St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-27
LEADING QUESTION NOW.
WHAT WILL THE SENATE DO WITH
The TARIFF
WHEN 1T REACHES THAT BODY
Necessarily Vast Differences as to
Details, and Each Member of
the Committee VIII Have
Many Changes to Suggest if
the Bill Is Allowed TO stand
as Whole.

WASHINGTON, Dec 26.-What the
senate will do with the tariff is coming
te be question of some moment now
that it is realized that probably only
little more than month will eIapse be-
fore the bill providing for its change
shall reach the body. The Democratic
members of the finance committee will
appreciate that they will not be relieved
of responsibility by the action of the
house, and are looking forward to the
time when the committee will take
it up and go to work upon it as live
Issue, and with complete sense of their
duty to their country and their party,
reardless OF the action OF the house.
They have already gone far enough to
know that it is going to be very difficult
for them to harmonic views which are
in some respects widely conflicting. The
meetings which they held few weeks
ago are believed to have developed more
in this respect than was given to the
country. There will necessarily be vast
differences as to details, and it seems
probable now that each member of the
committee will have many changes TO
suggest if the bill is allowed to stand as
a whole, but
THE PRINCIPAL CONTEST
Will be over a proposition to report q
complete substitute for the Wilson bill
in the senate. The only thing which
will prevent this radical treatment will
be the ImpOssibility Of agreement among
the Democratic members who do not ac-
cept with favor the presnt bill. The
Democratic members of the senate COM
mIttee on finance, composed, as it is, of
senators from all sections of the coun-
try, as far east as New Jersey and as
far west as Missouri, and including rep
resentatives from Indiana, Tennessee,
North Carolina and Arkansas, naturally
presents all the varying shades of senti-
ment on the subject held in the party,
from belief in protection to American
labor and American industries to an adj
vocacy or as near an approach to free
trade as the collection of revenue TO ray
the expenses of the government will
permit.
Senator Mcpherson, representing an
Eastern manufacturing constituency,
has been known for years as a Randall
Democrat, and his friends intimate that
he finds so many Objectionable features
in the billin the direction Of reduction
of duties on manufactured goods that he
would prefer to amend by the SubStitu-
ton of
A COMPLETE NEW MEASURE.
On the other hand. Senator Jones. of
Arkansas, believes absolutely in a tariff
for revenue, and for no other purpose,
and does not consider that protection is
constitutional. He does not like the re-
tentiOn of the sugar bounty, and is in
cliEed to the opinion that small duty
on this article for revenue purposes
would be far more strictly in accord
with Democratic doctrines, and would
serve the purposes or the treasury bet
ter at this time. He finds many traces
of the protective theory left in the Will
son Dill, and would doubtless, if he had
his way about the matter, report a SUBJ
stitute for the entire bill which would
look absolutely to the revenue feature,
and knock out all sembiance of protec-
ton, to whatever interest.
Senators Harris, Vest and Vance
would be more inclined to coincide with
Mr.. Jones than with MIR. Mcpherson.
Senator Voorhees,, who, as chairman OF
the committee, Will have more than
other members to do in shaping its
course, may be denomlnated a con-
seryative as between these conflicting
theories. and it is safe to say that he
will advocate the retention OF the Will
son bill. He holds the opinion that the
Democratic members of the ways and
means committee have done
GREAT DEAL OF HARD WORK
in preparing the bill. and finds in it so
many features that commend them
selves to him that he thinks it ought to
stand, with some changes. He accepts
with favor the ad valorem system, and
also the transfer of a large number of
items on the raw material list from the
protected to the free column.
With the administration holding the