Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-21
A COMPLICATED SITUATION
Troubles of the Senate Finance Commit
tee Over the Tariff
The Tremendous Outside Pressure for
PrOtectiOn-Legfsla May Be
Blocked Altogether.

The trainers of the tariff bill in the Sen
ate france committee have a nest of hor-
nets about their heads, and the stings are
pelng applied with peculiar viciousness.
The troubles which beset the House COM
mlttee In forming the bill are nothing COM
pared with what the Senate committee is
ehcountering now. Their work was fin
ished Thirty-six hours ago they had their
Dill ready to report, comparatively few
changes being made from the Wilson bill,
and their hope of speedy action by the
Senate was high. Now they are being
assailed on all sides and in all conceivable
ways, and they are simply standing in
their tracks to wait for the storm to blow
over before getting the bill into the Senate
The Outside influence.
The outside influence that is being
brought to overthrow the action of the COM
mittee Is astounding. Party loyalty and
party interest appear to count for nothing
IN competition with the personal and busi-
EesS interests involved, and prominent
democrats from the sections of the country
where the demand for protection of certain
ni,a,t lI.ereS.s Is strongest are threatening the
overthrow or the tariff bill, and there is
danger that the democrats may be torn
all 10 pieces as party, and things be left
to go to the bow-wows
" party IeeHnR appear to have
no erect whatever. Those men who have
put IN their demands for concessions boldly
threaten to kill the bill and split the pa rty
III denied what they want. The lobby about
the senate Is the biggest and most persist
ent that has appeared in the halls of Con
gress for maLy years. The outside inttu-
ence to secure concessions Is said to he
backed with unlimited money as well as
political pull. and every conceivable means
OK influencing action is being resorted to.
MAJ noP
Their purpose appears to be as much to
defeat the bill as to change it, and long de-
lay or action Is secondary object IL the
Dill cannot be defeated. 1t is far from I'm
possible that tariff legislation may be block
ed altogether. 1t is authoritatively stated
that the finance committee has made but
Few changes in the Wilson bill, and these
Few are of character not objected to by
the house committee. Yet, to add to the
CONFUSION of the situation, Mr. Cleveland
has taken a hand in the matter and insists
tnat there shall be no amendments but that
the bill shall be passed as il ma ssed the
House. so as to obviate the necessity OF 60
ing to conference. The whole Situate is
the most complicated that can be imagined.
The New York Senator'S Position.
There is great deal of speculation among
those at the Capitol as to the position
which Senator Hill and his colleagues will
ultimately assume on the tariff bill. For
the present Mr.. Hill is maintaining an abb
solute and impenetrabe silence, which is
being echoed successfully by Mr.. Murphy.
Ihere Is a great deal Of pressure being
brought to bear daily upon these two Sena-
tors, increasing as the time for debate on
the tariff bill approaches. Scarce a day
passes without Mr.. Hill presenting volumi-
nous petitions against the passage Of the
Wllson Dill, sent to him by the citizens of
New York. The American Economist of the
current week goes, editoriaily, into the uues-
ton OF Mr.. Hills position In this matter and
quotes from the speech made by him at
wheeling, W. Va, on the 25th of October.
lS.D when governor of New York
In this speech he outlined his position
as being based upon the platform of the
democratic party in 1884 and 1888 and said /.
The plain and simple Interpretation Ia
this: we peiieve In the recognition Of a
demand of labor and propose to shield
our workmen from such competition as
can justly be considered as unfair For
instance, II 1t costs two dollars for labor
10 produce certain manufactured article
In foreign countries while 1t costs four
dollars to produce the same article in this
country then We favor a tariff Of two dol
lars on that article in order to eQualize
the difference in wages The imposition of
that amount amply protects the American
workman and prevents his being placed
at disadvantage by reason of the COM
petition of the alleged pauper labor Of
Europe. This is all the tariff that any in
telligent American workman every desired
or asked for
The Economist then goes on to say that
these sentiments comm tilted Mr.. Hill as
fully to the protective policy as If he had
distinctly approved the Mckinley bill, and
Is expected by some to vigorously oppose
the Wilson bill.