The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-06-26
BY Ernest G.. Walker.
mail Special to the Advertiser

WASHINGTON, ID. IT,, June LII
the books could be exhibited-and some
kind of a record there must bet
would show remarkable system of
debts and credits between Senator
Aldrich and his Finance Committee, on
the one hand, and individual Senators
On the other hand. There has been
trading galore, in which particular the
pending tariff bill has been no different
than other tariff bills. Bargains have
been struck, in return for votes to
support the committee program. Some
times Chairman Aldrich is willing to
deliver the goods and rely upon pay
ment at some future date. Sometimes
he wants his pay in advance. 1t all
depends upon the Senator, or rather the
Senator Is party.
AS an instance to the point, the Sen
ators from Florida might be mention
ed They are Democrats, of course.
They have been voting pretty steadily
with the Senate minority. But the
Florida Democrats want certain protec-
ton, especially on fresh pineapples.
The pineapple schedule has already
pineapples were adjusted so as to be
81 little more satisfactory to the Hawai-
ian growers. The Hawaiian growers,
however, are more interested in fresh
pineapples. Those rates were ''passed
over The Finance Committee some
day may find itself in a tight hole.
Its members may want to make sue
cessful appeal to the Florida Senators
for assistance.
In contrast with those Florida SEN
ators, the Louisiana Senators might be
Gratis, but Senator Aldrich would de-
liver to them any reasonable amount
of political goods and take his chances
on being paid. But the Louisiana Sen
ators have an established line of po
litieal credit. Above all things else
they want high duties on raw and re-
fined sugars and to be assured of such
duties they vote consistently with the
Republicans on tariff matters and have
for years. Senator McEnery, a
very aged man, is a little more con
slant in this regard than his colleague,
Senator Foster.
I've don It have to worry about Me-
of bo H.
ers recently. "There IS one good thing
about him. We know where to find
him. -
There are many eases where these
trades are pending. 1t all accounts in
considerable part for the peculiar man
ner in which the Senate skips around
in it's consideration of the tariff BILL
The work is done in some such hap
hazard form as it would be to read
every other chapter of a book and
then to read a page here and there in
the remaining chapters till all had been
covered.
As soon as the bill had been re-
ported to the Senate, nearly two months
ago, it was read through and all the
paragraphs and amendments agreed to,
where there was no objection. But
of the 700 and odd paragraphs, i'm
posing some kind of duties, there were
two hundred or three hundred, where
some objection was raised or which
some Senator wanted to debate.
Then fresh start was taken. The
schedules run from A to n inclusive.
The Senate first undertook to clear up
Schedule A. After the usual coneom-
infant of unrestricted debate it did
enact most of the paragraphs in that
schedule. Some, however, are still un-
disposed of Sulphate of ammonia is
one of them. It is a byproduct OF
modern coke ovens in the manufacture
of gas. The House, by an apparent
oversight, put it on the free list. At
least the gas companies in the big cities
were asleep at the switch. They did
not awake to the situation till the bIIl
had been reported to the House. Their
representatives have been treadIng the
corridors of the Capitol nervously ever
since, day after day.
The Senate Finance Committee put
sulphate back at 2-10 of cent
uound, where it had been 80 in the
law. But sulphate of ammonia IS
largely used in the manufacture of fer
tiIizer and the farming interest began
70 thunder in upon Congress. Senator
Smith. of South Carolina, a planter,
became their particular spokesman. Ev-
cry time the paragraph about sulphate
of ammonia came up in the considera-
f;on of Schedule A, Senator Aldrich, or
some one for him. asked that 1t be
sspassed over. /" Meanwhile the So fix
ers'' have been at work trying to
patch things up and they are said to
have succeeded. Other inducements
have been held ont, so that the duty
If 2-l0 of a cent will be allowed to
stand.
annie of the way the Senate leaders
have of moving along tae Inc OF least
res:stance As the sessions nave pro
Lzar Senator Allrieh has