The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1882-02-11
WHAT CONGRESS Is DOING.


it may possibly be tinkered to death. When the
vote was reached on the Sd inst. thirty-eight
Senators recorded themselves In its favor and but
eighteen against it, 1t provides for the issue of
3 per cent bonds to an amount not exceeding
500, 900 900 interest to be payable quarterly or
semi annually, and the proceeds to be applled
solely to the retirement of the - per cents. 1hey
are not to be called in and paid so long as any
bonds bearing higher rate OF interest are out
standing and uncalled
On the previous day February 2d) Mr.. Ferry
reported back the resolution introduced by Mr.
Voorhees, last October directing the Committee
on Post Offices and Post-Roads to inquire by
what laws or authority the Postmaster General
had approved rule OF the Cincinnati post-othce
lin operation also at BOSTON, that applicants for
position must be over twenty and under thirty
years old, thus excluding all Union soldiers OF
the late war. The report was to the effect that
the rule was FIRST approved by Postmaster Gen
eral Key on the ground that by virtue Of their
financial responsibility postmasters should be
allowed to prescribe such qualifications as they
pleased for their subOrdinates, and that the in
tent was not to exclude Union soldiers. But it
does do it," interjected Mr.. Voorhees, and the
only way to correct this evil is to quit doing it
and have an order emanate to these men (the
Cincinnati and Boston pOstmasters) to abrogate
this rule, or else take their heads and put them
in the waste basket where they belong" Not
withstanding this home thrust from the Demo
cratic side Of the Senate the report was ac
cepted and the committee discharged.
The Pensions Committee has reported back
bill granting life pensions of $1,000 each to the
widows of Presidents Garfield, Polk, and Tyler,
in lieu of any other pension. There will probably
be no opposition to its passage
The House bill admitting free of duty goods
in bond contributed for the relief Of colOred emf
grants in Kansas was taken up on the Sd instant
and passed.
MI. Hoar has reported an electoral-coun bill
from the Privileges and Elections Committee. It
provides that the electors of each State shall
meet and give their votes on the second Monday
in January next following their appointment at
such places as the legislatures of the States may
direct; that each State before the time fixed for
the meeting of the electoral colleges, may deter
mine, by tribunal of its own creation, all con-
troversies concerning the appointment of its
electors; that the Governors lists of the electors
shall be made in accordance with such determi-
nation that no electoral vote from any State
from which one return has been received shall
be rejected except by the affirmative votes of
both houses of Congress, and that IN case two or
more returns are received from any one State
those votes and those only shall be counted
which both Houses of Congress acting separate
ly-shall concurrently decide supported by
the State tribunal. The bill also provides that
if the counting of the votes shall not have been
completed before the 9Th calendar day next after
the first meeting of the two Houses no recess
shall afterward be taken by either House until
after the counting shall have been finished.
In the Senate, on Tuesday, the bill for the de-
livery of $50 pieces of condemned bronze cannon
to the Society of the Army of the Cumberland
for Garfield statue in Washington was amended,
by substituting provision for the payment of
$500 out of the proceeds of condemned ordnance,
and passed. Among the bills reported favorably
was one to retire Gen. Meigs, with the rank and
pay of maj or-general.
Among the items of business transacted by
the Senate on Monday was the passage of bill
providing for the purchase for the Government
of the Freedmans Bank property in Washington
! for sum not to exceed S25O,000, and the adOp-
ton of resolution offered by Mr.. Morgan for a
reciprocity treaty between United States and
Mexico The rest of the session was taken up
with the debate Mr.. ingalls, resolution declar-
| inc that the pensions arrears laws ought not to
| be repealed, during which Messrs. ingalls, and
| Hawley spoke in support of the resolution
On Wednesday bills were introduced: By Mr..
| Malone directing the Secretary OF the Treasury
| to examine and settle the accounts OF certain
States and the city of Baltimore, arising out the
war of 1912. By Mr.. Blair-Joint resolution
proposing an amendment to the Constitution
prohibiting the manufacture, sale, importation,
and expectation of alcoholic liquors and other
poisonous beverages from and after 1900
After an informal discussion by Messrs Nor
gan and Allison upon the suffciency of the re-
| Spouse made by the Secretary of War to hlr.
Morgans resolution, calling for the full report OF
the mixed board of ordnance, the matter was
| laid aside and the Senate resumed consideration
of the resolution declaring the pension arrears
law ought not to be repealed, and MI. Blair, IN
| its favor made an argument to illustrate the
correctness Of the principle upon which arrears
| are based
The Post-Ofice appropriation bill engaged the
attention of the House in Committee OF the
Whole for the greater part OF the session OF
the I'd instant, but no real progress was made
The only other matter of interest that was before
it was the conflict of jurisdiction between the
special Committee on Pensions, Bounty, and
Back Pay and the tworegular Committees on Mill
tary Affairs and Invalid Pensions, the question
coming up on a report from the first named COM
mittee in favor of tabling resolution discharg-
ing it from the consideration of all the bills before
it and thus virtually abolishing it. The report
was finally adopted, and in the debate which pre-
coded, it was clearly shown that there was plenty
of work for all the committees, that any action
would have delayed the settlement of many pend
ing pension claims and worked a hardship tG
needy petitioners
The session of the Sd inst. was taken up with
the consideration of the bill reported favorably
from the Committee on Ways and Means by Mr.
Kelley, releasing the Reading Railroad Company
from the tax assessed on the certificates issued
by it in lieu of cash during its financial embar
easements some three years ago, and involving
the sum of $685. The law provides for the
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