St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-04-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Present Session of Congress About a
Month Old.
Special to the cALnpoNIAND


The progress made by it is noticeable
Look at the situation moment.
Ordinarily 1t takes one whole long ses'
sion of congress to pass a tariff bill
and as usually long session lasts from
six to eight months, this is equivalent tC
saying that there is not much hope OF
having the proposed tariff Legislation
on the statute books before the lapse of
similar period of time.
But no. The house Of representatives
passed the new Dingley bill almost i'm
mediately, and the measure Is now in The
hands of the finance committee of the
senate, where the great fight on the
varied interests embodied in the bill ulti-
mately comes.
The house in the meantime is doing
nothing but simply meeting and adjourn
ing every three days. lis members would
be glad to adjourn until the senate
passes the Dingley bill and sends 1t back
to the lower branch for final agreement
but the constitution expressly provides
In article /, section and clause 4 that
Neither house, during the session OF
congress. SHALL without the consent OF
the other, adjourn for more than three
days"
The senate is poking along on sundry
miscellaneous matters, simply to exc out
the time until the committee on finance
has redrafted the tariff bill to suit its
tastes, whereupon all the various mat
tiers now before the senate will be post
haste pigeon-holed to make way for the
tariff bill, which will be given the main
line OF legislative preferment until It Is
disposed of. All other matters will re-
main on sidlngs until the Tariff Bill
Limited has whisked by and reached its
destination, the White House.
And so the house sits idly by, waiting
and watching. This adjourning every
three days. without doing anything in
the way of legislation, focuses public at
tention on the senate, and points the in
dex finger to the honorable senate, saying
as much as
well, we passed the tariff bill. It is
to you that the country looks for remed-
ial tariff legislation. Now do your duty"
The idea Of the house managers in do
ing this Is to bring about different con-
dition of affairs from that which ex-
listed last winter after the house had
passed the emergency Dingley tariff bill
q sort of measure raising horizontally
the duties on certain articles. Then the
house acted promptly, passed the bill and
sent II to the senate, which latter body
after fussing around with 1t, finally re.
turned 1t to the house in the shape of a
free coinage bill. OF course 1t died a
very natural death. While the senate
was considering II and substituting tn,
free coinage provision the house wa,
continually in session. and when tn,
congress failed in It's attempts to enac
tariff legislation the country laid tn,
blame at the door Of congress as a whole
rather than at the door of the senate
where the blame really belonged. TIL,
house did its duty but the senate dit
not; so this year the house manager,
propose to draw attention to the fac
that again that body has done its dut,
promptly, and that the only thing which
prevents tariff legislation now is the In
action of the senate.
But think it is safe to say that tn,
senate will not adopt the same program
rs II did at the last session of congress
by sending back the old Dingley bill will
free silver rider attached to Il. TIL,
best judgment is that the senate will pas
the new Dingley bill when it gets arount
to It, but the senate, In endeavoring t,
sustain its reputation as the safety valv,
Of the house in matters of legislation. Il
taking it's time and proceeding with de
liberation galore.
From all can learn, however. the bill
will ultimately be passed, but doubles
in an entirely different form from wha
1t was in when it left the house.
The senate intends to freely amen,
the bill. While New England is. O
course interested very much in any an,
all amendments made, perhaps the mos
important feature of these proposes
amendments is that which has as II
storm center the placing of duty O,
hides, now on the free list, where the,
have been for nearly a quarter of a cen
fury.
The Western senators want a duty o.
hides; the New England senator's dom
That's the meat in the cocoanut on tbi
hide question.
Although lot of statements and coun
ter-statements are being made in rela
ton TO this matter. am of the opinio
that when this tariff bill becomes a law
as become law II will, there will not b
any duty on hides in 1t. During nv ex
perience in watching the progress G
making up tariff bill, 1t reminds me q
a poker game. There is a good deal q
bluffing during the preliminary playing
but when 1t comes to the show dow
nothing but the genuine article zoe,
Soft Is with the tariff -on- hides agitation
The Western senators are bluffing tn
limit, but when you get right down to 4
II the New England senators stand on
and demand that hides be retained n
the free list there they will remain. an
all the kings horses and all the king
uen can't put a duty on hides.
New England is vitality interested I
this part of the bill. Its senators an
representatives are protesting long, lou,
and deep against putting duty Oh
hides A letter which was written h.
the late James G Blaine, in 1890. ha
been brought forward as showing tina
gentleman's hostility to placing a dut,
on hides. Mr. Blaine probably was a
conversant with tariff matters as an
other man In this country, and the IA
that he was against removing hides fror
the free list is evidence that the leader
In the Republican party were then In
clined to be unanimous on that subjec
When Major Mckinley was chairms
OF the ways and means committee in IN
Fifty-first congress. he was against put
ting a duty on hides, and was instru
mental in having them kept on the IRE
ltpt nom