The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-06-07
FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS.
CONTEMPT CASES OF cORRESPoN.
- DENTS PASSED OVER.
Authority Asked for to Condemn Lands
Near Gettysburg Sugar Seized.
ule Calls for Earnest Talk From
Members-Russian Treaty.
SENATE,

the senate met at 10 o'clock this morn.
ing, in honor of that gentleman's 63rd
birthday anniversary.
Senator Hoar of Massachusetts pre-
sented petition from the New En-
gland Industrial association, asking
Legislation which would guarantee
work to the unemployed" 1t was re.
ferred to the committee on rules. The
bill granting additional lands in the
Hot Springs reservation to the Berry
hospital was passed.
1t was within 5 minutes of 10:30
when the morning business was
finished, and Senator Hill of New
York made no effort to get up his reso-
luton to instruct the bribery commit
tee to throw open it's doors to the pub
lie. 1t went over as did senator
Dolph's resolution to bring e. J. Ed
wards, one of the witnesses, to the bar
of the senate for contempt.
Senator Hill asked unanimous con-
sent to consider a joint resolution
passed by the seate giving the secre-
tary of war authority under the last
civil appropriation bill to institute
condemnation proceedings to secure
certain lands near the battlefield of
Gettysburg. Judge Dalk, he ex-
planned, had just held that the Ian
guags of that act was not broad
enough to warrant condemnation pro-
ceedings.
Senator Cockrell of Missouri OBJ.
jecled, insisting that the resolution
should go first to the committee on
military affairs and it was so referred.
The tariff bill was then laid before
the senate and debate on the sugar
question began. The Mckinley law
placed raw sugars on the tree list, inn.
posed 1.2 CENT duty on refined sugar
and gave bounty of 2 cents to the
sugar grower.
The house bill repealed the bounty
and placed all sugars, raw and refined,
on the free list. The first bill reported
from the finance committee of the
senate gave specific duty of from l
cent to 2S5 per pound according to
polariscope test. The compromise"
amendment which is now before the
senate made the sugar schedule go
into effect Jan. l, 1895, the rate being
A per cent ad valorem on all sugar,
Is of per cent additional on sugars
above Lie Dutch standard, with an
additional lilo Of l cent pound on
sugars from countries paying export
bounties. 1t also contained the sugar
treaty with Hawaii.
Senator Henderson took the floor as
soon as Senator Jones had formally
proposed the compromise amendment.
The sugar schedule, he said, was the
interesting schedule of the bill. 1t
contained both sweetness and light.
1t seemed to pe1vade the whole bill.
The bill could not be touched without
laying hands on sugar. The senate
had even departed from the considers
alton of the bill to make explorations
in sugar-not in the cane fields of
Nebraska but in the committee rooms.
The saccharine principle invaded
every feature of this bill. Senator
Henderson then proceeded to argue
in favor of protection for the sugar
growing industry of the country. The
consumption of sugar in the United
Strtes was enormous. Almost SIS, 00G,-
100000 pounds of raw sugar had been
consumed last year, representing q
total of $182,000,000 to be paid to
foreigners. Free sugar would mean
the immediate destruction of the beet
sugar industry and the gradual ex-
tinction of cane sugar production in
the Southern states.
If properly protected he prophesied
that before 1905 beet sugar production
would have 30 developed in the North
and cane sugar in the South that the
United States could supply the full
consumption of the country. Beet SUI
gar growing offered an important in
dustry to the farmers. When devel-
oped to the extent necessary to sup
ply the demand it would afford q
crop 100000 acres. 1t was great
boon which they asked congress to
save to them. Every acre planted in
beets means 20 days labor to man.
No country in the world, Mr.. Mander-
son said, was 80 we'll adapted to pro-
duce beet sugar as the United States.
Beet growing would ultimately dis
place cane growing. Cane contained
IS per cent of crystalline sugar,
sorghum but 8 per cent, while
beets gave from Is to 10
per cent of crysta lime sugar. Mr..
the growth of beet and cane sugar any
obligation existed to protect the re.
finer5. There was no connection; he
declared, between the sugar growers
and the odius sugar trust. He cared
nothing for the one and everything
for the other. AS Mr.. Henderson
gave notice that at the proper time he
would offer as substitute for the
sugar schedule the bounty provision
of the Mckinley bill giving it force in
July, 1895. He argued In support of
the constitutionality of the bounties
extensively from court decisions and
especially the decision of Justice Mil
Ter.
eff congress were to give bounty"
inquired Mr.. Cafferey, Democrat,
Louisiana, to former manufacturer,
doyou contend that the courts have
noright to inquire whether bounty is
given for public or private use?"
II do" replied Mr.. Henderson.
"The decision of Mr.. Miller is con-
elusive on that point"
Mr.. PETER proceeded st length to
support a bounty instead of duty on
sugar. In the course of his speech he
went into the discussion of the silver
l. 4 L Il h