The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-08-04
The Vetoed Bill.
How It Was Passed Over the Objections
of the President.

washington Correspondence Boston Herald.)
The river and harbor bill is a law tonight
without the Presidents signature. The two
houses By two-thirds majority, converted the
bill into law, the Presidents objections to
the contrary Notwithstanding, and now every
body is satisfied, if everybody is to be believed.
The members of the commerce committee of
the two houses, and all other friends of the
BILL fairly beam with satisfaction. They have
received the oil of joy for the ashes of mourn
ing, and after their little celebrations are over
will sleep as soundly tonight as they slept rest
iessly last night. Each man has gotten back
again the handful that he snatched from the
glitteripg pile in the treasury vaults and feels
pretty sure that he will have less difficulty in
keeping it than he had in getting it. Then
there is the strong minority, which came so
near beating the bill. 1t is satisfied with hav-
ing put the President and Congress distinctly
on record, and especially with having gotten
in its own disapprobation of the big steal. The
President is said to be satisfied with having
presented his protest against the wasteful ex-
trayagance of the bill in accordance with pop
ular sentiment to the representatives of the
people on the bill. He has placed his opinion
on record, and can accomplish just as much
now, if he chooses, in the direction of prevent
ing.
EXTRAvAGANT EXPENDITURES
under this bill as he could if the two houses
had failed to pass the bill over the veto. The
minority derives some satisfaction from this
latter consideration as WE'LL The majority,
however, is quite confident that after all the
hard work and hard fighting it will not be
euchred out of the appropriations which have
cost so much in the way OF effort by an exer-
else of executive discretion. A man, for in
stance, like that member OF the commerce
committee, one OF many, VINO forgot 70 eat or
sieep last night in his anxiety for the bill, and
who worked from early morning until the
speaker announced the result, like the tradi-
tional Trojan, in the effort to save the bill,
does not propose to have his handful OF gold
put back in the treasury pile by the tinical
ideas of President SO fastidious as to see all
sorts of Objectionable schemes and jobs in the
best river and harbor bill eyer brought into
the House. If the President should determine,
as some of his friends think, not to expend any
of the appropriations which he deems improper
he will have to fight from now until next
winter to maintain that position. Some OF
these representatives of the people fight for
these river and harbor grabs like hungry
wolves for meat; and they do not propose to be
baked by anybody. The President, however,
has shown, in vetoing the river and harbor
bill, despite the tremendous pressure upon
him night and day to sign it, that he possesses
convictions and the courage OF them. Ii he
makes up his mind not to expend any money
for Cheesequake Creek whose exact locality
no man knoweth, and the upper Arkansas,
which drove of Texas cattle will drink up in
half hour, he will probably stick to 1t, de.
spite the importantly of the representatives OF
those great streams. Those members who ex-
hihited last night such tender solicitude for
the future political
WELFARE OF PRESIDENT ARTHUR
and of the party that made him President, are
little less solicitous tonight. They agree that
Arthur has irreparably injured himself in the
West and South, but they don't know but that
the party may pull through after all. They
agree that Conkling and Arthur, and they
usually link the two together, will suffer Sc
verely yet for obeying what they termed the
fossilized sentiment Of the effete East, rather
than to heed the pleadings OF the great and
growing West. This is a strictly non-Dartisan
measure, for which to-day in the House 65
Republicans and 81 Democrats voted, and
against which % Republicans and 26 Demo
Gratis, not to speak of Greenbackers, voted. 1t
is difficult to see how either party, even in the
widest moments on the stump, can assign al
credit or all blame to the representatives of
either in Congress. This one is of those cases
where all the boys stand together. Democrats
and Republicans passed through the tellers,
arm in arm, and crowded together around the
telegraph offices, announcing the result to
their constituents
AFTER THE BILL WAS PASSED.
The fiery Murch of Maine Greenbacker,
the bouncing Springer of Illinois, Democrat
changed their votes from nay to year AID vot-
ed with chairman Page, good Republican, as
the bill went through. The friends Of the bill
owe their success to one thing, although they
ascribe it to many. Hard work and nothing
else carried the bill through. One member of
the commerce committee said to your cores
pondent that it as the opposition of the rail-
road monopolists, who dread water competi-
tion, which, by reaction, passed the bill over
the veto. He said that Mr.. Page and Mr..
