The Washington times., 1894-05-10
PROGRESS WITH The TARIFF
One Amendment Adopted, but Lodges
Retaliatory Measure Voted Down.
MILLS MADE VIGOROUS SPEECH
He Repudiates the Action Of His Colleagues
in Coming Over to Protective Principles.
Populists Voting with Democrats on Sem
ator Lodges Silver Amendment.

1A@>i
providing for the payment of the reduced rate
of duties on goods held in bond or "with-
drawn for consumption" as the clause reads
in the bill, was passed yesterday after consid-
cradle debate.
Mr.. Aldrich opposed the amendment on the
to lose the money. Besides. 1t inaugurated
new rule and gave consignees the advantage
of being able to import goods in advance.
Senators Chandler, Hale, Mills, Jones, and
others joined in the debate, the latter say
ing that the Secretary of the Treasury ap-
proved the provision.
Mr.. Aldrich at length got the floor. With
delicate fineness he succeeded in arousing
Mr.. Mills, the fiery Senator from Texas. He
began by referring to his assertion in the
Senate ten DAYS ago that over 800 amend
ments would be brought in. He knew then
that his statement was true. Yet 1t had been
met with the most tumultuous denials from
every one in authority on the other SIDE.
His statement. as the amendments showed.
had been too conservative. He had under
stated the radical character and the number
of changes made.
Those amendments deliberately abandoned
every principle ever advocated by tarin
reformer They made increases from 10 to
300 per cent. and with grand sweep changed
the duties from ad valorem to specific. He
read extracts from the speeches OF Senators
Voorhees, and Mills, made at the opening and
closing of the general debate, denouncing in
the most severe terms the system OF specific
duties. To swallow that bill as now modi-
fled would mean a surrender of the principles
of lifetime. After this he said he did not
think there was a single Senator on the other
side who would have the temerity to avow his
allegiance to the Chicago platform.
The shafts OF the Rhode Island Senator had
evidently gone home, for Senator Mills, OF
Texas. arose somewhat excited He wanted
TO repel the idea that he was in any way re-
sponsible for what Mr. Aldrich had termed
the Democratic surrender. A few days ago,
he began, he had described his own position
as between the devil and the deep sea. the
Mckinley bill being the devil. Since that
time change had come over the situation.
He was nearer the devil and had not as much
sea room as before. Laughter He now
found that the bill before the Senate, as mod
flied by the amendments introduced, have no
resemblance to the Wilson bill. 1t ought, he
said, to bear the name of Mr.. German or Mr..
Brice.
No man, he declared impulsively, could
torture him into an admission that this bill
was a response to Democratic pledges. He
had said that taxation should be levied upon
value; that it was the only just system; that it
should not be imposed as under the specific
system of the Mckinley bill, so that the goods
of the rich would escape with the same tax
levied upon the cheaper articles ofthe poor.
He said that the Democrats might pile up the
amendments to this bill and make it as bad as
it. could be- and he would vote for it. but he
would not help to make it so. He filed this
Gl,.. nny,a -hN ,tfrl1t npf
to know where he stood. The amendment
.or withdrawn for consumption was then
agreed to without division.
Mr. Lodge then offered his amendment to
impose double duties in the bill against Great
Britain until that country should agree to All
international ratio for the coinage OF silver.
This amendment he said was offered as some
thing practicable in the line of bimetallism.
Mr. Lodge explained that the amendment
Disseminated against the colonies of Great
Britain as well as England. Whenever we
had got anything from England We had not
got it by humbly asking for it, but after war,
commercial or otherwise.
Quoting from what he called British OK
pressiols, he cited the New York Evening Post
together with Canadian and English attacks
on the plan proposed by the amendment
showed their fear of it. England was waging
financial war on the rest of the world, as she
had a right to do. She realized on the in
crease in value of gold. We should now give
favorable tariff rates TO nations willing to CO.
operate with us to secure bimetallisa. and in
crease rates against the only nation that holds
out against it.
After Senator Lodges speech. Senators
speeches on the subject.
Senator Mcpherson then took up the dis
cusson and said he had no idea that Senator
Lodge expected speech ut this time.
Senator Teller tnen rose 10 defend the
amendment. 1t was not. he said. what he
wanted, but it was something. He then
entered into vigorous Genunciafion of our
yielding to the plans of Great Britain to de-
press the prices OF our commodities. by insist
ing upon gold payments for all debts and rs
n creditor nation forcing other countries to
sell goods at the reduced prices which gold
monometallism forced. He declared our prod
ucts had not brought much more than half
what they would have under other c!rcum-
stances. He then got into an alteration with
Senator Mcpherson on the question of the
availability of silver rs mainly depending on
its price, Senator Mcpherson claiming that il
was not the matter Of price but of general ac-
ceptance that settled the question.
Senator Plat then spoke briefly in defense
of the amendment. after which Senator Vest
launched out against the proposition, sug-
gesting that Senator Lodge was not sincerely
trying to help silver. but feeling sure that
Great Britain would not assent to the propo-
sition. he would obtain for the New England
manufacturers duties larger than the Me-
Kinley duties, duties larger than the most
imaginative protectionist had ever dreamed
Of Inasmuch as England was our best Gus
toner. if we shut her out that result would
surely follow.
Senator Harris finally pushed his motion to
lay the amendment on the table. which was
passed hy strictly party vote. 81 to 81. Sen
atcr Allen voting with the Democrats and
Kyle being paired the same way.