The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-01-03

Dsliying--HiIl and sherman Offer Res
o,utions-Chandlcr Wants TO Enlarge
the Inter state Comnaercr Commission
As briefly noted in our Geographic
dcspntches last week the Republican
horizontal increase tariff bill passed
the House Tuesday by strictly party
vote, 2O5 to 81. II was done in the
regulation "Rccd Rules" style, only
three hours being allowed to the House
for a bill that had bean in committee
for three weeks and which dealt with
every schedule of the tariff but one.
The minority of the Ways and Means
committee had not sven been given
time TO prepare a report against it,
and 80 OF course the Democrats made
but a feeble fight against the measure,
coptenting themselves with dignified
nrotest against such slam bang way
Of rushing through legislation. Gov.
Dinpley made the best speech of the
day, justifying the haste and lack Of
consideration by claim of the needs
of the treasury.
The bond bill was passed Saturday,
but without any such haste, though
the "need" was far greater. The sill
yer men demanded more time" than
Reed and the Republican managers
had intended. and the latter extended
the time for taking the vote from .
O'Clock Friday to 3 Saturday. The
silver men and the western Republi-
cans also demanded a proviso that the
areenbacks taken in by the gold pro
ceeds of the bonds should not be re
tired. but be reissued and they also
demanded that separate votes on the
two propositions to issue bonds and tn
issue deciency certificates. All this
was conceded for the sake of uniting
the party. - Reed, VINO of course has
| it all in his hands. simply did what
he did in 1890. when, to unite the Re
| publicans. the Conger silver bill was
passed in the house, which resulted in
| the passage of the Sherman silver law.
His Welding to these revoltcrs may en-
courage other similar demonstrations
along the anti Reed Republicans. But
! the concessions did not after all
tunite the party fori when the bill
came to a vote Saturday Il of them
broke away from the Reed program,
| leaving margin of only ~ for the
i bill. The Democrats all voted against
| it with one exception, the sound
money ones because they regarded II
as ineffective and as hampering the
secretary of the treasary, while the
silver Democrats voted against IT be
cause they are opposed 10 all bond IS
sues Crisp of Georgia made the lead
ing speech against it in which he ac-
cused the Republicans OF urging the
passage of this purely political propo-
sition and at the same time claiming
! that it was n Response t2~ the request
OF the president. which was that the
administration be authorized to sell
gold bonds. Either they were in favor
of it, or they were not, and they ought
to deal fairly and frankly with the
president and the people. The bill
was absolutely unsatisfactory TO the
president and Secretary Carlisle, but
! the rule under which it was pre-
sented, precluded the possibility of any
amendments except those which Reed
conceded" to the silver men. The
vote was l69 to l36.
The provision for temporary Ger,
tificates Of Indebtedness encountered
but little opposition and is recognized
as useful addition 10 the existing
powers OF the treasury, and the re-
! suit shows thai such a measure by
/ itself. which is all that is needed,
would easily have passed.
The bond bill went over to the SEN
ate promptly and Senator Voorhees,
called "A meeting of the Finance COM
mittcc for Tuesday to act on il. be-
| cause. az he said, the business of the
country need to be relieved from un-
certainty as soon as possible. But be-
fore action could be taken, the senate
was reorganized and all committees
placed in control of the Republicans.
| This was accomplished Monday and a
lively partisan debate was prccip
itated The Populists. who hold the
balance of power aided the Republi-
cans to get control by refraining from
voting themselves, when the Democrats
charged the existence of a trade. and
brought out indignant denials from
the Populist Butler of North Carolina
and less emphatic ones from Sherman
and Hoar. Teller came forward and
frankly owned it all up by declaring.
amid the laughter Of the senate and
the applause of the galleries, that il a
majority on the Finance COM
mittee had not been given the
free silver men, there would
| have been no reorganization OF
the committees. The result was a
demonstrat ton not only that the Pop
ulist senators, all of them free silver
men, hold the balance of power in the
senate. but that the Finance commit
tee is organized wholly and completely
| in the interest of free silver coinage.
| As a result the silver men are be-
coming more aggressive, and propose
| to put free coinage amendments on the
bond aud certificate bill and on the
tariff bill as well. bringing the former
out of the finance committee. striking
out the bond feature and incorporat-
ing silver feature and sending il back
to the house. where Gov. Dinglcy says
non concurrence in the senate amend
ments would be voted. and then a
deadlock in conference committee
would result and in the end the bill
/ would fail.
Buffers maiden speech in Mondays
debate was striking one. He made
most severe arraignment of the Dem
ocratic party. particularly in the state
of North Carolina. He charged them
with being incapable of governing the
country. and said that they had only
remainec in power in North Carolina
by the practice of the most stupendous
frauds at the ballot box.
The change in senate committees
is followed by another delay
in taking up the financial bills,
which have TO go 10 the new Finance
committee. So the senate Tuesday.
after a little discussion took recess
until to-day. Senator Morrill, an
nouncing that he would call the com
mittee together yesterday to consider