Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-07-18
THE NATIONS CAPITOL
Nearing the End.
Vote on the Final Passage Of
the Mills Bill to be Taken
Saturday,
Democratic Clap Trap About Free Blankets
Us. Free Whiskey."
But the Doughty Free Traders Say Nothing
About Free Sugar.
Governm ent Employees to Receive Back
Pay for Working in Excess OF
Eight Hours -

| Eight Hours -
| WASHINGTON, July II.
Senate
Teller postponed his speech on the fish
cries treaty till tomorrow.
The bill to place John C. Fremont on the
retired list as major general in the army was
passed.
| The Senate resumed consideration of the
bill providing for the adjustment of the ac-
counts of laborers, workmen and mechanics
(employed by the government) under the
| eight-hour law.
Reagan opposed the bill as being in the
interest of few laboring men at the ex-
pense of many laboring men. 1t was
brought forward with an idea of catching
votes. 1t was a step in the direction of class
legislation.
Steward supported the bill and offered an
amendment to prohibit any officer of the
government making a contract arrange
ment whereby any workman, laborer or me-
chanic shall work more than eight hours
day except in special emergencies.
Hawley said he didn't see how the govern
ment could escape the plain letter of the eight
hour law, and he was willing to support the
bill without regard to the right wrong of
the original law If he were working by the
day or hour he would be indignant at being
told by the statute that he shouldn't work
over eight hours day. That was no bust
ness of the legislature he was judge of his
own health, strength, and necessities; at the
same time he coincided with the general
policy as having regulated the time for labor
under most circumstances. He opposed the
| Stewart amendment. He supposed the
case of the managers of the national
armory, seeing the necessities in the
of war, of having men work two hours addi-
tional time. Nineteen-twentieths of the New
England mechanics would be found shaking
hands with joy at getting twenty per cent.
additional pay. George said he dissented
from the report of the bill. There was not
one scintlla of obligation on the part of the
government to those labarers who happened
| 10 have been in more favorable condition
than other laborers in the United States, in
being employed in the government work
shops. 1t was mere gift, donation, and
other laborers were taxed to pay it, He
characterized the bill as measure which
proposed to make the less favored ones con-
tribute to make the men employed in the
government workshops more favored than
ever before.
The Stewart amendment was rejected.
| Dawes moved to amend the bill by insert
ing whether engaged at price per day or
on piece work or task work" 1t was agreed
to.
Dawes also moved to insert the following
words ANY assent or alleged agreement
to receive less amount or to work a longer
time than required, as the condition of being
employed to the contrary Notwithstanding.
Rejected.
The bill was then passed by vote of 25
yeas to % nays.
| The House went into committee of the
whole on the tariff bill today, the internal
revenue feature being pending. The
amendment repeating the tax on cigars, |
cheroot sand cigarettes was defeated. An
amendment repeating all internal taxes was
rejected.
Milliken denied that the republican party |
was a free whisky party. The republican
party had only declared that rather than have |
free trade and cheap labor to destroy the in
dustries of the country, it would repeal the |
| internal taxes.
Gallinger of New Hampshire said that if |
the republican party was for free whisky, SO
was the prohibition party. SO was the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union. He |
was in favor of the repeal of the internal |
taxes rather tnan destroy the tariff laws. On
that issue the republican party proposed to |
| go to the people in November and on that |
issue proposed to elect Harrison aud Morton. |
| Wilson of West Virginia suggested that the |
republican party in Chicago got drunk over |
the Oregon election and the platform was
the result of the Dutch courage. When the |
courage evaporated the republicans came
back and attempted to say that the platform |
didn't mean what in black aud white it did |
mean on record.
| Sowdens amendment was rejected.
Warren of Missouri offered an amendment |
proviiing that special tax on wholesale |
and retail dealers in oleomargarine be $40 |
and S5 respectively. Rejected
Cox of New York said his idea was to re-
duce the surplus in any way he could, eth |
er by reduction in the tariff or internal taxes,
or both.
Replying to the remarks of Mr.. Taylor |
of Ohio he denied that the bill with its |
per cent reduction in duties, looked forward |
to free trade, being mixed up on that platform |
as if they had been taking some 'tanglefoot' |
whiskey themselves. He read the tribula |
tons of a farmer who rose Sunday morning
| to go to church, and found everything from |
his blanket to his child's Sunday school book |
taxed.
| Niliken asked if Cox had read in the /
schedules 100 per cent. on rice and so per |
cent. on sugar.
| Cox replied that he could not read in five |
min utes the taxes on four thousand articles. |
| MilIiken declared that the republican party |,
said it would reduce the tax on whisky rather |
than destroy the industries of the country.
The gentlemen on the other side drew par |
allel between free blankets and free whisky, |
but not between free sugar and free whisky. I
They did not state that the bill placed Sc |
rrtcles on the free list which were produced |
north of Mason and Dixon's line. While |
/ they maintained an average of IS per cent.
on southern products.
| Mason of Illinois said that the nervous
anxiety of the gentlemen on the other side |
| for fear the country might have free whisky
was very amusing to people who studied the
history and habits of the democrats. He adj |
vised the gentleman from New York Con |
| that if he did not want to lose the solid sup
port he had in his own district he had better
not stao that the republican party was in
favor of free whisky.
! Cox-My constituents drink beer; how
much beer was drank at Chicago?
/ Mason admitted that great deal of beer
hal been drank there, but added that tine
same was true of st. Louis. Continuing, he
said that his side was getting weary of hear
ing this talk about free whiskey. daughter
anu applause on the democratic side.) If the
democrats believed the republicans favored
free whiskey, every man
Would Move Over
to the republican side. (Cries of ..oh, no,
on the democratic side.) Mason, "oh, yes"
you would walk up the aisle to smell their
breaths. He charged, in this bill. that the
democrats had opened a way to collision be-
whiskey makers. The party that declared
for tree whiskey would carry every democra-
tie state, and among the first to come over