St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-16
LIVELY CONGRESSMAN.
A Red Hot Discussion ON the Postofice
Appropriation Bill.
One Congressman Tells his Opponent
'sYour'e Another"---Party
Strife High.
Ihe Ho,tsc OF. REPRESENTATIVES,.


into ommittee Of the whole, (Mr. Blount in
the chair, on the postoffice appropriation
bill, the pending question being on the mo-
| ton of Mr.. Horn to strike out the proviso
limiting the compensation paid for mail
transportation to the land grant roads to so
per cent. of that allowed the other roads.
| Mr. Holman offered as a substitute to the
amendment, including the 80 per cent. lin
itation clause the Northern Pacific and
Union Pacific systems, and providing that
no right now existing in favor Of the United
States in regard to these roads shall be
deemed impaired or waived by this action
! Mr.. Cannon said, if the gentlemen On the
other side wanted to do the just and effective
thing, they could come into the house with an
| amendment increasing the sinking fund or
| otherwise its provisions, SO that when bonds
are matured there would be sufficient in that
fund. The pending amendment was a
shame and a fraud. and tended to deceive
the country.
Mr.. Horn opposed the amendment, con-
! tending it would deprive the roads of earn
ings which could be applied to the sinking
fund. Holman's amendment was adopted
So to IS.
Mr.. Hoar moved to strike out the proviso
as amended.
MIR. Cutcheon protested against the pro-
| viso, as striking down the little land grant
roads 1t was highway robbery. 1t was put
| ting the blunderbus law at the head of these
corporations and demanded the surrender of
private property for the public use without
compensation.
Mr.. Holman opposed the motion.
Mr.. Townshend said, the vote on motion
to strike out the proviso would test the ques-
ton whether the power of the subsidized
railroads was stronger than the interests of
| the people. The motion to strike out was
| lost by 70 to 9S.
| Mr.. Bingham moved TO strike out the clause
reducing per cent. the rates allowed all
railroads.
Mr.. Townshend warned the house, if an
other scandal afflicted the pHstoffice depart
ment, it would grow out of this question of
railroad compensation, and contended that
per cent. reduction was fair and reasonable.
| Bingham's motion was lost and the paragraph
passed.
| The paragraph appropriating for the star
route service $4,000, 900, together with an
reappropriation of S1.000,000 out of any I'M
expended balance of the appropriation for
| 1888, having been reached, Mr.. Horn moved
to strike out the reappropriation to S., 600,-
| 600.
| Mr.. Hiscock said, the attempt of the ma
jority side to make the reappropriation was
pretty trick to cheat the people, in the belief
the bill appropriated $1,000, 900 less than in
reality it did.
Mr.. Townshend in the course of his speech
in support of the bill, went briefly into the
history of the star route frauds, which he
claimed had been unearthed by Democratic
congress.
Mr.. Cannon in reply charged, that to the
shame of the Democratic congress it had re-
fused to carry out the recommendations of
unanimous committee on appropriations,
which would have cut out the ulcer.
Mr. Townshend replied that, though his
colleague may be a supporter of those recon-
mendations, the body of his party had voted
against them. The outrageous crime of the
star route frauds had a worse result than the
robbery of the treasury. Before a committee
of the house one of the highest officials under
the Republican administration had sworn
that the outrages perpetrated by this malad-
ministration had gone further than plumber,
that they had resulted in the murder of a
president.
Mr.. Milliken rose to PROFOUND a question,
but his voice was drowned by cries of cor
der'' from the Democratic side. However,
he managed to make himself heard after
time with the question: sDoes the gentle
man remember another president who was
killed? Who killed him? Who stood behind
him, and who expressed themselves glad
of it?'
eyes," replied Townshend, misunder-
standing the question, "He was stalwart
Republican, and he said he was forced to do
it by the stalwart element of his party"
Mr.. Bingham-''By the hand of God"
Mr.. Reed reviewed the status of affairs at
the time of the Democratic investigation of
the Star route frauds. A Republican assistant
postmaster general stood charged with the
crime before the world, and in the opinion of
most of the world was guilty of that crime.
1t was also true that two Republican admin
istrations had pursued that man with all the
resources the law allowed, and every time the
Republican party found criminal within its
ranks it pursued him. Derlsive laughter
and shouts of ''oh'' on the Democratic side,
together with the suggestion that it would
break up the party. The object of Townshend
in making his speech about corruption was to
disguise the unfairness of the bill.
Mr. Blackburn reviewed briefly, and in an
interesting manner the history of the pro-
ceedings in the house at the time of the
Brady investigation, giving due credit to the
members of the committee on appropriations
both Republican and Democratic for the
honesty and earnestness of purpose they had
brought to the discharge of their duties; that
the funds of the government had not been
economically, carefully or honestly admins
tered by the second assistant postmaster-gen-
eral, was an open secret to all the members
of that committee, and that he should have
been in the penitentiary instead of position
of honor, not member entertained q rea-
sonable doubt.
Mr.. Horr's motion was lost When Horr
rose he was cried down by the Democratic
side, and the Republican side returned the
compliment when Townsend rose to speak
When the consideration of the first section
was completed, it became evident that the
bin could not be finished this evening and
the committee rose.
Mr.. Henley, from the house committee on
public lands, reported a bill declaring for
feited certain land granted to aid in the
construction of a railroad from the Central
Pacific in California to Portland, Oregon.
Placed on the house calendar. Adjourned.
Everybody Knows 1t.