People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1897-08-06
Representative Hunter of llli-
nois Fired BrOadSide.
SENATE AND HOUSE DONE NOTHING.
Secret COnclave of Eight Men Tax Fourteen
Million Tax Payers to Help Six Hun
bred Trusts-Preparing New
Campaign Fund.

ry session has now reached it's closing
hours, 1 regard it the duty of every
Democrat upon this floor to emphasize
the ultraism of the legislation now al
most consummated. For more than
four months we have been IN session,
ostensibly to conserve the best inter
ests of all the people and create such
laws as would secure to them in the
future immunity from the remorseless
grasp of monopoly and trust robbery.
But, instead of making laws for the
people, the majority in this Congress,
with the whole power of the Admins
tration, has been consumed and exert
ed to destroy every interest of the
laboring man and the farmer and
build up colossal money power,
The herald of fraud and deception
announced to the country six months
ago that the new President would
come with healing in his wings and
that prosperity would gladden. every
home. What has the President done to
redeem any of these pledges? Moth.
ing.
What have the Senate and House
done to relieve the people of their bur
den? Nothing.
| No legislation has ever been proposed
| by them to relieve the necessities and
wants of the people.
The Presidential office has been sub
stantially abdcated, and we now have
a general business manager who arran-
ges all matters of legislation and di.
plomacy.
Secret meetings are being held by
the trusts, corporations, and other
bosses daily and nightly to influence
legislation in their interests.
believe that the legislation on this
tariff bill is controlled absolutely out
side and independent of the Senate and
House by less than thirty interested
gentlemen. The people and their rep
resentatives are not allowed to know
what is going on and what this Admin
istration is doing or going to do. There
is a studied effort, seemingly. upon the
part of the managing party of this
Congress to conceal every movement in
the creation and construction of this
bill. Hide-and-go-seek has been adopt
ed as the new method of governing the
people of this country.
The Republican portion of the Com
mittee of Ways and Means go to their
room and close the door, bolt every
Democratic member out, there in Sc
cret patch up what they call a revenue
bill; then come into this House, adopt
an arbitrary rule denying to the PEG
pies representatives the right to exam
inc and discuss the product of their d.
| alterations. Under this gag process
they pass the bill. send it to the Senate
then to conference; close the doors
again against every Democratic mem
Der of the conference committee; and
in this ex parte way force upon the
people of the United States partisan
laws fraught with all the schemes OF
human selfishness.
Behind these bolted and barred doors
the American people are not allowed to
go within this charmed circle, and no
ordinary Republican is allowed within
these sacred precincts unless he has
been examined and accepted by the
the inspectors of the trusts, corpora
tons, and syndicates. They have to be
men who are willing to tax the mil
| lions for the benefit of the few.
| A SECRET CONCLAVE.
| Here is a secret conclave of eight
men, presuming to fix the amount Of
gratuities, under the name of taxation,
that 100000 taxpayers have to pay tc
900 trusts, corporations and individuals.
| Mr.. Speaker, this bill is not intended
to raise revenue to pay the expenses OF
the Government, to help the farmer,
aid the laboring man, and stimulate
legitimate trade and business of the
whole country.
1t is not the intention of it's authors
to bring prosperity to the homes of the
toiling millions, those that produce
the material wealth of the country. 1t
is limited and specific in it's application
and effect.
It is for the protection OF classes, that
they may collect millions of bounties
from the consumers of their goods.
If it had been innocently created as
a revenue measure, its logical and ma
tural effect would be the same-to fos.
ter trusts and combinations that rob
the people under its provisions.
AS absolute proof of this conclusion,
let us examine brief list of the corpo-
rations, and gentlemen that enjoy the
lions share under this bill the protec-
ton given to the men who subscribed
to the Republican campaign fund last
fall.
This Congress was called together
for the sole purpose of passing a law
that would compel the toiling millions
to pay back to these gentlemen the
money they had advanced to secure a
Republican victory last fall
This law will not reimburse these
gentlemen the money they had advan-
ced to secure Republican victory last
fall.
This law will not only reimbur
these gentlemen the sixteen millions
expended, but it will enable them to
collect from their customers in Excess
sive prices more than $3.50, 1000, 900 annu-
ally and prepare them with a fund that
they may use to perpetuate their pow
er through the machinery OF Republi-
can legislation.
These protected gentlemen can now
well afford to give to the national Re-
publican committee a receipt in full
for all their adv ancements.
WORSE THAN CUBA.
Mr.. Speaker, this ADMINISTRATION
stands for nothing but greed, extrava-
gance, and the protection of the veal
thy and powerful Cuba, to-day, is in
the CRASH of a crue1 desnotiSm. her