The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-21
THEY WANT FREE SUGAR.
The Senate Urged 10 Act FaVOTably
on the House Bills.

ing Urging the Passage of the Bills
Providing for Free Sugar, Iron Ore,
Coal and Barbed Wire-Some OPP
position, but the Resolutions Were
Passed by a Good Majority.
At a full meeting of the Savannah
Board Of Trade held yesterday morning,
resolutions were passed indorsing the
action Of the House in placing iron ore,
barbed wire. sugar and bituminous coal
on the free list, and urging the Senate to
take immediate and favorable action on
these bills. The resolutions also urged
Georgia's senator's to give the full weight
of their influence to accomplish this OBJ
iect.
The resolutions were introduced by
Mai. j. B. Withers just after the meeting
was called to order. They did not meet
with the full and cordial approval Of sew
eral of the mem bers present. and one or
two speeches were made against their
passage, the tendency of which was to en-
deavor to show that they were inopportune
as well as to show that the articles con
sidered were such as TO a certain extent
needed protection.
THE RESOLUTIONS AS PASSED.
The resolutions introduced by Mai
Withers are as follows:
Whereas. The House Of Representatives.
voicing the dominant sentiment of the great
mass Of the people Of this country has passed
bills placing sugar, by an almost unanimous
vote, TO the ObllieratlOn OF party lines, ana
iron ore, Ditummous coal and Darbed wire, by
decisive majoriueS on the free list with wool,
lumber, salt. ct al; therefore. be 10
Resolved by the savannah Board OF Trade
in general meeting assom led. That the sen
ate be and they are hereby regueste and urged
to act Immediately and faVorably upon tho
House bills increasing the free list by the ad
0ition thereto of sugar, iron ore, bituminOus
coal and barbcd Wire that manufacturing IN
dUstries that have already been made 10 con
tribute so largely by reduction of duties TO
the sixty odd millions OF dollars saved TO the
people by the new tariff may be put in a
stronger position for competition with other
manufacturing countries, and millions more
rescued from trusts, added to the general re.
lief of the whole country.
Resolved further. That the senators from
Georgia be especially requested ana urged 10
give the fun weight of their influence to ac-
Complish speedy and favorable action upon
the House bill now before the Senate as
means OF great relief from the burdens of
Mckinleyism that have so long dwarted and
stagnated every material interest Of the couu-
try
lutions be teiegaphcd by the president OF
this board To President Cleveland, Vice
President Stevenson and Speaker Crisp and
mailed to each OF the commercial bodies OF
the country
MR.. WILLIAMS DID NOT AGREE.
After the resolutions had been seconded
Mr.. J. =. Williams said, that while he
was aware he WIS in the minority, he
was convinced that the resolutions were
inOpportune. He said the country had
been in the throes of tariff legislation for
the last nine months and he agreed with
others that it would be unfortunate to
open up these questions in the Senate
again. The matter ne thought, should be
left settled as it is by the Senate bill, and
results should be awaited before further
action is taken.
He said he believed the country should
have protection to a certain extent, and
that this was the belief of many demo-
Gratis. No industries, he said, are more
important than sugar producing and coal
and iron mining. He referred to the fact
that men had gone to Washington from
the board of trade to urge that the duty
be maintained on rice, and that on this
article the Savannah Board of Trade had
concurred with the commercial bodies of
New Orleans. He thought the resolu-
tlons, therefore, rather inconsistent in
this respect. He referred TO the fact that
the S3S 100000 for government expendi-
lures, expected to be raised by the tax on
sugar, would have to be raised from some
source. He said it was not right that Can
ada should bring coal into this country free
when there was plenty of it in our own
mines, and said the coal miners here
could not compete with them. The duty
on coal and iron ore, he said, had been re
duced to such point as to prevent the
formation of trusts or mOnopOlies in this
country, and did not think a further
agitation of the question would do any
good at this time.
WANTED THEM TABLED
Mr.. J. f. c. Myers said he had signed
the call for the meeting for the purpose
of considering this question, but that he
concurred with Mr.. Williams, in the view
he had taken of the matter and moved
that the resolutions be laid on the liable
MIR. G. NJ Gilbert said he concurred
with the provisions of the resolution, ex-
cept in TO far as it referred to sugar He
thought the board of trade should stand
by sister state, and said Savannah had
been hustling around to have the duty on
rice maintained, in which Louisiana had
concurred He referred to the fact that
labor was cheaper and conditions better
In other sugar producing countries than
In this. He SAID he understood the Sen
ate had passed resolution that it would
have no more tariff discussion at this SEES
sion, and he considered the resolutions.
therefore, inopportune.
CAPT. PURSE ON THE ISSUE.
Capt. ID. G. Purse then took the floor
TO speak in behalf of the resolutions, and
said he left the chair with reluctance. as
he was not in favor of the chair taking
an active part. He did not think the res
olutions were inopportune as there was
still time TO accomplish the desired ends
If the Senate would take the matter up.
He stated that nobody had been bound to
the resolutions by signing the call for the
meeting. Coal mining, he said, had
ceased to be an infant industry, as Ala
bama had got iuto South American terri
tory and was driving unprotected Eng
land from the field. Barbed wire. he
said, was controlled by an abominable
trust and of all things for the good of the
farmer it should 90.
In the matter of sugar, he said the Sen
ate was not asked in the resolutions to
make sugar absolutely free, but simply to
consider the matter and relieve the peo-
pie of all burdens possible on sugar iron
ore and the other products mentioned
He said the bill could be amended in such
a way as TO eliminate the proht of the
trusts on sugar. He had il from the New
Orleans Chamber of Commerce that only
half the state Of Louisiana was depend
ent on the sugar industry.
SUGAR CAN TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.
We asked for protection on rice" he
said, but we didn't get IT, The plotec-
ton we get on that article now really