The Washington times., 1894-07-23
BEGINNING FRIDAYS BATTLE.
AN ETCHING OF THE SENATE.

/
| Yesterday befell the tariff squall. The sudden
shift in the wind was Cleveland's letter. And
| the Cleveland letter has blown a Senate
| hurricane all day and lashed the surface
Of that stagnant pool Of legislation to
fury. One wondrous unexpected thing
washed up was Villas. Through all this tariff
| war Of months Villas, the chief Of the pine
landers, has been mum, glum, dumb, and
inactive. Hesaid nothing, but sawed wood
| presumably pine. Yesterday came Clevslands g
| letter to Wilson and fell upon the Sem
| ate like pan Of milk from top shelf. And
| to-day Villas, the pinelander, aroused himself,
| and it was he who offered the resolution to
| knock out the one-eighth steal In favor OF the
sugar ring. Not only that, but Villas made a
speech and thumped and cuffed and kicked
| the sugar ring. and called it a liar, thief and
| villain, and threw oral rocks at it in way
that was sin. And Villas against the sugar
trust is good az far at it goes 1t also tends to
| prove that as affairs shape up Cleveland him.
self win aid In tearing the sugar ring to
| pieces. Palmer also arose and announced
| determination to vote with Villas against the
larcenous sugar rings one-eighth. 1t looks
| as if Havemeyer might yet drink defeat in his
| Vaccinations.
To-day was a swelterer. Yet the Senate
| galleries were crowded with a jammed and
| hot humanity, bent to see the fun. The
| crowd was made up mainly OF the Summer
| lady, both old and girlish. The galleries
were tier on tier, bank on bank Of muslin,
and a waving fretwork OF fans. Down on
| the Senate floor, back Of those odd men who
| belong, but should not be there, were at least
$50 House members. They, too, had come
over to witness the sullen valor of the Senate
yesterday leaped upon and maligned by the
White House and now about to resent the as
sault upon Its regulations and dignity. Floor
and galleries held at least 1000 onlookers.
The Senate is one Of the arenas of legitimate
Washington amusement. And why not.
Spanish ladies scramble. squeak, and giggle
to behold bull fight. Why should not the
capital fair swarm to a row in the Senate? At
noon to-day almost every Democrat in the
Senate was angry. He had been iull OF wrath
all night. Hill had a wicked smile as might
fiend made happy in some sudden harvest OF
woe. Harris. the terribe-who may now be
called Harris. the hairess-took the chair,
and with a choleric face demanded order.
Harris has caused his hair to be shaved OF.
and his denuded head is fine picture of raw
material. As the statesmen sunk into
their seats ami faced Harris. the Democrats
looked ugly. while the Republicans wore an
appearance of polite pleasure. II was not
their funeral. The row which had fallen be-
tween Cleveland and their colleagues over
the aisle. was from the standpoint Of the
black party, e mighty case of dog cat dog.
The Republicans were prepared to enjoy
the fracas, aad had only hope that
each dog involved might cripple the other
As one cast an eye over the Senate it
showed Smith. hot Inwardly and with fear
at heart for the safety of the sugar steal.
but garbed coolly in white linen. Joe Black
burn sported n pink neSge shirt and a neck
tie OF arterial crimson, the war colors OF Ken
tucky. Vest looked more angry and snarly
than usual and as he slouched down in his
seat, his head Was between his shoulders and
his neck entirely disappeared. German was
there. pale and peak. waving fan in a
desponding way. German will be sick by the
middle of next week. He went TO bed the
moment Hill began TO fire in his free list
amendments, and he will fall prey to the
doctor possibly at this pinch.
Cleveland's letter kept them all awake last
night. Calmly read 1t meant free coal, free
iron. and tax on sugar And If the Senate
had kept its temper and bit its scolding old
tongue 10 silence the House would and could
have agreed on that basis. But Cleveland's
letter was obscure as to sugar and perfectly
plain In its assault on Senate rottenness. SO
the Senate chose to become full OF wrath at
the letter and got itself ready all night to
speak its spiteful mind on the NOR
row. Smith wrote speech. He went
at it after comforting with German in
the Senate. German, Gibson, Camden, Brice,
Vest, Blanchard, Caffrey. Smith, Mc-Pher-
son. and Murphy promised each other to
refuse all bills but the present Senate bill and
vote mo" on all tariff measures that failed to
carry the ring schedules on sugar, coal, and
iron These bostered each other up at las.
nights conference. and agreed to make
speeches to-day against Cleveland. all vitriol
and caustic. As it turnedIout some of them
did and some didn't. But while the injured
and ''caluminated'' Senators were in scold-
ing conference the House men were also get
ting together in hotels and other places and
holding little poTwows and war jigs of their
own. They began, too, to discover that the
longer they thought it over the more Cleve-
lands letter tickled them. 1t might be i'm
pertinent to the Senate. but it let the House
men out. 1t presented a battle between
Cleveland and the Senate and offered the be-
deviled House man. signing to return, an
excuse for any tariff thing which could now
turn up. Ii the times went for free list and
the peoples rights, if the upcome was
the overthrow OF rlngism, he could
return to his constituents and placing his
dexter paw over his proud heart, bow and
say "me and Cleveland did it" II on the
other side things fell by the wayside and went
to general tariff smash and crash he could
still crawl out on Cleveland like some tired
terrapin on some log. and still point TO the
White House as the source OF all destruction
and tariff cause far beyond the House terra
pins control.-A. H. Lewis in the Chicago
Times.
Concluded Not to Strike.