Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-17
FIFTIETH CONGRESS-.
Senator Plumb Unearths Some Rascality
the Northern Montana Indians Con-
firmed-Questions of Privilege In the
House,

WASHINGTON, March 15.-In the Senat
| Mr.. Plumb sent to the clerk s desk and ha,
read letter, written by Washington firr
OF pension claim agents, to a Kansas eS
soldier, saying some time ago they hat
written to him asking to be allowed to tax
his pension claim to Congress, and had no
heard from him in reply; that they were con
versant with his claim and believed that i
properly presented, Congress would not re
fuse special pension; that their fee wa
$25 of which $50 was payable in advance
that S63 special pension bills were passet
by last Congress and still! larger number
would probably be passed by the present
Congress; that this was the best time fol
presentation OF cases to Congress, as tn.
country was on the eve O
"a Presidential election and par
ties and individuals were on theil
metal to make a record. Mr.. Plumb
expressed his belief that large amounts were
being obtained through such representati ton
although the writer's could render no serv-
ice whatever. Not only would an attorney
not be permitted to appear before the Pen
sion Committee, but he could perform no
useful service whatever in connection with
special pension cases. 1t was an outrage
Quitting it mildly for men to be imposed
upon in that way. He ked that the Pen.
sion Committee take the letter and con.
slider it and make report to the Senate,
SO that such swIndling of ex-soldiers should
not be continued.
After further discussion Tin which Mr..
Dolph referred to a claim agent s agree
nent which he had seen to receive 35 per
cert. Of the amount OF the direct tax to
be refunded to certain State) the letter
was referl ed to the Committee on Pen
sIOQS.
1he following were among the bills re.
porSed and placed on calendar: To ratify
and confirm an agreement with the Gros
Ventres and other Indians in Montana; for
the formation and admission into the
Union of the States of Washington and
North Dakota with minority reports; the
House bill for the purchase OF certain
swords of Major General James Shields.
NJ. Dolph Offered resolution which was
lai0 over, calling on the ecretary of the
Treasury for information as to the pro-
hib tion OF fur seal fisheries in the waters
OF Alaska or Behring Sea beyond marine
league from shore.
TELLER ON THE MESSAGE.
Mr.. Teller pro ceeded to address the Sen
ate on the subject of the Presidents mes
sage. He said he had noticed that senators
who had spoken on the Presidents side Of
the question had shown disposition to
avoil the real issue presented by the Presi-
dent and had attempted to make it appear
thai the message was not OF character
which everybody outside OF official circles,
at home and abroad, had declared it to be.
1t would not do for friends of the admins
tration to assert that this was an
attempt on the part of the President
and his friends to modify, to revise, or
correct the tariff. No such intent could be
gathered from the message. 1t had been
received everywhere as an attack not on a
detective tariff, not to remedy inconsistent
cies, but to destroy the protective system.
The President himself had spoken of that
system as vicious, inequita BILE and illogical.
His former Secretary OF the Treasury had
spoken of it as brutal method. Defenders
OF the message had spoken in terms OF op
probrium, contempt, detestatlon, not OF
the tariff or Of it's inconsistencies or incOn-
gruities, but OF
THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM.
It was therefore understood outside OF the
Senate chamber to be an attack on the
system which protected American labor
and American manufacturers against COM
petition with foreign labor and foreign capi-
tai. 1t had been stated by the Senator
from Georgia (Colquitt) that the Demo
era tic party had always been free trade
party. He denied that George Washington
had been pronounced protective tariff
maD, but he knew that his Democratic
friends did not care much for that because
they did not regard George Washington as
having had correct views of the fuDdamen-
tai principles OF government. Franklin,
jefferson, Madison and Monroe
had been all protective tariff men. In fact,
there never had been a Democratic Presi-
dent until Grover Cleveland, who had not
at some stage of his political history
been
AN OPEN ADVOCATE
Of protective tariff. In the National
Democratic platform of 1872, when the
Democrats nominated the most active, az
.ressive, protective-tariff mar on the CONT
nent, Greeley, it was stated t,,at protective
tariff was question to be left to Congress
sional districts, without any interference of
crats nominated TiIden, the party had de-
cIared itself in favor of "a tariff for reve-
nue. only" which was Synonymous with
ree trade in that it was impossible for any
one to say what the Democratic platform
intended to say on the subject. In 1884
nobody supposed that the Democratic
party in it's platform intended to announce
the doctrine OF free trade. Nobody could
say that 1T attacked the doctrine of pro-
5tction, and nobody could have supposed
that an executive elected on that platform
/" "Ould have delivered the message which
Mr.. Cleveland sent to Congress last Decem-
Der. When twenty-five years OF American
history were examined
NO MAN WAS JUSTIFIED
n speaking OF the system of political
economy which had wrought such results
,s an iniquitous or brutal method. The
American people had progre ssed faster
han any other people in the world. Let
senator's who talked about frcc-trade point
10 him any nation that accumulated money
Is this had. In what other country was
abor so well paid, so mu" h respected?
What other people had engaged in such en-
erprises? Did Senators on the other side
want English methods to be adopted in
his country? He was not ashamed to
,oint to the great results of twenty-seven
vi pC1llHChO UuCiS1 cb piObCttlNC
ystem, to show that it was neither vicious,
illogical or iniquitous, but that it had
brought to the people OF this country a
ichness, a content and glory which no
'ther system had brought upon any other
,eople.
The motion to refer the message went
,ver without action. After some further
business the Senate ad
burned.
The House.
Mr.. Thomas of Wisconsin, rising to a
question of privilege, sent to the clerk s
esk and had read an article in the New
Zork Sun, relative to pending railroad leg
Station. The article states that Major
proprietor OF a bucket shop in
Washington, claimed he controlled such
members as Weaver Of
owa, Allen of Mississippi, Anderson OF
owa, shively of Indiana, and Thomas of
Wisconsin. Mr.. Thomas declared he
lid not know Reddington and had never
lad any communication with him. He
vas not interested in stocks and the whole |
natter so far as he was concerned was an
Lbsolute falsehood and lie. He said the !
nen who we're prowling around the corr- |
ors interested in land grant legislation as
OhhviSta had inSDira6 the article These