The Portland daily press., 1894-01-22
WILSON is WEARY.
The Steering Of the Tariff Bill Has
Nearly Broken Him Down.
WILL NOT PULL
HIM OUT OF THE HOLE

He Dug When he Put Coal on the Free
List-They Propose to Let the Professor
Take His Medicine with the Rest of
the Observation-Disclosures the Commit
tee VIII Probably Take Entire Control
of All Amendments-The Coming
Week in Congress.
Washington, January 21.-The same
topics before Congress last week will
continue to engage attention all this
week, in the House the tariff bill, and
in the Senate the bill to repeal the
federal election laws. One person who
halls with delight the approach of the
end of the tariff debate in the House and
who enters upon this weeks work with
renewed zest for the reason that it is the
last to be devoted to the pending meas
ure, is Representative W. L. Wilson,.
chairman of the committee of ways and
MEANS and responsible for the progress
Of the bill through the House. His has
been a most prodigious labor. Not only
have the burdens of the parliamentary
struggle on the floor been borne by
him in q large measure, but the demand
made by anxious representatives of this
or that interest for changes in the sched-
ules of the bill have engrossed his time
and attention in and out of the commit
tee room, before and since the measure
was reported to the House. Neither by
day or night has he had an hour for
months that he could call his own, and
the drafts upon his mental and physical
powers has been such that many man
of more rugged physique would succumb
to the strain. Thus far Mr.. Wilson has
been able to respond to every cali, save
in few instances last week, when he
was unable to meet his committee asso-
ciates at the night sessions, being COM
pletely exhausted. One night he suffered
from slight hemorrhage, but it's ill
effects were speedily overcome At the
has passed the House, Mr.. Wilson will
doubtless seek a needed rest and recrea-
tion for season.
When debate closed in the House Sat-
urday night last there remained upon the
desk of Chairman Richardson seventy
seven amendments which the authors
desired to offer for the action of the
House. The progress of the bill in COM
mittee last week demonstrates that it
will be practically impossible for all or
many OF those amendm ents to reach a
position whence they can receive atten-
tion unless some notifications of the
present methods of consideration are
made. There will probably be some
change by which either the time allotted
for the discussion of each amendment
will be limited or by which the ways
and means committee will be placed in
control and no amendments proposed ex-
cept such as meet its approval, or, in
other words, become committee amend
ments. Under orders adopted by the
House last week, the sugar item will be
discussed Monday and coal Tuesday,
three hours being allotted to each. The
Louisiana members will seek to retain
the bounty on sugar Failing to increase
the duty, Mr.. Harter will propose to
make the duty on all grades of sugar
cent pound and abolish the bounty.
Said Mr.. Harter: "Should my PROPOSE
tion become law, the revenue of the
government would be increased at once
by at least S45, ,0UO,0 600 a year, $35,O00,0 600
from customs dues and $40, 900, 900 from
the saving in bounty.n
Vigorous efforts will be made to re-
store coal to the dutiable list, the duty
ranging from % to 90 cents. An
organized movement to effect this change
will be made by representatives of trans
portation and mining interests who have
been hard at work in Washington to
secure votes. Much effort has been spent
on Repu blican represen tatives in this be-
half, but as far as can be learned, with
out success. A leading ber of the
minority in the House said, speaking of
this missionary labor: "We do not con-
slider it good politics to join in a move
ment having for it's object the relief of
the Democratic party from it's leaders,
not even when the chief beneficiary is to
be the chairman of the ways and means
committee himself The other three
members from West Virginia are asking
into which he has fallen. Inasmuch as
their sympathy for American interests
affected by the bill expends itself wholly
on the coal miners and owners, we think
they can take the medicine with the rest
of u.s.
There is every indication that when
the bill comes to vote on the 29th, it
will receive the support of every Demo-
cratic and Populist member with possi-
bly, at the outside half a dozen excep-
ions.
In the Senate there will be slight re-
Taxation of programme to permit the de-
livery of speech on the subject of our
Hawaiian relations by Senator Cullom of
Illinois. He is expected to talk Monday
or Tuesday The discussion of this subject
may take an interesting turn and trench
even more upon the time set apart for
the consideration of the election law re-
peal bill, if some Republican Senators
realize their expectations that the Turpie
resolution, declaring against foreign in
tervention in Hawaii, or the concurrent
resolution recognizing by legislative act
the provisional government of Hawaii,
will he pressed to the front. Except by
unanimous consent, the discussion OF
Hawaiian affairs must be confined to the
morning shours of the week and the reg
ular topic for debate will be the elections
bill. Speeches on this bill will be made
by Senators Higgins of New Jersey,
Hawley OF Connecticut, Lodge OF Massa-
chusetts and Frye of Maine, and Senators
Hoar and Chandler stand ready to par
ticipate in the debate if necessary. A
vote is not expected this week.
CTEMEMc an -r1Ir- orAhn