Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 April 1898 — CONGRESS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CONGRESS

In the House on Wednesday R. T. Thorp was given the seat from the fourth Virginia district Sidney P. Epes, who obtained the certificate of election, was unseated by a strict party vote. The Republicans without a break voted for Thorp, and the Democrats and Populists, with the exception of Mr. Howard of Alabama. a Populist, voted for Epes. Mr. Thorp contested the seat of Mr. Kenney in the last Congress and was seated. The Republican majority in the House, which was 52 when the House convened last summer, is now 54. In the Senate the bill for the relief of the Maine victims was passed without debate. Senator Gallinger related his observations in Cuba. The Senate then resumed consideration of the bill making further provision for a civil government in Alaska, mid later took up the national quarantine bill. Its consideration had not been concluded when the Senate adjourned. Debate on the naval appropriation bill consumed the day in the House on Thursday. Adjourned until Friday. In the Senate Mr. Thurston in a thrilling speech told what he saw in Cuba. A number of bills on the calendar were passed. Mr. Bate presented resolutions in memory of the late Senator Isham G. Harris of Tennessee, and eulogies were delivered by Mr. Bate, Mr. Morrill (Vermont), Mr. Morgan (Alabama), Mr. Hoar (Massachusetts), Mr. Walthall (Mississippi). Mr. Hawley (Connecticut). Mr. Cockrell (Missouri). Mr. Stewart (Nevada). Mr. Chilton (Texas; and Mr. Turley (Tennessee). The Senate adjourned until Monday. Friday in the House was spent in consideration of the naval appropriation bill. There was much filibustering and only four pages of the bill were gone over. Adjourned until Saturday. The Senate was not in session. The House spent Saturday in consideration of the naval appropriation bill. A strong effort was made during the day to increase the appropriation for the naval reserves, but it failed. Another effort to have the government uniform the naval militia also failed. The main contest of th<v day was over a proposition to decrease the number of timber dry docks authorized by the bill from four to three. It led Mr. Cannon, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, who made the motion, to discuss the whole question of war preparations and to inveigh against undue extravagance. He was voted down—-78 to 107. An amendment was adopted to permit the Secretary of the Navy to use any portion of Michigan’s naval militia fund to repair the damage to the Yantic. A message from President McKinley, outlining the findings of the Maine board of inquiry, was sent to the House on Monday. After being read it was promptly referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. Walker of Massachusetts announced the death of his colleague. Mr. Simpkins, and moved that the House adjourn out of respect to his memory. This was done, and Speaker Reed appointed four members of the Foreign Relations Committee, to which the Maine report had been referred, to attend the funeral. In the Senate the President’s message and the report of the board of inquiry were both read, after which the Senate adjourned. After passing a bill to pension the widow of Gen. John L. Stevenson at the rate of S3O per month the House devoted the whole day Tuesday to the (■onsideration of the bill to pay certain claims for stores and supplies furnished the Union by loyal citizens of the South during the war. There was a bitter contest over a claim of $217,000 preferred by the heirs of the widow Robert E. Lee. She inherited the claim from Mrs. Fitzhugh, her aunt, who, it was admitted, was loyal. The claim was finally stricken out, but the House recessed before the bill was passed. It provides for the payment of about 850 claims, aggregating about sl,200,000. At an evening session pension bills were passed. In the Senate, after the introduction of Cuban resolutions and a speech by Senator Mason, seventy-four private pension bills were passed.' Then Mr. Tillman presented resolutions concerning the death of the late Joseph A. Earle, Senator from South Carolina. Eulogies were delivered by Mr. McLaurin, Mr. Chandler. Mr. Clay, Mr. Spooner, Mr. Chilton, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Kenney. Mr. McEuery and Mr. Tillman.