The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-01-16
Receives Considerable Atten-
tion in Tariff Tinkering.
A TALK ON LABOR AND CAPITAL
Serves to Greatly Eniiven the Days
Proceedings I'm the House Yesterday.
Last Nights Session and What Was
Done.

Ing OF the tariff bill in the house
yesterday consumed two hours and
10 minutes. As soon as it was
concluded Mr.. Wilson took the floor and
suggested that before the committee pro
ceeded to consider the bill under the five
minute rule it was advisable that an
agreement should be reached by which
the schedules should be taken up in the
order in which they occur for three days.
to determine whether the time limit
would permit tbe committee to go through
all OF them in This manner.
Mr.. Reed said he WAS glad to recog-
nize that at the outset the chairman OF
the ways and means committee admitted
the utter impropriety of the present pro-
cedure. But this suggestion did not pro-
pose to remedy that. The proper way
was to relieve the time limitation from
the debate and allow IL to proceed in an
untrammeled way. The bill contained
great many propositions of vital i'm.
portance to different sections of the coun-
try. The whole bill was now. before the
house, but every amendment depended
upon the recognition of the chair He
(Mr Reed could not agree to the agree.
ment.
Wilson Starts In.
At this point Mr. Bynum called for the
regular order and the chair recognized
Mr.. Wilson. Mr.. Wilson then offered the
first committee amendment to strike out
In the tobacco schedule the words 'scom-
mercially known" in the description of
wrapper tobacco. He explained that the
amendment was desirable to prevent in
Al.
This precipitated very fierce discus
sion. Mr.. Payne (Rep.. N. ~ offered an
amendment to the amendment to increase
the duty on cigar wrappers from 81 to 50
and supported it in fiveminute speech.
Mr.. DE Forest (Dem., Comm supported
Mr.. Payne's amendment. He declared
high duty would not only protect the to-
bacco farmers of Connecticut, but was
consistent with the revenue plank in the
Chicago platform. Besides it was tax
On a luxury.
Mr. Marsh (Rep.. Ills.) wanted to know
why the constituents of Mr.. DE Forest,
who elected him 10 congress on q Demo
cratic platform. did not take the medi.
cine they voted for. Then Mr.. Marsh de-
clared that the Democratic party did not
have the courage TO incorporate in the
tariff bill the redemption Of its platform
pledges.
Signed by $4,000.
Mr.. Bynum declared that cigar manu-
facturers and operators to the number of
5000 had signed the petitions for this re-
duction. They were deserving of more
consideration than the tobacco farmers of
Connecticut. Mr.. Sperry Dem., Comm
waived the question Of protection to the
Connecticut farmer and supported Mr..
Baynes amendment. There were, he said,
now in the custom house 5000, 900 pounds
of Sumatra leaf. II it came in under
the present duty, it would yield q, ZOO, 900
more than the prepared schedule Of the
bill; if the bill passed as it stood, the
money would go into the pockets Of
the importers.
Mr.. Paynter Dem, Ky.) offered sub
stitute TO further reduce the proposed
duty of 81 to 30 and IS cents.
Mr.. Marsh (Rep. Ills.) offered an amend
ment to the substitute TO reduce the duty
to % cents, as he said. to test the good faith
OF the Democratic side.
The vote was then taken on Mr. Payne's
amendment to place the duty at the pres
ent rate. IL was lost, 70 to 1l5.
Agreements Reached.
Mr.. Wilson's amendment was then
agreed to, and the vote was taken on Mr..
Marsh's amendment to Mr.. Paynter's
substitute. Both the amendment and the
Paynter substitute were disagreed to-
Mr.. Wilson proposed the amendment to
eliminate cables and cordage from the
operation of the 10 per cent duty on cord
and twine Except binding twine) SO
that they, too, could come in free.
Mr.. Morse (Rep., Mass.) offered an
amendment to the Wilson amendment to
take binding twine from the free list and
put il back upon the dutiable list. Mr..
Morse said that free binding twine would
destroy the cordage industry of his state.
Mr.. Morse's amendment was voted
down and the Wilson amendment was
agreed to.
Mr.. Wilson's next amendment was to
the cotton cloth schedule TO include cot
ton duck in its provisions. After some
debate this was agreed to and Mr.. Wilson
then offered an Amendment TO add TO the
free list sweat feathers, binding ribbons,
sut felt, etc, for hat trimmings. The
present duty, he explained, was 30 per
sent.
Duel OF Words.
AT this point Mr.. Bayne made n state
ment which led to the most interesting
scene of the day and finally eliminated in
wordy duel between Mr.. Reed and Mr..
Cochran. Mr.. Payne declared that pro-
lection enabled the manufacturers to pay
high wages, and while it might be true
that they would not pay high wages of
their own volition, labor unions enabled
labor TO exact high wages.
But do tile manufacturers pay themf"
inquired Mr.. Cochran Dem, n. W.
Yes; every time" shouted Mr.. Walker.
Didn't Andrew Carnegie have abun-
dant ability 10 meet the demands of the
trades unions when the Homestead riots
occurredi" inquired Mr.. Cochran.
'If he can make steel rails as cheaply as
Mr.. johnson said he could the other day,
/ suppose he had replied Mr.. Payne.
The discussion proceeded on the effect
OF the trouble at Homestead, MIR. Payne
saying 1t was more profitable to the en-
ployes at Homestead TO pay hundreds Of
thousands of dollars TO put down the
strike than to yield 10 the demands of the
strikers. Mr.. Cochran said that the