Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1900 — CONGRESS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CONGRESS

In the Senate on Thursday the case involving the seat of Mr. Clark of Montana was postponed until Tuesday. Mr. Gallingcr addressed the Senate at length on his resolution, declaring -that ‘/the present phenomenal prosperity of the country is due to the policy of protection as embodied in the Dingley tariff law.” Bill appropriating $1,250,000 for the erection of a public building at New Orleans was passed. Joint resolution concerning certain Chippewa Indian reservations in Minnesota, the project being to preserve< forests on the reservations as a national park, was passed. It creates a commission to investigate the question whether it is practicable and desirable for the United States to create a national park upon and within the lands known as the reservations of the Mississippi, Chippewa, Leech Lake, Winnebagoshish and Cass Lake Indians in Minnesota, the said lands comprising an area of about 830,063 acres, including Leech, Winnebagoshish, Cuss and numerous smaller lakes, together with the Mississippi and other rivers and streams, comprising about one-fourth of the entire tract as water area. Eulogies on the late Representative Baird of Louisiana were delivered by Senators Caffery, Chandler, Berry, Sullivan and McEnery. The House by the very narrow margin of two votes unseated Mr. Crawford of North Carolina, a Democrat, and seated in his place Mr. Pearson. The minority resolution declaring the sitting member entitled to the seat was defeated by one vote.

After an all-day discussion in the Senate on Friday an agreement was reached to vote on the armor plate section at 3 o’clock, May 12. During the discussion a notable speech was delivered by Mr. Ixtdge upon the necessity of building up the United States navy without delay. Mr. Daniel presented an extended argument in support of the immediate construction by the Government of an armor factory, while Mr. Allison opposed the project of a Government factory on the score of economy. In the House Mr. Esch (Wis.) called up and had passed the bill to amend the law so as to provide for the commutation of travel and subsistence allowances of discharged officers and soldiers. He explained the bill proposed to allow a uniform rate of 4 cents per mile for officers and enlisted men. The House then went into committee of the whole to consider private pension bills and broke all records, passing 180. On Saturday the Senate by a close vote rejected the proposition to erect, without reference to the price at which the Government could secure armor plate for its warships, an armor plate factory. The vote upon the direct proposition was 22 to 24, and subsidiary amendments were rejected by about the same vote. When the committee’s proposition was about to be voted upon a filibuster was organized, the quorum of the Senate was broken and the question is still in the air. During the debate Mr. Chandler delivered a sensational speech, in which he charged that the Government had been defrauded in the adoption of the HarveyizM armor. He declared a similar fraud was proposed in the attempt to force the -Government to adopt the Krupp armor. Mr. Spooner and Mr. Hale made notable speeches deprecating the war talk Friday by Mr. Lodge. Neither the Senator from Wisconsin nor the Senator from Maine was fearful that we might become mvolved in difficulty with Germany on account of the Monroe doctrine. Mr. Hoar protested against the “wretched imperialistic business” and the talk that this nation had only recently become a “world power,” asserting that it had been a world power since the war of 1812. , The Senate on Monday passed naval appropriation and “free homes” hills. The House passed the general deficiency appropriation bill. The bill carried $3,839,021 and wa* passed substantially without amendment. The general debate was devoted principally to political topics, the feature being a severe arraignment of the administration by Mr. De Armond (Mo.). On Tuesday the Senate received the resignation of Mr. Clark of Montana. Devoted the rest of the day to consideration of the bill of Mr. Ross, providing for civil service in the country’s new island possessions, refusing, by a vote of 10 yeas to 35 nays, to indefinitely postpone the measure. The House sent to the Senate the military academy bill, the last of the general appropriation measures, and agreed that the bill providing a civil government for Alaska should next be taken up.

In the Senate on Wednesday Mr. Bacon spoke at length on his resolution directing the committee on relations with Cuba to make fen iuve»tigution of the conduct of financial affair* of the island. The following measures were passed: House bill repealing the provision of law allowing merchandise passing through the United State* from any foreign country to be transported free of duty, so far as the Mexican free zone is concerned; a resolution offered by Mr. Lodge calling upon the Secretary of the Treasury for information in regard to the influx of Japanese laborers into the country nnd whether there had been any violation of law; bill granting a pension of SIOO per month to the widow of Gen. Lawton; bill for the erection of a public building at East St. Louis. The House passed the Senate bill to Incorporate the American National Red Cross. No progress wa* made with the Alaskan code bill owing to the inability of the two irides to agree as to the time to be allowed for general debate. The conference report on the District of Columbia appropriation bill wa* returned after extended debate.