The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-17
URGENCY BILL IS PASSED.
SENATOR'S HAWLEY AND HILL IN
 DULGE IN 4 LIVELY DISP UTE.

lngs ana Said That He Was Responsible
 For the Income Tax-Ouay's Amendment
 Was Defeated.
 Washington, Jan. 16.-After the trans action of unimportant business the urgent deficiency bill was taken up to-day and MT. Hill, dem., of New York, addressed the senate in regard to the ruling out of his amendment giving United States courts jurisdic- tion of the question of constitutionality and validity of the Income tax,
 MT. Hill said that he questioned the right of the senate-With due regard to it's rules-to refuse consideration of his amendment. The point which he made was that the pending bill was not an appropriation bill within the meaning of the rule. It was not one of the regular appropriation bills; it was not even the regular annual de- ficiency bill.
 MT. Morgan, dem., of Alabama, in- terrupted MT. Hill to say that as 1t was he who had made the point of order against the amendment he was will ing to withdraw 1t and let the senate vote on the amendment.
 And deprive me of my right to go on with my speech?" MT. Hill asked.
 ''I will withdraw the point after the senator has made his speech" MT. Morgan said.
 MT. Hill then proceeded with his ar gument, sustaining it by reference to various decisions in both houses, show ing that such bills-as, for instance, a pension arrears bill, or a river and harbor bill-were not general appro- priation bills under the rules.
 MT. Vest, dem., of Missouri, said that MT. Hills amendment was subject to very serious objection
 "On its merits?" MT. Hill put in.
 "Yes, on its merits," said MT. Vest. "I am not discussing the parliamentary question. It never has been the custom of the senate to leg'islate for the pur- pose of affecting existing litigation; and neither branch of congress should indulge in that practice. And yet suit Is at this moment being argued in the supreme court of the District of Columbia involving the constitutional ity of the income tax"
 MT. Vest then went on to defend the finance committee and himself, as a member of it. from responsibility for the imperfections of the income tax provision. He declared that that provision, as it came from the house was infinitely more drastic than that contained in the present law.
 He mentioned, among other points the taxation of savings banks in the house proposition, and appealed to Mir Hawley to say whether the income tax measure as passed by the senate was not infinitely better than the proposi- tion that came from the house.
 "'The income tax measure as passed" MT. Hawley, rep, of Connecticut de- clared "was just as reasonable as the other was inhuman."
 MT. Vest said that he was largely responsible for the form in which the income tax provision now stood. He did not claim that it was perfect, or anything like perfect; but he asserted that its imperfections were caused by the fact that in the absence of rules in the senate to close debate, the finance committee was compelled to put the tariff bill through under whip and spur. The entire country, he said, was clam bring for tariff legislation. He was tired of hearing the ceaseless charges against the tariff law and its defects coming from those who knew the reason why those defects existed.
 Those who had charge of the measure had endeavored to make the income tax as unobjectionable as possible There had been grave defects left in it, and it had been hoped that those defects would be reformed in the con- ference committee.
 MT. Hill-Does the senator mean to say that the conference committee was engaged in any particular effort to 1 agree on the income tax?
 MT. Vest-I do.
 MT. Hill-I never so understood it.
 MT. Vest-I make the assertion now that the differences between the house | and senate in relation to the income tax | were taken up and referred to MT. | McMillin of Tennessee, and myself, and | we worked night and day for more | than week and finally came to con- | clusion Just as we had succeeded in | doing so and while we were consider ing an entirely different portion of the tariff bill, action was had by the sen ate which resulted in a tie vote on the question of discharging the conference committee and the house of represen- tatives then accepted all the amend ments of the senate to the tariff bill. | And the condition in which we find ourselves to-day is simply one of the incidents that have come, naturally and mentally from the want of rules in this body.
 MT. Vest drifted into discussion of the rules He argued that on any polit- ical or financial measure it was impossi- ble to force action, while on other mat ters any senator might have almost any bill passed under senatorial cour- tesy.
 MT. Allison referred to dates to prove there had been no undue delay in the tariff Dill iii the senate, and said the rules of the senate had no more to do with that delay than the equinoxes had.
 MT Hawley, rep, of Connecticut, re- marked that the tariff bill had been much benefited by the five or six weeks discussion in the senate. The country was benefited, and so was the gentle mans own party.
 "Oh, Mir. President" said MT. Vest, with a shrug of his shoulders "as to my own party being benefited, I do not know"