Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-07-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, JIIy IS, 1894.

tees from the House and Senate on
the tariff bill, which is actually only
a conference between eight democrats
and the various trusts which demand
protection of their interests in pay
ment for past and future contribu-
tions to the democratic corruption
fund, is still going on, and from what
has leaked out there has been some
very lively word battles in the COM
mittee room in which the meetings
are held Little Mr.. Wilson, who by
order of Mr.. Cleveland was put at the
head of the House Ways and Means
committee, got SO worked up at one
of these meetings at the various de-
mands made on behalf of the trusts
by the Senators that he left the room
in huff and swore he would have
nothing more to do with it. How
ever, after consultation with boss
Cleveland he thought better of it and
is again regular attendant Of the
meetings, and before the thing is
closed will probably vote as meekly
for what the trusts want as any Of his
colleagues. No indications of when
the legal conference, which will be
attended as by law provided by the
entire committees appointed by the
Vice President and speaker of the
House respectively, will begin, has
been given to the six republicans who
are members of those committees.
Senator Hale's resolution calling
attention to the irregular and illeg
held may be heard from again in al
way that will be both unexpected and
unpleasant to the democrats and the
trusts. When conference committees
were by law provided for in cases of
disagreement between the House and
Senate on pending legislation it was
not with intention that the members
of the majority party should devote
days and weeks to bargaining and
dickering with each other in order to
arrive at cut and dried agreement
which should then be sprung on the
minority and solidly supported by the
majority. On the contrary, it was in
tended that the conference should be
all that the terms implies-a full and
free discussion of the points of differ
ence between the House and Senate,
by all of the representatives Of the
House and Senate, and not by repre-
sentatives Of only the political part
les that happen to be in control Of
those bodies, and never until now has
that intention been deliberately vio-
lated, although there have been hum
dreds Of conferences held. Senator
VOORHEES, admitted that mistake was
made by not inviting the republicans
to be present at the first meeting
held, but SO far as known he has
taken no step to correct that mistake.
Strictly speaking those eight demo-
Gratis have no legal right to tinker
with that tariff bill in the forced alb
sence of the six republican members
of the conference committee, and
their attempting to do SO may make
trouble for them and their party.
This tariff business is long way from
being settled.
Some of the democrats have sud
denly discovered that Utah will prob
ably go republican and SO greatly are
they exercised over it that they are
actually trying to get Mr.. Cleveland
to veto the bill for the admission of
that territory to the Union. MIR.
Cleveland did not want the Utah bill
passed at this session of Congress,
but from the best obtainable informa-
ton it is not probable that he will veto
the bill now that it has passed, as it
would be difficult to find a good rea-
son for so doing.
The commission which Mr.. Cleve-
land has agreed to appoint under the
act of 1888, to investigate the railway
strike, is not likely to secure any
very valuable information, inasmuch
as it will have no authority to get to
the bottom of the trouble by investi-
eating the causes of the strike against
the Pullman company, which was re-
sponsible for all the rest. 1t can only
deal with interstate railways and
their employees. 1t is difficult to un-
derstand how the labor organization
got the idea that this commission
would have authority to arbitrate.
One section of the law under which
Mr.. Cleveland will appoint the two
additional commissioners to serve
with the U. S. Commissioner of Labor
in making this investigation does au-
thorize arbitration by such a commits
sion, but only after application has
been made by both parties to the
controversy for arbitration.
There is feeling of relief in Con-
In, Il i,,in al.