The record-union., 1896-04-10
The Senate Does a Rushing Business IN
the Way Of Pension Bills.
Seventy-Five Were Passed Within
Sixty Minutes.

silver Being the subjects DWetC
Upon-The Bill to Repeal Compul-
sorry Pilotage, So Far as 1t Affects
Coastwise Vessels, Defeated in the
House.
WASHINGTON, April 9.-The Senate
did a rushing business in the way OF
private pension bills in the last hour
of to-day's session, having cleared the
calendar and passed every pension
bill on it-seventy-fiv in number
within sixty minutes.
The early hours of the session We're
taken up in the delivery of two pre-
pared speeches, one by Mantle of Mon
tana and the other by Butler of North
Carolina. Mantles speech was mainly
a defense of the Senators from the sill
reproducing States for their action
in helping to defeat the Dingley tar1f
i'll passed by the House in the early
part of the session. He criticised the bill
for being in the interest Of the WOOL
manufacturers rather than OF the WOOL
growers, and he declared himself as
being equally in favor of bimetalllsm
and of protection to American industry
He expressed the hope, therefore, that
the Finance Committee would report
back fair tariff bill coupled with a
provision for free coinage.
At the close of Mantle's speech (his
maiden one in the Senate) he received
the congratulations of many Senators
and then participated in running dis
cussion with Senators Hawley of Con-
necticut, Hoar of Massachusetts, and
Mills of Texas, the latter character1z-
ing a protective tariff as a humbug.
Buffers speech was in support of a
bill heretofore introduced by him for
the establishment of a postal telegraph
system. Between the close of Buffers S
speech and the taking up of the pension
bills the Indian appropriation bill made
some progress.
Frye Rep) of Maine, Chairman OF
the Committee on Commerce, gave no
tice to hear any Senators who might
desire to propose amendments to the
river and harbor bill, and that the
committee would not hear any after
ward
Mantle Rep.) of Montana then ad-
dressed the Senate in support of reso-
luton heretofore offered by his col
<,
nance Committee the House tariff bill
passed in the early days of the session.
He spoke of the unwarranted aspersions
cast by the metropolitan press on the
Senators who favored silver coinage
and who voted in opposition to that
bill He defended those Senators and
people of the silver States from indis-
criminate charges of selfishness and
tr,n pf CT
them.
Mantle argued against the Dingley
bill, declaring that while it professed
10 be in the interest of the wool-grow-
ers, it was really in the interest of the
wool manufacturers. tariff BILL he
said, should be SO adjusted as to guard
every American industry that needs
sheltering arms to shield it. from the
degrading competition of other coun-
tries. He admitted that while he was
an ardent believer in the principle of
protection, he did not disregard the
benefits of free silver, and without BIZ
metallism no protective tariff could
guard against the competition that is
coming and to come from China and
Japan. Unless a parity was estab-
lished between gold and silver one of
two things, he said, must inevitably
happen: Either the wages and standard
OF living in Asia mus. be raised to the
American level, or else the wages and
standard of living in the United States
should be reduced to theirs. He was,
therefore, in favor of uniting the poll
cies of bimetallism and protection.
He declared that the Republican sill
"
as fully justified in aiding the demands
to repeal the Mckinley law as other
Republican Senators were in joining
the Administration Democrats to Sc
cure the unconditional repeal Of the
Sherman law.
In conclusion, he expressed the hope
that the resolution would be agreed to
and the Dingley bill would be reported
back with fair protective substitute,
and with provision for bimetallsm.
The Republican party, he said, would
so into history as the best and hravest
party that the world had ever known,
and he had hopes that it would refuse
to be guided in its future policy by the
dictates of selfishness and greed.
Hawley (Rep.) of Connecticut said
that he had a few figures which proved
that Mantle was mistaken in suppos-
ing that the wool manufacturers were
benefited by the Wilson tariff bill.
The importations of wooden manufac-
tured goods into the United States for
the current fiscal year, including jan
uary, amounted to over S3S, ,000, 600, as
against S17, 800 900 in the corresponding
seven months of last year. On the other
hand many looms in New England
woolen mills were idle, and the mills
were running on reduced time With
the passage of the Wilson tariff law
industry of New England. He added
that he did not call to mind single
New England Senator who had ever
moved or voted to take the duty off raw
wool.
After considerable discussion tie mat
ter went over.
Unanimous consent was asked by
Allen Pop) of Nebraska for the pas
sage of a Senate bill to authorize and
encourage the holding of a transmits
sissippi exposition in Omaha in 1898
1t was made the special order for to-
morrow after the morning routine busi-
ness
AT 5:15 o'clock the Senate adjourned
until tomorrow.
HOUSE PROCEEDINGS
WASHINGTON. April 9.-The bill
20 repeal the compulsory pilotage sys-
tenn, so far as it affects sailing vessels