill preserved
every single feature of tnat system. The
measure was simply proposition of modi-
fication and reduction. 1t did not touch
the principles involved in the Morrill, tariff
act He wished that there was bill
before the House, based on principles of
equity and fairness, broader aud
deeper than was involved in the
pending proposition. But the prin-
ciples of protection were fastened on
the country and all that could be hoped for
t1-day-and all that the bill sought to &C
complish-was reduction of the amount Of
taxation collected by the government and
put into the treasury. If the Mills bill was
not passed by this Congress, the voice Of
the people, sweeping throughout the length
and breadth of the land, would place
membership in the Fifty-first Congress that
would take the protective system and, in
stead of reducing it, as was now proposed +,
would bring it down to a point where it
would do exact justice to all the interests of
the country.
CONFIDENT OF THE RESULT.
He believed that there was a fair chance
OF the House passing a moderate and con-
sentative measure now pending. He be-
lieved that when the final vote was reached
every Democrat would be found in favor of
the bill. For 800 years the Christian reli-
gion had received its strongest hope from
the grand declaration Of Paul, when h.
said, Every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess the divinity
of the Saviour, the fundamental
truth of the Christian religion As a Demo
crat, believing III the power of Democratic
principles to relieve the people from oppres-
sion, he rejoiced with exceeding great JOY
that the time was coming, and coming
quickly, coming with the bright days Of
June, when every Democratic knee should
and would bow to the overwhelming ma
jority of the Democratic party, and every
Democratic tongue would confess TO revenue
reform as the fundamental principle of the
Democratic party. [Applause.l
A CRY OF BoURBoNIsM.
Mr.. Symes, of Colorado, said that it was
only the Bourbonism of the free trader or
the anglo-mania Of the college professor or
Mugwump that would countenance the
adoption by this country of a policy which
governed an island which might be laid
down in one of our States. Free
trade in Great Britain had
injured England and Ireland and
benefited their continental neighbors.
He argued that it was the capitalist,
monopolist and importing merchant, and
those who derived their income from bonds
and other Investments, who we're clamor-
ing for free trade that IL was the employer,
workingman, and t1ose who built no the
industriej of the country, who demanded a
protective tariff.
Mr.. Funsto- of Kansas, declared himself
for American interests as against the
balance OF the world. He was, therefore, a
protectionist in the fullest sense Of the
word.
A FAIR SHOW FOR ALL.
Mr.. O'Neill, Of Indiana, said he was a
protectionist and he claimed TO be one, and
was willing to make the tariff high enough
to enable the manufacturer OF an article
which could be produced in the United
| States to compete with the foreign manu-
facturer. As free trader, and he claimed
10 be one, he was opposed TO having the
| tariff placed any higher than that. lie
argued in favor of putting lumber, coal
and iron ore on the free list, because he be-