The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-07-26


against the senate bill it justifies
much that has been said against the
senate bill during all the last three
months; it means that it can never
receive executive approval; it means
that the senate cannot be permitted
to abandon or surrender the great
underlying principles for which we
struggled and lost in 1888, and
fought and won in 1892.
"The president is right; there is
no middle ground which we can
occupy. No bill which does not
provide for free raw materials can
be permitted to become law. 1t is
unnecessary to enter into any argu-
ment to define or designate what
articles constitute raw materials.
Any article may be considered raw
material, when it is used in the low
est or crudest form. This definition
is ample and sufficient and will
redeem our pledges if it is honestly
approved. The party platform was
for free and not freer raw materials,
as is now ingeniously contended."
Mr.. Hill closed with a plea for free
sugar and call for the senate to
recede from its amendments.
Senator Vest (dem., Mo.,) spoke
next. He asked why, since Hill
placed himself on the same platform
with the president on the subject of
free raw material, he voted against
free wool. Then in tone of i'm
pressive solemnity Mr.. Vest declared
that in his firm opinion the senate
bill will become the law of the land
or the Mckinley bill will remain upon
the statute books. 1t was n subject
of congratulation that Hill and the
president had at last found a plat
form on which both could stand. The
lion and the lamb had at last lain
down together and were led as a
little child by the ways and means
committee. He left to others to
decide which was the lion and which
was the lamb.
MIR. Vest then read the letter of
acceptance of President Cleveland in
1892 pronounc.ng in favor of "freer
raw materials" Yet now he de-
nounced "freer raw materials" as
perfidy and dishonor. He then
arraigned the president. He had
been his friend. He had defended
him on the floor of the senate when
his friends could have been counted
on the fingers of one hand. Where
did the presi ent get the right to
dictate to congress? To denounce
one branch of congress to another.
Did he embody in his single being all
the democracy, all the tariff reform
sentiment of the country? Mr..
Cleveland was a big. man, but the
democratic party was greater than
any one man.
The democracy, Mr.. Vest SAID, had
survived jefferson, Madison, jack
son; it would survive Grover Cleve-
land. Under what clause Of the
constitution did MIR. Cleveland get
the right after bill had been sent
to "full and freen conference be-
tween the two houses to make an
appeal to his party friends to stand
by his individual views. Mrs. Madi =
sen had said in her memoirs that
the capitol had been placed at one
end Of the avenue aud the White
House at the other to prevent the
president from exercising an undue
influence on the legislative branch
of the government. If the president
could send here to his friends to
stand firm, he had the right to send
his cabinet ministers here to coerce
members in congress; he had n right
to do as he had done during the fight
over the repeal of the Sherman law
punish recalcitrant members OF his
own party. 1t was mockery to
talk of full and free conference
when one of the conferees came to
the committee room with the orders
of the president in his pocket.
Mr.. Vest spoke with bitterness OF
, the presidents denunciation of the
, senate bill, which had been passed
: after four months of such toll and
| responsibility as he should never
assume again. Yet, he said, those
Z who were instrumental in harmonic
, ing the differences and bringing
, about its passage-tariff reformers be
| fore Mr.. Cleveland began his phe-
, nomenal career-had been arraignet
as traitors who sought to dishonol
their party. Personally the bill did
! not suit him. He was radical tariff
3 reformer, but il he could not get al
y he would take what he could get.
: "Do you mean to say" asked Mr.
: Aldrich, as Mr.. Vest was about Il
. take his seat, "that you did not know
? of the existence of the president
t letter for the seventeen days durinl
I, which 1t remained in Mr.. Wilson
t pocketP"
8 81 do" replied Mr.. Vest. "An'
= further, desire to say l knew per
Q sonally that both the president an
Secretary Carlisle understood tn
difficulties under which we wer