The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-08-23
THE TARIFF BILL.

known as the senate tnrihs bill. 1t
Immediately passed bills putting
sugar, coal, iron and barbed wire on
the free list.
When these separate bills came up
in the senate Senator Vest (dem.
Mo- made speech in favor of their
immediate consideration.
II there is to be democratic dis
pute as to what attitude the senate
and house conferees maintained
during the long conference, the
speech of the Missouri senator will
be invaluable for reference. The
offers which were made by the sen-
ate conferees for free sugar, free iron
ore or free coal were explained In
detail. Any one of these schedules,
according to the version of the Mis-
souri, senator, could have been
secured, but each in turn was
declined. supplementing this state
ment was another made later in the
day by the Missouri senator in leply
to question by Senator Villas that
he, Vest, had offered to sign
any report the house conferrees
would prepare, no matter what the
reduction might be.
The letter from Secretary Carlisle
to Senator Harris, acting chairman of
the finance committee, served we'll
the purposes of the Missouri senator.
Senator Vest wanted immediate
action taken on the house free sugar
bill, He was opposed to any refer
ence to the finance committee and
began his speech by asserting that in
his judgment any reference of these
bills to the senate finance committee
meant their death.
After asserting that the bills would
meet their death II referred to the
finance committee, Senator Vest
called attention to the fact the COM
mittee was now politically tie and
that there was prospect of disap-
pearance OF q quorum within few
days. He had always been opposed
to the one eighth differential on
refined sugars, but he had, voted and
would vote again for the one eighth
rather than submit to have the dem
ocratic party accused and convicted
Of ineompetency. He was again,
most unfortunate, he declared, In
being compelled to indulge in crit
icism Of the president under whose
flag he was still ready to fight for the
cause OF tariff reform to the death.
He referred Indignantly to Mr..
Cleveland's letter In support Of the
house bill and compared it with the
letter Of Secretary Carlisle, which,
he declared, proved conclusively
that the house bill would, if enacted,
have caused deficiency of $50, ,0O0,-
600. That letter, he said, with great
display of feeling, vindicated the
position Of the senate.
He denounced the self constituted
critics of the press and demagogues
who sought to pull down men in high
places, who had assailed the senate
and the senate bill. The senate had
been made the scapegoat. He pro-
ceeded to describe the position In
which he had been placed during the
last five months. He had not an
enemy in the world whom he would
place In the position he occupied to
be criticised, denounced, blackmailed
and driven in order to pass bill for
the relief Of the country that was
distorted by the views OF those who
looked at the situation from their
own selfish stardpoints. The rules
of the senate were responsible, he
said. "No wonder," he said, with
uplifted hands, "that the public
declares the senate lags superhuous
on the stage when we sit here day
after day, while almanacs and even
novels are read to US under our rules,
and we are powerless to help our
selyes.' There was reason why the
people should turn on us.
'sLet u.s." he continued, 'look at
the sugar schedule, the rock around
which the cross currents and eddies
of discussion have boiled and seethed.
In one section of the country lay
Louisiana, with its sugar plantations,
demanding a revenue tariff on sugar.
would rather have given them pro-
lection than any other class Of pro-
ducers In the domain of the United
States. At the other end of the
United States was that great monop-
oily, the sugar trust, taking toll from
every breakfast table, with s56, 600,
600 OF watered stock on which 1t paid
z per cent. dividend on half its stock
and 10 per cent. on the other half,
and paid it quarterly. 1t was aggres-
sive, defiant-aye, dominant. Be-
tween these two the interests of the
people---the consumers"
Mr.. Vest then proceeded will
his description Of the difficulties IL
connection with the adjustment O
sugar schedule. He sketched thu
effect ON the trust Of the protection
OF 90 centA on 100 pounds giveI
BY the McKiniey bill and the enor
nous power developed by the trus