The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-04-12
Washington Letter.


"All things come to him who waits"
has occurred to me very often this
week as I noted the change in senti-
ment which followed the reporting of
the Mills tariff bill to the House, by
Chairman Mills. who left sick bed to
perform that duty. A slight modifi
cation in the bill has secured the sup
port of the Louisiana delegation, who
were at first bitterly opposed to the
bill. Another slight change in the
clause affecting worsted has won over
the wool men from Ohio and else
where, so that the number of democrats
who oppose the measure has been re-
duced to a very small number, and it
is hoped to reduce it still further be-
fore the bill comes to a vote. Notice
has been given in the House that the
bill will be called up for action on the
18th inst. An effort will then be made
to hold the house down to the consid-
Grafton of the me assure until vote is
taken. Of course the Republicans are
prepared to repeat on the floor of the
House everything which they did in
the committee room to delay the bill,
hoping in this way to defeat it.
The Democratic program is to get
the tariff bill disposed of before the
st. Louis convention, in June. From
the present outlook the chances are
rather against vote being reached by
that time, but the effort will be made
all the same. The chances of the final
passage of the bill have largely in
creased recently. aud while it is by no
means certain now that the bill will
pass, it is more than probable that il
will. At any rate the arguments over
the bill will place this whole question
in palmer light before the country
than heretofore. People will in con-
sequence, look into the question them
selves, people who have in the past
taken some political demagogue's
statement of it as true, and the result
cannot fail to be gain for the revenue
reformers.
The Senate has spent more than
week wrangling over the House bill
authorizing the Secretary of the Treas
ury to purchase United States bonds
with the surplus. The Senate is not
divided on party lines. as both parties
have held caucuses to try to agree what
should be done. The Silver Senators
of both parties insist on amending the
bill in some manner to increase the
purchases of silver by the Government
The House has had its Wrangle too.
The cause was the bill to refund the
direct taxes paid by the several States
into the United States Treasury. A
large majority of the House favor this
bill, but owing to the peculiar rules
under which the body works a deter
mined minority can, by filIibustering,
delay and sometimes even defeat leg
islation. The opponents of the bill
resorted to this method on Wednesday
and succeeded in keeping the House
in session until 2 80 q. M Thursday
morning. All day and all night were
spent in dilatory motions. Such furi-
Gus fillibustering had scarcely ever
been seen since the foundation of the
House of Representatives.
Senator Sherman says that the re-
port that he Had or intended to retire
from the race for the Presidential nom
inatIon is entirely untrue. In a little
over two months from now he will
wish he had, and next November he
will hate himself for ever having even
INDUCED the hope of becoming Presi
dent of the United States. Nor will
the knowledge that he has lost some
of the contents of his barrel add to the
comfort of his thoughts.
It is understood the six Justices of
the Supreme court are in favor of the
promotion of Justice Field, of Califor-
MIA, to the vacant Chief Justiceship.
Until the appointment of Mr.. Lamar
to the Supreme bench, Justice Field
was the only Democrat of the Supreme
Court.
Governor Hill, of New York, is
shortly to announce publicly that he
is not snd never has been candidate
for the Presidential nomination. He
is Cleveland man. Mr.. Cleveland
expressed himself to a friend this week
as being highly pleased with the pros-
poets of the Mills tariff bill in the
House and als9 with the prospects of
the democratic party in the coming
campaign.
Gen. Clark, the clerk of the House
of Representatives, says he is tired of
hearing the House denounced for do,
ing nothing. He can prove by figures
that it has done more work than any
of its predecessors ever did so early in
the session 1t has passed up to date
222 private and l29 public bills.
The Public Lands Committee of.the
House has reported bill forfeiting
about 40, ,0lO, 900 acres of the Northern
Pacific, Southern Pacific and Ontona-
gen land-grants.