People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 December 1893 — Washington Letter. [ARTICLE]

Wa shi ngton Letter.

From our Iteirulnr Correspondent. Washington, Dec. 8, ’93. ••Farmer Hatch” has a scheme of taxation that bids fair to add to the troubles of tne majority of the House Waysand Means committee in preparing the bill for internal revenue taxation, the latest estimate being that at least L'GO.O’.K.),OOO must be so raised. "Farmer Hatch” is the •gentleman who as chairman of the House committee on Agriculture was, during the Fifty-sec-ond (’otigress, in charge of the anti-optiombill, which became so near becoming a law. "Farmer Hatch" is s.lll chairman of the House committee on Agriculture

••.nd he has no! given up hope of seeing the anti option bill become a law, but his new scheme will stir up the bulls and bears of the various stuck exchanges to a much greater extent than did that measure, and if it meets with as much favor from the members of the Waysand Means committee as it already has from Congress outside of that committee, it may find a place in the new internal revenue bill. Mr. Hatch proposes that in lieu of an income tax a small tax, say onetwentieth of one per cent, be put upon the transactions of the great’ speculative exchanges of the country. He argues that such-a tax would bring a larger revenue than any of the propositions for an income tax; that it would be easily collected, because all the transactions of the exchanges are recorded, and that it would not be burdensome to either producers or consumers, t'he lobby sent here to fight the anti-option bill furnished some fat pickings fortlie impecunious, but if the proposition of Mr. Hatch should be adopted the wealthy exchanges would probably send the strongest lobby that, was ever in Washington to secure its defeat-. To those who have never been able to see that speculative exchanges are of the slightest benefit to the country, either materially or morally, the •proposition to tax their transac- ■ lions appeals strongly.

Representative Bland, of Missouri, lost no time in showing his critics that' ho meant buisness, and not a bluff, about his proposition to le-enact the silver law of 1837 which was repealed in 1873. He has introduced a bill to that effect, and that bill is now before the Coinage coin mi tI tee, of which Mr. Biand is chair- | man, and he is confident that it I will be reported to the House, -notwithstanding President Cleveland’s official request that financial matters be let alone at this session. Mr. Bland says there ■ has been a re-action in favor of ■ silver since the people have seen I that it was not responsible fori j the financial depression, and that •

the sentiment in favor <Jf restoring silver to a parity' with gold is on the increase. It is not Mr. Bland’s purpose to antagonize the tariff bill, but as soon as that measure is out of the way he will do his best to push his silver bill through. © © © Let us be thankful for small favors. The light on the tariff, although it will be red-hoi, will not be unncessarily prolonged; the Republican Senatorial caucus having decided that no bushwhacking is ro be resorted to for the purpose of delaying the vote. It is unless present inications are at fault, to be a short, sharp and decisive light, and the side with the most votes will win. The Republirans of the Senate have a new steering committee, of which Allison, lowa, is chairman, and Dubois, of Idaho, secretary. They will enter the tariff light / with a thoroughly united party, and will’in that re spect have the advantage of the democrats, but the disatisfied democrats are not apparently numerous enough . to change the result. In fact, there reasons to believe that their talk has no other object than that of securing some modifications of the tariff bill as it now is, and that it will end in talk whether they get the modifications or not.

It is now stated that the tariff bill will not be reported to the House until about the 13, inst., and that ihe interanal revenue bill will be ready about the same time. The delay is not altogether to allow the Republican of the Ways and Means committee to prepare their report against the bill; tlie. report of trie majority has not been completed.' os® The sharpshooters in Congress have already begun to tire bills and resolut ions at the policy of the administration on pensions and on the Hawaiian question. A rumor is current here that President Cleveland has Concluded not to make any further efforts for the restoration of the Queen, and that he will, in a special message, furnish Congress all the imformation in in his possession and leave to it ihe straightening out of the present tangle. Had that been done in the first place it would have been belter for all concerned, and the tangle would probably never have existed.