Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1903 — CONGRFSS [ARTICLE]

CONGRFSS

The time in the Senate Friday was largely occupied by discussion of the Isthmian canal question, the resolution introduced by Mr. Morgan calling on the Secretary of the Navy for correspondence regarding the military occupation of the bays of Panama and Colon being under debate in both open and secret session. A conference was agreed to on the general staff bill, and Messrs. Cockrell, Quarles and Foraker were appointed conferees. A Senate bill was passed incorporating in the District of Columbia the American Academy In Rome, the object being to establish and maintain an institution to promote the study and practice of the fine arts and to aid and stimulate the education and training of architects, painters, sculptors and other artists. In the House the day devoted to general debate on the anti-trust bill. Mr. Foss (III.) reported the naval appropriation bill. Tlie again Saturday claimed the greater share of the Senate’s attention. Mr. Kean continued hut did not conclude his speech on that subject, and toward the close of the day there was a general debate on the allegation of the opposition to the bill that it does not contain sufficient safeguards against polygamy. A large number of bills to which there was no objection were passed during the day. By a unanimous vote —24.1 to o—the0 —the House passed the antitrust bill. The closing chapter was devoid of excitement. For three hours tiie Democrats offered a scries of amendments designed to “teeth” in the bill, but they were either ruled out of order or voted down by a strict party vote. On only one vote were the political ranks broken. It was on an amendment offered by Mr. Thomas (Hep., lowal to make the filing of returns incumbent upon all corporations mandatory. On that amendment seven Republicans voted with tiie Democrats. Mr. Carmack spoke in the Senate on Monday on the Rawlins resolution calling <'ii the Secretary o.f War to send to Congress the records of certain courts-mar-tial. He charged that murders in the Philippines by American soldiers had become so common that they would not bear investigation. Mr. Keg-x spoke on the statehood hill for a short time, when he yielded to various Senators who indulged in debate over the question of the influence of the Mormon church in politics. Mr. Elkin* also spoke at length in defense of the claims of New Mexico to statehood. The House spent practically the entire day upon two District of Columbia bills, one authorizing the government to advance $0,000,000 to the District, and the other to conference report on the Union station bilk The former was defeated, and the latter sent back to conference, after a motion to recede from the amendment of flip House to cut down tiie appropriation to tiie Pennsvlvnnia and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads from $1,500,000 to $1,000,000 had been voted down. The statehood bill again eatne up in the Senate Tuesday, and Mr. Morgan spoke on it for some time. He referred to bills regarding trusts, which lie said have been kept back, and will be kept back until it is too late for discussion regarding them. The time of the Senate was being wasted on account of what he termed "a peaceful political blockade” on the statehood bill, when more important measures were awaiting action. Mr. Hanna presented the conference report on the Department of Commerce bill, a final vote on it being deferred until Wednesday in order that it might be printed. The conference report on tiie general staff bill was agreed to. The conference report on the Department of Commerce bill was adopted in the? House by a vote of 211 to 10. The remainder of the day was devoted to the sundry civil appropriation bill. A feature of the debate was a speech by I>e Armoud (Mo.) <n the Hanna bill to pension ex-slaves. He spoke in a sarcastic vein, but the subject assumed a serious phase when Mr. Richardson (Tent).i said ndventurers in tiie South were using the bill to impose on ignorant, credulous negroes, and called on Mr. Cannon to give assurance that the passage of such a measure was not contemplated. This assurance Mr. Cannon gave. Mr. Hanna called up the conference report on the Department of Commerce bill in the Senate on Wednesday, am! it was agreed to without debate. Mr. Morgan almost immediately after tiie opening of tiie session resumed bis remarks on the statehood bill, but branched off on the subject of the proposed troatv with Colombia. ,Mr. Depew spoke in opposition to the statehood bill. He did not conclude ids speech. The Senate then went Into executive session and ratified the Alaskan treaty. The House made fair progress with the sundry eivil api*opriation hill, covering eighty six of the 150 pages of the bill. The amendments for tiie completion of the east front of tiie capitol, and the erection of an office building for members, were adopted, points of order raised against them being overcome by the adoption of a special rule making them in order. By the terms of amendments SIOO,OOO is appropriated for work on the main building of the capitol, and a limit of $2,1OO.()0O is fixed. For a site for a new office building $710,000 is appropriated. The c>'St of the building is to la- $3,100,009. Mr. Grosvenor from the Ways and Means Committee, culled up the bill to nnu nd the Diugley act so as to admit free of duty domestic animals for breeding purposes. It was passed.