The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1894-02-10
Thu WILSON BILL PASSED.
BY Sixty-four Majority--The First Step in
Tariff Reform Acco mplshed--Th Bill is
Now Ready to go to the Senate Relief to
Be Given the People as Soon as Possible

Be Given the Poop
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-Just before
8 O'Clock tonight the great fight for
tariff reform ended triumphantly in
the House, and the Wilson bill passed
by "a majority, the vote being 204 TO
40. Shouts and cheers went up from
floor and galleries when Speaker Crisp
in hoarse voice announced the re-
suit, while Democratic members crowd
ed about Chairman Wilson to congrat-
ulate him on his splendid success, and
on the completion of his long and ar
duous labors.
The closing day of the contest in the
House will take rank among the most
memorable in congressional history.
Not only will it be memorable for the
great victory won for tariff reform,
but for the unprecedented scenes which
attended the final struggle Although
the debate has been going on night
and day for three weeks, constantly in
the presence of crowded galleries, to-
day the people came in greater crowds
than was ever known before in the
recollection of the Oldest habitues of
the capitol.
EVERY INCH OCCUPIED.
Every inch of available space on the
floor and in the galleries was occupied
by elose-packed mass of humanity
eager to hear the closing volleys be-
tween the big guns of the contending
armies. As Mr.. Reed, who had been
selected to close the debate on the Re
publican side, arose in his place, clad
in unusual black, he was greeted with
deafening salyo OF applause from the
Republicans from below and above.
1t was some seconds before he could
| proceed.
Order being restored. he began slow
! ly and with unaccustomed elaboration
the delivery of one of the very few set
speeches he has ever been known to
make. He referred frequently to his
notes on the desk before him. and
| never once from start to finish yentur-
ed to let himself loose in his we'll
known swesh- buckling style. He stuck
close, apparently, to the fore-arranged
order of his remarks and met no in
terruption from the Democratic side.
Applause he got frequently, of course.
but on the whole his speech was dis
appointing to his admirers. Republi-
can colleagues of his admitted he did
not come up to their expectations.
He never once rose to a point of real
eloquence. There was none of the pas
sion which he ordinarily displays on
great occasions, and he INDUCED in
but few of those sarcastic sallies on
which his reputation has been largely
built. The real basis of his whole ar
gument, however much he sought to
disguise it by skillful elaboration and
novel Illustration, was, as Speaker
Crisp afterward pointed out, the stock
Republican claim that the great pros
perity of the country was due, and
due alone, to the protective system.
This, on analysis, will be found to be
all there was to Reed S argument.
AN OMNIBUS SILENCE.
The fact that he failed to touch at
any point on the income tax feature of
the Wilson bill was a matter of general
comment. The Interpretation COM
monty put on this strange omission is
that Reed, being a presidential candi-
date and knowing the strength of the
income tax idea in the west among
Republicans, as well as Democrats
and Populists, thought it best to say
nothing about it at all.
The applause which followed Reeds
speech had hardly died away when the
Democrats broke out into vigorous
demonstration, as Speaker Crisp arose
in the rear of the House, near the CEN
ter aisle, to make his reply. Mr. Crisp
has no claim to the graces and tricks
of the orator, but he made plain,
strong and convincing reply to the ar
guments of Mr.. Reed, couched in Ian
guage that every one could understand,
and based on hard facts and statistics
which could not be explained away.
In closing, he adjured Democrats to
rise above mere local and selfish con-
siderations, to remember the repeated
pledges of the party and vote for the
Wilson bill.
When Mr. Wilson rose to make the
final half hours talk before the House
proceeded to vote he was given
rattling ovation, which kept him
standing in silence for the space of
minute. Then he began, in good voice
and apparently good spirit, one of the
most eloquent and stirring short
speeches that was ever heard in the |
House. At the outset he INDUCED in
some very clever thrusts at Messrs. |
Reed, Burrows and Dolliver, of Iowa,
which the House heartily enjoyed.
AN APPEAL FOR UNITY.
After briefly refuting some of the
main contentious of Reeds speech he |
proceeded to address himself to the |
Democrats who were dissati sfied with |
the bill and threatened to vote against |
it. To these he made an appeal that |
was at once beautiful and powerful,
and which fairly electrified the House
and the galleries by its significance
and the manner of its delivery.
As he sat down, or attempted to sit |
down, probably the most remarkable
scene ever witnessed in the House
took place. While the applause was
laundering from all parts of the cham
Der several members gathered about
Wilson and fairly Rugged him in their
Then Bryan, of Nebras-
ka, Tucker, of Virginia. both young
and athletic men, and Johnson, of
Ohio, caught Wilson up bodily, lifted
him on their shoulders and bore him
in triumph down the aisle to the space
behind the ratings in the rear of the
seats.
Meanwhile the applause and cheer
ing was renewed again and again, and
for the space of five minutes the
Speakers efforts to restore anything
like order were simply wasted. Could
the vote on the passage of the bill
have been taken then without delay,
there is little doubt that not half
dozen Democrats would have voted
against it. But this was impossible,
owing to the amendments that had to
be voted on and the other preliminary {
motions which were in order. The
voting on amendments consumed