Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-24

tors who had been summoned had fought for tariff reforms when towards in high places would not show their heads. MT. German said he could conceive no reason for the remarkable action that had been taken, unless perhaps the one responsible for it was 'cousumed by vanity' in de- siring to have the country regard him as the author of all that was right in tariff re- form.
 As MT. Corn made each reference to the president there was a commotion in the galleries. which compelled the presid- ing officer to interpose constant cautions against further demonstrations. MT. Cor man next turned his attention to Senator Hill's speech of Friday, indorsing Presi- dent Cleveland's letter.
 "That letter" :" said MT. German, twas God send to the senator from New York (Mr. HilD. It was the only comfort he
 As the laughter continued MT. Hill arose and with good natured deliberateness said: ''In the last proposition will say that the senator from Maryland is entirely correct.'
 Mir. German proceeded to criticise MT. Hills course, and asserted that the New York senator has throughout attempted to thwart his party.
 Never before since the declaration of in- dependence, MT. German went on, has president of the United States been guilty of such violation of the spirit of the consti- tuition as has Cleveland in writing his let ter to Chairman Wilson.
 Conference committees should be free from outside influences.
 '.'The liberty of the senate should not be invaded,'' he said in thunderous tones, "though a thousand hirelings write us down and traduce us.'
 The president, he continued, had said 1t would be dishonorabe to tax coal and iron. The house, parrot-like, repeated the cry: ''Men who set up high standards,' said he, 'should come to us with clean hands, '
 He argued that the house, if it had been consistent, would have placed all raw ma terials on the free list. He enumerated other raw materials which the house had made dutiable.
 He deuied that it was either democratic doctrine or in accordance with the demo- cratic platform's 8 declarations to place iron on the free list. He enumerated the amount of tax on coal placed by different democratic congresses.
 "The same bills you speak of,'' inter- rupted MT. Hill. "placed wool and lum- Der on the dutiable list.''
 said that thei democratic platform did not demand free raw material He went back to the platform of 1884, on which he said MT. Cleveland was ''eected by the grace of God and a great deal of hard work. ' It did not provide for free raw materials. The bill prepared by his distin- guished radical friend, MT. Mills, placed 75 cents duty on coal.
 ssI was in the same situation then, ' interrupted MT. Mills, "that am in now. who forced duty on coal. Itwas not my choice.'
 "I am not attacking you," said MT. German, deprecatingly.
 "You said prepared bill with coal in it," replied MT. Mills hotly.
 MT. Gorman then gave the history of the convention of 1888, where he said the rad calls were in the saddle. A resolution was adopted indorsing the Mills bill, taxing coal. MT. Cleveland accepted it and stood on it.
 He referred to the platform declaration of 1892, prepared by Cleveland's friends, commenting the house for going in the direction of free raw materials.
 The radical resolution was sprung in the convention and was pushed by those who desired to defeat his nomination. But it did not defeat his nomination.. No one expected Cleveland to stand on that radical plank.
 Cleveland's letter was looked forward to with anxiety. In it Cleveland declared specifically against the destruction of any industry and in favor of "freer," not sfree,' raw material. That letter, Mir. German said, changed the tide and elected Cleveland president.
 Reverting again to the duty on coal, MT. German argued that 40 cents ton was purely a revenue duty. Free coal, he said, gave to single foreign corporation all the coal trade from Boston north. Free coal would not benefit single man or woman in this country. Who demands it? he asked. The professional, the theoretical tariff reformer said it would cheapen the cost of manufacturing, yet, mathematic- ally, free coal would not give the New Eng land manufacturer more than % of 1 per cent of the cost of manufacture. There was but one great concern on the face of the earth that wanted free coal. In Nova Sco- tia there was deposit of coal as broad and as rich as any on the face of the earth. The government of Canada had controlled it. Four years ago the dominion government was induced to change it's policy. The small leases were wiped out.
 The Canadian Pacific, that great artery of Great Britain, the greater with men from the UnitedStates, who associated them- selves together and secured ninty- nine year lease of these coal fields on condition they should pay into the Canadian treas- ury 12 cents ton royalty. If coal were free the coal of Nova Scotia would displace that of the United States in England, and the treasury of Canada would be enriched by money that ought to go into the treas- ury of the United States.
 "God knows we know VIC have enough trusts,' said MT. German. s'I will never consent to allow this mammoth foreign corporation to invade our territory and take the subsistence away from our peo- ple.' There was only one other difficult question involved in this situation-the everlasting subject of sugar.
 Louisiana, through it's two senators, then the late distinguished man who occu- pied seat in this senate, Randall Lee Gib- son, and Edward D. White, wanted to know before we entered upon the cam paign, with no threat, with no inquiry, except that which an honorable man has right to make, what the policy of the party was to be under the apparently free trade resolutions adopted in Chicago.
 After great deal of talk, after the most caraful consideration the candidate of oIIr