Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1894 — FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS.

In the Senate, Tuesday, Mr. Voorhees reported a resolution authorizing the publleationof the proceedings of the recent Berlin conference. The resolution was adopted. The resolution by Mr. 'Alien.requesting the Secretary of the Treasury to inform t'he'Senate as to the total "number of persons employed in protected Thdustries, whose wages are likely to be affected by tariff legislation, came up and en ebu n tered Re p üblic an o p pos! 11 on. Mr. Allen said that he was not surprised that Republicans opposed it, as the intention of the resolution was to expose the falsity of the Republican claim that wages were to be ruinously affected by tariff reform. The resolution went over and the tariff bill came up on the regular order. An amendment by Mr. Lodge to restore the McKinley ratoon mattings was lost and the rate of duty was fixed at 20 per cent. At the, request of Mr. Allison, the finance committee agreed to strike out from paragraph 190 the reciprocity provision admitting buckwheat, corn, corn meal, oats, rye, rye flour, wheat and wheat flour free of duty from such countries as imposed no. import duty on such products exported from the United States. The finance committee also agreed to Mr- AP isonlsi request to place eggs on the. dutiable .list at 3 cents per dozen. The free list was then taken up. Amberoid was added to the free list. Ammonia was added to the freelist. Salts of ammonia, made dutiable in the Senate bill,were stricken fromthm free list. The finance committee amendment permitting the free entry of cattle,sheep or other domestic animals and their increase which have strayed across the boundary or been driven across for pasturage was agreed to. Mr. Jones explained that the provision was intended only to apply to Mexican borders, where If was sometimes impossible to prevent animals from straying across the border, and where it was sometimes absolutely necessary in time of drought to drive stock across the Rio Grande for pasturage. The committees amendment striking from the free list beef, mutton and pork which have been placed on the dutiable list at 20 per cent., was agreed to. Mr. Peffer moved to also strike out “bacon and hams.” The effect of the amendment would be to make bacon and hams dutiable at 20 per cent. The amendment was agreed to without objection. The Jones amendment, adding manilia twine to the paragraph placing twine on the free list was agreed tqy—Mr. Peffer offered an amendrpent to strike salt from the free list and make it dutiable at' 5 cents per 100 pounds. At this point the Senate, at 5:20 went into executive session and a few moments later adjourned. Mr. Peffer addressed the Senate at the opening of Wednesday’s session in support of his postal savings resolution. Mr. Manderson spoke against all such paternalistic schemes. No action was taken. Resolution by Mr, Cullom instructing Pension Commissioner to report to the Senate what portion of the annual aporopriation will remai.i unexpended, June 30, 1894, was unanimously agreed to. Mr. Sherman presented a joint resolution passed by the .Ohio Legislature, relating to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the victory of Gen. Anthony Wayne at Fallen Timber. Aug. 7,1794, which marked the conquest of the Indian Nation. It was appropriately referred. After some bills of local Interest had been passed the tariff bill was laid before the Senate. The consideration of the freelist was resumed, the pending question being Mr. Peffer’s amendment to strike salt from the free list and place it on the dutiable list at 5 cents per 10) pounds. The present duty bn salt is 3 cents. Mr. Peffer explained that personally he favored free salt, but that his constituents interested in salt manufactures believed that they would be injuriously affected by placing salt on the free lift. At 12 o’clock Mr. Aldrich demanded a separate vote on the committee’s amendment striking sugar from the free list. The amendment was adopted--32 to 22- Messrs. Quay, Irby, Allen and Kyle voted yea and Mr. Peffer voted no. Senator Allen moved to put all lumber on the free list. Senator Chandler charged that the Senator had made a bargain with the Democratic side to obtain it. Mr. Allen retorted that his vote and action was none of Mr. Chandler’s business. Mr. Chandler said he proposed to make it his business. Mr. Allen subsequently obtained the floor and replied that he (Allen) was not to be deterred from his purpose by a Senator who put himself in the attitude of a baboon on every possible occasion. The amendment was-lost —yeas 24, nays 33. The finance committee’s amendment restricting the free entry of raw silk to such as is noi manufactured in any way was agreed tjo, W.hen paragraph 641, “sugars,” was reached it was expected that some debate would occur, but none took place. Mr. Aldrich merely demanded the yea and nay vote on the finance committee's amendm -nt to strike this paragraph from the free list, where it was placed by the House, The committee’s amendment was carried by a vote of 33 to 22, the (Republicans, except Mr. Quay, voting solidly against it and the Democrats for it. Mr. Peffer voted with the Republicans and Messrs. Kyle and