Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1894-08-03


tariff reform. He wants them as
bad as ever, and some say he is willing
to see all tariff legislation fail rather
than not to get them, bat he regrets
having jumped on those who know
how and do not hesitate TO fight back.
Although the conferees held their
first recorded meeting to day Gully 3O)
since the bill was, on Friday last, sent
back to conference without instructions
by the Senate, the democratic conferees
spent all day Saturday and Sunday in
to patch up the differences between the
House and Senate, but as no satisfac-
actory answered has yet been found to
the ultimatum of the Senators-"take
the bill as it is or you'll get nothing
the status is unchanged. Some of the
shrewdest observers are convinced that
victory for the Senate bill is assured.
and that the time of the democratic
bosses is now principally taken up
with arranging a series of more or less
confusing changes in the bill, which
shall make it seem that concessions
were made on both sides, or as one
man puts it: "fnding soft place for
Cleveland to fall on The House con-
ferees are individually willing to hold
out against the Senate, but the demo-
Gratis of the House generally are not
willing to keep up the fight and they
have plainly shown their Discrimination
to fight Mr.. Cleveland's battles for him
Secretaries Gresham and Carlisle are
doing their best to defeat the bill which
provides that immigrants shall be in.
spected by L. S. Consuls, before being
allowed to start for this country, and
which was recently passed by the
House and is now before the Senate
immigration committee. The princi-
pal ground for their opposition, accord
ing to their chief spokesman, Mr..
Stump, L. S. Commissioner of Immi-
grafton, is that the bill, if it became
law, would stop all immigration.
That argument will hardly defeat the
bill, as there are many who believe that
Immigration ought to be stopped, for
time, any. way. Representative
Stone, OF Pa, the author of the bill,
and by whose shrewd management it
was engineered through the House in
spite of the opposition of the chairman
of the house committee on immigration,
thinks it will be just the law that is
needed; that it would shut out the un-
desirable, giving us only the class of
immigrants who are always welcome
to all countries.
Mr.. Cleveland seems to have little
difficulty in controlling the actions of
democratic members of the House.
Only the other day the democratic
members of the House committee on
Commerce were insisting upon the
necessity for the adoption of the reso-
luton authorizing that committee to
make an investigation of the recent !
strikers, because they did not consider
the law under which Mr.. G.. appointed |.
the Investigating Commission board |
enough, and strightway the democrats |
on the committee began TO talk about |
the clashing that would be caused bv |
two investigations and TO indicate very
plainly that the resolution was dead.
Mr.. Cleveland would doubtless be will
ing to pay largely for a receipt that
would enable him to control the Sena-
tors as easily.
No finer bit of sarcasm was ever got
off on the floor of the Senate than
when Senator Henderson sent a fan TO
Senator Villas, just before his name was
called on the vote to instruct the Sen
ate conferees to recede from the differ
entail duty on refined sugar, to hide
his face while he voted against a motion
he had originally made himself and
had only withdrawn after two lengthy
and exciting democratic caucuses. He
certainly must have felt like hiding
his face when he voted for the sugar
trust after having posed before the
as one of its most determined
opponents. Senator Stewards refusal
to vote prevented the striking out of
the differental duty.
The Senate Investigating committee
is at a standstil because of its inability
to get hold of one Battershall, man
who is said to have taken the orders of
for the purchase of sugar
trust stock. As soon as Battershall
found out that he was wanted and as
,ertained that he would be made to tell
Ill he knew or 10 go to Jail, he took
himself out of the country; at any rate
ne cannot be found, and rumor says he
vas supplied with money enough, by
hose who would be injured by his
estimony, to make his trip a long and
pleasant one.
Evidence.