The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-08-21
SENATOR VEST GETS ANGRY.
HE REVIEWS THE RECENT TAR
IFF CONTEST.

No Other TnrIT Bill Could Have
Passed III senate and h Demo
cratic Senators Have Beer Out
~rageously Treated.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15.-In opposing
Senator Harris motion to refer the
free sugar and other bills to the com.
mittee on finance Senator Vest said
that IL the bills were referred to the
committee, Of which he was acting as
temporary chairman, that it would
mean the death of the bills. 1t was
well known that the committee was
o politically a tic, and with the
prospect Of the disappearance of q
quorum in a few days nothing could be
done with the bills at this session.
He referred Indignantly to Mr..
Cleveland's letter in support of the
House bill, and ranged alongside of it
the letter Of Secretary Carlisle pre-
sented to-day, which he declared
proved conclusively that the House
bill would, if enacted, have caused a
he said, with great display Of feeling,
indicated the position Of the Senate.
He denounced the self-constituted
critics Of the press and the demagogues
who had sought to pull down men in
high places, who had assailed the
Senate and the Senate bill. The
Senate had been made the scapegOat.
He proceeded with great. indigna-
ton to describe the position in which
he had been placed during the last
five mouths. He had not an enemy in
the world, he declared, dramatically,
whom he would place in the position
he had occupied to be criticised, de-
%nounced, blackmailed and driven in
nplap fn nocc N hill fnr fha ,,oliaf rf tho
country that was distorted by the
views Of those who looked at the sitha-
ton from their wi selfish standpoints.
The rules of the Senate were RESPONSE
BILE, he said.
ono wonder" said he, with uplifted
hand, THAT the public declares the
Senate lags superfluous on the stage
when we sit here day after day while
almanacs, statistics, ven novels, are
read to us under u rules and we are
poworless to help ourselves. There
was reason why the people should
turn on us. Let u.s." he continued,
look at the rock around which the
o currents and eddies Of discussion
section of the country lay Louisiana,
with its sugar plantations, demanding
q revenue tariff on sugar. l would
rather have given them protection
than any other class of producers in
the domain of the United States. At
the other end of the United States was
that great monopoly, the Sugar Trust,
taking toll from every breakfast table.
With $75, 600, 900 Of watered stocks it
paid I per cent. dividend on half it's
stock and II per cent. on tho other
half, and paid it quarterly. 1t was
aggressive; defiant, aye, dominant:
Between these two lay the interest of
the people, the consumers. The
Wilson bill as reported to the House
from the committee contained u duty
and bounty. When it was i'm the House
free sugar was inserted. The finance
committee prepared a bill which gave
no differeL al benefit to the trust.
And yet" said Senator Vest, with
bitterness, "they call us the creatures
OF the Sugar Trust" The Senator
paused for q moment, and then with
intense earnestness added "Liars,
slanderers, Infamous libellers." He
proceeded to denounce the lies which
had been heaped on those who had
fought against this trust and yet had
been designated its creatures. And
whom the finance committee had COM
pleted it's BILL" continued Senator
Vest, sit was taken out of our hands
before a Democratic caucus without
u knowledge or consent. If | mis-
state the results let Senators rise in
their seats and point it out. At the
end OF three days of miserable wrang-
ling under recrimination Q were
turned out and told to prepare q bill
which would command the support Of
forty.three SenatorsS We thereupOn