The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-16
Giving the Republicans a Chance.


The democratic members of congress
show no disposition to deprive the repub-
| lican senator's of chance to introduce
their tariff bill. They would like to go
home and take part in the canvass, and con
gress could adjourn without any detrlment
to public business, but they Will stay IN
Washington as long as there is a probability
that the tariff bill, at which the republicans
have been working for months, will be re
ported to the Senate
The republican senator's would like moth
! ing better than to adjourn at once. AS
! Representative Breckenridge remarked on
Friday, they are 'in a hole" and don't see
any way to get out with credit to them
selves, unless the democrats let them out by
agreeing to an immediate adjournment.
| 1t begins to look as if they never intended
to introduce tariff bill. They have been
pretending they would, so as TO avoid con-
sidering the Mills bill and to quiet the tariff
reform sentiment among western republi-
cans but they undoubtedly expected, when
they adopted that plan, that congress would
adjourn in August, or at least by Sept. l,
so they could say that they had not time to
complete their bill
The democrats, however, are not disposed
to furnish them with any such excuse
They propose to stay in Washington until
the bill is introduced. or the republicans
announce that they have abandoned it. 1t
is known that the republicans of the
finance committee cannot agree upon a
bill that will be satisfactory to all the re-
publican senators, nor TO republicans gen
orally. If they introduce n bill, therefore,
it will cause, in ali probability, as much
discussion in their own party as the Mills
bill does between the two parties.
Senator Quay, chairman of the republican
campaign committee, has always opposed
the introduction of tariff bill by the
republicans. because he knows that any bill
they may frame must provide for a reduction
of duties on some articles, and will, there
fore, be contrary to the tariff doctrine Of the
party's national platform, which favors
free whisky in preference to a surrender of
any part of the protective system.
Mr. Quay is now conducting the cam
paign on the line that the Democratic party
is favoring free trade and the r publican
party protection, but if the republicans
introduce tariff reduction bill they will
no longer be able to assert that the Demo-
cratic party, because it favors a reduction
of the tariff, is a free trade party. They
will be forced to admit the truth, which is
that the Democratic party is aiming
to reduce taxes to point
where the revenues will be just
sufficient TO meet the expenses Of the gov
eminent economically administered. They,
by their bill, will in effect say that they
too, favor q reduction of the tariff, because
a reduction is necessary to get rid of the
surplus To the voters it will appear that
the only difference between republicans and
democrats on the tariff issue, is that repub-
licaus favor reducing the tariff so as to
help the monopolsts, while the democrats
aim at a reduction that will benefit the
masses. This difference will not be to the
advantage of the republicans and it is not
to be wondered at, therefore, that Chair
mar Quay opposes the introduction of
their tariff bill, and that they are
holding it back with the hope that the
democrats will become tired out and demand
an adjournment of congress, thus affording
them the opportunity to say that they were
prevented by the democrats from intro
ducing it. The democrats, however, under
stand the situation thoroughly and will
force the republicans to admit that they
are either insincere or inconsistent.