CONGE ESS, UNITED STATES. (THE TARIFF LAW.) 



219 



ion upon the people, and ask us to accept it 

 or tell the country that we shall be responsible 

 for the defeat of this bill without even ventur- 

 ing a word of explanation or deigning to tell 

 us that a majority of the House conferees even 

 asked to have it done. I hardly think they did. 



"I shall vote against this report for this 

 among other causes. It is made up against 

 the interest of the people of this country, 

 against the will of both Houses of Congress. 

 I have shown that as to steel rails the taxation 

 imposed is beyond what either House voted; 

 I have shown that as to iron-ore that the two 

 Houses had agreed, arid yet 50 per cent, more 

 taxation is sought to be imposed, and hundreds 

 of thousands of dollars added by this confer- 

 ence committee to the burdens of the people. 

 I propose to vote against it, and my word for 

 it, if this report could be defeated we should 

 tell the House of Representatives, as we truly 

 can, that ' we have sent you a better bill in our 

 amendment than this conference report pro- 

 poses. You had far better vote for the Senate 

 amendments that your leaders would not allow 

 you even a chance to concur with us in, believ- 

 ing that they would frame in secret a worse 

 bill than the Senate had sent ; they knew that 

 they would satisfy the pig-iron men and the 

 great manufacturing monopolists of the coun- 

 try better than the action of the Senate would 

 if we reject this conference report as we ought 

 to do because of the outrageous provisions in 

 it' rny word for it, the House to-morrow 

 morning will demand a right to vote upon the 

 question of concurring in the amendments 

 originally sent them by the Senate which are 

 now upon their table, and will say to their 

 conferees as I now say to ours, ' You h-ive 

 transcended your duty in seeking to imposa 

 taxes upon this people beyond what either 

 House had demanded.' That House will take 

 up the Senate bill to-morrow morning, and, in 

 spite of its defects and of the high -protective 

 monopolists, will pass it before high noon to- 

 morrow, as an improvement upon this report 

 and a bill infinitely better than this is. 



"If \ve force upon the He use of Representa- 

 tives by voting for this conference report a 

 bill that is made worse wherever it has been 

 touched, that is not improved anywhere, and 

 deprive them of the right which they have 

 never yet had of voting upon the amended bill 

 we originally sent them, we are simply joining 

 hands with these monopolists in forcing a 

 worse bill upon the House of Representatives 

 than is now upon their table, that they can vote 

 for in half an hour after we reject this. 1 intend 

 to be no party to any such coercion upon the 

 House, and submit to no such dictation here as 

 this report attempts. 



"Why, Mr. President, look for a moment at 

 the sugar schedule. What have they done 

 with it? If I were to take up this report in 

 detail I could scarcely expose one half of its 

 enormities before Congress expired. The chair- 

 man said just now in his blandest way that a 



slight increase of tax had been imposed on 

 sugar between No. 13 and No. 16 ; that the 

 refiners wanted more than they had got, but 

 he thought the committee of conference had 

 done reasonably well for them. What do they 

 do ? Without touching any other item in the 

 sugar schedule they provide : 



" All sugar above No. 13 and not above No. 16 Dutch 

 standard, 2 -/ 7 5 cents per pound. 



"Or $2.75 per one hundred pounds. The 

 Senate had made the duty on that 2-50 cents. 

 The Senate indeed had voted for 2*40 by a vote 

 taken by yeas and nays of nearly 40 to less 

 than 20, according to my recollection. It was 

 first reported before the change at 2'65. The 

 sugar-refiners never publicly asked for more 

 than 2-65. They thought 2-50 was too low ; 

 they feared the low tariff on foreign sugars 

 would destroy their monopoly. There might 

 be competition from abroad at 2'50, and they 

 begged for 2'65. The Senate voted for 2-40 

 on a call of the yeas and nays after full debate 

 by an overwhelming majority. Recollect that 

 the sugars between No. 13 and No. 16 Dutch 

 standard are the table sugars of this country, 

 the only sugars in which the mass of consum- 

 ers have a direct interest. All the other grades 

 go to the refiner. Thirteen to 16 are the su- 

 gars people can use in spite of the refiner 

 and without his aid, and that the plain people 

 do use. Two sixty-five one hundredths was all 

 the refiners asked that ever I heard of, and I be- 

 lieve I have now in my pocket a dozen dis- 

 patches when they thought I was to be on the 

 conference committee, begging for 2-65. I do 

 not care to read the names of the m.en, but 

 here they are ; Senators can look at them. 

 The conference committee have made it 2*75 

 cents per pound. 



" That is simply giving the sugar-refiners the 

 monopoly of the sugar business of the country. 

 If not done on purpose, it was done at the dic- 

 tation of large sugar-refiners whom I can name. 

 It is the worst outrage in this bill. No man 

 can justify it. You will observe that under 

 the existing law there are hardly any impor- 

 tations of sugar above No. 13. Turn to the 

 schedule again and look at it ; but I have 

 looked at that so often that I may as well as- 

 sume that the Senate understands it. If neces- 

 sary I will hand the figures to the reporter. 



" All the sugar that is imported substantially 

 comes in under No. 13, and this increase from 

 2 to 2f cents a pound gives to the sugar-re- 

 finer an absolute monopoly of the sugar in this 

 co.untry, and imposes burdens upon the many 

 who consume sugar all over America of mill- 

 ions upon millions of dollars. This is done ex- 

 actly in the same spirit that the other high 

 taxes were imposed, to build up great monopo- 

 lies at the expense both of the revenue and of 

 the consumers of the country. 



"The refiners desired an increase from 2'50 

 to 2-65. Of course they would ask for 3 ; they 

 would ask for anything ; but 2*75, an increase 

 of 25 cents on the 100 pounds on that grade of 



