Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1896 — SENATE AND HOUSE [ARTICLE]

SENATE AND HOUSE

! WORK OF OUR NATIONAL LAW. MAKERS. A Week’s Proceedings in the Halls of Congress—lmportant Measures Discussed and Acted Upon—An Inpar- _ tial Resume of the Business. The National Solons. The Senate Wednesday followed the lead of the House and passed the river and harbor bill over the President’s veto by the following vote: Yeas—Republicans: Aldrich, Allison, Burrows, Cannon, Carter, Chandler, Clark, Cullom, Davis, Dubois, Elkins, Gallinger, Gear, Hale, Hansbrough, Hawley, Lodge, Mcßride, Mitchell (Oregon), Nelson, Perkins, Pettigrew, Platt, Pritchard, Quay, Sherman, Shoup, Squire, Teller, Warren, Wetmore, Wilson, Wolcott—33; Democrats: Bacon, Berry, Brice, Faulkner, George, Gibson, Gorman, Jones (Arkansas), Lindsay, Mills, Mitchell (Wisconsin), Morgan, Pasco, Pugh, Tillman, Turpie, Vest, Walthall, White —19: Populists: Jones (Nevada), Butler, Peffer, Stewart—4; total, 56. Nays—Democrats: Bate, Chilton, Hill, Smith, Vilas—s. The House began clearfug the decks for final adjournment by extending the length of the daily sessions. A partial conference report on the general deficiency bill was agreed to and the bill sent back to further conference. The Murray-Elliott contested case from the first South Carolina district was debated for four hours. The majority report flavors the seating of the contestant, who is a colored man, and who was seated by the Fifty-first House in place of Elliott The Senate Thursday passed the filledcheese bill. Manufacturers of filled cheese are taxed 5400 annually; wholesale dealers, $250; retail dealers, $l2O. In addition to these taxes, the product itself is taxed 1 cent per pound, and imported filled effeese is taxed 8 cents per pound in addition to the Import duty. All packages must be branded, and dealers must display a big black sign on white ground, bearing the words “Filled Cheese Sold Here.” The controversy over the number of battle ships remains open, Mr. Quay's motion that the Senate recede from its amendment reducing the number of ships from four to two being defeated—l 7 to 33. The Senate also defeated by a vote of 17 to 31 a motion by Mr. Lodge of Massachusetts to recede from its amendment relating to sectarian Indian schools. Bills were passed as follows: Granting 160 acres of land to Biloxi, Miss., for a charitable hospital; authorizing the appointment of the survivors of the Lady Franklin bay expedition ns sergeants,, retired, of the army; for the improvement of Fort Smith, Ark., government reservation, and a bill construing the laws relating to the award of life-saving medals. By a vote of 153 to 33 the House decided against the claim of William Elliott from the First South Carolina district and gave the seat to George W. Murray. Murray is a colored man and in the Fifty-first Congress was seated in the place of Elliott Murray was given a round of applause when he came forward to be sworn in. Mr. Elliott is the ninth Democrat unseated by the present House. The remainder of the day was mainly occupied in debating the case of Martin vs. Lockhart from the Seventh North Carolina district. The Senate amendments to the bill to retire Commander Quackenbush were adopted. The conference report on the bill to pension the widow of the late Senator George Spencer of Alabama was agreed to.

Mr. Morgan gave the Senate a spirited revival of the Cuban question Friday, after which most of the day was spent in waiting for conference agreements on appropriation bills. Mr. Morgan urged the adoption of his resolution calling on the President for information of the Americans taken on the Competitor and now under sentence of death at Havana. The Senator asserted that the President's inaction was a violation of law. Mr. Morgan declared that Congress should not adjourn without authorizing the President to send warships to Cuba to demand the release of the American prisoners. On the suggestion of Mr. Sherman, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Senate went into secret session, where, after a further argument by Mr. Morgan, his resolution was placed on the calendar, a parliamentary move equivalent to postponing action. In the House, Mr. Grosvenor called up his resolution requesting the President and the several cabinet officers for a detailed statement of the removals from office since March 8, 1893, and the appointments since that date, together with the number of exsoldiers who have been appointed, promoted, reduced or removed. The resolution was adopted—l 47 to 48. The vote on the contested election case of Martin vs. Lockhart from the Seventh North Carolina district resulted 113 to 5. Mr. Martin came forward and took the oath. The Rinaker-Downing contest from Illinois resulted in favor of Mr. Rinaker. President Cleveland Saturday vetoed the general deficiency appropriation bill. The President objected to it because of provisions for the payment of French spoliation and Chouteau claims and other items which he docs not enumerate. When the message was read to the House a motion to pass the bill notwithstanding the veto was lost —40 to 149. Thereupon the House promptly sent to the Senate a new bill without the features to which the President objected. This was not done without some spirited during which the President was’bitterly attacked. The Senate had barely a quorum, and nothing of importance was done. The new deficiency bill, framed to meet the objections of the President’s recent veto, passed in the Senate Monday, as it came from.Ahe House, amid great cheering. When the immigration bill was taken up Mr. Morgan of Alabama spoke in support of his amendment, that the restrictions of the act should not apply to persons coming to this country from Cuba. He said no country had contributed a better class of people to this country's population than Cuba. In the House, the Sherman resolution relative to Virginia bonds was adopted. A special deficiency bill providing for the pay of salaries of members seated by the House and for several other minor matters was passed under suspension of the rules; also a bill to establish a site for the erection, of a penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The conference report on the Indian appropriation bill containing the compromise relative .to the old settlers’ claim was agreed to and the bill sent to further conference. Mr. Daniels again called up the Aldrich-Underwood contested election case. This aroused the ire of the Democrats. The question of consideration was raised, but this time the House decided, 130 to 68, to consider the case. During the progress of the roll call many of the Democrats left the hall. Mr. McMillin of Tennessee attempted to force a division on the conference report on the District of Columbia bill as a means of developing that no quorum was present, but Mr. Dalzell of Pennsylvania, who was temporarily in the chair, manipulated the parliamentary situation so as to prevent this, and subsequently, despite the warm protests of Mr. Terry of Arkansas, declined to entertain an appeal from his decision. The District of Columbia appropriation bill was sent back to further aonference, ftgd the house took a recess.