New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-13
ppoTFcTJON IN THE SENATE.

Washington dispatches begin to reveal
state of things which Free Traders, Mugwumps
and tariff reformers consider too shocking for
ANYTHING. The Finance Committee OF the
Senate. which was fondly expected to operate
ON the Mckinley bill so that its authors would
not know it, seems to have approved and de-
cided to report that measure with remarkably
few and unimportant alterations. Two OF the
most important of these, moreover are amend
ments which Mr. Mckinley himself tried to
have made in the House, in order to correct
obvious mistakes in the woollen duties, so that
in making these corrections the Senate Com
mittee will simply advance the duties III mar
mony with those imposed by the House on
other articles in the same schedule. The wool
duties appear to have been adopted without
alteration as they came from the House, and
also the sugar duties, and the duty on tin
mates. and substantially the whole agricultural
schedule. In short, tho dcluge of protests and
ppr;eals from importers, foreign manufacturers,
and their agents and lobbyists on this side OF
the water, seem to have only confirmed the
committee in the belief that the House bill was
substantially right.
It gives Free Traders agonies indescrpaoie
70 find that Senator Allison, who was described
as hungry to get at the Mckinley bill and tear
il all to pieces, is to all appearance as mucn
Protectionist as he was year or more ago
when he helped to frame and pass the oenate
bill. Without any warrant save their own
foolish fabrications, the tariff reformers
mana ged to believe that Mr.. Allison was ready
TO adopt their theory, eager for their praise
and imnatient to make war on the Republican
party and policy. When man is weak enough
to believe such thing without evidence IL
wrenches his intellect terribly to be Obliged
70 record the facts which he ought to have
anticipated.
The truth is that the Republicans OF the
Senate Finance Committee are Protectonsts.
A man who knows anything about them should
have known that before they began their work
on this bill. They may differ from Repuo-
licans in the House in regard to the wisdom
of this or that precise rate, but they have the
same object in view, the defence and up
building of American industries. They have
the same hearty contempt for the notion that
il is the business of American legislators to
make laws that please the British manufact-
urers. They appear to understand exactly as
Republicans of the House do that agriculture
needs and has a right to ask its full share OF
the defence which the tariff can give, and that
manufactures cannot thrive in this country
if in order to exist they must ruin the pro-
ducers of their raw material.
Regarding some items OF the bill the reports
from the committee are contradictory,
and as to Others no decision is known to have
been reached as yet. But grand work must
have been done in the committee, not merely
since the bill came from the House, but before,
in order to have it so far perfected by this
time as it is said to have been. The accounts
do not indicate any serious difference between
the House and the Senate Committee, and the
minor changes can readily be adjusted in con-
ference. For it is highly probable that the
Republican majority in the Senate will be found
in accord with its Finance Committee on the
question of all others upon which the policy
| and future of the party must depend. Being
Republicans, the Senators of that party will
consider and act upon this measure as Pro-
tectionists, and not after a fashion to give
much consolation to emissaries from Europe
or their sympathizers.