The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-08
CHASMS IN THE C. o. p. RANKS.
THE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY UN-
CERTAIN AND EaIBARRAssED.

The Tariff Causing Them the Great-
est Amount of Troublesome Want
10 DO One Thing and some Another,
and Many Want 90 DO Nothing.
What the Feeling Among Senator's
Is-Very Little Agreement Among
Those on the Republican side.
Washington, Dec. THE republicans
In congress are already in hot water,
They are divided, uncertain and embar-
rassed.
Curious enough. it is the tariff that "a
causing them the greatest amount OF
trouble. Some Of them want to rush
right In and make an effort to increase
the revenues by putting a higher rata
upon number Of articles, notably lum-
Der, agricultural products and woollen
goods, while they also want raw wool
taken from the free list and a duty placed
upon IT, 1t would seem that with a par
ty pledged TO high protection like the re-
publican party would be a unit the mos
ment an Increase I'm duty Is suggested. ID
Is nothing of the kind. As a matter oh
fact there are a large number of the
leading men in the party who are perfect-
ly satisfied to let the matter rest. They
are afraid, for instance, that If they even
make an effort to put wool on the du,
table list the manufacturers and tho
merchants all over the country will al
once put up the price of carpets and
clothes, which is now very low, and that
this will be followed by a resentment OF
the people against an era of high prices,
Just as happened when the democrats
came into power after the Mckinley bill
was passed. Even such a partisan re-
n
for many years a member of the ways and
means committee Of the House. said to
your correspondent to-day that he would
hesitate to attack the present tariff law
would be fearful Of the hostility such acS
ton would arouse throughout the coun-
try.
This division OF sentiment is very evi.
dent in the House. Reed himself Is IN
favor Of doing nothing. II he touches
the tariff he emphasizes Mckinleyism and
adds to the fame of his Ohio rival for
the presidential nomination. Whether ne
can make the great, unwieldy majority
subordinate It's views to his personal am-
bitions is a doubtful question. IL he at
tempts It there win be trouble. He will
have difficulty as II Is, in reconciling the
already very divergent Views.
In the Senate the situation is no better.
In that body there Is an active, earnest
set of republicans who are in favor OF
action. They are willing TO go ahead on
the tarin, on finance, on the Monroe
doctrine on anything, so long as they
are doing something They believe that
the country will pardon anything except
cowardice and indifference. The old, con-
servatve men, like Sherman and Allison
and Aldrich, do not agree with them.
but want congress to drift along with
out any declaration of any kind until
after the presidential canvas opens. The
republican majority In the Senate is al
ready showing signs OF a wide-open split.
In short, when the republicans were in
a minority they seemed to be a compact
mass and they laughed and scoffed at the
divisions in the democratic ranks. Now
that they themselves are In power, they
show chasms in their own ranks. They
are as wide apart as the democrats ever
were and before they get through they
will make a sorry exhibition Of them4
selves.
Some OF tho republicans In the House are
suggesting that for a temporary expedi2
ent a bill be passed which will raise the
rate OF duty some 10 or 25 per cent horl
izontally on all the items In the press
ent law for such a time as may be necee4
sary to bring the receipts up TO the expen-
ditures. This is the latest scheme 10 meet
the difficulty and will be eventually em4
bodied in a bill. Bet every republican
seems to have plan of his own, and tho
democrats will simply lay low and let
the majority fight out the troubles among
themselves.