The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-05-30
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, May %, 1894.

W~ASHISGToN, MaJ 40, LOOT.
Signs are plenty that the republican Sem
ators are ready to give up their useless tight
against the tariff bill, and intimations have
been given to Senator Harris by their leaders
that if he would not carry out his announced
intention of compelling long night sessions
this week an agreement might be reached
upon a date for the taking of a final vote
upon the bill. AS the easiest way is always
the best way Senator Harris will defer for a
few days the holding of night sessions, in
order to see whether an amicable arrangement
can be reached with the republicans. If so,
all right and good if not, the democrats are
all prepared to endure any amount of personal
hardship that may be necessary to force a
vote. 1t is the expectation of the democratic
Senators that the bill will be passed in time
for the conference committee to act and get
their work endorsed by both House and
Senate and the bill signed by President Cleve-
land before the first of July. Only one demo-
cratic vote is in doubt-that of Senator Hill,
and after be fails to get the income tax struck
out of the bill it IS believed he will fall into
line and vote for the bill.
The Senate investigation committee found
Butte guilty of having attempted to bride
Senators Hunton and Kyle, but no steps have
been taken towards criminally prosecuting
him. The committee is now engaged in
investigating the charges of crookedness on
the part Of the sugar trust and Senators in
connection with the preparation of the sugar
schedule of the tariff bill, and, judging from
the evidence already taken, those charges are
likely to be shown up as outright fakes. For
instance, it was charged that the sugar
schedule was prepared in the handwriting of
Secretary Carlisle, who carried it to a meet
ing Of the Finance committee, and demanded
! that it be adopted because of obligations the
party owed to the sugar trust, and the man
who made the charge declined 10 give his
authority. The story was read to Senator
Jones, of Ark, who was chairman of the
; Subcommittee that arranged the amendments
to the tariff bill, which included the sugar
! schedule, and he was asked by Senator Gray,
chairman OF the investigating committee,
VIVA; truth there was in it. "Nore, what
ever" he replied emphatlcally 81 think l
have attended every meeting Of the tariff
subcommittee this session, but no such scene
was ever enacted, nor a demand made oy Mr.
Carlisle for the protection Of sugar. With
reference to the charge that Sec. Carlisle
prepared the sugar schedule, I would say
that my recollection is that | prepared the
sugar schedule in the bill as FIRST reported
the schedule 10 the last bill reported was put
in shape at the Treasury department at my
request, in order that the administrative
features of the schedule should be 10 correct
form, the suggestion Of the rate and ali Of the
essential details of the schedule were from me-"
There is about the amount of truth 10 the
charges mentioned as 10 all the rest. The SEIZED.
ule was prepared at the Treasury department at
Senator Jones's request, aud some republican
clerk employed therein probably told it out
side the rest was imagined. The committee
may ask the Senate to order the arrest of the
correspondents who refused to give their
authority for the charges, but that will
accomplish nothing, IS they would be certain
to continue to refuse. The Senate has several
times tried, but never successfully, to compel
correspondents to tell where they get informa-
ton from. Every Senator whose name has
been connected with these charges has ex.
pressed a willingness to- appear before the
investigating committee without the tormality
of a summons.
1t seems hardly necessary to say that the
stories printed in republican papers about the
great cost to the government of the little
vacation trip of President Cleveland and
Secretaries Carlisle aud Gresham, on the
light house tender Violet, were entiely false.
The presence of those gentlemen on the little
boat did not cost the government one cent
The Violet made her regular trip, supplying
the light houses with oil, etc., and the pas
seneers' table was supplied at President
Cleveland's personal expense. The Violet
was not even delayed, Mr.. Cleveland insisting
before the start that that the fishing and
hunting should only be done while the boat
WAS transferring supplies TO the Lighthouses,
and that rale was adhered to during the trip
Rep. Bryan, Of Nebr., is just as enthusiastic
in his, advocacy of the building of the Mica
ragua canal, as Senator, Nsrgan, of Ala,
but be proposes, in a bill now before the Com
merce committee of the House, to do it in a
different way. His bill calls for an issue of
$50, 900, 900 10 greenbacks, to be used to
purchase a controlling interest in the stock of
the company and for the building of the canal
under the control of a board of eleven
directors, eight of them to represent the
United States.
The House has laid aside the regular appro-
p~ria,ion bill temporarily and will this week
try to decide whether the tax on state bank