Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1896 — SENATE AND HOUSE. [ARTICLE]

SENATE AND HOUSE.

WORK OF OUR NATIONAL LAWMAKERS. A Week’s Proceedings i n the Halle of Congreee—lmportant Measures Discussed and Acted Upon—An Impartial Resume of the Business. The National So lona. The Senate Thursday passed the immigration bill known as the Lodge bill, with a new section providing that the exclusion shall not apply to persons arriving from Cuba during the continuance of the present disorders there. As passed, the bill amends the immigration laws so as to exclude from admission to the United States all persons over 16 years of age who cannot read and write the language of their native country or some other language, but an admissable immigrant, over the age of 16, may bring in with him. or send for, his wife or parent or grandparent or minor child or granchild, notwithstanding the inability to read and write. The House passed the third of the regular appropriation bills, that for the support of the army, and entered upon the consideration of the legislative, executive and judicial bill. The army bill as passed makes no provision for the army and navy hospital at Hot Springs. Ark. The House also passed several bills relating to the District of Columbia and three resolutions for the use of flags of the war department, government reservations, etc., onr the Occasion of Mr. McKinley’s inauguration. Friday was private bill day in the House, but most of»the .session was devoted to the passage of the thirty-seven pension and relief bills favorably acted upon by the committee of the whole Friday. The bill to pay Flora A. Darling, the wife of a Confederate general, $5.683 for Tennessee and Louisiana bank notes taken from her in 1864 while under a flag of truce, which was attacked by Mr, Dalzell Friday, was laid on the table. Only five bills were favorably acted upon. One of them, a bill to refer a claim of Thomas B. Reed, a Pennsylvania soldier during the war, to an unpaid balance of salary to the Court of Claims created some merriment owing to the fact that his name was identical with that of the Speaker of the House. The other bills were to pay the officers and crews of the United States gunboat Kineo and Chocura $12,474 prize money; to pay William B. Isaacs & Co. $16,987, the finding of the Court of Claims; to pay George McAlpin, the sutler of the Eleventh Pennsylvania CaValry, $6,906 illegally collected from him; and to repay Mathias Pederson of Spring Valley, Wis., S3OO paid by him for a substitute during the war, Pederson not at that time being a citizen of the United States. The Senate did nothing of importance.

A report presenting additional views on the Cuban question was presented to the' Senate Monday by Senator Morgan of Alabama, in behalf of himself and Senator Mills. It indorses Senator Cameron’s views and discusses the action of the Committee on Foreign Relations in 1859, on the bill to facilitate the-acquisition of the island of Cuba. The report reviews the alleged misgovernment of Cuba and messages by former Presidents on the subject, and then refers to President Cleveland’s attitude, whose message, it affirms, is in corroboration of all former testimony on the subject. Debate was sharp and rancorous. Mr. Vest offered a resolution to the effect that Congress, and not the President, is vested with jo eouepuadepnt eziuffoaej o; jdMOd belligerency of any insurgent people. Debate was stopped by Mr. Hale, upon a point of order. Mr. Hill introduced a resolution looking toward recognition of the Cubans as belligerents, and pledging neutrality of this government. No final action was taken. Nothing of importance was done by the House. The attention of the Senate was unexpectedly diverted Tuesday from Cuba to the Pacific railroads. Soon after the session opened Mr. Pettigrew of South Dakota called up his resolution appropriating $10,000,600 to take up the trust notes of the Pacific railroad. This opened the entire question and Mr. Morgan of Alabama followed with a bitter arraignment of the Pacific roads, charging them with fraud and crime on a gigantic scale. The speech lasted until shortly before 2 o’clock, when the morning hour expired, thus sending over the Cuban question until after the holidays. Further than this the session was uneventful. The House passed the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bill and then adjourned for the holiday recess. This is the first time in the history of Congress that the legislative bill has passed before the holidays. The day was devoted to the annual debate of the civil service law and, as usual, the attempt to strike out the provision for the commission was overwhelmingly defeated.