Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-12-26
FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.
The Senate was not in session to day

SENATE.
The Senate was not in session to day.
HOUSE.
The promised debate on the revenue
measure prepared by the committee on
WAYS and means, attracted to the House
today an attendance which filed the
galleries to their utmost and filed the
seats with many more than quorum
| of members.
Immediately after the reading of the
journal, Mr.. Dingley reported from the
committee bill ito temporarily In
crease revenue to meet the expenses of
the government and provide against q
deficiency" together with statement
of the reasons why the bill should be
passed.
Mr.. Crisp explained that the minority
of the committee had had no opportuni-
| ty to prepare their views in opposition
| to the bill.
Mr.. Henderson offered q resolution
from the committee on rules providing
for vote on the revenue bill just re-
ported at FIVE o'clock this afternoon.
He stated that he supposed the gentle
men understood that another bill from
the committee on ways and NEAR S
would be reported tomorrow. The
bill to be discussed to-day, he said, was
| in no sense a general revision OF the
tariff, but one to provide revenue at
once. The President had aroused pub
Lie sentiment by sending two messages
| to Congress, and the money centers
were DESTROYS that something should be
done to allay the excitement caused by
the feverish declarations from the White
| House. The House differed from the
President, probably as 10 what was
! necessary TO be done to relieve the
country and the financial situation, but
A! the bill under discussion contained what
the House or a majority thereof be-
| lieved to be necessary.
Mr.. Crisp said members of the House
should not blindly follow the dictates
of the rule, but vote upon it as they
deem to be best for the interests of the
country. The bill reported was a gen.
eral revision of the tariff, whatever
might be said to the contrary. for it af
| fected every schedule in the bill. The
rule brought in deprived the House of
the right to consider the bill in COM
mittee of the whole, as well as of the
| right to discuss it under the general
| rules of debate and the five minute
| rule, and also to offers to amend it. So
| that every constitutional privilege of
debate and consideration was violated
by the rule proposed by the gentleman
from Iowa. The resolution was re-
turn to the rules of the 51st Congress,
about which 30 much had been said.
He defed any one to point to any rule
| reported by any committee to any leg
| islative body which proposed general
tariff revision after four hours debate
without the right to propose single
| amendment. Every republican MEM
Der was expected TO vote blindly for
the bill without knowing anything
about it or its probable effects upon the
people represented by them. No de.
partment of the government had asked
that the bill should be passed; there
was no suggestion from any official
source that the revenue it pretended
to supply was needed for the purposes
of the government.
Mr.. Dalzell, member of the commit.
tee on rules, said that no man within
the sound of his voice did not know
that ever since March 4th, 1893, the
revenue of the government had piled
up steadily increasing deficiency. The
President and the Secretary of the
Treasury had been alarmed and the
former, turning to party in Congress
not his own, had asked it to act speedily
for the relief of the public, even going
so far as to require to forgo the usual
holiday recess. Under the spur of that
request the committee on ways and
means had been working night and day
to prepare the measure proposed. Il
was not, he asserted, general tariff
revision, but an emergency revenue
measure. Mr.. Dalzell said it was re.
freshing to hear Mr.. Crisp talk about
party whip and iron clad rules. Did
he not remember that the present tariff
bill. with more than 600 amendments,
none of which were considered in com
mittee, was driven through the House
in two hours, by the terms of rule
prepared by the gentleman himself
(Applause.) By the working of the
same kind of rule, Mr.. Dalzell con.
| tinued, bills were introduced in the
House, in violation of all parliamentary
decency, without reference to any COM
mittee, and passed in fifteen minutes
bills that dealt with the great coal,
sugar and ore interests of the country.
What is the House called upon to-day
to do? he asked. 1t was, he said,
what the republican party always did,
to rise above party prejudice or passion
and in response to the Presidents ap-
peal to give the country the relief he
had asked. applause
Mr.. McMillin followed. He said he
would give the answer to Mr.. DalzelPs
questions which that gentleman had
iailed to do. 1t was to pass q
general tariff bill affecting every
one of the 1900 articles on the
dutiable list except sugar. The repub-
licans were in power again, and pro-
ceeding as they had previously done,
he said. $50 ahead gentlemen" Mr..
McMillin said, ''the same power which
deprived you of place and authority
will do it again" (Applause.)
| Mr.. Turner said the bill was not in
tended and would not meet the merits
of the emergency. The Treasury did
not need additional revenue. The
Presidents message and report of the
Secretary of the Treasury showed q
surplus of over seventy millions
enough to pay the deficiency in ordi-