The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-06-24
Blaiue's Joke

1t seems that Mr.. Blaine now says that
his remark in the Senate committe on ap
preparations the other day, to the effect that
the Mckinley bill was an Infamous one,
was only joke. Some of the New York
papers have accepted it as a serious expires
sion of his opinion of the bill, and have
printed columns of stuff about it. The
Herald's Washington correspondent has
! gone so far as to assert that the President
also thinks the bill infamous. and that there
is serious danger that the bill will cause a
! split in the Republican party.
| In the MORNING NEWS dispatches imme-
diately after it was alleged that Mr.. Blaine
had made a bitter attack upon the Nc
Kinley bill in the Senate appropriations
committee statement was made showing
that Mr.. Blaine did not intend to be taken
seriously in what he said, and in our dis
patches yesterday it was pointed out that
the President wanted it understood that he
is not opposed to the bill 1t is quite clear
that il the administration was so hostile to
the bill as 1t is alleged 10 be it would have
shown its opposition TO it loug before it
passed the House.
1t is no doubt true that Mr.. Blaine is op-
posed to the wool and free sugar features of
the bill. His letter, sent to congress the
other day relative to reciprocity agree
ments with the countries to the south of us,
shows that, but it is pretty safe to say that
he does not consider the bill an infamous
one by any means. He believes in the high
protection tariff policy of his party, and,
therefore, nearly the whole bill must be
satisfactory to him.
He opposes the sugar and wool schedules
of the bill because those articles are not
made the means of increasing our trade
with the Central and South American
states. His policy is to secure from those
states some concessions in return for the
benefits which free sugar would confer
upon them. His objection to the wool
schedule is that it tends to make the wool
producing states of Central and South
America hostile to this country.
He feels that as he was largely instru-
mental in having the pan-American con-
gress called. he ought to do all that it is
possible for him to do to secure some good
results from it. He, therefore, wants tariff
legislation so shaped as to influence Central
direction of this country. There is good
deal of sound sense in this position of his.
If this country could obtain concessions for
making sugar free there is no good reason
why it should not. Mr.. Blaine does not
believe that it is good policy to make valu-
able concessions to other countries without
getting some benefit for them, and a great
many republicans agree with him.
1t is hardly probable. however, that the
sugar schedule in the Mckinley bill will be
very greatly changed. That schedule is
about the only one that seems to promise
reduction of the revenues. If the present
duties on sugar should be allowed to stand
the Mckinley bill would be bill to increase
the revenue. Indeed, it is thought that if
sugar should be admitted free the bill would
very considerably increase the revenues.
1t can be assumed with very great
degree of confidence that neither the Presi-
dent nor Mr.. Blaine is going to make fight
on the Mckinley bill What Mr.. Blaine
calls his ''joke" has, however, set the whole
republican camp to gossiping. His jokes
appear to be dangerous to the peace of his
party.