New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-08
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CONGRESS AND ITS WORK.

| NONVhccC hNOliO WOhh.
| UNEXPECTED DEFEAT OF AN APPROPRIATION BILL
IN THE HoUsE-AN UNDIGNIFiED PERSONAL AT.
TACK IN THE sESATE-RRPoRr ON LAND GRANTS.
The defeat of the River and Harbor Appro-
piiatiOn bill in the House of Representatives
| yesterday is attributed not SO much to the
| Objectionable items it contained as to the
| absence Of those items which certain members
| wish to have inserted. Senator Butler made q
vituDerative speech against Senator COnkling,
from whom he is likely to hear at no distant
| date. a report on the land grants of the
Pacific Railways was received in the House
from tue Auditor of Railroad Accounts. The
Sixty Surgeons bill was defeated in the Senate.
DEFEAT OF THE RIVER AND HARBOR BILL.
MIXED MOTIVES WHICH MAY HAVE INFLUENCED
The MEMBERS OF TIE HOUSE-MR. REAGAN
AND THE ESTIMATES.
IBY TELEGRAPH To TKE TsIBUyE.l
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-THE Committee on Com
merce made the River aud lIarbor APPROPRIATION
bill very large, but not large enough to gain the
support OF twO-thirds of the members OF TIE House
of representatives who were present to-day. A
motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill was de-
fcated yea and nay vote the friends of the bill
lacking four votes of tho necessary twO-tbirds.
Fifty Republicans and thirty-six Democrats and
Grcenbackers voted against suspending the rules,
and slxty-twO Republicans and ninety-eight Demo-
Gratis and Greenbackers voted in favor of suspend,
ing the rules
The result of the vote surprise to the friends
of the bill and completely demOralizcd them
Speaker Randall went at least as far as parliament.
arg law and proprety would allow in his efforts to
secure the passage of the bill. When the result OF
the tally was handed to him he hesitated to an.
nounce it, evidently hoping that enough members
would change their votes to carry the bill. Mr..
Harris of Virginia. and Messrs. Keifer and McKin;
ley of OHIO, did change their votes from no to yes
but these were not enough to alter the result. Mr..
Randall hestated until murmurs from all parts Of
the House admonished him that he must do his dnty
he then reluctantly declared the motion lost.
The proceedings, before the vote was taken.
showed that good many members are becoming
ashamed of the cowardly manner in which the River
and Harbor bill has been rushed through from year
to year. To-day, as a concession to this feeling
thirty minutes aIowedfor debate to be equally
divided between the friends aud opponents of tho
bill In Mr. Cox's lively speech against the measure
he sarcastcally commented upon this liberal allow
| ance of time to oppose a bill which appropriates
more than $4,000 000 1t was at the rate he said,
of nearly minute to twothirds of million dollars
Mr. Cox's speech contained several telling points,
aud during its delivery the seats on the Republican
side emptied into the area in front OF
the Speakers desk and into the aises on the
| Democratic side of the chamber. Mr.. Cox called
attention to the fact that the members Of the Com
mittee on Commerce had provided literally fer
| their respective States for of the whole amount
recommended to be appropriated, considerably more
than one-half for the States which have repre-
| sentatives on the committee. The House was so
much entertained by Mr.. Cox that he was allowed
a. ~ lie Gx-a min
stipulated time on condition that the friends of the
| bill should also have an additional FIVE minutes,
Thus it happened that the unprecedented time OF
\ forty minutes was allowed Tor the discussion OF au
| appropriation bill which calls for $I0.179.000.
! The friends of the bill used only one argument in
its favor. Several times it repeated that unless
the bill should be passed to-day it could not be
passed before the 21st of February, and that that
would endanger its passage by the Senate on ac-
count of the nearness of the end of the session. It
did not occur to any friend of the bill that
it can be passed by the House except under the
gag rule by two-thirds vote. There is reason
why it cannot be taken up at any time and treated
precisely like another BILL except the fear Of Con-
gressmen that some of their pet schemes will not
bear open discussion, unless it be fear that the
bill will be increased to so appalling figure that
nobody will dare to vote for it at last. Every Con-
gressman who has creek in his "deestrict" would
shudder at the mere mention of such contingency
as that.
As Chairman Reagan took occasion several times
to-day to assert that the amount recommended bv
the committee is less than the estimates of the War
Department it is only fair to repeat that the amount
to be appropriated according to the bill is more than
So 900 900 greater than the estimates Of the Sec.
retary of War. The report accompanying the bill
contains the following paragraph:
frornf fha
s26 100000 aud the committee had the d cult duty to
priated b~ t6s bill So far below the amount Of the
mates submitted to them
year ending June 80, 1882. in bold. clear type ap,
pears the following entry: Total Harbors and
Rivers River $500 900" It is true that the recon-;
mendations of the engineers amounted to good
deal more; but as in the case OF every depart
ment the recommendations of subordinate
officers were revised and greatly reduced by
bers of the Committee on Commerce
would be the last men In Congress to go behind
the estimates of the Secretary OF the treasury or OF
any other Department, and, accept the amount
recommended by subordinates. 1t Is not done IN any
other matter of expenditure in the war Depart
ment-as the FOrtltcatons bill. the Army bill. ETC.
Perhaps Mr. Reagan did not intend to deceive tho
House and the country by what he said. but such
would be tho natural effect of his language.
After ado irnment Mr.. Reagan remarked that the
bill was defeated not because 1t appropriated so
much money, but because q number OF members
not satisfied with the appr0prlationSior ior tuer
districts. Few men voted against the bill as mat,
ter of principle he sad He Is willing 70 let the Dill
rest now until members 'have heard from their
constituency Mr. Reagan thinks the failure to
pass the River aud Harbor bill would be calamity
that would cause grefand arouse indignation from
one end of the country to the other" He has not
vet made up his mind as to what u will be b"r' to
do next after the reverse of to-day.
A GENTLEMAN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
AN INTEMpERArE SPEECH BY SENATOR BUTLER
HIS CHAsTIsEMENT POSTPONED.
iBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7.-If the signs are not mis-