Hazelton and other well known anti-monopo-
lists resolved, when they heard of the efforts
of the railroads, to put the bill through at any
cost. a member who voted against the bill
was unkind enough to say that this was clap
trap. Another member of the commerce COM
mittee said that the bill was put through as a
rebuke to an impertineBt and ignorant PreSi-
dent. Many members, he said, voted for the
bill this time who had not voted for it before,
simply because they regarded the veto message
as the vague and impudent production OF an
ignorant man. Still another member of the
commerce committee was honest enough to say
that hard work among the members carried
the bill through, and was the only thing that
could be depended on in sach an emergency.
He himself used his persuasive tongue with
good effect up to the last moment with what
he termed 'warbly" members. He took
great deal of credit to himself for having
changed Murch's vote, and paired Schultz Of
Ohio at the last moment. He also seemed to
take some credit to himself for the fact that
one of his colleagues, who was against the bill,
was kept in his rooms by an attack of the col
L
deserve all the credit it takes to itself for the
hardest sort of work. If it had not worked
with the
"wARBLY MEMBERS"
the bill would have failed to pass. The chap
lain of the House had larger audience this
morning than he had seen in some time. Both
sides were in the field by the time the Journal
was read, and then the red-faced aud anxious
Mr.. Page of California, chairman of the com
sage of the river and harbor BILL the Presi-
dents objections Notwithstanding The dainty
Mr.. Kasson, looking very fresh and natty in a
tight-ftting pongee suit, rose at once, with the
book of rules in his hand, and moved that the
bill be committed to the commerce committee,
with instructions to trim it so as to suit the
President. The friends of th1 river and har.
Dor bill, including the Speaker, did not propose
that motion should be entertained in prefer
ence to Mr.. Pages, but they allowed the point
of order which they raised against it to be de-
bated for an hour. The discussion of this
point was attended with the confusion which
always accom- panied such debate The hum
of the House was like that OF great saw MILL
and the Speakers big gavel rosa and fell like
great trip hammer. Finally thers was lull,
and then the Speaker promptly ruled Mr.. Kas-
son out of order, and, after little skirmishing
over the previous question, the bill was passed
by a two-thirds majority in the space OF time it
takes to call the roll. When the result was an
nounced, after dozen members had Topped
from side to side, the hard-worked friends OF
the bill burst into applause, and wiped their
fevered brows. Then they fastened to the tel
egraph offices snd to the Senate whittier the
message and the bill were quickly carried by
Clerk Mcpherson. When Mr.. Page of Califor
MIA,
THE GLOW OF vIeToRY
on his red face, we'll brought out by the white
hat on the back of his head, rushed into the
Senate, he was met by Chairman Mcmillan of
the commerce committee of the Senate, who con-
graduated him OF his good tidings, and told
him that the Senate was "All right for once"
AS soon as was possible (all the lounges and
chairs in the Senate having been filled by
members of the House) the business of the Gay
was interrupted and the river and harbor bill
taken up. The veto message was read and the
action OF the House slated, and the bill was
quietly put through by much more than two
thirds majority. 1t was noticed here, as in the
House, that there were more administration
men in the negative than in the affirmative.
The following is the vote:
Yeas-Messrs Atkins of Tenn. Barbour of Va.
Bayne of Pa. Bingham of Pa, Blackburn of KY,
blanchard of La, Bliss of N. Y, Bowman of Mass,
Brewster Buck of Ct, Buckand of Mo-, Burrows
of Mich. Buterworth of o., Csbell of Va, Calkins
of Ind Gambler of Mass, Cannon OF ILL.,, Carpenter
of Ia. Chapman of Md, Clements of Ca, Grape of
Mass. Cravens of Ark, CulbeFson of Tex, Cullen
of Ill., Davis of Ill., Dawes of o., Demotte OF Ind,
Deuster of Wis Dibrell of Tenn, Dunn of Ark,