Morning journal and courier., 1888-07-12
Fiftieth Congress--First Session.

|
 WASHINGTON, July Il. SENATE.-The conference report on the | postoffice appropriation bill was presented. | The item as to postage on seeds is fixed so as to make the postage one cent for every two | ounces. On the amendment known as the | subsidy clause the conference committee has
 been unable to agree. After an explanation | by Mir. Plumb the report was agreed to and Mir. Plumb moved that the Senate insist on \ the subsidy amendment and ask for 8 fur \ ther conference. As to the Postmaster Gen- erals statement that the existing postal ser- l vice to South and Central America was satis- | factory, Mr. Plumb said that with great re- speet to that official he did not believe g word of it. It might be satisfactory to the
 Postofice department, but it was not satis- | factory to the business public.
 MT. Vest asked MT. Plumb if there ever had been any complaints of want of mail \ facilities by American residents in Central | and South America.
 l Mr. Plumb said he thought there had | been.
 \ The only complaint he had heard on the sub- | iect was, he presumed, from steamship lines | already in existence. He received every | week printed slip calling attention to the 1 importance of having additional facilities I between this country and South America, ' | American residents in those countries. Mr. Beck said he had no idea that the House \ would agree to the amendment and he did not believe that it ought to do so. It was 6 \ subsidy pure and simple not wanted by the Postoffice department, not forming part ot \ it's system. As the Postmaster General had ] said, the money might just as we'll be given ! to few men as bonus leaving him unem-
 barrassed by difficulties. He read with ta- \ vorable comments the communication from \ the Postmaster General and declared that this | communication demonstrated that since the \ time when subsidizing was begun in this ! country with the Garrett subsidy, the Roach | subsidy, the Pacific Mail subsidy, no trade | had been built up and no trade was intended | to be built up. It was intended to embsrrass and injure existing postal regulations by giv II ing a subsidy to few men at the public ex ! pense, to the detriment of the public service and to the injury of every taxpayer in the country.
 MT. Chace replied to MT. Beck He felici. \ tated the Postmaster General for having em- ' braced the opportunity to make tariff | speech to Congress. As to the Senator from | Kentucky he never could address the Senate | on any subject without making 8 tariff | speech.
 Mir. Bsck-Does the Senator think made | one today
 Mr. Chace-The Senator let the Postmaster | General make one for him aud it was a very | good one too. It was a little variation from | the old speech. The Democratic opposition \ to this measure is in line with the whsle | policy of the Democratic party. It is poli- | cy of repression of industry. The Demo cratic party is the party of reaction, of ret repression. It is opposed to all enterprises, \ to the building up of the industries of the | country. It has inherited from the old | slave holding confederacy the idea that there should be nothing done by the government ' ko oaEk h1af 1E kE1 ! Speeches were made in Tammany Hall by ! some of the most eminent lights of the Dem- ocratic party. They were tumbling over | in an attempt to prove that the Democratic party was not free trade party. | It would be better to have sent to Tammany Hall this letter of the Postmaster Generals | in which he says that it is our fiscal system I that is in the way of increase of trade with | South America. What does he meant He means free trade. That is the real doctrine of the Democratic party.
 Mir. Reagan replied to Mir. Chace and said | that the reason why the United States did l not sell to South American countries as much as it bought from them was because the rev. | enue legislation of the United States had so | increased the cost of production that goods manufactured in this country could not bs sold in competition with the goods manufac \ tured in other countries He understood the f Democratic party to be the party of liberal
 
 build Chinese wall around the country and thought that the only way to extend trade was to subsidize still further.
 The tariff argument was carried on at con siderable length by Senators Reagan, Platt, McPherson, Saulsbury and Hawley. MT l Hawley criticised Mr. Resgan's speech and | said the Senator's argument was that in or. der to have foreign market for American \ goods it was necessary to reduce wages.
 MT. Reagan denied that he had said any l thing of the kind.
 Mr. Hawley-The Senator based our ina
 bility to command a foreign market for oul goods on our inability to produce then
 cheaply enough.
 MT. Reagan-There are great many ele- | ments that enter into the production oi goods beside labor. There is the cost oi
 living.
 Mr. Hawley-Then the Senator would re-
 duce the cost of living in this country.
 MT. Reagan would reduce the tariff to g
 revenue standard so as not to put the bust.
 ness of this country on stilts.
 Mir. Hawley-It is very difficult to under ! stand what the revenue standard is on some 1 goods. To reduce duties would be to invite importations and increase the revenue The Senator has spoken of occasional gluts iT | manufactured goods in this country and ot consequent suspensions of work. England it | the paradise of the Democratic party because it has free rsde tariff, but it is everlast- ingly stated in the English papers that Eng fish manufactories are suspendinQ here and
 there because the market is glutted, and yei the raw materials come in there free except ! as to certain large classes of articles, which the poor man consumes as much as the rich. This free trade talk is simply deliberate de- 1 termination to reduce the wages of labor. That might as we'll be admitted. l After further discussion by Senators Stew | art and Call the motion to insist on the
 amendment was agreed to; yeas 25, nays 16.
 The Senate then proceeded to the consider ation of the Senate bill to provide for fortif- cations and other sea coast defenses.
 On motion by Mir. Plumb to postpone the consideration of the bill till the 25th oi July (on the ground that the regular forti6- ! cation bill would before that time be received from the House) long discussion took place going over the whole range of modern naval warfare, the best class of war ships, the most improved types of guns and the necessity fol coast Notifications. Without action on the
 bill the Senate at 5:30 adjourned. | HoUsE-Mr. Hatch, of Maine, submitted
 report of disagreement on the agriculture appropriation bill, stating that the point o disagreement was the Senate amendment nal
 ing an appropriation of $100,000 for sorghum sugar experiments. After considerable dis
 cussion MT. Ryan moved concurrence in tht
 Senate amendment, which was agreed to
 yeas 126, nays 96. This completes the con- gideration of the bill and it stands as fnall, passed.
 The House then went into committee O the whole on the tariff bill. The pending amendment was that offered by Mr. Phelps
 of New Jersey, fixing at 40 per cent. ad vs
 lorem the duty on flax or linen thread an, all manufacturers of flax. After a long dis
 cussion Mr. Phelps amendment was reject -1