The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-02-11
THE RICE DUTY.
Senator Browns Work to Get it In
creased in the Senate Tariff Bill.


WASHINGTON, Feb. 1O,-There is no prob
ability Of any tariff Legislation by this con-
gres5. The ways and means committee now
has the Senate bill under consideration, and
If it should decide to incorporate any por-
ton OF it in the Mills bill, there would be no
chance for bill thus made up to pass. In
fact, Mr., Carlisle said some days ago that
there was no use talking Of passing any
tariff bill in this congress. The work that
Senator Brown did relative to the ri g
schedule when the Senate bill was before
the Senate does not seem to 9 fully under
stood in the south, judging from what has
appeared in the newspapers in the south and
elsewhere about the nat e.. Your CORES
pondent has taken the trouble to ok up
the facts for the benefit of tue readers Of the
MORNING News. AS they appear in the
Record, and as CLEANED from other sources,
they are as follows.
Senator Browns fight for higher rice duty
was not failure. He got the committee
to raise their figures so per cent. on cleaned
rice, 100 per cent on uacl aned rice, and
100 per cent. on paddy. This means that he
got these advances over 9 bill, as reported
by the committee of the Sen tie, known as
the Senate bill. Still what be got is not near
as much as the prese Al law, but il is the best
he could get In other wO ds, the Senate
bill, s reported and which would doubt
less have gone through just as reported but
for fight the senator made on it, re-
duced the tariff from two and quarter
cents to cent a pound on cleaned rice from
a cent and half to a half cent on un-
cleaned rice, and on paddy from a
Mt and quarter to o4e-quarter
Of q cent, This was ruinous
reduction. After the discussion the COM
nittee amended their bill in tlat rega d so
as to put cleaned rice at l "a cents instead Of
l cent pound, uncleaned rice at / cent a
pound instead of one-half cent a pound and
paddy at one-half cent pound instead Of
One-Quarter cent. This was very hand
some Increase in the rice tariff in the bill as
reported. The trouble was that the bill as re-
ported by tle Senate originally was ruin
ously low, but the senator could not get
the republicans above the figures above
mentiJn med.
After the senator had discussed the dues-
ton part Of t,o days, Mr. Aldrich, of the
committee, stated that the senator had
brought facts to the attention of the com
mittee that we're not bef re them at the
time they made up the rice schedule in the
bill, and they a ked until the next
morning to consider the rice parag aph, and
the mex morning thev infOrnei the senator
Of the increase they had determined toma e.
He protested that 1t was too low, and urged
them TO make it higher, but they said they
could not and would not do mo g. The
senator then asked them not to introduce
their amendment until he had tried the
Sena-e o. amendments fixing it at
a higher rate. He first offered
the present rate, which was voted do Rn.
He then offered as an amendment The sub
stance of the Mills bill on the rice question,
which was voted down on an aye and nav
vote, number Of democrats voting against
it. The Senate then offered an amend
ment fixing 1t at "a celts on
cleaned rice, the other grades in pro
portion. This was voted down. The
senator then stated to the committee that
he uad no further amendment to Offer, and
they offered theirs, fixing cleaned rice at
115 cents, uncieaaei rice at l cent, and
paddy at one-half a cent his is the history
Of the matter j ST as it occurred here It
will be seen that Senator Browns work was
not in vain, though he was not able to ac-
complish all that either the rice planters or
he, as one Of their representatives, desired