The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-25
A CAUCUS ON THE TARIFF.
All the Democratic Senator's Present
Except Five.

and Daniel the Absentees-The Lat
ter Kept Away by nlness-Hnl Re-
fused to Attend-Gorman Gave Him
the Notihoation-No Definite Action
Taken, but the Sentiment of Those
Present Favors Standing by the
Senate Bill.
Washington, July PA few minutes
after o'clock this afternoon, almost i'm
mediately after the Senate adjournment,
| the democratic senator's went into caucus
| for the purpose of formulating a pro-
| gramme in regard to the disposal of the
tariff bill. For three hours the session
continued, and after that time, without
having reached any conclusion, an ad-
! journment was taken until tomorrow at
| the same hour.
| Members of the Democratic party were
conspicuous by their absence from this
conference. These men were Senators
Hill, Murphy and Irby, two of whom
have been said to be ready to vote against
the bill in certain emergencies, and one,
Senator Hill, who has time and again de-
clared his opposition to the bill as long as
the income tax remains a part of it,
Every other senator now in the city was
present except Senators Voorhees, and
Daniel, but their absence was due to ill
| ness.
HILL DECLINES TO ATTEND.
Senator Hill was not notified of the eau
Gus till Just few minutes before the ad-
| iournment of the Senate. He was then
notified in the cloak room by Senator
German and requested to be present
| Senator Hill frankly told the chairman
! of the caucus that inasmuch as he was
do all he could to defeat it as
| long as the party saw fit to keep the in
! come tax in it, he did not believe he
ought to participate In a conference that
had for its object the passage of the meas
| ure and the settlement of party quarrels
For that reason Senator Hill did not at
tend the caucus, and after reading a
newspaper in the cloak room, with Sen
ator Kyle, the populist, as his sole com
panion, he shortly left the chamber and
| went TO his hotel.
Neither Senators Murphy nor Irby
| went TO the caucus, and their absence
| caused some remark.
Senator Mills was in bis committee
| room at the time the conference con-
vened, but on being notified went to the
marble room, but frequently left it and
wandered about the corridors.
THE DISCUSSION
The discussion partook of the nature
of q conversation moro than of speech
| making, although there were some very
| pertinent and emphatic observations in
| dulged in. Soon after the caucus con-
vened, Senator Jarvis of North Carolina
| offered a resolution that the bill be sent
back to conference without instructions
of any sort to the conferees, and
| upon that resolution all of
| the discussion was based. The conserva-
| tives. so called, the men who formulated
the present bill, did none of the talking,
but one of the senators said after the eau
Gus was over that those who did talk,
| and there were few who did not, were as
Jealous in their advocacy of the Senate
bill as any member of the conservatives
| could be and insisted as strenuously that
the Senate bill should prevail.
Almost all Of the debate and cross fire
between the senators was directed at
Senator Villas in an effort to induce him
to withdraw his motion to strike out the
| ditferential on refined sugar
| Senator Villas did not indicate to the
caucus just what he would do in this con
| nection, but made plea for the admins
! tratiOn, saying in view of the strong let
1 ter the President had written there
| should be some sort Of concession on the
! part of the Senate, and he believed the
|
on the sugar schedule.
THE LOUISIANA SENATORS AROUSED.
! Senator Villas reference to the sugar
! schedule brought Senators Caffery and
| Blanchard to their feet, and they said
| that concession of some sort was abso-
| lutely necessary, and they would be con
| tent if the senate placed ''fiat" duty of
| 45 per cent. on all sugars, raw and re-
fined, and gave planters half the bounty
| 20, L. H. =, 1
! said, would compensate them to some ex-
| tent for the loss of the bounty which the
committee promised them should be given
| and which was decided upon by the
! former democratic caucus. If the Senate
would not agree to this change, which
| Senator Gallery especially said was of
| advantage TO the growers of sugar, the
Louisiana senators must insist not only on
the ene-eighth of a cent differential, but
| the bounty that was promised them He
went further and warned the caucus that
unless this was done, he and his colleague
would vote against the bill.
SMITH GIVES WARNING.
The sugar talk had gone thus
| far when Senator Smith of New
Jersey took the floor and made
short but very effective speech
in which he notified the caucus that if
| the diferential rate was disturbed "a
and agreed upon in caucus -then there
| would be Forthcoming the necessary
| democratic votes TO indefinitely postpone
| the conference report, and he assured his
! colleagues that these votes would be had
at the proper time if such disturbance of
the agreed upon schedules was at
| tempted
| The result of all the sugar discussion
was that the caucus did not get a very
clear idea Of how Senator Villas was going
TO conduct himself although il was said
after the adjournment that he would
probably yield to the judgment of his
colleagues and permit his motion 10 be
withdrawn.
COAL AND IRON.
Coal and iron ore proved 10 be as inter
estinE a subject for others of the southern
men as was sugar Not much was said on
this subject, but what was said was em-
phatic and certain Senator Pugh of Ala
bama in a short speech told his colleagues
that neither of those articles must be
touched. The previous caucus had agreed
10 leave them on the dutiablo
list and had fixed the rate. aud that
agreement, he said, must not be violated.
II IL was, and the Senate cOnferees re-
coded from the Senate amendments on
these items, no warned the senator's that
neither he or his colleague would sup
port the bill, and likewise told them there