The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-05-21
WILL NOT
Be PASSED.
Poor Prospects For a Tariff law
at This Session.
CUBAN AFFAIRS WILL POSSIBLY
BE AN OBSTACLE TO ANY NEW
LEGISLATION ON THE TARIFF
THE PROBABILITY rs THAT RE-
PUBLICAN VOTES WILL DEFEAT
THE DINGLEY BILL-FRoM NOW
ON 1T SEEMS THAT SILVER WILL.
PREDOMINANT.

Washington, May 20.-(Special. Ut
now seems almost certain that no tariff
law VIII he passed at this session of Con-
gress' The Cuban question will be set
tied before anything is done with the tsr-
VII, and the fight upon the issue will un-
doubtedly take up several weeks. Con
gress will not be satisfied ut passing the
appropriation for which President Nc
Kinley asked
Speaker Reed and Dingley, of Name.
succeeded in preventing the consideration
OF n beiigerency resolution in the House.
but the friends of Cuba in the Senate.
including such leading Republicans MS
Mason and Gallinger, insist upon such n
resolution taking precedence of the tart #
and Speaker Reed will be forced to either
allow the House to pass it or lie content
without any tariff legislation ut this ses.
sion of Congress.
probably no executive document has
ever been so severely criticised ms the
message of President Mckinley calling
for an appropriation, and this criticism
has come from the leaders of his party in
the Senate
The pressure for action upon the Cuban
question from all sections of the country
is so great that Speaker Reed will-prob-
to appoint Committees when. so in.
structed by n majority of the members of
the House, and belligerency ssresolution
Will then be passed by q large majority
Senator Mason believes that if President
Mckinley refuses to sign such n resolu-
ton there will be such n widespread Dop.
ular clamor that Congress will pass u
declaration of war, which it can do with
out requiring executive consent There
To- f.lAr IL. 4
war or active Intervention, if bellger.
ency resolution can be put. into effect,
but declaration of war would carry, in
case nothing else could be done. This
being known, it is believed that BARRIERS
in the House will be broken do IN and
President Mckinley will sign belliger-
ency resolution.
If there was no such thing as Cuban
question, however, it is strongly proba-
BILE that no tariff law would be passed.
The Republicans are by no means united
as to the advisabilty of such course.
There are twenty Republican Senators
who do not want n tari1 law at this ses-
sion nor ut the next, but want it passed
at the last session of the Fifty.ffth Con-
gress. The reason for this is purely no
iitical. AT present the imports have so
increased that there is ample revnuo and
will continue to be as long as tariff bill
is pending. There never was better
revenue producer than the Wilson law is
now, and will continue to be, while
higher tar II is eXpecl ed. The fact that
Imports are now so enormous proves that
they will fall off very greatly il the Ding.
ley bill is passed. and the law will not
during the first year of its operation pro-
duce sufficient revenue.
The election of Il new Congress takes
place i'll little over n year. If the Ding
ley bill is passed the tariff issue will be
settled, except that the necessary falling
Oft in receipts caused by the extra heavy
advance impcrtations will cause lissat-
isfaction. If the tariff is thus out of the
way. no issue will be left except silver.
1t will at the time OF election be two years
since the election of President Mckinley.
He promptly appointed bimetallic COM
inissioners, but there is no promise of
their securing an international confer
cnce.
There were over six millions of votes
cast last fall for Bryan, although Mt the
time OF his nomination the Democratic
party was considered almost dead Hun
dreds of thousands of silver advocates
voted the Republican ticket on account
OF the international agreement clause in
the st. Louis platform. This having
failed, they will vote for silver men ut
Silver already has majority in the
Senate, and if that alone is the issue in
the election of 1893, the. Eastern Republic
cans, who are ardent single gold standard
advocates, fear the silver men will Capture
the House. In fact, aquiet inv sstigation
in different sections of the country shows
conclusively that this will be the result.
Well-posted politicians say that il great
care is not exercised the Fifty sixth Con-
gress will baye large enough silver ma
Jority to pass free coinage law cvnr
veto. There is nothing else to which
they can look for an issue.
The Democrats are even more active
than the Republicans or the popular side
OF the Cuban question. The Democratic
tariff is supplying ample revenue, the ex-
penses are increasing on account of the
liberal appropriations of the late Repub
lican Congress, and it is certain that the
new tariH law, even though it might be
the best ever framed, will fail to produce
enough revenue the first year If, how
ever, it is urged by these Republican Sen.
ators. the tariff is so DELAYED by debate
and parliamentary tactics on Democratic
amendments that it cannot be passed at
this session or ut the next until the very
iast days, which I'll be but two months
before election,it will not be in force long
enough to produce bad effects and will
ne recent enough to enable its discussion
onithe stump largely to the exclusion of the
silver Issue; or if the tariff can be delayed
until the last session of the Fifty.tifth
Congress in such a way that the blame
can be thrown on the opposition, 10 would
be still better.
AT any rate nothing Int disaster can
come to the Republican party from the