The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-26

tarin legislation is interesting and in
structive. The House. which alone has the
what is known as the Wilson bflI. a meas
ure which has the unenvable distinction
OF being the only tarin bill that ives ever
States in his annual message 10 C,onerpSz
before II had ever been submitted 10 the
House. before IL had ever been considered
by the committee ways and means anr
before ii had ever been adopted by any
Senate of the United states. That BIN dsd
not raise sufficient revenue TO meet the ex-
Penses Of the government Every estimate
created a deficit OF from forty 10 seyenfv
millions Of dollars. That bin Went 90 the
Senate and took me usual course Of refer
ence TO the committee on finance which has
charge of the revenue legislation OF tbs
Senate. After protracted consideration BY
than four hundred amendments. was re-
ported TO the Senate, but. after much talk
ing and wrangling, ii was soon made mars-
fest that neither the Wilson bill nor fh-
Wilson bill with the Senate committees
amendments would pass that body. And
committee, taking Il out OF the hands OF
the Senate. taking IL out OF the control of
the finance committee OF the Senate a SELF
constituted committee known as the ad-
jUSting committee. CONSISTING OF Mr. Jones
Of Arkansas. Mr.. Vest Of Missouri and Mr.
wasn't a single Northern Senator war
made an adjusting committee 20 fix up. a
bill that could command forty-three votds
States.
THE SENATORS DIsHoNoR.
"The Senator from Arkansas himself best
tells how it was done. Speaking OF the
bill OF the finance committee not having
been signed after its passage, he said, and
/ quote from the record
I'VE knew that TO pass the bin in this
that fact staring us in the face we saw
the necessity of passing some sort OF
tariff bill while we had the power The
Senator from Tennessee, the Senator from
Missouri, myself and other members OF the
committee. and Senators not on the COM
mittee, discussed the situation freely be-
gan a conference with individual Senator's.
one after another. L carefully noted down
the objections and criticisms of each. and
the bill. noted the ob;ecfion made - it o1f
went from the beginning TO the end through
the bill. with man after man on this side
in the work After had talked with each
man who was opposing the bill and had
noted on the margin of the bill what was
each OF them, and after / had gone over
the marginal notes and made, up my mind
exactly what were the smallest modifica~
tons which would at all meet the diff
culties which were in the way. consulteS
the Secretary of the Treasury and the
President, and thus We made the BILL
THAT is TO say, he said to the several
senator's who were not pledged, and who
refused to be bound by party caucus. What
90 you want? What is your price for vot-
ing for this bill? What is your require
ment. that 1 may put you down among
passage of this bill? Name your considera-
tion.' He didn't put the question, What
IS for the best interests of the country7
He didn't ask, what is for the best interests
of the wage earners? He didn't ask, What
| is best for the farmers and the .agricultur-
lists? He didn't ask, What would carry out
the pledges and principles OF the Democratic
party? He asked, What must be the price
70 be given to the unbound Senator 20 get
him to pass by his vote some sort of a
bill while the Democratic party had the
power And that is the way that bill was
made. That my fellow-citizens, of itself
ought to condemn IT, The voice OF Indiana
was not heard in the making of that bill.
| Three Senators from three Southern States
made the industrial law for sixty-fve mil
| speaking for my fellow-countrymen, that
We do not propose TO be bound by legis-
lation made in that way tApplause)
some protection Rice is carefully pro-
tected by duty of more than 80 per cent.
ana sno, sugar S as not Wholly neglected; II has
| but principally here. There is tariff OF,
| peanuts. but free trade in hoop iron that
tariff on sumach. but free trade in wool.
| There is tariff on mica, but free trade
in lumber. There is a tariff on the grain
| bags OF the Northern farmer, but there is
no tariff on the cotton bagging of the
| Southern farmer In every schedule there
| is tie grossest exhibition OF sectionalsm
| and unjust discrimination. Is Il any wonder
| that even Mr.. Cleveland condemned IL and
| in his letter to Congressman Catchings de-
| CARES There are provisions In this bin
and il contains inconsistencies and crudtles
J which ought not to appear in tariff laws or
| laws OF any kind. while influences sur
rounded it in it's late stages and interfered
| with its final construction which ought not
to be recognized or tolerated i'm Democratic
| reform councils And the President might
! have added. nor any other councils But
| they were accepted; they were recognized:
they've they We're tolerated, and the people OF this
| votes what Mr.. Cleveland himself so strong
| ly condemns.
THE LOUISIANA TRADE
But, my fellow-citizens this is not the
| whole history OF this remarkable bill. Sen
ator German. in his speech of July %. 1894
| disclosed facts never before given TO the
| public when he said:
=" Louisiana. through its two Senator'S
| then the late distinguished man who oc-
| -cupied seat in this body, Randall L. Glib
son. son, and hi,oE Edward yard d. White. waited to
| paign of 1892 wns+. the policy OF the party
was. was to oe under the apparently free-trade
| resoiut1c ms adopted at Chicago. After n
| great deal OF talking. after a most careful
| consideration. the candidate OF our party
| tthat Is. Mr.. cieveland) tcld them. told
these Two gentlemen, that The Democrat tic
| party Was not TO destroy Industries: that
II should place fair duty. upon dutiable
had met the approval OF the Damorra fic
| party was the Mills bill and on the line
| of the Mills bill the Democratic party
would act II will be remembered that t.,
Mills bill gave a high duty 10 sugar The
junior Senator from New Jersey said AR
\ German, the Senator from Ohio Mr. Rrfce
and myself, were then giving our time. and
| our money, and everything that men can
| give for the success of the party We con-
| ferred with all these distinguished gentle-
| men. We were not at the conference with
| the candidate. Mr.. Cleveland but had n
| from both sides what had occurred They
| wanted TO know then of us IL the Demo-
| particularly at the head OF which we were.
| put the same construction upon It and
4 would be in favor OF that line OF pro-
! cedure thereafter They said TO US frankly.
| I'VE want to tell our people the truth We
| don't want TO press you TO give a single
| fraction OF a cent TO louisiana but we only
| want to know the truth" and at that
| solemn conclave we all said, Yes IL is a
| dutiable article, and you shall have it, No
| man, no living being. has ever charged me
| with perhdy. No soul can say that [ havs
| ever made a promise about public or pri-
| vate matters that L did not carry out in I
| and myself, Brice and Smith. carrying out
| our pledge with the Louisiana Senators
made before the campaign. have stood here
| and been g1bbeted as three men VINO were
| In the Sugar trust
| This, my fellow-citizens Is the plain
| story OF the transaction in the carnrafRn
| of 1892, told i'm open debate told in public
session, tod to the country, published fn
the enduring records of the United States
| that the candidate OF the Democratic party
and the managers Of the Democratic party