The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-12-18
CONGRESSIONAL,

Our Iowa members in the House
have already introduced several bills.
Mr. McCrary has introduced Joint
resolution concerning information al
arbitration, and another proposing q
Constitutional Amendment; also q
bill to change the time of hslding
certain U. S. District Courts in Iowa,
and another to regulate commerce by
railroads among the several States.
Mr.. Cotton has introduced bill for
the extension of the letter carrier
system to all cities having a popula'
ton of ten thousand or over within
the deliveay of their postoffices.
Judge Loughridge has introduced a
bill to complete the James River and
Kanawha Canal; also a bill to in.
crease pensions to soldiers who have
lost leg or an eye; Mr.. Donnan a
bill to afford cheap transportation by
way OF the great lakes; Mr.. Orr to
authorize the issue of swamp.
land indemnity certificates and their
location by actual settlers. All of
these bills which have reference to
transportation were referred to the
Committee on Railways and Canals,
McCrary, of Iowa, Chairman. All
bills of similar character, have also,
after lengthy discussion. as to proper
reference, been referred to the same
Committee. While this discussion
was in progress, several members
wishing them referred to the Com
mittre on Commerce, the Speaker
| called the attention of the House to
the fact that the committee on Rail-
ways and Canals was organized es-
pecially to take charge Of the mat
tiers relating to Railways, and ex.
pressed the opinion that was the
proper Committee for this and SINH.
lar bills to be referred to. The House,
after this statement by the Speaker,
acquiesced in the opinion, and all
bills involving the question of cheap
transportation will now go to Nc
Crary's Committee. This decision
makes that Committee the most i'm
portant and the most responsible in
that body, so far as the West is
concerned.
In tbe Senate on Monday Judge
Wright, of this State, in his speech
in favor of the salary bill, summed
up in conclusion as to the present
most imperative duties of Congress
as follows:
"He said that what the country
wants is men who are not for sale;
men who are sound from center to
circumference, who have courage
without whistling to bring it; who
eat what they have earned and wear
what they have paid for. With such
men high or low salaries made little
difference. He favored liberal
compensation, but thought that al
lowed before the increase was suffi-
cient, and it was best now to fix the
salaries as they were before. To
retrace their steps at the earliest
practicable moment was the easiest
way to rectify an objectionable blum
der. He denounced the manner by
which the salaries were increased as
most vicious and defenseless-tacked
to an appropriation bill where the
Executive could not veto it without
stopping the wheels of the govern.
ment. He had no doubt that this
was the cause of the recommendation
of the President in his late message
that he be allowed at the close of
the session to vote one portion of
bill without defeating the whole of
it. In conclusion, he called upon
the great Republican party to retrace
its steps on the salary bill, and satisfy
the people that the party was true
to its promise. No party in SO few
years had made such grand record,
and it could we'll and consistently
afford to retrace its steps. He de-
sired that the avenues of trade be
opened by giving cheaper transpor-
tation to the products of the great
West, and the people should have an
abundance of currency to meet the
demands of business.
A. III. Stevens, of Georgia, in the
House, favored making the salaries
of Congressman $4,000, Senators
$4,000, Supreme Judges S25, 700
and President 100000. The old
V. p. of the Southern Confedeaacy,
is about played out. He has to be
supported to aud from his seat in
Congress-, and when he made his
speech supported himself on
crutches. There was time that we
hoped never to hear of q rebel in
Congress again, but the present one
is pretty thickly studded with such.
MIR. Orth moved to recommit the
salary bill to select committee with
instructions to report bill repeating
the whole salary law passed by the
last Congress, and to fix the com.
pensation of the present Congress at
the rate paid the 4lst Congress, and
restoring all other salaries as before.
Among the bills introduced into
the House on Monday were Mr..
Poland's Geneva Award bill, Mr..
Cox's Resumption bill-the first of
the session on this subject-Mr. But
ler's bill to restore pensions to
soldiers of 1912 and of the Mexican
war who forfeited them by taking
part in the Rebellion, Mr.. Monroe 8
$25, 100000 additional National
Bank Circulation bill, Mr.. Beck g
bill to repeal the public credit act OF
1865, which declared the principal
and interest of the public debt to be
payable In gold, and about score OF
bills to restore the free exchange OF
newspapers and their free circulation.