Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 April 1888 — CONGRESSIONAL. [ARTICLE]

CONGRESSIONAL.

Work of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The galleries of the House were crowded and. ' every member was in his sent on the floor to witness the opening of the tariff discussion cm the 17th lust. Mr. Mills, of Texas, arose and moved that the House resolve itself into acoxm mittee of the whole for tho purpose of considering the tariff bill, w hose title ho read. There being no objection, the Speaker announced that the House was in committee of ths | whole, and called to the chair William. { M, Sprin er. Mr. Mills thereupou took , the floor and proceeded to ad- ! dress the House. He opened bis speech by re- ! ferring to the heavy burdens of taxation made necessary by the war. These taxes, however, ' were, in tho language of the gentlemau who in- | trod need the original measure, intended as * i temporary war measure. More than twenty ! years has elapsed since the war ended, but these war taxes still remained, and they were heavier to-day than they were on tho average during the five yours of tho existence of hostilitios. Mr. Mills then referred to the internaireven no and income taxes, which, he said, hud been abolished because they weretaxes on won.th. But the war tax oxi c.othing, food, und labor still remained. Every eliort that hud been made tobring the exact.ons of the Government down to a peace establishment had been defeated. There had been a tux on railroads, express and insurance companies, but they were a tux on. wealth and hud been abolished. Three hundred millions that hud been paid by tho wealth ot the country hud been swept awuv, and the burden of taxation had boon mode heavier, but it had bean loaded upon the shoulders of thUse who had to support themselves and the G >veminent. All the taxes on wealth hud gone, but tho burdens on tho poor still remained, and the Republicans boasted that they had reduced tuxes tdiii ,000,000, while Democrats had done practically ■ nothing. Tile tax on consumption was paid by hard daily toil. Suppose a laboicsr with H a dsv could buy a wo.leu suit us clothes for HO. It. required ten days' labor to purchase it, but when the tariff put a duty of loj per cent, tho suit would cost «2J. Then it required twenty days' labor for tho man to secure what bo. could otherwise huvo secured for ten days' labor hud not ten days ot labor been annihilated. But the greatest evil inflicted upon the people by the excessive taxation on the consumers was in tho destruction of tho value* of exports. From 75 to 8j per cent, of the exports were agricultural products. War duties limited importation, and that limited exportation, 'lhe surplus productions were therefore thrown upon the homo market. It became oversupplied and the prices went down. The speaker denied that if dm les were lower and foreign goods were imported our people would bo turned out of employment and the rates of wages would be reduced. It wo had no tariff, if all tho custom houses were torn down, and tho Government supported by direct taxes, there would not bs exceeding 10 per cent, of imported manufactured product* consumed by the people of this .country. It was assorted that Congress had intended to benefit the laborer by the tariff'. It had failed, and not a dollar of tne protection got beyond the manufacturer. He, however, hired hie labor at tho lowest rate In the open market. The committee baa left in the bill more than enough protection to pay for all th* labor und a bonus besides Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, followed Mr. Mills. He declared that the passage of this bill would paralyze the enterprise and energy of tho people. Tho gentlemen who framed tills bill and could, brook neither modification nor discussion of its provisions bv their associates in the committee, were with but two exceptions representatives of what was slave territory. By putting wool ou tho free list it would abolish, sheep husbandry and impoverish the more than a million men who own flocks or are employed in their care, aud by working this ruin it would diminish the supply oi cheap uud healthiul animal food now furnished by wool-growers to the mining and manufacturing laborers of the country. It would also render the production of American tin plates und cotton ties impossible by pluoing those articles ou tho free list with wool. By tho transfer of these and other products of coal und iron ore to the free liatiind by reducing the duties on steel rails, struct, ural iron, and many other forms of iron and steel sufficiently to withdraw protection from, them, uud penult foreign producers to flood our markets, it would, though it maintained existing duties ou coal mid iron ore, close a majority of tho bituminous coal fields aud ore banks. President Cleveland s freo-traffe massage, by its assumption that the duty was always added to tho cost, not only of imported commodities but to tho price of like commodities produced ■in this country, showed how profoundly ignorant ho was of economic science. To illustrate tho puerile absurdity of this assumption he (Kelley) invited tho President's attention to the fact thut though the duties imposod ou sugar when reduced to ad valorem, standards were never so high as they now are, tho price of sugar was never so low in this country as it is now. The progress of sugar making iu Louisiana since 1867 might be cited us a vitalizing influence of protection duties. In spite of tho steady decline in tho price of foreign, sugar, the poverty of lx.>r people, and tho demoralization of hor plantations atthe close of tho wsr, Louisiana, encouraged by protective duties, had added materially to the world's supply ot oitue sugar.

The Committee on Labor secured the floor of the House on the 10th inst., and the bill creating a Department of Labor was taken up end passed. Tho House then went into committee of the whole on the bill to create boards of arbitration to settle differences between interstate common carriers and their emnloyers.' After a somewhat protracted debate the measure was passed. Mr. Sherman addressed the Senate in favor of the Dakota division bill. In the evening the Democratic Representatives, to the number of 110. met in caucus to consider the question of limiting the debate on the tariff bill. The proceedings were cohfined to expressions of opinion, which were generally against the adoption of a cast-iron rule. It was generally admitted that the Republican minority should be afforded tho fullest and freest opportunity to discuss aud amend the ponding bill, and the caucus closed by adopting the following resolution: That the Democratic members of the Ways aud Moans Committee be requested to confer with their associates on the committee and endeavor to reach an agreement us to the time during which debate on the tariff bill shall continue.**

The bill for tho admission of South Dakota passed tho Senate by a strict party vote, after a long debate, on the 19th Inst. The bill to retire Gen. John C. Fremont as major-general was reported to the Senate and placed on the calendar. The House spent the day, in committee of the whole, on the Indian appropriation bill. The House J udiciary Committee has reported a bill for tho construction of twoUnited States penitentiaries, to cost pot to exceed $500,01X1 each, one to be located north and the other south of tho noth degree north latitude. A caucus of Democratic Senators decided agaiust considering the fisheries treaty in open session. The sontimont of tbe caucus was favorable to tho ratification of the treaty. The p-.nslon appropriation .bill passed the House on the 20th of April. The amount to be distributed under the bill is #80,280,000. Tho Indian appropriation bill also passed the House. Mr. Anderson of Kansas, one of the committee that investigated the Heading strike, introduced inthe House a bill for securing to tho public a regular service by railroad companies. It provides that the jurisdiction ot a State ceases with its teriitory. No State railroad cun become a carrier of interstate commerce except by the permission and authority or the United States. Every railroad subject to the; bill for which private property has been taken by eminent domain is made a public highway of tho United States. The Interstate Commerce Commission is required to execute the provisions of tho bill, and is given a corps of inspectors. In tho event ofi a failure by a company to run its regular trains the commission is required to promptly investigate the faota and to issue such orders to the company as will secure the regular service? If after seven days tho service is not performed, the Attorney General is required to the appointment of a receiver, who is to operate the road as for the United States, and may employ the oljl forsjj.,