Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-22
House.

House.
WASHINGTON, Feb 81. - The senate
amendments to the pension appropriation
bill were concurred in.
Mr.. Caswell submitted a conference re-
port on the posto1ice appropriation bill,
Istating that the couferees had been I'M
able to agree. Mr.. Casweu explained
that the chief points of difference were,
the items appropriating $185,OOO for
special mail facilities and relating to the
compensation allowed land grant railroads
for mail transportation. A further con-
| ference was ordered. The house went
into committee of the whole on the sundry
civil bill.
The pending amendment was that Of
! fered last evening by Mr.. McCook under
direction of the military committee, as fol-
lows: 'That all lands reserved for military
purposes which, in the opinion of the
president may be no longer desirable for
such purposes, or so much thereof as he
may designate, shall be placed under
the control of the secretary of the interior
to be disposed of; provided said lands
secretary of the interior until the direction
of the president thereof has been filed in
the interior department; provided, also,
that said lands shall not be subject to loca-
ton by warrant or scrip of any descrip-
ton, nor to the homestead or presumption
laws of the United States; and provided,
further, that said lands shall not be sold
IL I
plated under direction of the secretary of
the interior and are approved by three
competent men to be appointed by him,
and their appraisal approved by the presi
dent; and said lands shall be sold at public
sale to the highest bidder for cash, and
shall not be sold at less than appraised
value, and in such subdivisions as may be
most advantageous to the government, no
subdivision to exceed 100 acres.
On motion of Mr.. Washburn, Mr.. Nc
Cooks amendment was amended by pro-
viding that the land shall not be sold at
less than S125 per acre.
On motion of Mr.. Carpenter the amend
ment was further amended to provide that
any settlers who were in actual occupation
of portion of any reservation prior to
the location of the reservation, and contin-
ued in such occupation at the present time
shall be entitled to locate on land on which
they live, under the homestead laws.
The amendment as amended was adopted
Mr.. Beethoven moved to amend by
striking out the clause authorizing the
secretary of war to detail for service in the
signal corps not to exceed eight commits
stoned officers, exclusive of second
lieutenants of the signal corps au-
thorized by law. In advocating
this amendment Mr.. Beethoven
made an attack upon the administration
of the signal service under Gen. Hazen.
He believed this bureau was purely a civil
institution, and wholly uumilitary, and
that it should be transferred to some civil
department of the government, and es-
pecially that 1t should be placed under
charge of head who had some scientific
knowledge and some standing and repu-
tation among the popular scientists of the
country. The speech which he had printed
some time ago in the Record had been
criticised because it had not been delivered
on the floor of the house. In order to
avoid any misunderstanding, he formulat-
ed his statements in brief form as follows:
First-The administration of the signal
service bureau under II. W. Howgate was
the most corrupt, profigate and dishonest
which has ever existed in the history of
the government. Second Howgate's
methods were characterized by
the employment of the whole signal
service force, who had log rolled to intiu-
ence congress to pass legislation for the
bureau. Third-While apparently expend
ing the full appropriation and keeping up
the efficiency of the service, Howgate was
stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars
until his larcen1es reached 100000.
Fourth-While this corrupt ard felonious
scheme was in progress, Howgate was sur
rounded by number of educated and well
paid employees, who we're either marvel.
ously stupid or criminally culpable. Fifth
That no investigation of any kind has
been made to ascertain the extent of these
frauds, nor had the perpetrator been
brought to trial. There were some reasons
for this which some persons around the
signal bureau knew better than
anybody else. Sixth-Gen. Hazen had
never brought Howgate to trial, but has
left every employe of Howgate's in con-
troll of bureau. At this point MIR. Beltz-
hoover asked to print some of Howgate's
letters in the Record, but E. B. Taylor, of
Ohio, objected, and Beltzhoover continued
with the presentation of his charges.
Seventh-That Hazen not only failed to
bring Howgate to justice, but adopted pre-
cisely the methods of Howgate, using en-
ployes of the bureau to influence congress
through boards of trade and newspapers.
Eighth-That Hazen had made false pre-
lenses to the war department to secure de-
tails of regular officers to be used for that
purpose.
E. B. Taylor, of Ohio, in reply, defended
Gen. Hazen's integrity, and criticized
| Beltzhoover's action in making an assault
upon that officer in speech which was not
openly delivered, but printed in the Record;
that the whole speech was founded on in
correct information. This morning the
gentleman again made an assault on Hazen,
the burden of his speech being that that
officer did not prosecute Howgate. What
had he to do with that prosecution? 1t was
an unjust charge. 1t was an unreasonable
charge. 1t was without foundation, and
like the whole TRADE, was based on false
information. The gentleman had charged
Gen. Hazen with being a general without
battle, commander without history.
Had he known the slightest rudiments of
his country's history, he would have known
hot Con Hazen had hean uodar fro oc