The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-04-03
CONGRESSIONAL.
WHAT WAS DOsE IN THE NATIONAL
LEGISLATURE YESTERDAY.
The senate.

tbs Comnittee on Military Affairs. rtpOrleu inc
tents. ETC.. for the soldiers' fe"nion al Maf1en
o., in Septsmb r, 1878 Placed on the calendar.
ME- from me tha lame ." John
n. Goodhure. for res Grafton to his rank In the
army Indefinitely postponed. .,u
uftiOns OF war to the Washington Assoc iation
Of New Jersey; referred to the COMMITTEE on
On motion Of M. Edr unds the resolution to
transfer to the State Department. for 7afe-keap-
ing. sbe records OF the commission on the cleo
On motion OF NJ. Plumb ths bill for the relief
OF Thos J. Choate and others, late priivates In
Company H. Third Arkansas Cavalry. was
onmotion Of Mr.. G,ckrell the bill for the re-
lief OF VIM, L. Hackman. OF Missouri. was
M Burnside called u the special order, the
bill TO remove ,.ll RESTRICT ms now existing 10
regard to enltstmnnts Of he coiored citiz ,ns in
any arm OF the United States army.
4wo sections In tho Il vsed statutes that placed
restrictions upon ' NE Ga lstmeqt Of col9red
proposed a. sub. tut, for the biz provision
tRs passage Of ihe bin as removing from
the army restrictions that had been
removed from every other branch Of The Scr
vice. They had In the Senate a enor,d man
With whom AL were eiad to assoc a he was
should send a colored y major He saw no
good reassn why there should b. any discrimi-
composer wholly OF whites. nor requiring regi-
ments now made colored regiments to be COM
posed wholly Of colored men. ;,
Mr.. Maxey said II WAS tn duty OF the recruit
ing officers to take the b g material they could
obtain for the army. II the best men were. col,
ored the army would be composed OF colored
men. If the whites were the best men then the
army would b. white. He believed that the Of
feet would be to make the four regiments now
composed Of eoored men become gradually
composed of white men, and for this reason he
favored the bi 1.
Mr.. Allison thought the amendment =, was ps
M. Maxey and he asked ii that was what Mr.
Mr.. Burnside said that under the law colored
men could not be enlisted in the engineer corps
or In the artillery. AID white men could not be
enlisted In the regiments d. signated as colored
regiments; He desired TO have the army open
Some diff renee Of opinion having arisen as
to the construction OF the proposed amend
ment, and the morning hour having expired.
the senate resumed the consideration Of the
Pacific railro d funding b. Ii, which came up as
unfinished business.
Of the bill ON the judiciary Committee. He
insisted that the right to amend Was valid. aud
the distribution Of the money OF the road and
the semf-Hnnual increHSe OF their ind bted ness
to the government was not q fufillment OF the
contract. 1t was the intention of the law that
the large income OF the road should be- applied
in part to the payment Of their homes BITS
The bill proposed no change In the contract.
but rather to secure tho faithful performance
At The expiration Of twenty years the act pro-
vidad that ~ least per cent of the net earnings
should b. applied to the aym.nt Il he govern.
meDt. This did not forbid Il larger amount
from being required. No. benefit had been d.
rived from the construction OF the roads. but
these benefits were he inducements that led to
He believed it would be better in the long run
Tor the stockholders to receive smaller divi
large dividends. Ii the frien Is Of thu railroads
consulted their true inter,sts they would not
seek the passage Of the bill reported from the
Committee on Railroads.
Mr.. Thurman gave notice of an amendment
to the pending bill making the first mortgage
bonds one OF the class of secJt tiles in which the
sinking fund proposed to be created may be- in
vested
amendment was adopted. in case the bonds
should be stolen, as In the case Of the Indian
Trust bonds. la the Interior Department, some
Mr.. Thurman said the Democrats would be In
power In 1881, and then there would be no trou-
Bile about bonds being stolen;
Mr.. Blaine said 1t was when the Senator's
party was In power that the Indian bonds were
stolen. 1t was the recollection of this fact that
NJ ThnrmAe ' said hat the managers of the
roads say that, II permitted to create their own
sinking fund, they gould make It pay higher
could do so with safety. but they might not be
there twenty years hence. and, under new
management. The bonds might take wings and
ment should be the custodian Of the fund.- but
there was not shade OF equity. in relation to
this difference OF profit on the fluid. that the
company. II perm tilted to control it. could make.
He thought this fmnd might be turned into the
Treasury as The Naval Pension fund and Gene
Mr.. Blaine said for the fifteen. years he had
been In Congress the Pacific Railroads had
He had an ambiion to survive the leg station,
but under the bill proposed here was no fnalty
OF settlement. Would 1t not be better TO say 10
the roads what was required OF them aud then
So long as these subjects could be brought
tail to the kite Of Wall street Legislation was vas
market IN New York: He did not think it cor
that 80 long as the roads comply with the pro
visions OF the acts OF 1856. and 1864 and Of this
act. It shall be taken as full performance of
Its obligations rs to the sinking fund. Let
something be done to keep this from being u
running sore for the next fifteen or twenty
Mr.. Thurman said expe fence was the answer
to the Senator. from Maine During the two
years this subject had teen befo' g the Senate
roads. He had seen lobbyists of the roads in
the. committee rooms. in the co ridors In the
galleries. on the floor, and at the houses Of
twenty, years he wanted quite a differeDt bi
from this. He would much prefer to let tn T.
law i stand as It is than to ,ie up the hands Of
Mr.. Edmunds argued that the position Of the
government WAS not as an antagonist but u.s. au
impartial tribunal which should Judge and de.
eide from time to time HIS different questions
arise. 1t might be that the business of the
roads should DO 80 condu't ted that it would be
the duty Of Congress h reafter to reqlire them
to do more. aud different from VIII It they do /
now. As had been said by the Senator from
Ohio Mr.. ThurmaD). here had been no pres
sureof private intare- Is on Congress against /
thpsecor porations. He had heard Of fifty cents
q line being paid for editorials in newspapers
TO infuence legislation. AID he supposed a
higher rate was paid now. What is WIS costing
now. they would find out before they got
Mr.. Sargent referred TO the obstacles encoun /
tered under the Hrt Of 1862 and the doubling of
the land grant In 1864 IS further inducement |
e the Investment OF capital in the enterprise. |
he asked IL any one would claim thai tn" gov
ernment should have taken back the extra land I
granted. after they had got their money in or I
that the security of the first mortgage bonds
could be made secondary to the government
Donos. The princiile and equity of the several .
provisions of the bill were the same ana what /
applied to the lands and the bonds applied to
t 4