The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-04-03
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

time since wrote you. Pressure Oh
duties here is my excuse, but l pre-.
sumo, with the many good things con-
tanned in your paper, the patrons have
not missed my letters.
During the closing hours of Congress
a measure of great Importance to the
State of Kansas, was brought to a
successful termination through the
efforts of the Hon. E. III. Funston and
Hon. p. b. Plumb. / refer to the ex.
periments in the manufacture of sugar
from sorghum, authorized in the ap.
priation bill for the Agricultural de,
partment. 1t was very fortunate fol
the State that these gentlemen were
i'm positions of infiuence,-onea as the
Chairman of the House committee,
and the other as chairman Of the sub
committee of the Senate in charge OF
the bill.
1 suppose your readers are familiar
with the discoveries recently made in
the experiments in sugar, but for fear
that they do not fully comprehend the
importance to the State of Kansas, l
will endeavor to explain it, in an hum
BILE way. Prof. II. w. Wiley, chief
chemist of the department of Agricult-
ure, has discovered that the juice OF
sorghum cane, which has heretofore
been of such refractory" character
that not more than 25 to so pounds OF
sugar to the ton could be extracted,
can now be treated with alcohol ana
fully eighty per cent. more sugar
made. This means just doubling the
product, and it is practically all profit
and, if success, means millions OF
dollars to our people. The tax on al
cohol made it impracticable,- and the
design of the Kansas representatives
was to authorize the manufacture OF
alcohol from the refuse, to be used ex-
clusively in the manufacture OF sugar,
free from tax, under restrictions ana
the control of the Internal Revenue
Bureau, but as this was clearly legis-
lation in an appropriation bill, a SIN
gle objection would knock it out. Or
course the Bourbons of Bourbonville
were ready to object to anything
which would benefit Kansas, ana
Breckenridge, of Kentucky, interposed
an objection in the House and out it
had to go. When the bill came back
from the Senate Mr.. Plumb had sue
ceeded in securing the passage of a
clause removing the tax. This, a.
though not just what was wanted, is
big thing, as alcohol can be bought,
less the tax, for twenty cents per gal
Ion, although it could have been man.
ufactured for five or six cents.
When Mr.. Funston asked for Con-
ference committee from the House, the
astute Breckenridge, who represents
the distilleries in Kentucky, under
took to instruct the conferees against
the alcohol proviso in the bill, and
here is where Mr.. Funston exhibited
his skill and knowledge, as well as
his influence upon the floor of the
House, for the willy Breckenridge had
expatiated largely upon the danger of
opening the gate in prohibition Kan
sas, and everything looked as if he
would carry the instructions.
Mr.. Funston closed the debate in a
three minute speech in which he said:
'Mr. Speaker, it is amusing to me to
see how ready gentlemen are to invoke
the Constitution whenever they cannot
beat a measure in any other way, and
it has amused me especially upon this
occasion to find gentlemen from Sec
ton of country that has received the
benefits of appropriations of money
for the relief of its citizens upon APP
priation bills that were clearly uncon-
stitutional, if this is unconstitution-
al, raise that point. want TO say to
the gentleman that cannot recall a
single item to mind at this time, and
am so situated that cannot refer TO
them, but L would like to have the
gentleman point out to me the section
or clause of the Constitution that per-
mits us to relieve the people of any
section of this country. weuld like
the gentleman to point out the section
in the Constitution that permits us TO
relieve the citizens of Memphis, as we
did a few years ago when they had
the yellow fever. / would like to have
the gentleman point out the section in
the Constitution that permits the Con-
gress of the United States to relieve
the people of the flooded districts as
we did a few years ago. Iwould like
the gentleman to point out the author
ization in the Constitution for many
other things that are done by the Con-
gress of the United States. But here
is measure, Mr.. Speaker, that it is
the desire of certain gentlemen ON the
floor to defeat, and for that purpose
they invoke the Constitution of the
United States. Why, sir, it is a daily
occurrence that amendments are offer
ed in the Senate to House bills, and
yet they are left in by the very gentle
men who object to this provision.
Gentlemen say, Mr.. Speaker, that if
this is permitted to remain in the bill
it is making a precedent for future
Congresses to destroy the revenues. /