Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 March 1890 — THE SENATE AND HOUSE. [ARTICLE]

THE SENATE AND HOUSE.

NATIONAL LAW-MAKERS AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Proceedings of the Senate and House oi Representatives Discussed and Acted On—Gist of the Business. Is the Senate, on the 17th inst., Mr. Dawes presented over 240 petitions from Massachusetts praying that the export of intoxicating liquors to Africa be stopped. Mr. Blair presented petitions signed by 30,000 members of the Grand Army of the Republic in favor of pensions tc army nurses, and petitions signed by over 4.000,000 persons in favor of the educational bill. Mr. Frye reported from the Committee on Pacific Railroads the bill providing for the adjustment of the indebtedness of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. This hill was reported in lieu of two bills which had been referred to the committee. After several unimportant bills were disposed of Senator Blair took the floor and continued his remarks on the educational bill for the space of three hours, when the Senate adjourned. In the House, after the reading and approval of the journal, Mr. Struble reported a resolution making the bill to provide a temporary form of government for the Territory of Oklahoma a special order for consideration on the following day, not to interfere with the World's Fair bills, which passed without objection. Mr. Candler, Chairman of the committee on the world’s fair, moved to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution offered by him fixing Feb. 20 and 21, after the reading of journal, for consideration of the world’s fair bills, the vote to be taken on Monday, Feb. 21, unless the House Bhall determine during the debate that there shall be no world’s fair. A vote was taken which resulted in 114 yeas to 8 nays, when the Democrats made the point that there was no quorum voting. The Speaker announced that there were 172 members in the hall and that a quorum was therefore present. The decision caused a long discussion between the Speaker and the Democratic side of the House, at the conclusion of which the world’s fair resolution was adopted. The House bill for the relief of the Sioux Indians at Devils Lake, N. Dak., was passed, also a bill providing for an appointment of thirty additional medical pension inspectors, but owing to the absence of a quorum no result was reached. The House then adjourned. Among the bill reported to the Senate on the 18th from committees and placed on the calendar were the following; Appropriating SIOO,000 for a public building at Grand Forks, N. D. To provide for the admission of the State of Idaho into the Union. Senator Blair continued his speech in favor of his educational bill. On motion of Senator Cullom, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of executive business, and after a session of five minutes adjourned.' The Senate, in .executive session, confirmed the extradition treaty with Great Britain. In the House there was no objection from the minority side to the approval of the journal of the previous day’s proceedings. Upon motion of Mr. O’Neill of Pennsylvania, Saturday afternoon, March 15, was set apart for the delivery of eulogies upon the late Representative Kelley, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Morrow, of California. from the Appropriations Committee, reported the pension appropriation bill. Referred to the committee of the whole. A conference committee was ordered upon the bill to direct the superintending of the census to collect the statistics of farm mortgages and indebtedness. The House spent the eutire afternoon on the bill to organize the territory of Oklahoma and establish courts in Indian Territory.

