The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-02-20
STILL NOT READY.
Democrats Working on
the Tariff.
1T is A PRETTY BIG JOB.
Why the Committee Broke
Its Promise.
CANNOT GET THE BILL IN SHAPE.
Finds 1t No Easy Task to Suit
All the Senators on Its
Own Side.
IT IS A PRETTY BIG JOB.
CANNOT GET THE BILL IN SHAPE.

WASHINGTON, EtDs IL lie SENATORIAL
thinkers who are hammering away at the
tariff are in deep despair They now real
ize that they have bitten off more than
they can chew. When they undertook
their task they announced that the work
of revising the Wilson bill would be rail-
roaded in order to revive "our languish-
ing" industries. Their report was prom
ised weeks ago. Then they promised that
the report would be ready by next Tues
day at the very latest. Tonight the Dem
ocratic members of the Finance Committee
announce that they will not be able to
report the tariff bill to the committee on
Tuesday. In fact, they do not know when
they will have their report ready, they are
all at sea. One of the members of the
tariff subcommittee said to-day, with an
air of WEAKNESS, that he could not attempt
to say when the bill would be reported.
II shall be very well satisfied" he said,
''lf it is in shape to be reported by the be-
ginning of next week"
The committee had been very hopeful
just before adjournment on Friday night
of being able to fulfill Chairman VoOr-
hees' promise to get the bill in
readiness for the full committee this
week. but after putting in a long days
work at the close OF a week devoted to
the bill the members found 1t still in
chaotic condition. and were compelled to
admit 10 themselves, as they did later to
outside inquireTs. that the task they had
set themselves had been impossible of &C
complishment.
The reason for the postponement is dis
covered in the fact that the work of salts
flying Democratic Senators has been found
very difficult one, and the construction
of a bill that will be acceptable by the
Senate an undertaking requiring many
changes Of purpose and alterations of fig
ures at first made. When the Sub-commit-
tee began their work they had before them
the draft of bill upon which il was be-
lieved it would have been an easy matter
to secure agreement, but this bill has been
changed in some respects several times,
and has become so worn from handling
and erasuTes that it lIas become necessary
to destroy the original copy and replace it
with new one.
There is still much demand for conces-
sions on the part of Senators on minor
items, and MANY Of the most important
features in the bill are entirely Enacted
upon. MT Oxnard, president of the
American Beet-sugar Refners' Associa-
lion, has filed an earnest protest with
Senators voorhees, and Vest against the
action of the Democratic subcommittee Of
the Finance Committee in disposing of the
sugar schedule without permitting him or
any other representative of the beei-sugar
Tefuers TO appear before the committee.
In his protest Mr.. Oxnard points out that
under the bounty provided by the McKn-
ley law sugar beet culture has become one
of the principal industries of Nebraska
and the Deighboring States, and that to
encourage farmers to abandon wheat and
other crops and raise beets instead the
refners entered into contracts for several
years 10 come, in most cases until 1895.
The prices fixed in contracts were made
on the basis of the bounty provided in the
Mckinley law. Mr.. Oxnard maintains
that to wipe out the bounty which refners
received from the Government added to
a practical delivery of the American
market to German and other foreign
refners. will mean the business ruin of
every man who has invested his money in
beet-sugar plants.
Letters have been received by mum Der
of Senators from the managers of the Bal
timore Sugar Refinery protesting against
the subcommittee action in recommend
ing discriminating duty, and similar let
ters have been received from other refn-
cries throughout the country, all calling
the committees atten ton TO the fact that
there are very many sugar refineries
throughout the country outside of the
sugar trust and that the subcommittee
warfare on the American Refining Com
pany will ruin all other reiners as we'll as
this one trust. The letters of the Balti-
more refinery give the names of nearly 100
other refneries not connected with the
trust.
NEW YORK. Feb. 19.-The Mail and Ex-
press Washington special says: 1.-THE
tariff bill will not be ready to lay before
the whole Finance Committee of the SEN
ate tomorrow" said Chairman Voorhees,
to-day.
when do you expect the work of the
majority of the committee to be completed
SO the Republican minority may see the
measured"
when the work of the committee is DO
longer challenged by Democratic Sena-
tors"
SIS it true you intended to submit the
bill to the full committee tomorrow and
were notified By Senators German, White
and other Democrats that unless you
changed the figures in coal, sugar. ETC., they
would vote TO recommit?"
"The majority of the membership was
asked to make further changes in the bill
before it was reported, and we are trying
to harmonic certain schedules so as to
satisfy mum Der of Democratic Senators
who have made demands upon US. l don't
know whether we will succeed in accom-
pills hing our aims this week"