Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1894-03-07
BLOCKED BY SUGAR.
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS UNABLE TO
AGREE ON A TAX.

AGREE ON A TAX.
Everything Else Is Said to Have Been
settled-Big Fight Predicted in the
Senate When the Bill Is Finally Re-
ported.
WASHINGTON, March THE Wilson
tariff bill has been the subject Of an
earnest consultation among the senators
during the day.
1t has reached certain stage of COM
pleteness, and yet may be thrown out Of
gear by a single article That article is
sugar, and it was generally understood
that if a definite agreement could be
reached on this article it would then be
possible to agree upon everything else
and that the bill could be reported with
out delay. 1t is understood that by mu-
tual concessions and frequent conSulta-
tions the demands made by those Demo
cratic senators who opposed the bill in
the form in which it was first presented
have been met and tentatively agreed
upon; but even these agreements are
Subject to the Approval
of the treasury department and the
needs of the government in the matter
of revenue. Secretary Carlisle has been
with the members of the committee
most Of the day and met with them
again in the evening to discuss and COM
pare changes, but, while these conceS-
sions have been made and the members
of the finance committee and the object
ing senators have found middle ground,
there yet remains the matter Of sugar
and the difficulties surrounding an agree
ment upon this are the greatest that the
tariff makers have to contend with. The
Louisiana senators have one plan which
does not meet with favor by the reiners.
The plan of the refners is Objectionable
to the Louisiana senator's. A sugges-
tion has been made that an I'D Yalorem
tax be laid and the refaers say this
would
Afford Them No Protection.
Some senators, looking toward conces-
sion, have said that if al ad valorem
rate is not just to refners dilferential
be made in their favor. This is stub
bornly resisted by those who claim that
an ad valorem rate would afford them a
just protection as the higher price of the
refined sugar would necessitate greater
tax when imported than the raw sugars
1t appears also that the proposition for
an increased tax on whisky is mixed up
with the proposed duty on sugar. If
the latter is agreed to, the necessity for
an increased whisky tax disappears.
For this reason these who have been in
slsting upon increases in the whisky tax
are not favorable to sugar tax, One
OF the senator's who was openly opposed
to the Wilson bill, as it was amended by
the senate sub b-committee, aud who was
active in the caucus, said that the out
come was
Matter of Considerable Doubt.
'Had the bill made equal reductions"
he said, ''and had no attempt been made
to give some special interests an ad-
vantage, we could not complain. But,
when it was proposed to protect the
Louisiana sugar men, we could not sit |
still and see interests in our states suf- |
fer. This led to the caucus, and it was |
there shown how unjust it would be to
make the bill protective in one locality |
alone. 1t may be that the concessions |
which have been made will be agreed to |
and that the treasury department will
find them satisfactory and yet one lit
tie thing may result in undoing all that
has been done, and the Wilson bill be /
reported very much in the form it came |
pyer.n
'"Then. there would be a fight in the
senator
eyes, the biggest that has occurred |
for years. But the whole matter is on !
such delicate groand th;t d rejection by
the senate OF one Of the points in dispute
Might Kick IL All Over,
besides the house may also kick over
what the senate does not. We hope.
however that we are going to reach an
adjustment which will settle the matter.
1t is understood that the committee has
also been giving attention to the tobacco
schedule in the internal revenue bill
during the day and that the internal
revenue commissioner was before them
TO make suggestions concerning rates
and the method of collecting-as we'll as
other tax in this part of the bill. The
committee is having trouble to satisfy
the manufacturers with the rate of this
tax, as they are urging if there is to be
an increase it shall be placed at 10 cents,
because their machinery, which is ex.
pensive, is made to produce packages
corresponding with either or 19-cent
tax. It is stated that the committee
had increased this tax to 10 cents.