New-York tribune., 1869-01-20
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.

Mr. WOOD Dcm,N " presented remonstrance Of
merchants and Others Of Albany " " against additional
duty steel
Mr.. JONES Dem, KY presented petition of copper
disers in the Sixth Dstrictiof Kentucky for repeal
or modification Of certain sections Of the Internal Rev
Mr. PAINE 1,ep Wis., called the attention Of the
House a letter received by him from the AdJutaHt
General OF the Army, in response TO resolution calling
for information 10 the number OF enlisted men now
serving in Virginia Texas ana MISSISSIPPI VINO Iad bech
citizens residents Of the Southern states or had served
in the Rebel army The Adluiant General states that
there no means Of procuring the Information except by
individual inquiry. Under these circumstances Mr..
Paine asked that the resolution be rcScnded' which was
Mr.. ROBINSON Dem, Y " cndeavored TO get the
foOr might ofer resolution giving the use Of
the Hall of the HOuse TO George Francis Irain but the
regular order OF business was insisted on.
COMMISSIONER wELLs's REPORT
Mr. Ella Qscp y. h, from the Committee on Printing,
reported resolution for ne printing OF 2o,W ropes OF
the report Of the Special Commissioner Of the Revenue
with appendix FOR the use OF the House. ana 100000
bound copies for the Treasury department.
MT KELLEY lRep., PENN dd not think that that re-
port should such Endorsement lie did not
how the American Congress could send such report
broadcast over the country. IL report fun OF
figures and 20 ingel0usy magsbaled ana prepared that
might suppose that II had been prepared specially 10
show the peSent character OF that most false and dan
gerous OF all the ahoiss hl9 IOnes III thc EnRs lah
guaCe, namely that figures DO not he. They were so
marshaed tc report to lead TO conclusions false
deusve and damaging to The country, ana damaging
especially 10 that Congress which haQ carried the country
through the great struggle which had Just closed. lie
did not mean To say that the figures embodied ~ were
in themselves false but he did mean 10 say that they
clusiOns utterly ~ variance WIN iact iaihar 10 an
The gentleman who had furnished the figures and made
the calculations had doubtless done his duty fairly but
the Commissioner who had selected his materials and
marshaed them had done with a View Of leading
Congress and the country TO establish opinion from
the facts but ~ advocate fayOrite theory Of
his own, which is at variance with the true inter
report true, their good conscience required the
American Congress notify the labOrng people OF the
coming this country. II this report true IN its
deductions, then il was fraud and a wrong on human
IN inv l1 a fH
come TO the United States It's thesis that Congress
had so egslated that while wealth was accumuating
more rapnly than any other land or age the poor
steadily growing poorer, and the rich richer that
there wide, yawning gulf between poverty aud
and his family could not live well on his earnings
he could in 1900 If that then the country
such as the world lad never seen In reutaton OF the
Special Commissioners deductions, Mr. Kelley referred
10 the statistics OF building in Washington and Pmade
pha iii 1861 and 1863 the number OF new houses built in
Philadelphia having been 1873 III 1861 aud 1856 in 1868;
also 10 the increase OF Savings Banks deposits Phl-
depha, Maine, New Hampshire Massachusetts and Con-
necticut. The increase in Massachusetts, being from
fOrty-hve millions in 1860, TO siXtyseven millions 1866
in Rhode Island from eight millions in sCO TO seventeen
millions in 1865 and in Connecticut from eighteen mil
lions 10 thrtyone millions lie would therefore say TO
every goodookng bigheared girl and her lover the
other SIDE that IL they want to come to country in
which they may prosper the warning OF the special Com
missioner Of the Revenue is false and fraudulent and that
they may safely come to country IN which the morals
of the working people arood because their condition is
prosperous.
NJ GARFIELD rep, Ohio expressed great surprise
at the position taken by the gentleman from Pennsylya
MA If he was really seroas about IT, The proposition
Itself was most damaging admission, but the gentleman
from in his place and asked that the
report should not be printed admitting however that
the Iacts stated were generally correct ana the tables ae
curae ana true, but that the marshang OF them was
dangerous Inat was humating admission, III which
he sir Garfeld would take part. IL seemed to HIM
That the gentleman (Mr Kelley had given away
| his case when he started out by admitting
the the general correctness of tile figures
The objection was contained In q single paragraph
page To- stating that the cost OF living food clothing and
shelter OF families IN this country per cent higher
than u was the year before the war; while the wages OF
uhskled labor had Increased only per cent and OF
sed labor 60 per cent Was Congress refuse print
lat tact because II might not square with its theories
But TINS was no new thing lie had stated in speech in
the House last May that the of living had gone up
~ per cent ana wages had gone up only per cent He
read an extract from New York paper TO the effect that
houses coal hour butter milk eggs &C. were no better
now thah they were two years ago whle their
vastly geater 80 much greater In fact that
eNtOtuOnate ana tue absolute nccessares life beyond
the reach OF thousands IN that city. Taking OF Mr.
kceys contrast OF 1861 and 1868 Mr. Garfield asked
where were abOr strikes In 1861 Now labor strikes were
numerous All over the country exhibiting unsettled
and unsatisfactory condition Of labor As TO savings
banks and the Increase OF their deposits that fact was
attributable 10 state OF things very opposite from the
deduction which the gentleman from Pennsylvania drew
rom IT, IL meant That In the unsatisfactory OF the
currency ana VI business generally not invest