Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1898 — CONGRESS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CONGRESS

Monday was District of Columbia day in the House, but only three bills of local importance were passed. The remainder of the session was devoted to further consideration of the army appropriation bill. The debate was particularly notable for & vigorous speech by Mr. McClellan of New York, a sou of Gen. Geprge B. McClellan,attacking the present army organization as obsolete and inefficient. Mr. Lewis of Washington, also made a speech that attracted attention, in denunciation of trusts, which, he declared, were threatening, the liberties of the cou fifty. The consideration of the army appropriation bill was not completed. Quite unexpectedly Senator Hanna appeared at the opening session in the Senate. Mr. Foraker, the senior Senator-from Ohio, presented Mr. Hanna’s credentials for the remainder of Mr. Sherman’s term, which will expire March 4, 1899, and asked that the oath of office be administered to him. Mr. Foraker escorted his colleague to the desk, where Vice-President Hobart administered the oath. Senator Wolcott delivered a speech explaining the work of the bimetallic commission. ' By a vote of 45 to 28 the immigration bill was passed. The rest of the' day was devoted to consideration of bills on the calendar. Cuba had a hearing in the House on Tuesday, and for a time it looked as if parliamentary precedents would .be set aside and the Senate resolution recognizing the insurgents as belligerents would be attached as a rider to the diplomatic and consular appropriation bill. Mr. De Armond, a Missouri Democrat, precipitated the Issue by offering the resolution as an amendment, but a- point of order against it was sustained. “Mr. De Armoud appealed, urging the Republicans who had professed friendship for the , struggling Cubans to override the decision of the chair as the only chance of •securing action on the proposition. Mr. Bailey, the leader of the minority, and other Democrats joined in the appeal. The excitement became intense, but the appeals of Mr. Dingley, the floor lender of the majority, as well as other Republican leaders, to their associates not to join in the program, succeeded. Before the diplpmatic bill came up the army bill was passed. In the Senate practically the only business accomplished was the-passing of the urgent deficiency appropriation bill. All day long on Wednesday the question of granting belligerent rights to the Cuban insurgents was argued in the House, but the minority hurled itself against a stone wall. On the only vote taken—a motion designed to overrule the- decision of the speaker and direct the Committee on Foreign Affairs to report without further delay the Cuban resolution passed by the Senate at the last session—the Republicans stood solid and voted to sustain the chair. In the Senate a joint resolution providing for the appointment of a commission to make a survey of a ship canal from the lower part of Lake Michigan to the Wabash river was offered by Mr. Turpie (Ind.) and referred to the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Chandler presented and secured the passage of a resolution directing the Committee on interstate Commerce to inquire whether the fund provided for in rules 10 and 17 of the Joint Traffic Association is lawfully in existence; to examine the defails of its expenditure, as to whether or not it had been expended for lawful purposes, and whether any illegal or improper use of the funds could be prohibited and punished by law.

On Thursday the consular and diplomatic appropriation bill was passed by the House'after a day of debate on the Cuban question. Mr. Dingley made a speech relative to wage reductions in the cotton industry, in which lie showed that the tariff question has nothing to do with them. In the Senate Mr. Teller’s resolution that bonds be paid in silver as well as gold was taken up by a vote of 41 to 25, and, after debate, was made unfinished business. Mr. Pettigrew secured... the passage of a resolution directing the Secretary of the Interior and the Attorney General to inform the Senate what the Government had taken concerning the killing of a woman in Oklahoma territory by Seminole Indians and the burning of two Seminole Indians in the same territory. The resolution inquiring of the Postmaster General what action was necessary to maintain the excellence of the postal free delivery service was agreed to. Mr. Tillman's resolution extending the authority of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee relative to the investigation of the giving by railroads of transportation for any other consideration than cash was also passed. In the House on Friday there was a parliamentary struggle over iho lull for the relief of the book publishing company of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. By shrewd maneuvering its opponents succeeded in preventing action. Previous to the consideration of this Dili the House passed the bill to extend the public land laws of the United States to the territory of Alaska and to grant a general railroad right of way through the territory. The urgent deficiency bill was sent to conference after the silver forces, with some outside aid, bad succeeded in concurring in the Senate amendment striking from the bill the provision requiring the depositors of bullion at Government assay offices to pay the cost of transportation to the mints. In the Senate the resolution of Mr. Allen asking the Secretary of tin* Interior for papers concerning the dismissal from tin* pension office of Mrs. M, K. Roberts was referred to the Committee on Civil Service and Retronchtju'iit. after considerable debate. The Senate spent most of the day in executive session. *