Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1886 — CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

CONGRESS.

What Is Being Done by the National Legislature. 1 i A bill appropriating 9250,000 for the relief of settlers in Nebraska and Kansas who have been deprivod of their lands by a prior grant to the Northern Kansas Railroad, and a biU allowing one or more officers of the army to accept temporary service under the Corean Gove mm nt, with compensation therefor, passed the Senate Feb. 24. The Senate also passed the bill permitting national banks to change by a vote of two-thirds of thoir shareholders, . and with the consent of the Comptroller of the Currenoy, their names, capital stock, and lo&ation, provided the location shall not be changed to another State nor to a place more than thirty miles distant from the original looation. The bill gave rise to considerable debate, during which Senator Beck (Ky.) insisted that the control of the matter should be given to the Secretary of the Treasury, instead of the Comptroller of the Currency. He charged past Comptrollers with having 8 mght to drive out of business every bank that was not a national bank. They had always done the work of the nationul banks, and when they, resign d they went into those banks. One of them had no sooner left the Government service than he became President of a national bank, and an—other became Vice President of a national bank, a The House passed the half-gallon tax bill without a division. Mr. Butt3rworth (Ohio) offered a substitute in the shape of a bill amending the Carlisle bill by requiring the minimum capacity of the packages into which spirits may be drawn to be thirty gallons instead of ten, but the substitute was rejected. The House passed also the bill to quiet the title of settlors cn the Des Moines River lands in lowa, and the bill annexing a portion of Idaho to tho Territory of Washington. The Committee on Public Lands reported favor ibly the bill forfeiting certain grants to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Mr. Murphy, of lowa, called up tho Hennepin Canal bill and mado a speech in its support. By means of the propos' d canal, he said, the wheat of six West urn .States co.iid be transported to the seaboard at a saving of six cents a bushel. If the canal were built the people of the Northwest would save enough in one year to build the canal two or three times over. The United States had formidable competitors in the Liverpool market, and if the rates of transportation were not reduced it would soon find itself without that market.

The bill granting lands in severalty to certain Indians passed the Senate Feb. 25. Mr. Edmunds introduced the bill reported last year from the Foreign Affairs Committee providing for the inspection of meats for exportation, prohibiting the importation of adulterated articles of food and drink, and authorizing the President jto prohibit by proclamation in his discretion products of countries unjustly discriminating against American products, Mr. Frye, from the Committee on Commerce, reported favorably the bill authorizing the construction of a bridge across the Staten Island Sound, known as Arthur Kill, and to establish the same as a post-rood. This is the measure in which the Baltimore * Ohio is interested in obtaining entrance into New York City, _ The Bland educational bill was debated. The House indulged in p, warm partisan debate over the pension Appropriation hill. Mr. Townshend, of Illinois, said that the hill appropriated 375,754,200, or about 315,000,000- more than was appropriated last year—a fact due to the accelerated work being done in the Pension Office. Mr. Henderson of lowa took issue with Mr. Townshend, declaring that the average appropriation for pensions in the last six years was 377,449,000. He then began a long partisan speech, in which he criticised the ’ letter of Commissioner Black on the subject of arrearages of pensions, which, ho said, had been telegraphed all over the country twentyfour hours before it was sent to the Appropriations Committee, “with a 393,000,001 lie in its Stomach.” Mr. Henderson defended ex-Com-missioner Dudley’s administration of the penslon office, and in speaking of the charges of partisanship Messrs. Warner, of Ohio, and. Randall, of Pennsylvania, replied briefly to Mr. Henderson. The former renewed the charges of partisanship and neglect of, duty to conduct political campaigns made against ex-Commissioner Dudley. Mr. Randall thought that the -Southern m embers had shown a wonderful, full-hearted disposition to pension veterans and widows of vet: runs. Mr. Browne, of Indiana, defended Mr. Dudley. The postoffice and military- academy approirriation bills were reported to the House. The latter appropriates $297,805, or 3114,270 loss than the estimates. The Hennepin Canal bill was up in the House again. Messrs. Murphy, of lowa, and Rowell, of Illinois, mode speeches in its support. Senator Mitchell, of Oregon, spoke in the Senate, on the 2Gth inst., in support of his antiChinese bill. The Blair educational bill was debated, after which tho Senate adjourned. The House had a lively session. Mr. Morrison, from the Committee on Rules, reported a resolution that a select committee of nine mombors be tippointed to inquire into the Pan-Electric telephone matter and report whether any‘officer of the Government has been improperly influenced. Mr. Gibson, of West Virginia, bitterly criticised Mr. Pulitzer, whom he accused of shrinking behind the columns of his newspaper to attack men instead of attacking them on tho floor of the House. Mr. Morrison said: “As a friend of the officer supposed to be most affected (if anybody is to lie affected by this investigation), having unlimited confidence in his honor and in his personal and official integrity', I want this resolution to pass and I want t.hiß investigation to go on.” Mr. Rogers, of Arkansas, welcomed tho resolution and hoped the investigation would be mado thorough and searching. Mr. Breekenridge. of Arkansas, said he was proud to call tho Attorney General his personal friend. He defended his course, declaring that his skirts were perfectly clear of any wrong-doing, and hoped the whole case would be investigated. The resolution was adopted without division. Mr. Burnes, of Missouri, from the Committoo on Appropriations, reported the immediate deficiency bill, and it waß referred to the committee of the whole. The House, at its evening session, passed twenty-eight pension bills.

Woi.fop.d, of Kentucky, who was a Colopcl in the Union army, made a speech in the House on the 27th ult, giving credit to the Southern members for voting for all the pensions asked. He then gave notice that he wbuld introduce a bill to give to every Confederate soldier in need of it an artificial leg or arm. Mr. Weaver, of Nebraska, discussed the silver question, and predicted that the effort of the money oligarchy, assisted by the Executive officers of the nation, to double the people's burdens and cripple the business of the country by the suspension of the silver coinage, would prove unsuccessful, now the attention of the people was attracted to the subject. He favored unlimited coinage, and assert*! that if the whole yield of the min' s was coined annually it would be twenty years before the per Capita circulation of the United States would be equal to that of France, and this ca'culatiou, he said, bud been made without taking into account any increase in the population of tho country. Mr. OandJer, of Georgia, submitted an Argument against the suspension of silver coinage, and contended that there was no sound basis for the prediction made by the “goldbugs" that the continued coinage of silver would have tho effect of driving gold out of the country, Mr. Clements, of Georgia, thought that the true test of the value of silver was not *tßo gold standard as established in countries where the value of gold had been enhanced by the demonetization of silver, bnt tho purchasing capacity < 1 silver. Tested by its purchasing capacity, silver was now worth, as much as it ever had been, and there was no ground for tho assertion that tho standard dollar; was a dishonest dollar. Mr. Jones, of Texas, advocated the free coinage of silver, and earnestly opposed the proposition to suspend the operation of tbo Bland act. Mr. Perkins, of Kansas, opposed the suspension of silver coinage, and denounced the demonetization of silver in 1873 as the dishonoring of American silver, and as bringing in its train business disasters, which had contlnnod nntil tho passage of the Bland act, in 1878. There was no session of the Senate.