Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 December 1889 — DOINGS OF CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

DOINGS OF CONGRESS.

IMPORTANT MEASURES CONSIDERED AND ACTED UPON. At the Nation’s Capitol What Is Being Done by the Senate and Honse Old Matters Disposed of and New Ones Considered. % Mr. Chandler offered a resolution in the Senate, on the 17th, calling on the Secretary of the Navy for information as to whether organizations not expressly authorized by the Secretary of the Navy exist among naval officers for purposes not merely literary or scientific, and if so, what are the objects of such organizations and what officers are members of them; whether such organizations embrace only one branch of the naval service, and are designed to protect and advance the special interests of that branch; whether any of them have been organized for the purpose of influencing Congressional legislation ; whether sums"of money have been paid or contracted for to influence legislation ; whether such organizations are compatible with proper discipline. The resolution was laid over. Senator Beagan introduced a bill providing for the incorporation of a private body to be known as the Jornado and El Paso Reservoir and Canal Company, the objects of which are to build and operate storage reservoirs in New Mexico and Texas for irrigating purposes. The bill appropriates 825,000, to be paid out of the national treasury, to pay the expenses of the survey for the reservoirs, and directs that Mai. Powell, of the geological survey, be placod in charge of this work. Nothing of interest transpired in the House. In the Senate on the 18th a resolution was introduced by Mr. Morgan, of Alabama, to recognize the republic of Brazil, which went over under the rules. A joint resolution to extend the maritime conference until March 1 was passed. The Senate then, after the introduction of a few bills, went into executive session and made the following confirmations: Fred Douglass, Minister to Hayti; A. L. Snowden, of Pennsylvania, Minister to Boumania, Servia, and Greece; A. W. Barrett, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the United States Legation at Venezuela; J. J. Chew, of the District of Columbia, Secretary of the Legation at Vienna ; Charles B. Pope, of St. Louis, Consul at Toronto; G. W. Roosevelt, of Pennsylvania, Consul at Brussels; John S. Stevens, Minister to the Hawaiian Islands; William Walter Phelps, Minister to Germany; Solomon Hirsch, of Oregon, Minister to Turkey; T. H. Henderson, of Ohio, Minister to Bolivia; W. L. Bice, of Massachusetts, Consul at Leghorn ; A. J. Sampson, of Colorado, Consul at Paso del Norte, Mexico ; T. H. Sherman, District of Columbia, Consul at Liverpool; J. A. Tibbetts, of Connecticut, Consul at Bradford;. W. P. Sutton, of Michigan, Consul General at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico; Evans Blake, of Illinois, Consul at Crefeld; L. W. Brown, of Ohio, Consul at Glasgow; J. B. Osborne, of Pennsylvania, Consul at Ghent; A. M. Tarker, of Massachusetts. Indian Inspector; W. G. • Pryor, of Maiiffe, Consul General at Halifax ; A. O. Burn, of Rhode Island, Consul General at Borne; D. B. Hubbard, of Massachusetts. Consul at Annaberg; B. S. McCormick, of Illinois, Second Secretary of Legation at London ; Commodore F. M. Ramsey, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation; P. W. Palmer, of Illinois, Public Printer; B. H. Miller, of Massachusetts, Indian Inspector; David J. Brewer, of Kansas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States In the House, the Senate amendments to the Housp joint resolutions for the printing of the agricultural report were agreed to. Mr. McKinley, of Ohio, from the Committee on Ways and Means, reported a concurrent resolution for a holiday recess from Dec. 21 to Jan. 6. Agreed t 0—152 to 36. On motion of Mr. Rowell, of Illinois, the Committee on Elections was granted leave to sit during the session of the House. Mr. McKinley, of Ohio, from the Committee on Rules, reported a resolution for the immediate roll-call of the States for the introduction and reference of bills. Adopted. Before the order was earned out, however, Mr. Payne, of New York, from the’ Silcott committee, reported a resolution authorizing the Sergeant-at-arms to oiler a reward of $5,000 for the arrest and delivery to the MarshaL of the District of Columbia of C. E. Silcott, the absconding cashier, the reward to bo paid out of the contingent fund of the House. Adopted.. In the Senate, on the 19th inst., the