Allen, Populists, with the Democrats. Mr. Peffer gave notice of his intention to offer an amendment to graduate the income tax so as to make incomes in excess of *I,CO) and below *IO,OOO subject to a tax of 1 per cent., between *10.090 and *25,009 2 per cent.; between *25,000 and 50,000 3 per cent.; between *50.000 and *109,000 4 per cent.; above *160,000 5 per cent. Senator Vest Introduced a number of amendents to the income tax, one of which exempts building and loan associations from the provisions of the bill. An exemption is also made in the case of such savings banks, saving institutions or societies as have no stockholders or members except depositors and no capital except deposits; those that shall not receive deposits to an aggregate amount in any one_ year of more than *I.OOO from the deposi tor; those that shall not allow an accumulation or total of deposits by any one depositor exceeding *10.000; those that shall actually divide and distribute to their depositors, rateably to the earnings over the necessary and proper expenses of such bank. Institution or society except such as shall be applied to surplus; and also those that shall not possess in any form a surplus fund exceeding 10 per cent, of the aggregate deposits. i The Senate, Thursday, began the consideration of the income tax provision of the tariff bill. Mr. Hill spoke in opposl- ' tfon as follows: It would have been good politics to have

avoided this unnecessary issue. Prudence dictated that this Congress shonld not attempt to formulate new Democratic doc- . trines to which we have been committed. Rptfier it should carry out the pledges that we have already made. Perhaps 1 over estimate the importance of party platforms and appreciate too keenly the binding obligations of party pledges. 1 believe that it is the solemn duty of a political party to redeem the promises upon which it obtained power, and thatrepudiation there will sooner or later bring disastereuuon it at the hands of a betrayed and indighanvpeople,. For one, I protest a; amsllhe repudiation, of the promise; of the Democratic party in order to adopt and carry but the promises of the Populist party. I am tempted to suggest that the Democrats of Oregon sought to test the popularity of an income tax among the business men and electors of that State by inserting in their platform a clause favoring that tax; and. awakening to their senses, after the election, they discovered that their ticket was third in the race, that their party was demoralized and that they had divided themselves instead of dividing their opponents. The most disastrous defeat ever experienced by the Democratic party in Oregon was the result of th; effort to substitute new-fangled Populistic principles for the good old principle; of true Democracy. Here and now I venture the prediction that the same result will follow the same effort everywhere. Continuing, Mr. Hill said that an Income tax was a war tax; that it was unnecessary; that it will drive New York, New Jersey and Connecticut into the Republican column; that while it pretended to assail the rich it injured the poor to a greater degree, Mr. Higgins followed Mr. Hill. Mr, Chandler rose to resent the attack of Mr. Allen on Wednesday. He said that Senator Allen was incapable of understanding the courtesy which should characterize a debate in the Senate. Mr. Allen in answering Chandler became very pale and charged the Senator with uttering false charges knowing them to be false. “I do not know,” said Mr. Allen, “whether my language is parliamentary. I am not skilled in parliamentary procedure. But I do know his is untrue and ungentlemanly. I think he made the insinuation deliberately, knowing it was false. He had tried to place me in the position of a trafficker of votes. The insinuation or stigma that I have trafficked with my vote, that I have agreed to vote for this measure in consideration of concessions made of to be made, is untrue. If I were where I could make it plainer,” ho a ided, looking Mr. Chandler in the eye, “I would make it plainer. I made a motion a few- weeks ago to strike lumber from the dutiable list, as I had a right to do. I have a right to get what I can for my people. I am not bound to the Democratic or the Republican party,.butam an humble representative of a new party. As such I am more or less a skirmisher betweeiMhe old party lines. I repel the low, dirty insinuationof the senior Senator from New Hampshire.” he said, in conclusion, raising his voice until it rang throughout the chamber,“and I reiterate and affirm, with all the energy I possess, what I said yesterday.” Senator Chandler reiterated his charges of a “bargain and sale” of votes, and said that the Senator from Nebraska was to be pitied rather than Censured for what he could not help. Mr. Peffer spoke in favor of his graduated income tax amendment, and also said he favored a graduated land tax, and said he would give the Democratic side five years to report such a bill. Mr. Hill congratulated the Democratic party on its new leader, and again started out in opposition to the income tax, stating that even if it became a law it would be held unconstitutional because it was a direct tax. Peffer’s graduated income tax amendment was then voted down, and the Senate adjourned, ' -