The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-07-13

of the great parliamentary advantage they ell
jOp. Many members have discovered for tn
first time that the Senate has lost all power {,
prevent the enactment of the bill No yot,
will ever be taken on the bill as amended b,
the separate reports of the conference com
mittee. Each item of disagreement will b.
voted upon, but it is believed that majorit,
| can be secured in favor of cutting down til,
Senate rates, restoring coal and iron ore to tn,
| free list and wiping out the discriminatin.
duty on refined sugar, if each proposition il
submitted separately to the Senate The slgal
men have discovered that they may lose thu
diflerential duty by a vote of So or 60 against
five and still have no power left to defeat the
bill except by stubbornly refusing to permit
agreement on subsequent amendments.
The trust would be left with beggarly
handful of votes, and Il simple revenue duty
would be imposed upon sugar. The friends
of some of the textile schedules are In more
fortunate position, for certain paragraphs
passed by the house were not changed in the
senate and are not subject of conference.
The fact that the house has the situation to a
large extent in its own hands is just Begin
ming to be understood by many members of
both houses. The senate cOnferees are per-
sOnallyin favor CT the house bill, but they are
keeping faith with the conservative senators
whom they promised to assist in keeping their
amendments in the BILL The one resource of
the conservative senator's in case of report
against their amendments will be to talk in
definitely against its acceptance. They will
have the assistance of the Republicans in do
ing this. and the latter are developing into
warm supporters of the senate bill. There is
a desire, coupled with strong hope ON the
part of the Democratic managers. that the
points upon which the two houses disagree
may be settled speedily, and that the bill NAV
be sent to the president for his signature be-
fore the first of:neXt month, but the Repub-
licans say that this is impossible. The rep
resentatives of special interests are already
beginning to pourback into the city, deter
mined to bring all the pressurel they can on
the conference committee to keep the rates at
the maximum fixed in the schedule. Both
Chairman Wilson and Speaker Crisp have
had repeated conferences with President
Cleveland this week, and all three are as one
in the determination to hlae the senate bill
modified so as to make it rs much like the
Wilson bill rs possible.
Mr. Cockrell has got as many appropriation
bills in shape rs possible, so that the senate
can discuss them this week. The naval bill
was passed Monday.
A day i'm the house for general pension bills
has been promised the committee on invalid
pensions by Speaker Crisp. One of the bills
Of thel greatest general interest isthat rcstor
ing the pensions of widows of soldiers after
The death of the second husband in cases
where they have remarked. The present
law cuts of the pension of a veterans widow
upon her marriage and the committee do not
propose to change this rule, but many cases
If severe hardship have been brought to the |
attention of the committee where the widow |
ias been left destitute by the death of her /
'eeond husband and il Is thought only just |
when she thus loses her support to restore /
her character and privileges as a veterans |
widow. Two amendments are proposed TO /
he general disability pension act of 1890 /
which will include worthy veterans not tech
lically covered 10y the language of the law.
bne of these amendments extends the benefit /
# the law to the widows of veterans who
lied in service without having forfeited the
igat to an honorable discharge. The law now
xtends the pension only TO widows of those
lonorsbly discharged. Another change cor
ects similar defect regarding insane and
Helpless children.
President Cleveland sent to the senate with
mt comment Tuesday some further CORE
poudence Secretary Gresham has received
N samoan matters. In these papers. which
disclose the hostility of the natives TO the gov
established by the three powers in
hose Islands. the secretary SAYS he finds
abundant continuation OF the views hereto
ore expressed by him touching the un>sfis-
aciOry character of the entanglemenis in
which the United States has become involved
y reason Of their participation in the general