The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-08-22
TARIFF BILL BLUNDERS
The Senate Alone Responsible for
the Errors,
THE MIsPLAoING OF A AsEMIcoLoN.
It Is Responsible for the Placing of Dia-
monds on tho Free List--M usical In
struments Under tho Head of "ExpIo-
sive Substances"


monds on tho Free List--Musicai In
struments Under the Head of "Explo-
sive Substances"
wAsHINGToN, Aug. 22.-The enrolling
clerks OF the house and the chairman Of the
house committee ON enrolled bills deny
most emphatically that they are RESPONSE
BILE for any of the errors in punctuation
or otherwise that threaten to defeat the
intention of congress with reference TO
various tariff schedules. They say that
four comparisons of the enrolled bills and
the measure rs passed by the senate were
made, and that congress is responsible for
many errors. 1t is asserted that careful
comparison would show that the enrolled
bill is an absolutely perfect copy of the
bill as II passed the senate.
Mr.. George b. Parsons, the chief en-
rolling clerk, said: I'VE cannot go by
scholastic standards, but are obliged to
follow copy to the strict letter. We sup
pose that the house and the senate know
what they are about. Now, I do not deny
that there are mistakes in the bill; that is
very apparent. But these mistakes were
made in the drafting OF the senate amend
ments, which, as you know, were adopted
entire by the house without stroke Of
difference.
1.-THE main item of error seems to he
that diamonds have been placed npon the
free list This occurred evidently because
the senate used a semicolon instead Of
colon after the word diamonds" in the
free list. Although 1t occurred to me
after we had copied the item that colon
was meant, we had no authority here to
make change, for that would he for us
an 81 -,. ..l,t
no such right whatever, nor have we
right to construe the intention of the leg
islators, for that would give us the au-
thority Of court.
"Now, il we want to 90 ahead and have
some fun out OF this bill we can do it
Just as easily here as the folks in the
treasury department. for we have found
some very funny things in the official
copy of the bill. will instance one of
them. Musical instruments are to be
noted in the bill under the head of 'Ex-
plosive Substances The senate amend
ment read to insert the musical instru-
ments paragraph after line % on n GER
tain page, which brought it between the
item OF friction matches and that Of per-
cussion caps. Of course this surprised us
somewhat, but we concluded that the
author of the am endment lived next door
to some chap who has a grown daughter
who Is learning to play on II second hand
piano"
Representative Pearson, of Ohio, the
chairman of the enrolled bills committee,
affirmed all that Mr.. Parsons had said as
TO the accuracy of the enrolled copy.
A member of the house, in speaking of
the number of mistakes discovered, said
''rhe house adopted the senate bill entire.
To have amended even the semicolon after
the word diamonds would have necessi-
tated the return Of the bill to the senate
which was precisely what the house man
ayers did not desire. Had an effort been
made to amend this aud other errors Of
punctuation it is more than probable that
the bill would have by this time received
atotnlly different fate than that which it
Inpt y