Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1886 — CONGRESSIONAL [ARTICLE]

CONGRESSIONAL

The Work of the Semite and House' of Representatives. A Bum appropriating $159,000 for the erection of a branch home for disabled volunteer soldiers west of the Rocky Mountains was passed by the Senate on the Bth. A bill was passed providing for a commission of three persons, to be appointed by the President, to investigate the truth of alleged discoveries of the specific cause of vellow fever. In the House of Representatives, iu moving to expunge from the Record a speech by Mr. Wheeler, of Alabama, Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, read a private letter written in the spring of 1862 by Secretary Stanton, frankly defining his attitude toward General McClellan. The resolution offered by Mr. Kelley was referred to the Committee on Rules. An effort in the House toget unanimous consent to report the amended Senate anti-polygamy bill was defeated by the objection of Caine, the Mormon delegate from Utah. The incident served to show the watchfulness of the Mormon lobby and its determination to throw every obstruction in the way of adverse legislation. Tho House spent some hours in committee of the whole (Mr. Blount, of Georgia, in the chair) on the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill. A measure was favorably reported to the Senate, on the 9th inst., prohibiting the transmission of lottery circulars through the mails. Bills were reported favorably appropriating the following-named sums for public buildings: Duluth, Minn., $100,000; El Paso, Texas, $150,000 for repairs and enlargement of the public building at Des Moines, lowa, 8153,000; increasing thelimit of cost of the public building at Peoria, 111., from $225,000 to 8275,000, and making an additional appropriation of $25,000 for the public building at Keokuk, lowa. Bills were passed, providing for a portrait of Gen. George H. Thomas ; to establish two additional land districts in Dakota; to legalize the incorporation' of trades unions; referring to the Court of Claims for examination and report to Congress' certain claims for property seized by General Albert Sydney Johnston in the Utah expedition of 1857. The oleomargarine bill’, was considered by the Senate. Senator Butler read a telegram from the Mayor and a large' number of citizens of Spartanburg, S. C., urging, the Senators from that State to use their influ--ence in defeating the oleomargarine bill, which' the signers declare the worst form of protection. “Let people buy oleomargarine,” they say, “as they would any other article of food.” In the House of Representatives, while the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill was under consideration,. Mr. Hitt, of Hlinois, commented on what he> termed the extraordinary provision (that requiring the certification of the entire list of applicants from each State who passed the examination) which had been fore ed upon an appropriation bill to nullify the civil-service law. Mr. Cox, of North Carolina, Chairman of the Committee on Civil-Service Reform, Mr. Compton and Mr. Shaw, of Maryland, boldly attacked the law without any disguise, while Mr. Springer, Mr. McAdoo, and Mr. Randall advocated the' modifications proposed by tho Appropriation Committee. Mr Hitt, of Illinois, Mr. Butterworth, of Ohio, and Mr.. Bayne, of Pennsylvania, Republicans argued in. favor of the principle of civil-service reform,. Mr. Hitt charged the Appropriation Committeewith having gone out of its province to insidiously attack civil-service reform. Mr. Randall declared that the regulations enacted had cheated the representatives of the people out of rights which they should have stood up and defended in behalf of their constituents. Mr. Beck’s bill to prohibit members of Congress from accepting retainers from subsidized railroads passed the Senate, on the 10th inst.,. by a vote of 31 to 11, but Mr. Hawley secured areconsideration of the matter. The Senate alsopassed the agricultural appropriation bill, with items of $17,000 for the encouragement of silkculture, $5,009 to bore artesian wells in Oregon or Washington Territory, and *91,000 for sor-ghum-making with American machinery. On motion of Senator Allison, the Senate passed a bill appropriating 8150,000 as an additional sum tocomplete the Des Moines (Iowa) public building. Senator Riddleberger insisted upon the consideration by the Senate of the resolution providing for open executive sessions, and the Senate refused to take it up by a vote of 32 to 8. A bill was introduced by Senator McPherson to increase the naval establishment. It appropriates 86,4*5,000. The Senate in secret session rejected the nomination of Posey S. Wilson to be assayer of the mint at Denver, Colo. Among the nominations for postmasters sent to the Senate werethe following: Reuben Stabley, Crestline, O.; John D. Thompson, Mt. Vernon, O.; Samuel S. Clayton, Ada, O.; C. A. Gallagher, Cheboygan, Mich. ; Prior B. Mayo, North Springfield, Mo. The report of the House Judiciary Committee on the Edmunds anti-polygamy bill was presented to the House. The committee expresses its dissent from the twelfth section of the Senate bill, the effect of which would be that the conduct of the corporate “Church of Jesus Christ. of Latter-Day Saints” would bs controlled by trustees of the church in conjunction with trustees appointed by the President. This union of trustees of the church and those of the government could not be distinguished from aunion of the church and state and a law respecting the establishment of religion. Nor could it be other than a limitation on the free exercise of religion where a majority who control in matters of faith and discipline are appointed by the President. The committee recommends a revocation of the charter and a dissolution of the corporation as in the line of public policy, if it can constitutionally be done. During a debate iu tbe Senate on the Northern Pacific forfeiture bill on the 4th inst. Mr. George stated that an area larger than France or Germany had been donated by Congress tocorporations between 1800 and 1875. Mr. Sherman remarked that all the stock issued by the Northern Pacific Company would not sell for the $30,C09,090'> cash put into the road, and that the piassage of the pending bill would simply relieve the corporation of the task of tunneling the Cascade range. The House of Representatives passed the Senate bill to legalize the incorporation of trades unions. During the consideration of the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bill, Messrs. Morrison and Holman engaged in a colloquy which amused the members, and upon Mr. Rnndair attempting to answer a question propounded by Mr. Morrison the latter gentleman exclaimed : “I was not asking you ; you are not an economistup to the standard of the gentleman from Indians.” A petition from the Chamber of Commerce of New York for an appropriation of 81,000,000 with, which to commerce the work of permanently deepening the water on Sandv Hook bar was presented in the Senate by Mr. Miller ou the 12th lust. The army appropriation bill was passed as it came from the Senate Committee, A bill was passed authorizing the removal of the Southern Ute Indians in Colorado to Utah Territory. In the House of Representatives Mr. Holman’s civil service rider to the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bill was ruled out of order., The only other business accomplished bv the House was the passage of several pension bills