The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-08-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.
THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE FOLLOWERS
OF BLAINE AND REED GROWS
HOTTER.
That the Senate Will Tear the Force Bin
to Tatters is the Hope of the Nation.
From Our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, July %, 1890.

not possibly be in a more demoralized
condition than they are; prominent
senators are openly protesting against
the tariff bill, and no Republican
senator has so far dared to make a
speech upon it for tear that the bill
will be so radically changed that the
speech could be quoted against the
party in the campaign.
The fight between the friends of Mr..
Blaine and OF Speaker Reed grows
more bitter every day, and will with.
out question be to the death; the anti
Blaine Republicans are openly sneer-
ing at the foreign policy of the
government which writes lingo" let
tiers to foreign ministers for the
public perusal and sends secret orders
to dismantle the revenue cutters which
had been fitted up especially to carry
out our alleged policy in Behring sea-
Mr.. Harrison has been appealed to to
come to the rescue, and it is stated
that he has promised to send special
message to congress suggesting COM
promise upon which his party may
agree.
Commissioner of Pensions Raum is
to receive a coat of whitewash from
the house committee on pensions, the
Republicans having decided that to
be the easiest way of stopping the
ugly talk about favoritism and other
crookedness in the pension office.
The public will not be so lenient if
Representative Cooper can substan-
tiate his charges, and he is positive
that he can.
1t having already become apparent
that the high price of bullion silver
will make the new silver law a dead
letter, Senator Morgan has introduced
bill for the free coinage of silver. 1t
is the same bill which the sci ate has
once passed, but it is by no means
certain that the Republicans will
again support it.
Senator Frye has received another
letter from Mr.. Blaine on the reci-
procity question. The "protection"
theory seems TO be playing out. What
the Republican party will scare up for
an Issue at the next election is not
apparent. Mr.. Blaine's letter was an
absolute free trade document, al
though not to be TOO sudden, he sug-
gested the extension OF commercial
liberty only to the countries of this
continent, He gives Senator Frye
the credit of having more sense
than the other Republican sena-
tors, and thus excuses himself for
addressing his letter to him. He says
that this nation is fond of sugar and
that the revenue collected from that
article last year was $58, 100000. It's
the subject of debate in the senate at
present, and Senator Aldrich and his
colleagues on the finance committee
are trying to agree on reciprocity
amendment to the Mckinley tariff
bill, but do not want to have it labeled
"Blaine's scheme"
1t stands there yet as unfinished
business" The most commonsense
view Of the matter was rendered by
Senator Vance. He said that the re-
moval of unnecessary taxes was
matter of wisdom and that to continue
to collect them was not to be thought
of for moment. But those who
would think so "would reckon with
out their host" That had
been proved by the history
of the tariff commission of
1882, which had utterly ignored the
wants of the people, and thought
only of the wan is and wishes of the
manufacturers. What the people de-
sired was common sense reduction
of the revenue, and corresponding
relief of the payment of taxes, but the
taking off of two cents a pound on one
hand, and the paying of two cents a
pound to the sugar producer, on the
other, was not the way to do it; under
that system the taxes remained and
the people had to pay them. Agri-
culture supplied 70 per cent Of the
foreign exports OF this country, and
the arrangement of the tariff pre-
vented such trade from being quad
rupled, by precluding other nations
from exchanging their products for
those of America; and that the only
possible effect of the Mckinley bill
was to aggravate the evil.
But referring to Mr.. Blaine's letter,
he said that if it were important to
extent American trade TO Central and
South America, it could not be I'M
important to the European continent,
where the wealth and population was
ten times as great.
The poor old Mckinley bill cannot
find a friend. Senators Allison and
Pierce are down ON it, and everybody
is ashamed to be identified with it.
The Lodge federal election bill is
also knocked out. The subcommittee
have so mutilated it with amendments
that it will hardly be recognized.
The nice little scheme which Mr..
Blaine Matched up to have congress
charter an international American
bank. with his personal friends and
political supporters as officials, stands
very little show of being endorsed by
congress.
Senator Morgan, member of the
senate committee or foreign affairs,
saw there will he no war wit h ENGLAND