Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 68, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 April 1902 — Congress. [ARTICLE]

Congress.

In the Senate on Tuesday the Chinese exclusion bill occupied most of the time. The House bill legalizing manual of surveying instructions of the general land office was passed. The additional urgent deficiency appropriation bill was passed with a minor amendment. In the House an unsuccessful effort was made again by Mr. Payne to secure an agreement to limit the general debate on the Cuban reciprocity bill. When the House adjourned there remained thirty-five members who desire to speak. The debate during the day was without particular interest. The speakers were Messrs. Swanson (Va.) and White (Ky.) for the bill, and Messrs. S. W. Smith (Mich.), Dayton (W. Va.), Burgess (Texas), Meyer (La.) and Sutherland (Utah) against it. The Senate devoted Wednesday to consideration and final passage of the Chinese exclusion bill, .with several amendments. Mr. Lodge secured an agreement making the Philippine civil government bill the unfinished business. In the House the day was again occupied with discussion of the Cuban reciprocity bill.

Thursday in the Senate was mainly occupied by a speech by Mr. Morgan on the Nicaragua caanl bill. The resolutions offered by Mr. Culberson (Texas) directing the Secretary of War to send to the Senate a statement of money paid by the United States on account of the Philippine commission and a statement of the amount of money expended for sending troops to the Philippines and for their maintenance were agreed to. The Senate Chinese exclusion bill was substituted for the one passed by the House in order to facilitate consideration of the measure. In the House the opponents of the Cuban reciprocity bill occupied most of the day, the feature being a vigorous speech by Mr. Cushman (Rep., Wash.) against the measure. Mr. De Arrnond (Mo.) delivered a forcible speech in favor of tariff reduction on trust articles. The other speakers were Messrs. Pierce (Tenn.), Douglass (N. Y.) and Lacey (Iowa) for the bill and NJessrs. Jenkins (Wis.), Gaines (W. Va.), Warner (III.), Gardner (Mich.), Jonds (Wash.) and Loud (Cal.) against it. Mr. Loud declared that directly and indirectly Cuba already had cost the United States $1,000,000,000.

In the Senate on Friday consideration was begun of the bill temporarily to provide a form of government for the Philippine Islands. The measure was read and the committee amendments were agreed to tentatively, but no action on the bill was taken. Fifty-five private pension bills were passed, as were also bills ‘to ratify an agreement with the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Indians of the'Red Lake reservation, Minnesota, and appropriating $1,000,000 to carry the agreement into effect; to prevent any consular officer of the United States from accepting any appointment from any foreign State as administrator, guardian or to any other office or trust without first executing a bond with security to be approved by the Secretary of State; appropriating $60,000 for enlarging the public building at Kalamazoo, Mich., and provide a commission to obtain designs for a monument or memorial to Abraham Lincoln, nnd apropriating $25,000 for the purpose, the commission to consist of the chairman of the library committees of the House and Senate and the Secretary of War. The conference report upon the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bill was agreed to. The House devoted the day fd consideration and passage of the Cuban reciprocity bill, after adopting an amendment removing the differential on sugar.

In the Senate on Saturday the conference asked for by the House on the Chinese exclusion bill was agreed to and Messrs Platt (Conn.), Dillingham (Vt.) and Clay were Named as the Senate con- • ferees. Bills were passed granting permission for the erection of a monument" or statue in Washington in honor of the late Benjamin F. Stephenson, founder of the G. A. R.; to construe the dependent pension act of 1890 so as to include all persons who served ninety days during the Civil War and who were honorably discharged, but excluding those of the First, Second, Third, Fourth. Fifth and Sixth United States volunteer infantry who had prior service in the Confederate army or uacy; to increase the pensions of soldiers and sailors who have lost limbs in the service, and fiftyeight private pension bills. Mr. Gantble then called up the resolution expressive of the sorrow of the Senate at the death of Senator Kyle of South Dakota, and he and Messrs. Cockrell. Cullom, Morgan, Foraker, Nelson and Kittredge paid fitting tribute to his memory. In the House the fortification appropriation bill, which carries $6,5(12,455, was passed mid the conference report on the legislative appropriation bill agreed to. The former was amended so as to allow the purchase of the exclusive rights to use the high explosive thorite. A bill providing for two additional associate justices iu Oklahoma was also passed.