The San Francisco call., 1897-07-20
would not Weld the farmer any additional

of the great cattle trust AS whole the
proposed bill levied a tax of 40 per cent
on articles imported into the country
against 81 imposed by the Mckinley bill
and "a by the Wilson.
Swanson of Virginia, also a m ember of
the Committee on Ways and Means, de-
voted himself largely to the sugar sched-
ule in discussing Dingley's assertion. The
pending bill, he said, gave the refiner less
protection than the Senate's schedule.
Swanson alleged that the differential was
401l cents per 100 pounds, instead of 1871,
as claimed by Dingley, On granulated
sugar. Swanson figured out that the diff
ferential under the Wilson bill in favor Of
the trust was 29H cents per 100 pounds,
IS $40 cents per 100.
Debate was con tinued by Ball and Lam
ham OF Texas Fleming of Georgia, Handy
of Delaware and Kelley of South Dakota.
At one point no one sought the floor, and
the Speaker filled the gap with the start
ling suggestion:
"The question is upon agreeing with the
report"
Whereupon Bailey remarked: because
there does not appear to be any one on the
Republican side ready to defend the
report, the chair must not assume that
there is no one on this side to attack it."
Looking over the Democratic seats, he
continued: 'None of the mem bers of the
Committee on Ways and Means being pre-
pared to speak, l ask recognition for my
colleague. DR.. Lanham.'
The same experience was repeated just
before Fleming took the Hoor, and he had
an hours time simply because none of the
leaders desired the time.
AT 5:55 the House barely escaped a vote
on the main question by unanimously
agreeing to a recess until o'clock.
The novelty of night session filled the
galleries, and at o'clock the desuItory
discussion was resumed by Mcdowell of
Ohio. The speech of the evening was by
Bailey, who spoke first of the fact that the
final settlement of the question was not
with the House nor with Congress, but
with Is, ,000,0 600 voters of the country, and
to them he submitted statement of his
views. In his opinion 1t was impossible
that the country could have prosperity
under the present financial system, nor
would any financial system make the peo-
pie prosperous when farmers were COM
PEELED to pay exorbitant prices for manu-
factured goods
Discussing the Wilson bill, Bailey said
that the country had seen this despised
and nameless outcast vindicate itself as
tariff measure, until fair minded men to-
day acknowledged that under normal con-
ditions it would raise money enough to
defray all proper expenses.
mo i'm mportant measure in the history
of this country" he said, twas ever en-
acted under circumstances so untayorable
for its fair trial. 1t was denounced OH its
final passage by the author of it and it
was discredited by Cleveland, whose course
in reference to it no one would undertake
at this time to defend. For waen the
passions of that contest had cooled we
were all ready to agree that his duty to
his party required him to approve that
bill or else his duty TO the country re-
quired him to disapprove it. There was
no middle ground. If the bill was so bad
that for the sake of his party he could not
sign 1t, then it was SO bad that for the
sake of his country he ought to have
vetoed it; but he stubbornly refused to do
either and suffered it to become law,
derided by foes. deserted by friends.''
The remedy for deficiency, Bailey said,
was economy OF expenditures rather than
increase of taxation. Protection inter-
fered with the free interchange of products
with foreign countries, which is the basis
of International commerce and which
must curtail production. 1t also fosiered
com binations of capital formed for limit
ing production in order to maintain
prices AS TO the sugar schedule Bailey
said:
81 am not willing to charge in this high
place that the Republican party has sold
its intellect and conscience to the sugar
trust, and / prefer to believe that it has
been driven by the logic of its position TO
the assistance of monopoly which has
grown so bold under IT'S special privileges
that 1t scandaliZes Congress and the
courts. But, sir, the Republican party
must confess that 1t has sold itself to the
sugar trust or must admit that protection
cannot deny its benefits to the monopoly"
At this point Bailey had exhausted an
r
tension OF time il he were to proceed.
This was done by Underwood of Alabama,
and Grosvenor inquired how much time
that gentleman wanted. He dld not want
to object but did not want Bailey to oc-
cupy all the time of the debate. Bailey
said he would not press his request if
there was any objection. But" he in
quired, with some bitterness, did any
one object to the gentleman from Maine
CDingley) either when he opened or closed
the debate?"
There was no further objection and
Bailey proceeded with the statement that
the condition of his voice would probably
prevent him concluding his remarks. A
considerable part of Bailey's speech was
devoted to discussion of free raw materi-
ais. He quoted an editorial from the Lex
ington Herald by W. q. P. Breckenridge
giving an account OF the action of the ma
iority of the COMMITTEE on Ways and
Means in the Forty ninth Congress when,
by the casting vote of Speaker Carlisle, it
adopted the policy of free raw materials.
Bailey had named those who voted
against free raw materials-Milis of Texas,
McMillin of Tennessee, May bury of Mich
igan and Harris of Georgia-when he was
interrupted by McMillin. who asked if he
meant to say that he (McMillin) had voted
against free wool.
Bailey-That's what Morrison told me
with his own mouth, and he told me you
had voted against free iron ore.
McMillin-What excuse have you for
voting against striking out the wool and
wooden schedule of this informal bill and
incor porating the wool and wooden sched-
ule of the Wilsonkbill?
Bailey-First, because had introd uced
an amendment to reduce the duty on both
wool and wooden goods 3311s per cent.
McMillin-Your amendment failed, and
then you proposed to take the high rates
which this bill carries rather than the low
rates of the Wilson billf.
Bailev-Yes, sir, and we may just as
ell understand each other right now
Never, so long as / am in Congress, will |
vote to give the wooden manufacturer
per cent duty on his wooden goods and
the wooLgrower nothing upon his wool.
Prolonged applause.] And since the
gentleman has asked me question, | ask
him how can iustify yofipp for free