The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-01
DEMOCRATS CAUCUS
HOUSE MINORITY BEGINS TO OUT
LINE A POLICY.
NEW YORK OFFERS PLATFORM
OF KANSAS CITY
PLATFORM GET EXCITED.

Referred t. a Special Committee.
ly Opposes the Present Tariff,
Advocates Fairness in Dealing
With Cuba una Porto Rico aud
Condemns Imperialistic Tenden-
cieS of Every Character.
Washington, Nov 30.-The Demo-
cratic members of the House of Repre-
sentatives met in caucus in the hall of
the House at IL o'clock to-day. There
are ISL Democrats and eight fusion
lists, silverites and Populists. in the
minority 126 were present, including
Mr.. Shafroth of Colorado, and Mr..
Newlands, Silverites. Mr.. Neville and
Mr.. Stark, Populists of Nebraska, de-
clined to enter the caucus. Mr.. Hay
of Virginia, chairman of the Demo-
cratic caucus, presided. Without op-
position the following selections were
made for officers of the House to be
presented at the meeting of the House
aext Monday:
For Speaker, Mr.. Richardson of Ten
nessee; clerk. Representative James
Kerr of Pennsylvania: sergeant-at-
arms, Representative E. V. Brook
shire of Indiana; doorkeeper, Charles
Edwards of Texas; postmaster, James
K. Jackson of Alabama.
Richardson Outlines Policy.
Mr.. Richardson briefly thanked the
he l,
said:
my last efforts shall be put forth to
have the minority on the floor of the
House acquit itself in such manner as
to command the respect and conf
dence, not only of our own party, but
of the country at large. l ask, and
have the right to ask of each of you,
the fullest and hear tiest cooperation
and support at all times. And l am
sure will have it, for in no other way
I shall not attempt here and
now to discuss or lay down
any principle by which we are to be
governed as a party. 1t would not be
appropriate for me to do SO. There is
one thing. however, ] will say now
at the very beginning of our service,
because / believe it is proper that it
should be said. 1t is this: urge
upon you and each of you the sur
passing Importance of attending the
sessions of the House We have a mi
nority of about 100 members. If every
member of this opposition will attend
our sessions and answer when his
name is called, we will make our op-
position effective and often lines will
be able to defeat our opponents in
their efforts to pass unwise and i'm
proper measures. If we are punctual
in our attendance, although in the mi
nority, we will be able to do much in
the way of enacting wholesome
legislation, and more and above
that, will be able to prevent
the enactment of many bad laws. The
country will, when the session closes
pass Judgment, not only on the action
and conduct of the majority side of she
House, but also of the minority side;
and if we have acted wisely and pa
triotically we will place our party in
position to deserve and to command a
decisive victory in the congressional
elections of next year and a still great
er triumph in the national contest of
1904"
The selection of Mr.. Richardson as
candidate for Speaker, clothes him offi-
cially with the minority leadership.
The four places on the House roll al
lowed the minority will be filled by
Isaac R. Hill of Ohio, assistant SER
geant-at-arms, and James f. English
of California: FELTON, B. Knight of
Georgia and Ewing Bland, son of
"Silver Dick" Bland, special en-
ployes.
The interesting portion of the caucus
followed. Representative Mcclellan OF
New York, by direction of the Demo-
cratic members of the New York dele
cation, who had met just prior to the
assembling of the caucus, offered the
following resolution as an expression
of the sense of the caucus:
For Tariff Reform.
Resolved, That we shall promote to
the utmost of our power the removal
of the oppressive, restrictive and often
prohibitory features of the existing
tariff. 1t has been truly declared to be
the mother of trusts. The tendency to
create combinations of we7lth, estab-
fishing practical monopolies in the
manufacturing and commercial indus
tries of the United States threatens
the future existence of individual man
ufacturers and merchants and trades
men of moderate or small means. That
tendency must undermine the sturdy
independence of large bodies of Ameri-
can citizens and may well be deemed
the most serious menace to the moral
and political welfare of the country.
The time has come when our indus
tries, manufacturing as well as agri-
cultural which practically enjoy no
protection for the reason that their
products are exported, and because,
whether or not duties be levied in their
favor no competing products can be
prohtably imported. should be permit
ted to avail themselves Of foreign mar
kets to the fullest extent, as they can
not do under existing restrictions.
Highly protected industries should no
longer be permitted to sell more cheap
ly to foreigners than to their
own countrymen Fit and thorough
relief can be had only by amendment
of the present tariff act. But we shall
favor such reciprocity treaties as will
reduce, even II they do not altogether
remove the unfair and oppressive bur-
den of the present system.
Second. We shall favor just and
generous treatment of the inhabitants
of Porto Rico and Cuba American
obligations to Cuba should be sacredly
performed. Having freed her from
Spanish dominion and assumed over
her a protectorate and even some Of
the prerogatives Of her sovereignty we
are bound by every consideration of
Justice and generosity 70 allow her the
largest practicable liberty Of CONNER
cial intercourse with our own country
Third. We are opposed 70 the sub
sidy bill presented at the last session
aa calculated TO create a shipping