Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 May 1888 — CONGRESSIONAL. [ARTICLE]

CONGRESSIONAL.

Work of the Senate and the Honsa of Representatives. The feature of the Senate proceedings on tha. Ist inst. was the ipeecn of Mr. Ingalls in reply to Mr. Voorhees, which led to a spirited exchange of personalities between the two Senators. The Kansas Senator declared that whatever might have been his own (Ingalls') relations to the war of the rebellion, tue Senator from Indiana had been from the outset the determined, outspoken, positive, and malignant enemy of the Union cause. “I proiwunce that," said Mr. Voorhees, rising, with anger in his eyes, “to be a deliberate false accusation. ’’ Mr. Vocrnees asserted that not one word or syllable said by the Senator was true, or believed to oe true in Indiana. The Senator's insinuation that he (Voorhees) had ever been a member of a political secret society—the Knights of the. Golden Circle—was so base and infamously false that he did not know how to choose language to denounce it as such. Mr. Ingalls retorted to the effect that the charge that Voorhees had called Union soldiers “hirelings and Lincoln dogs, ” etc., could be substantiated by as creditable a witness as there was in the city Mr. Voorhees—“And even if the Senator said it, it would be absolutely false and a palpable lie." Mr. Ingalls—“The Senator is. disorderly. ” Continuing. Mr. Ingalls read from, a paper signed by citizens of Sullivan County, who said that they were present at a meeting on April 6, 1862. when Mr. Voorhees said that Union soldiers should go to the nearest blacksmith shop ana have an iron collar put around their necks with tbe inscription, “My dog. Abraham Lincoln.” The Senator in his address to his constituents in 1861 had declared that he would never vote a single dollar nor a single man for the prosecution of the war, and he had never done so so long as he was in Congress. Mr. Voorhees said that if tbe gentleman from Kansas would find one single vote that he had cast against the paym nc of soldiers, for their supplies, for their bounties, for their, pensions, he would resign his seat in the Senate. Every word the Senator had stated on that subject was absolutely false—by the record, absolutely salsa. Mr. Ingalls—“Did not the soldiers of Indiana threaten to hang the Senator with a bell-rope on a train after he had made that Lincoln dog speech!’’ Mr. Voorhees—“The Senator is a great liar when he intimates such a thing—a. great liar and a dirty dog. It never occurred, never in the world. That is all the answer I have, and I pass it back to the scoundrel behind the Senator wbo is instigating these'lies.*' (This remark was made in reference to Representative Johnston (Indiana), who was seated at a desk directly in the rear of Mr. Ingalls.) Mr. Ingalls—“There is a very reputable gentleman in tbe chamber, a citizen of Indiana, who informs me that the signers of the certificate are ent«ely reputable inhabitants of Indiana, and that he knows fifty people that heard the Senator." Mr. Voorhees—“Tell him I say he is an infamous scoundrel and a liar. Tell him I say so." The Senate passed a bill appropriating SIOO,OOO for a public building at Emporia, Kan. In the House, Messrs. McCreary, of Kentucky, Foran, of Ohio, and Dorsey, of Nebraska, aired their views on the tariff question. Exhaustive arguments were made before the House Committee on Manufactures on the2d, by tbe counsel for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, in defense of tha refusal of two of its officers to produce statements of the rebates allowed on the road. Without deciding upon the merits of the points raised, the committee determined to proceed with the examination of the officers, but nothing of importance was developed, the agents of the road declining to answer questions regarding rebates and discriminations. Dr. Norvin Green. of the Western Union Telegraph Company, appeared before the House Committee on Postoffices. He opposed the Hopkins postal telegraph bill, the enactment of which, he said, would be a monstrous wrong, because it ignored the rights of property. He said theantagonism to the Western Union was founded on the supposed monopoly of that company. That company had no exclusive privileges. The elementary patents in telegraphy had expired, and anybody co„ld go into the telegraph business. They hod done so and were still doing so. In the Senate Mr. Dawes offered an amendment to the railroad land-grant forfeiture bill providing that the act shall not be considered to