The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-08-18
THE TARIFF DILEMMA.
The CUnferees Do Not Seem to Be
Able to Get Together.
Iron Ore and Coal the Stumbling Blocks
Chairman Wilson of the House
Ways and Means Committee
Defends the President.

ways and means committee. to-day
that the president had smashed the
compromise agreed upon by the con
ferees on coal, sugar and ore yester
day, is an absurd invention. There Is
not a word of truth in it. The presi
dent has never intcrfered in any man
ner. lie has treated the matter with
great delicacy.
Have you talked with the president
at various stages of the situation?"
81 have seen him occasionally during
the past few weeks, but he has never
manifested the slightest inclination t.
instruct the cOnferees as to their duty.
As say, he has shown unusual deli
cacy in his reference to the matters in
dispute. | have felt it only proper
since the president is the head of the
party, to acquaint him with what we
are doing, but, beyond a general con,
~versation, nothing of special impor
lance has passed between U.S."
The authoritative statement made by
MIR. Wilson was called out by the
stories that were freely circulated
W DObh wings vi III NiplbpA W
day. As the members of the house
dropped into the chamber this morning
they had all heard the same story
which had evidently originated in the
hotels last night. The story was re-
lated with so much circumstantiality
of detail that by the hour of Oon Il
dozen members could be found who
claimed to know positively that it was
correct.
Later in the day came a e report
that the cunferccS were further apart
than ever; that the senate conferees.
acting under instructions from the
senatorial body, had fatty repudiatcd
their promise of the day previous. and
that a diSagrccing report would likely
be made tomorrow.
How much truth there was in the
story that the president had overturned
the compromise agreed upon in Il tcnta-
tive N yesterday. as far as SUI
gar. coal and iron ore were concerned
is shown by the frank and Straightfor-
ward statement made by T. Wilson t.
a reporter of the United Press. How
much truth there is in the subsequent
report that the c~OnfcreeS were to-day
farther apart than ever. maj be seen
from the statement Of another member
of the conference regarding the situa-
ton as it stood at the hour Of adjourn
ment this evening.
This member, who is a manager on
the part of the house. said hat yester-
day the proposition was made that
they might have their choice between
free iron ore or free coal. and that
while this matter was being discussed
Mr.. German made Il proposition hat
the house should have free coal. and
that iron ore remain at forty cents a
ton. According to this confcree this
proposition was accepted. and Mr.. Cor
then sent them another offer in The
shape of free sugar. This confcrec was
enough to admit that this second
offer fairly took away the breath of
the house members, bat said that
they had discussed it for Il
short time it was declined with
had made up their mind that they did
not want free sugar. but that they
would stand by the sugar schedule
they had previously suggested. and
had been agreed to all around
in conference, to-wit. 4 duty of ID
per cent. on raw sugar; a duty of 10
per cent. on the raw in the refined. and
onc-fifth of a cent a pound ditferential
for the refining interests. $50 far as
the house was concerned" said this
confcree. they stood just where they
last night for a duty on sugar, iron
ore taxed al forty cents Il ton and
free coal.
This morning he said the senate in
sisted that the proposition should be
free iron ore and coal dutiable at forty
cents Il ton, and the house refused to
accept it.
After the conference this afternoon
one of the most prominent senators on
the committee said that he would never
vote for an agreement that included
free coal, for the reason that such a bill
could not pass the senate, and he did
not p to lend himself to n
that was intended As 4 trap to
get the bill into the Senate where it
was to be killed. He believed that
a basis of compromise might
he reached where a bill could
be arranged that would pass
through all the dangers that now sur
rounded it and yet become a law.
the proposition for free coal and
free was one that was not. as
he believed, intended to help the bill,
to say the least. This senator made
the emphatic statement that coal
not be free. and he declined to
say whether there vas an agreement
in sight or to say that there was not.
eve may agree in an hour" said he,
we may be here for several days,
and possibly forever
1t was said by one of tn" senators
that as fast as al agreement was
on IL thing something else
that could rot be granted by the SEN
was asked by the house and in
sisted upon. although to give it was
impcrilIing the success of the bill.
The coal men in the senate are up in
arms at the thought of free coal. and
it looks as if al that had been done
was about to be undone. One of the
conferces offered as an explana-