The San Francisco call., 1897-06-26
The Senate DiSpoSeS of
Three Schedules in
One Day.
Obstruction Motions Voted
Down With Amusing
Regularity.
Vest Pleads for the SILK Trade OF
Japan, but His EloQuence
Is Wasted.

AOh1 h1NO1ON, ". u, June Z0.-1n the
Senate to-day discussion of the tariff bill
was more fairly divided than usual be-
tween Republicans and Democrats, but no
long speeches were attempted. More than
a dozen votes were taken by ayes and
noes, but when the bill was laid aside for
the day all the carpet paragraphs of the
wool schedule and the schedule itself had
been agreed to, and the silk and tobacco
schedules had also been finished, so that
to- orrow the paragraphs which have
been passed over without action will be
taken up, according to Allison announce
ment yestesday, and then the bill will be
proceeded with in regular order until the
end is reached.
When the bill was taken up the pending
question was Vests motion to make the
duty on Saxony carpets paragraph By
40 per cent ad valorem instead of the
committee rate of 81 cents per square yard
aud 40 per cent ad valorem. The motion
was defeated
Vest Offered a similar amendment to
paragraph S72 brussels carpets), and said
the duty on mattings was intended to
force the people to buy cheap grades of
carpets. The amendment was rejected.
A similar amendment was offered by
Vest to the next paragraph relating to
velvet and velvet tapestry carpets. Be
fore the clerk began the rollcall Tillman
said that as his side of the Cham Der was
beaten in every instance it was a mere
waste of time to have Senators put on
record. The amendment was rejected, as
was also a similar amendment to para
granh 374 tapestry Brussels carpets).
White of California moved as a substi-
tute for paragraphs 375 and 376 (ingrain
carpets) the provisions of the existing
duty. The motion was defeated.
The next paragraph, relating to Ori-
entail, Berlin and similar rugs, was altered
so as to make the rates 10 cents per square
foot and 40 per cent ad valorem.
White moved to strike out the specific
duty on Oriental rugs, leaving the duty
40 per cent ad valorem. Lost.
Paragraph 377 (druggets) was modified
by striking out the second clause, and the
remaining paragraphs of the wood sched-
ule were not contested.
Silk, Schedule L., was then reached.
Vests motion to make the duty on spun
silk paragraph 3S2) 30 per cent ad valo-
rem, instead of the rates in the bill, was
Jones of Arkansas offered an amend
ment TO paragraph 3S4 (silk-woven fab
rics), and asserted that the duties of that
paragraph were highest on cheap silks
and lowest on expensive silks. These
rates varied, he said, from 75 to 100 per
cent.
Platt OF Connecticut replied. Japanese
competition, he said, was a very serious
question. and hence the duties on Japan
ese goods were high, but the duties in this
paragraph were not equivalent to 700 or
to 200 per cent. They would not average
70 per cent.
In refutation of that statement Jones
produced a sample of Japanese pongee
silk valued at cents yard, on which the
duty would be 621l cents a yard. Thi.
would he said, be equivalent to over 700
per cent ad valorem.
White moved to add to the words tin
no case shall anv of the foregoing fabrics
in tins paragraph pay less rate than so
per cent ad valorem" the words, ''or
greater rate than go" When that was
voted down he raised the limit to 20, and
when that was also voted down he raised
the limit to 100 per cent. This was re-
jected-25 to 28-and then White raised
the limit TO 200 per cent.
Mantle said that in the light of definite
ness of the paragraph his protection
friends ought certainly to be willing to &C
cept Whites proposition.
Platt of Connecticut expressed the
opinion that these movements were
simply designed to embarrass the friends
OF the bill. If it were a usual and proper
provision he would have been willing to
accept Whites first amendment
Allison said that if he believed the rate.
proposed were anything nearly as high as
mad been represented he would have sym-
pathy with the amendment. There was
no reason, however, why the proposed
limitation should be applied to the silk
schedule only.
Morgan appealed to the Senate not to
make an enemy of Japan by refusing to
limit the duty on a rroduct which she
alone produced TO 20j per cent Japan
he said, looked to the United States as
foster mother in trade and commerce.
The Senate ought to have care not to
outrage the feelings of Japan. While the
United States had other possible troubles
with her her trade was a matter of great
Importance. she was now having a great
warship built at San Francisco at a cost of
about So 200. 000
Whites last amendment was defeated
ayes %, noes 28-snd the paragraph as
amended was agreed to.
The other paragraphs of the silk sched-
ule were disposed of without contention.
Schedule f. relating to tobacco manu-
factures, was then taken up. The COM
mittee's amend ment TO paragraph 30 was
adopted after modification in line with
last nights caucus agreement
Paragraphs 30 and 2l1 were agreed to.