The Portland daily press., 1894-05-07
Senate Democrats Said TO Be In the
Mood for 1t Now.
ON THE OTHER HAND RUMOR HAS
1T THEY STILL DISAGREE.
And That the Conference Amendments to
the Tariff Bill May Not Pass the Meas
ure After All-Meanwhile the Republi-
cans Will Ask Awkward Questions and
May Resort to Mild Kind of Filibus-
arin

Washington, May 6.-Immediately after
the routine morning business tomorrow,
possibly as early as 11.30, the Senate will go
into executive session to discuss the Chinese
treaty. The finance committee will meet
Tuesday morning and, after giving formal
consideration to the tariff amendments, will
report them tomorrow favorably. The
course of debate after Tuesday is somewhat
problematical. Tuesday, Mr.. Hoar of Mass
achusetts will speak on the pending tariff
bill, and it is not unlikely Mr.. Aldrich will
address the Senate on the revenue features
of the measure. Last week the clause fixing
the date when the bill will take effect was
passed over. When Saturday came, the dis
cussion was ostensibly over the second
Senate committee amendment found in lines
six and seven of the opening paragraph,
which adds to the House provision that
there shall be collected on all articles i'm
ported from foreign countries" the words
''or withdrawn for consumption
Much of the debate of the week following
the introduction of the amendments will be
of an impromptu character, concerning the
changes made. 1t will doubtless be the
policy of the minority to draw out their
opponents by caustic questions and embroil
them in colloquies as to why and how the
numerous amendments came to be made.
Mr.. Harris, if the remarks he has dropped
are correctly interpreted, will insist upon a
longer session. This course if pursued, the
Republicans will meet with such means as
happen to come to hand. They will debate
the bill as at present until five. and after
that hour will protest against further dis
cussion of the measure for the day. 1t is not
among the impossibilities that if Mr.. Harris
becomes persistent in his desire for the
immediate prolongation of the daily debate,
a mild system of flibustering may be i1aug
urated by the minority. The week will no
doubt force to the front the line of policy
to be pursued by both sides, for the Demo-
Gratis, confident of their ability now to
ultimately pass the bill, will assume the
aggressive from this time on.
The appropriation bills will continue to
engage the attention of the House until the
calendar is cleared of measures of that
character. There are the naval. agricul-
tural and Indian bills in sight for this week
and the legislative, executive and judicial
and the general deficiency yet to be re-
ported The first of the two last named bills
will be placed on the calendar probably the
first of next week. The deficiency bill is not
expected before the end of the month.
Whether the Democrats in the Senate
come together and agree to stand by the
reconstructed tariff bill is sdoubted in some
well informed quarters. 1t has been no light
task that Messrs. Jones, Vest and German
have undertaken. All day yesterday, they
bent their energies to the work of preparing
the final draft of the compromise bill, as
sisted by treasury experts. Sunday the
revision committee met at the Capitol
with an industrious contingent in the an
mex. Well on toward evening, conclusion
was said to have been reached, and the re-
vised draft of the concession amendments
to be ready to be sent to the printing office.