House concurrent resolution for a holiday recess from Saturday, the 21st, till Monday, Jan. C, was presented to the Senate and concurred in. Among the bills reported from committees and placed on the calendar was one to authorize the construction of a bridge across tho Missouri at or near the mouth of tho Kansas River. Resolutions were reported: By Mr. Cullom —To provide for celebrating in 1892 the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by an exposition of arts, industries, manufactures and products ; and by Mr. George, to permit Slates to tax national bank notes and United States notes. An adverse report was made on the joint resolution to amend the Constitution so as to allow the District of Columbia representation in Congress and the Electoral College. Mr. Chandler introduced a resolution asking the Secretary of the Navy for information regarding reported organizations of naval officers to employ an attorney to influence legislation In regard to the increase of the rank aud pay of naval officers, aud denounced such organizations in a lengthy speech. The resolution was adopted, and the Senate then went into executive session, in which the following nominations were confirmed : J. B. Erbardt, Collector of Customs at New York; Arthur L. Thomas, Governor of Utah; Elijah Sells, Secretary of Utah; B. M. Thomas, Secretary of New Mexico; L. M. Tayley, Commissioner of the District of Alaska; B. P. Robertson and Alvin Saunders, members of the Board of Registration and Election of Utah ; T. H. Cavanaugh, Surveyor General of Washington; B. A. Johnson, Surveyor General of Arizona. As Registers of the Land Office : C, H. Cornell. Nebraska; W. H. McCann, Chadson, Neb.; J. A. Mcßeth, Denver, Col. ;W. P. Alexander, Del Norte, Col.; E. L. Charnplin, Cheyenne, Wyo.; C. G. Williams, Watertown, S. D.; T. M. Reed, Seattle, Wash. The House was not in session. In the Senate, on tho 20th inst., Mr. Morgan called up his joint resolution recognizing the’ United States of Brazil as a free, independent, and sovereign state, and spoke at length on the subject. Remarks were made by Senators Ingallß, Sherman, Evarts Teller, and Call in opposition to the resolution, and by Senators Eustis and McPherson in its favor, and the vote on motion to refer the resolution to the Committee on Foreign Relations assumed a party aspect, the Democrats voting against the motion, with the exception of Senator Call. The tenor of the remarks by Senators opposed to the resolution was that Brazil, was no republic by the voice of the people, but by the proclamation of a few leaders, and when her people proclaimed her a republic they were to lend her all aid and sympathy, and a yea and nay vote was called on the motion to refer the resolution to the Committee on Foreign Relations and which resulted in no quorum, and the resolution was laid over and the (■ enate then went into executive session. The Senate was in executive session until 5:15 o’clock and then adjourned. About three hundred confirmations were announced. Among them were the following: Consuls of the United States—Delos H. Smith, of Arizona, at Nogales; Horace C. Pugh, of Indiana, at Newcastle;. Henry W. Didrich, of Indiana, at Leipsic. Comptrollers of the Currency—Asa C. Matthews, of Illinois, First Comptroller; Benjamin F. Gilkeson, of Pennsylvania, Second Comptroller. Auditors of the Treasury—William H. Hart, of Indiana, Third Auditor;. Thomas F. Coulter, of Ohio, Sixth Auditor. Collectors of Customs—Albert H. Killim, of New Haven, Conn.; Thomas V. Cooper, qf Philadelphia. Pension Agents—Bernard Kelly, of Emporia, Kan.; William Rule, of Knoxville, Tenn. W. Yeazy, of Vermont, to be Interstale Commissioner, and also a large number of" land officials and postmasters. In the House Mr. McKinley, of Ohio, from the Committee on Rules, reported a resolution providing for the creation of the following committees: Standing committee on expenditures in theDepartment of Agriculture, to consist of seven members; a select committee on irrigation of the ■ arid lands, to consist of eleven members ; a select committee on immigration and naturalization, to consist of seven members. The resolution was agreed to. On motion of Mr. Carlisle, of Kentucky, a resolution was adopted authorizing Isaac R. Hall to act as assistant doorkeeper of the House. On motion of Mr. McKenna, of California, a resolution was passed making immediately available for repairing the damages caused by flood in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers an onex pended balance of SIIO,OOO.