The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-09
ALI the Sugar Reflners and Whisky Dis
tillers Demanded Conceded by the
Senate Finance Committee.
CAMPAIGN FUNDS PLEDGED
In Return for Benefits Conferred
ON the Big Corporations.
Comment on the Tariff Bill as Made
Public by Senator Voorhees, Yester-
day-Views of Representatives.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.

WASHINGTON, March Sit was sugar
and the scandal connected with the specu-
lation in refinery stock which forced Chair
man Voorhees, and his associates to decide
to report the Wilson tariff bill to the
finance committee and make it public to-
day. 1t was felt to be impossible longer
to defy public opinion and the growing in
dignation of the Senate by continuing TO
hold the bill in the secret possession Of a
few men who were daily charged with
using their confidential information for
their personal profit This determination
made necessary a final conference between
the Democratic Senators having the bill in
charge and President Havemyer and Treas
urer Scarf, Of the Sugar Trust. This con-
sultation was held last night, and at a late
hour the representatives of the Sugar
Trust departed for New York. The pub
lication of the bill shows that they had
every reason to be satisfied. They had
originally demanded In behalf of the refin-
ing industry a duty in it's favor, in addi-
ton to whatever duty was placed upon
raw sugar, of one-quarter of a cent per
pound. The duty on refined sugar under
the Mckinley law is one-half of a cent per
pound, and the refiners admitted that they
could continue their business profitably
with one-half of this duty. 1t now appears
that a discriminating duty has been grant
ed to the Sugar Trust even greater than
was asked.
The Wilson bill, as amended by the DEM
ocratic senatorial tinkers, places a duty Of
1 cent pound on all raw sugar. On sugar
rating so degrees. and not above 90. this
duty is increased by one one-hundredth for
each degree; between 80 and SO degrees, l
cent ard two one-hundredths for each de-
gree; above Sc, l cent and four-tenths.
When translated into comparative figures
this scale means additional duty on
fined sugar of an average Of thirty-five
one-hundredths of a cent On very high
grades OF refined sugar this additional duty
will amount TO nearly one-half of a cent,
while on lower grades. between 92 and 96
degrees, the additional duty will be twenty
two hundredths of a cent.
This extraordinary concession caused the
greatest surprise. The meaning of the grad
uated scale of duties was not at first gen.
orally understood. 1t was only when The
tariff experts explained its meaning that
the realization of how well the interests OF
the Sugar Trust had been cared for by the
Democrats of the finance committee
dawned upon Congress- 1t was at once
seen that this tremendous victory for the
Sugar Trust had only been snatched from
stroy the Sugar Trust by some unusual .
force or bargain.
A very prominent leader in the national
Republican organization, who is not @
member of the Senate, but who under
stands the methods by which the sinews
of war are secured for great political cam
paigns, declared to-day to the Journal cor
respondent that this concession to the trust
was made not by the tariff tinkers of the
finance committee, but by the political
leaders of the Democratic party, who had
secured in return a pledge from the Sugar
Trust for large contribution to the DEM
ocratic national campaign fund. This bar
gain is supposed to be a conditional one,
based either upon the passage of the Will
son bill as thus amended. or upon the de-
feat of that measure and the consequent
continuance of the Mckinley duty of one
half cent a pound on refined sugar At any
rate, Messrs. Havemyer and Scarf did not
leave Washington until the sugar schedule
finally settled. OF all the notifications
In the bill sugar has attracted most atten-
ton.
Another trust which has been we'll cared
for in the Democratic amendments to the
bill is the Whisky Trust. The tax on whs-
ky is increased from 80 cents in the pres
ent law, and from 81 in the bill as it passed
the House, to $1.10 per gallon. This is what
Chairman VOORHEES, championed. The Whis-
ky Trust representatives claimed to have
an understanding that an increase to $1.50
a gallon by the Senate will not meet serious
opposition. The increase proposed by the
committee Of 20 cents gallon means an
increase of profit to the Whisky Trust of
ST. 900, 900 for every added cent of tax. An
other great concession to the whisky inter
est is the extension of the bonded period
to eight years The beer brewers have ESQ
heavy contributors to the Democratic cam
paign fund They wished no change in NE
Democratic Senators very cbligingly COM
piled.
In the same way every great aggregation
of invested capital. outside of purely manu-
featuring industries, which promises to be
of any use to the Democratic party has
found its wishes carefully respected.
Throughout all the changes in the bill
there is every evidence of an abandonment
of whatever principle was contained in the
original Wilson bill in the effort to secure
the votes OF Democratic Senators. The
duty on sugar, while not what the Louis
their votes. The duty of 40 cents a ton which
has been placed on coal, while equally unsat-
isfactory and while not sufficient to pre-
vent reduction of the wages paid the
miner or TO prevent the Importation of coal
from Nova Scotia, in which prominent
afford Senators from Maryland. the Virgin
las, Alabama and Ohio an excuse for voting
for the bill. This same assertion applies to
iron ore. Lead ore and silver bearing lead
ore are also removed from the free list,
being given a duty of three-quarters of a
cent per pound. This is unsatisfactory TO
the Northwest and also 10 Missouri
The contest made by Senators Hill, Muir
ply and Smith, for which Mr.. Mcpherson
so mOdestly claims responsibility, has had
its effect in the changing OF many duties
which the Democratic subcommittee had ar
ranged upon an ad valOrem basis back TO
specific. These changes do not appear in
the bill as now published. for the reason
that the ad valorem changes have never
passed beyond the knowledge OF the Demo-
cratic caucus. Some concession has been
made to each Of the kickers, but none are
satisfied. The bill will probably remain
in the hands of the finance committee for
several days before il reaches the Senate.
The proceedings of the committee on
finance to-day were In the main informal
! Copies of the bill We're handed to all the
members and the Republicans, who had not
had a previous opportunity 10 see It.
glanced through il. There was some discus
sion OF time for considerable of the bill
| by the full committee the Republican men,
bers saying they would desire a reasonable
| period and the Democratic members ex-
pressing themselves as willing to grant
that without cavil. Saturday next. at 10 30
a. m. was set for the next meeting. when