The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-08-13
THE TARIFF
TROUBLES.
Waiting For the Verdict on Senator
Hills Resolution.
THE HOUSE NOT ANXIOUS
Say They Can Pass the Amended Senate
Bill, Whatever the Verdict on the
Resolution May Be.
THE HOUSE NOT ANXIOUS

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 esterday was
anything but a day of rest for the tariff
leaders. They were on the go from early
morning until late at night 1t was day
of conferences at the White House, at
the private residences of the conferrees
and at the hotels, Secretary Carlisle was
with President Cleveland throughout the
afternoon. The senate and house confer
rees made no effort to get together, and
they remain as wide apart as when their
meeting broke up on Friday night. The
house conferrees were in consultation in
formally most of the day, although at. no
time were they all together at once.
Chairman Wilson spent the day with Rep
resentative Breckenridge, of Arkansas, at
the Normandie hotel, and was there called
upon by the other oonferTees. Mr.. Wilson
did not see the president through the day.
The meetings of the house men brought
hbout a thorough understanding among
them as to the line of action at the caucus
today, and in the subsequent proceedings
of the senate and house They reviewed
the situation from every possible stand
point and prepared themselves for all
emergencies. AS one of them said, it was
like going over the field of battle and
learning the topography of the ground on
the night before the great fight
! At the outset the house conferrees sat
isfied themselves of the parliamentary sit-
nation of the bill. They had done this
with the greatest care toward securing an
accurate and authoritative decision,
Speaker Crisp had been asked to examine
with care the precedents bearing on the
case, and 1t was understood that he had
IN turn consulted with Secretary Car
Isle, who as eX-speaker of the house of
representatives, is regarded as one of the
best authorities on parliamentary pro
cedure.
From the examination which had been
made the conferrees were fully satisfied
that the house OF representatives had the
right to pass the senate bill now OF at any
time. This determination went much
further than has heretofore been under
stood 1t was that the house. having the
actual physical possession of the tariff
bill, could pass IL with the senate amend
ments before the Hill resolution passed OF
after the Hill resolution passed, OF after
the Hill resolution was defeated That
is, so confident were the house conferrees
of their right to pass the bill at any time
that they regarded their rights as entirely
unaffected by anything the senate could
do with the Hill resolution OF with any
other resolution They recognized that
there were some precedents against this
position but they regarded the over
whelming force of authority with them,
and they therefore accepted 1t as settled
that the house had supreme authority
over the bill, without reference to what
the senate might do today or hereafter
This conclusion was of the utmost i'm
portance in bearing on the action Of to-
days caucus 1t assured them, In the
first place, that there was no need of pre-
Gpitate action toward accepting the sen
ate bill before Mr.. HIPS resolution has
passed. 1t was agreed, however, that no
such haste was necessary On the con
trary, it was felt that the house, in having
possession of the bill and parliamentary
| right to pass it at any time, had every
thing to gain and nothing TO lose by de
| liberate action.
There Is undoubtedly q desire on the
part of large majority of the Democratic
| Senators, practically all of them, unless it
may be the Louisiana senators, to have
| the house take possession of the bill. This
| is due to the general belief in the senate
| khat the house will accept the senate
amendments and that the senate bill will
thus become law, and to the fear that If
the bill should again go TO the senate it
would be indefinitely postponed, while on
| the other hand it is believed that II the
| house should agree TO the senate amend
ments the senate would aoquiesce in this
action and waive the technical objections
which might be raised over the posses
sion of the bill 1t is understood that
even Senator Hill, Notwithstanding his
| opposition to the bill, would be disposed
TO accept the favorable action Of the house
as final and to permit the bill 70 60 to
the president without raising any parlia-
mentary questions concerning it
The hope is general about the senate
that the present will be the last week OF
the session. This is based upon the belief
that the tariff hill will be disposed of IN
some way early in the week, and with the
tariff out of the way hnal adjournment
can be brought about at almost any time