The herald., 1897-06-03
VEST WINS A GREAT VICTORY
BECAUSE THE REPUBLICANS
WERE SLEEPY
Rapid Progress Made With Tariff
Schedules and Senate Rates Go
With One Exception
A.sociated Press Special wire.


made greater progress on the tarin
than on any day since the debate opened
completing more than half Of the i'm
{ portant metal schedule. The speaking
was by the Democratic senators, the
-Republican senators taking no part In
the debate except at rare intervals, to
answer questions which would expedite
the advance of the bill.
Messrs. Jones of Arkansas and Vest
of Missouri urged numerous amend
.ments embodying in the main the Will
s son rates, but these were rejected, with
.cne exception. This exception relates
to rails, which Mr.. Vest secured a re-
.duction on from to 1% cents per pound.
the assent Of the committee, and 1T was
sdue mainly to the listless manner OF
many senators voting. Early in the
day Tillman of South Carolina secured
the adoption of a resolution directing
= the Judiciary committee to inquire into
the recent decisions against the South
Carolina dispensary law, with view to
reporting such legislation as may be
desirable.
The first paragraph, on iron ore, etc.,
went over at the request of Quay. The
Paragraphs on iron in pigs and on bar
iron were the same in the house and
senate bills
sss Jones of Arkansas took occasion, how
lever, Ito make a statement to show the
absurdity, he said, Of keeping up the
taxes on these products when the Amer
ioan producer had absolute control of
sfhe market and shipped large quantities
abroad.
Jones reviewed the dissolution of the
,eteel rail combine. This reduced the
price of steel rails s per cent, he said.
( and why should a law protect producers
who could, by combination, double their
prices on steel rails?
He spoke also of the effect OF this
+ combination and that on wire nails, rails
ing the price to American consumers.
while the same goods were being sold
at lower prices to foreign consumers
It was a condition, he asserted, that
should arouse the people from ocean to
ocean until they stamped to pieces these
combinations.
Mr.. Caffery, Democrat, of Louisiana.
also spoke generally against the rates Of
the metal schedule. He maintained
that our manufactured iron goods were
being shipped abroad in enormous guam
titles. and that the tariff on the raw ma
terials embarrassed this trade.
Mr.. Caffery then branched into gen.
eral speech against the bill, reading
from manuscript.
In the main his speech was protest
against an increase of duties on neces-
saries of life, and on raw materials.
He did not mention the sugar schedule.
Progress on the bill was then resumed
and the paragraphs were agreed to on
round iron in coils and rods, beams, grid
ers, ETC.. boiler or other plate iron or
steel, iron or steel anchors, etc.
A discussion arose on paragraph 125
relating to hoop, band and scroll iron,
including the bands used in baling cot
ton.
Vest pointed out that the Mckinley
rate was 1 2-10 cents; the Wilson bill
made cotton ties free and the senate
bill now proposed to make the rate 7-10
cents per pound. Cotton was 50 de-
pressed that the restoration of the duty
was not warranted, Mrs Vest said.
Mr. Mills Of Texas also opposed the
rate saying it was equivalent to 10
cents a bale on cotton or 100000 on a
cotton crop of 5000, 900 bales Why was
this distinction made between the north
and the south? he asked. Why did the
north receive binding twine while the
cotton ties of the south were taxed?
Mr.. Bacon of Georgia called on the
committee to explain the distinction ba-
tween the wheat growers of the north
and the 0nffOn Of fba n .
There was no response, and Mr. Vest
offered an amendment to strike cotton
ties from the dutiable list The amend
ment was defeated, yeas 81, nays 20, and
the paragraph was agreed to asreported
On the Vest amendment on cotton ties
Messrs Pritchard of North Carolina and
Deboe of Kentucky were the only men
from southern sections voting in the
negative. Messrs. Harris of Kansas
Heitfeld and Kyle voted with the Demo-
Gratis in the affirmative and Senators
Jones of Nevada and Stewart, with the
Republicans, in the negative.
The paragraphs on sheet iron and
steel were agreed to asreported, amend
ments offered by Mr. White of CaIifor-
MIA embodying the Wilson rates, being
rejected without division. A contest
dIoSS OseI III pldle pafdSrdpn I3U.
The house rate was IL cents per pound;
senate rate, ] 4-10 cents. Mr.. Vest
moved an amendment reducing the
rate to l 2-10. He characterized the
proposed rate as "indefensihle and out
rageous."
Whatever had been the condition of
the tin plate industry it was now on its
feet AS an eminent Republican au-
thority had said, Mr.. Vest continued,
when these infants grew to the size of
young giants, seven feet high, they were
ready to kick your head off if you did
not give them what they wanted The
senator said he had been informed by
tin plate men that they controlled the
market, and needed no protection. But
the habit OF protection was like the drink
habit, Mr.. Vest asserted. The more you
have, the more you want. and if you
stop there is delirium tremens, econom-
ically. There is no cure for it.
mot even the gold cure" suggested
Mr.. White, to which Mr. Vest assented
Mr.. White also spoke of the rates on
tin plate. He pointed out the effect of
the high rates on the canning of fruit
and salmon on the Pacific coast. The
senator read letters from prominent can