The Senate passed the following bills on the 19th : Appropriating SIOO,OOO for a public building at Fort Dodge, lowa, and $105,005 for one at Lansing, Mich. Favorable reports have been authorized on bills introduce! in the House making appropriations for ths erection of public buildings as follows : Baton Rouge, $100,000; Fremont, Neb., $00,000; New London, Conn., $75,000; Allegheny City, Fa., $25 i,OOJ; Hudson, N. Y., $75,000; Lafayette, lnd., $30,0 )0; Burlington, la., and Mankato, Minn . $50,010 ta;lr. The bill increasing the appropriation for the building at Milwaukee by szoo,uoo and that for the building at Scranton by sl/5,050 wero also favorablyreported. The Secretary of tne Treasury sent to the Senate a detailed report ox the negotiations for a site for a public building at Buffalo, N. Y., saying tha appropriation of $250,0,0 is not adequate, and suggesting that the site be purchased by condemnation to avoid difficulty over the question of value. The bill appropriating $95,050 Tor a building at Fargo, N. D., will %e reported favorably to the Senate. Bills were passed by the House as follows: Dividing the judicial district of North Dakota into tour divisions, the sessions of the courts to be held at Bismarck, Grand Forks, Fargo, and Devil’s Lake, with amendments providing for the division of South Dakota into three divisions, sessions of the courts to be held at Sioux Falls, Pierre, and Deadwood; authorizing the President to confer brevet rank upon army officers for gallant services in Indian campaigns since 1837. After some routine business had been disposed of on the 20th inst., tho Senate took up Mr. Chandler's resolution calling on the Attorney General for information as j the assassination at Quincy, Fla., of United States Deputy Marshal Saunders. Mr. Pasco concluded his remarks and Mr. Hale replied to him, after which the resolution was adopted. Mr. Blair then took the floor and closed his remarks ou the educational bill. In concluding his argument he said the measure had been part of the National Republican pla.form since 1884. It had been incorporated in the platforms of several States. It had been approved by the action of Slate Legislatures in quite a number of tho Northern States, and in some of the Southern States. It had been approved by President Harrison, who had voted twice for it (almost exactly as it now stood) in 1884 and 1880. In fact, the President's hand had been conspicuous in fashioning many of its details when the bill first passed. In spite of all opposition he believed that the sense of self-preservation would cause the bill to be enacted into law. Th 9 House on the 20th inst. devoted the day to the discussion of the Woald’s Fair bills. Chicago’s claims were presented by Messrs. Hitt, Adams, Taylor, and Lawler, of Illinois; Messrs. Cutcheou and Chapman, of Michigan; Mr. Perkins, of Kansas, and Mr. McCreary, of Kentucky. Messrs. Frank. Niedringhaus, and Dockery of Missouri ; Mr. Breckenridge, of Arkansas, and Mr. Caruth, of Kentucky, spoke for St. Louis. MeComas of Indiana, Lee of Virginia, Coleman of Louisiana, Compton of Maryland, and Stockbridge of New Jersey represented Washington’s interests. Messrs. Flower, Covert, Cummings, Tracv, and Quinn, of New York, and Mr. Moore, of New Hampshire, advocated New York’s claims, after which the House adjourned.

The House, on the 21st, again discussed the World’s Fair bill. Each city having had an hour since the beginning of the debate for the presentment of its claims, the Speaker allowed the anti-World’s Fair men an hour for giving their reasons why a government subsidy should not be given for a fair in any city. Mr. Mills of Texas was the principal exponent of this view. Mr. Mills yielded ten minutes to Elijah J. Morse, the “rising sun" statesman of Boston, Who was opposed to a fair anywhere on constitutional grounds. Mr. Peters, of Kansas, said we were a patriotic people, but that a World’s Fair was a luxury, and before wo bought it we should examine into our finances and see whether we could afford it. The estimates of revenue for the coming fiscal year were $450,000,000. He presented an itemized statement of the need s of the Government, amounting to $407,000,000, which, with the miscellaneous appropriations of $10,000,000 and the deficiency bill of $25,090,000, made in all a grand aggregate of $442,000,000. In the Senate Mr. Cullom introduced the Cowdon bill to make the Lake Borgne outlet and improve the low water channel of the lower Mississippi River. This bill has been pending in Congress for many years. It provides that when Cowdon shall have"opened the Lake Borgne outlet and established a low water channel of eight feet between Cairo and New Orleans he shall be paid $4,000,00.0, and that he shall receive $2,500,000 for each additional, foot which the river is deepened within five years from the time of the completion of the outlet. The following bills were passed: Increasing limits for cost of public building at San Fancisco (site) to. $800,000; Sacramento to $330,000; EJ Paso, Texas, to $200,000; Omaha, Neb., $2,000,000. For public buildings at Annapolis, Md., $75,000; Kansas City, t 2,500,000; Los Angeles, Cal. (additional), $350,000; Allegheny, Pa., $250,000; Beaver Falls, Pa., $50,000; Atchison, Kan., $100,000; Martinsburg, W. Va., $125,000; Selma, Kan., $150,000; Zanesville, 0., Emporia, Kan., Danbury, Conn., and Waterbary, Conn., $100,000each; New London, Conn., SIOO,000; Youngstown. 0., SIOO,OOO.