Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 January 1901 — Congress. [ARTICLE]

Congress.

The Senate devoted Saturday to the army reorganization bill, adopting,all the committee amendments to which there was no objection. Mr. Pettigrew adopted filibustering tactics to delay legislation. In the House debate upon the reapportionment biil occupied the entire session. The Senate devoted Tuesday to debate on the army reorganization bill, killing by a vote of 43 to 5 the provision for a veterinary corps. In the House debate upon she reapportionment bill occupied the day.

In the Senate Tuesday was occupied by discussion of committee amendment restoring canteen provision in army reorganization bill. Amednment supported by Messrs. Sewell, Hawley, Money and Carter and opposed by Messrs. Gallinger and Hansbrough. The arguments on each side were along the customary lines, opponents of the amendment asserting the conteen led to drunkenness, immorality and consequent lack of discipline, while its advocates declared the post exchange promoted discipline and good order in the army, as well as reduced drunkenness to a minimum. The House by vote of 165 to 102 passed Burleigh reapportionment bill, which increases House membership from 357 to 386. The Senate on Wednesday, by a vote of 34 to 15, concurred jn House provision in army reorganization bill abolishing the army canteen. Referred House reapportionment bill to committee on census. The House devoted the day to consideration of river and harbor bill, but made little progress. The assaults upon the river and harbor appropriation bill, which were begun the previous day in the House in a speech delivered by Representative Corliss of Michigan, were continued with vindictive emphasis Thursday afternoon. Representatives Grosvenor, Hepburn and Cushman were the principal members who spoke in opposition. Mr. Hill of Connecticut announced the death of Representative Frank G. Clarke of New Hampshire and at 4 o’clock the House adjourned. Considerable progress was made by the Senate with the army reorganization bill, but the final vote upon the measure seemed to be still far off. An appeal was presented by Mr. Teller of Colorado from more than 2,000 persons in Manila urging the United States government to cease its operations against the Filipinos. The appeal is sensational in its statements and so, unusual in form that Mr. Hawley of Connecticut made a vigorous objection to its publication as a document.

The Burleigh reapportionment bill will probably become a law within ten days. The Senate committee on census reported the measure favorably without a dissenting vote and the Senate late Friday afternoon passed the bill as it came from the House. A House of Representatives of 386 members, twenty-nine more than there are iu the House at present, is the meaning of the reapportionment measure. Not since the Fifty-first Congress has the House passed as many private pension bills at a single sitting as it did Friday. In all 170 special pension bills were passed at the session. The most important was one to increase the pension of Gen. Americus V. Rice from $36 to SIOO. Gen. Rice was wounded several times during the Civil War and lost a leg at Vicksburg. He was formerly a member of Congress from Ohio and was the author of the arrearages of pension act. The Senate had passed a bill to increase his pension to S6O and the House raised the amount to SIOO. Representative Loud of California, from the postaffice committee, reported to the House a hill revising and codifying the postal laws. No radical changes in existing laws are proposed in the bill. The Senate bill relating to the accounts of United States marshals and clerks of the district courts of Utah was passed. The Senate devoted Saturday to eulogies of the late Senator Davis of’Minnesota. In the House the river and harbor bill again occupied nearly all the session.