Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-06-21
Babcock on the Political
Situation.

Congressman DdDCOCk, WHO ID
chairman Of the Republican
Congressional committee, left last
evening for his home at Necedah.
With reference to the prospect of
the Republicans controlling the
next house of representatives he
said:
"The outlook for Republican
success is growing brighter every
day; the tide of corruption which
has dictated the present tariff bill
has made us many votes, especially
the last amendment to the sugar
schedule which postpones the
effect Of the law from July I to
Jan. I. This amendment gives the
Sugar trust an opportunity to buy
the crop Of the whole world and
ship it here before the tariff
becomes operative. 1t is estimated
that this will yield to the trust a
net profit of at least S5o,OoO,ooo.
There has been only one excuse
made by the dominant party for
this amendment and that is that
they consider it impolitic to have
the price Of sugar raised by a
tariff duty before election. Appar-
entity this is a very expensive
contribution to the campaign funds
of the Democratic party. The
result of the late election in
Oregon has given the Republican
Congressional committee great
encouragement to still further and
more vigorously prosecute its
work.
There is no prospect for an
adjournment before the middle OF
August. Should the present
Tariff bill pass the senate it will
then go into the hands Of a
Conference committee. This COM
mittee, which will be appointed by
the senate and the house will be
almost unanimously against the
senate bill, or in other words the
majority Of the committee will be
Democrats who are in favor Of
carrying out their party pledges
and it would not be strange if in the
end the Conference committee
should report in favor Of the
Wilson bill as it passed the house,
doing away with all of the
amendments that have been added
by the senate. What the result OIL
such an action by the Conference
committee would be in the senate
none can tell; they would be
confronted with the fact that they
must either accept the Wilson bill
as it passed the house, or adjonrn
without enacting any new tariff
laws.
"a prominent Democrat, and
one whose name is familiar in every
household throughout the country
said in my hearing a few days since,
that the Democratic party was an
opposition party; that it was a
success as party to criticise and
obstruct legislation, but when it
came into power and attempted to
originate and formulate legislation,
it had proven a failure. This
statement was made to a party of
congressman, some six or eight in
number, the majority of whom
were Democrats, and none were
bold enough to deny the statement,
This feeling extends to a large
number Of the senator's and men,
bers on the Democratic side of
congress, and they fully realize the
ineXcusable plumbers that have
been made by their party during
the past year.
The administration is daily
adding to the Coxey army by
wholesale discharges from the
different departments. Hundreds
have been turned out during the
present month, and many more
will receive an indefinite leave of
absence on July I. In many of
the departments business is badly
behind. In the auditors office of
the Treasury department, the work