impairany rights, legal or equitable, now vested in any person or corporation to any of the lands declared forfeited. He admitted that his object was to protect the title of the Portage Lake Canal Company, in whose title there was a technical defect, and also to protect innocent-bona-fide purchasers under that title. Mr. Berry objected to allowing the canal company to acquire $25,C0),000 or $40,C00,C00 worth of land tor a canal that was never built; tnat was a fraud which the State of Michigan was trying to dump upon the General Government. The amendment and bill west over. In the tariff debate in the House. Mr. Lanham (Tex ', while favor, ng the Mills bill, criticised it as being too protective. Mr. Palmer of Michigan made an argument in the Senate, on the 3d inst., in favor of tbe< bill to establish a bureau of animal industry. He paid particular attention to the opposition, to the measure, the general idea conveyed being that the opposition came solely from the existing Bureau es Animal Industry. He was followed by Mr. Vest, of Missouri, wbo defended Commissioner Colman and denounced what he called the “cattle syndicate.” “Talk,” said Mr. Vest, “about trusts! Talk about pools I The cattle pool of Chicago is the most infamous tyranny that ever existed in the United States And I know bo remedy for it. The statesman who would invent the remedy would deserve a monument more enduring than the Capitol.” Mr. Plumb of Kansas followed Mr. Vest, and was equally vehement in hie denunciation of the Chicago cattie pool. He said it was unquestionably tae worst combine in the whole country. There was no trust or combination that had had so powerful or sobaleful an influence a» that combination. For years the prices of cattle to the producers had baen going down. No cattle commission man dared to set up fer himself in Chicago. It was safe to say that on every steer of three years old and upward raised west of the Mississippi River during the last five years the market value had been, by this combination, reduced not less than $lO a Lead. The damage to the State of Kansas alone during that time had been more than. $40,4)00,000, and the wealth of the syndicate had. grown proportionately Mr. Stewart introduced a bill in the S.nato to execute the stimulations of the new Cninose treaty. The Rouse agreed to the Senate amendment to the Indianapolis postoffice bill increasing the appropriation from $125,eu0 to $150,900. and then, resumed consideration of the Mills tariff bill. Mr Wilson of West Virginia and Mr. Bingley of Maine, respectively, spoke for and against the m« asure. A resolution was adopted by the House on. the 4th, calling on the Secretary of the Treasury for a statement as to whether there is an order or regulation of the Treasury Department the enforcement of which would prevent, the overloading of vessels wish freight on the great la».es. The report in the California contested election case of Lyneh verius Vandever v>as placed on the calendar. Tee report ia. unanimously in f»vor of Vandaver, the sitting member. Mr. Cox. of New Yerk, presented in the House the bill for appropriate reference of a memorial from. Gens, nchofieid aijd Slocum and other members of the Army of the Potomac, asking lor an a.prvpiiaiion of »25,txD to aid in meeting the-e-xpeubea oi tbe fraternal reunion of tbe survivors of tbe Army of the Potou ac anu the armies of Northern Virginia, to be n«ld o, too bat lefie.d at Getly.b.rg in uuly next, to commemorate the tweuty-ririii aanirersary of etiat conflict ini', t asweil i Wis.) criticised tu? Mills tariff bib in the House, declaring it d;d not proriue any substantial decrease on articles of general consumption. He advocated the entire removal of the duty on sugar, which, he said, w uld ta»e a tax from tae food of every person in the country, and advocated a reas -nabie bounty to sugar producers. Mr. McDonald (Minn.) thought the bill did not go far enough. Ho Would place coal, iron ore, und sunar on tbe free list. Ho warned the 'Republican party that it had better meet tue Democratic party half-way in its efforts lor tariff reform. Mr. Guenther (Wis.) said the Republicans generally favored abolishing entire.y the tax on tonacco and spirits used iu tbe arts add manufactures. Should further reductions be necessary they propose.! to abolish the duty an sugar and pay a bounty to the producers amount ng to a sum equal to the present tax This policy would mate a reduction of about sßp,tt)o,ooJ certain and absolute. At the evening session twenty-seven pension bills werepassed.