The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-06-17
PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS-.
THE SENATE.
Discussion the Recent Bank Failures
Mr.. Browns Reply to Mr.. Hoar.

lie buildings at Erie, Pa. 1t provides that the
expenditures shall not exceed $780, 900. The orig
inal provision was $3.50, 900.
The following resolution offered by Mr..
Van Wyck was laid over till to morrow:
Resolved, That the committee Judiciary be
directed to inquire whether the Union Central Pa
chc railroad companies have become responsible for
guaranteed interest any bonds other than those
specifically authorized by Congress outstanding at
the date of the passage of the act making appropria
tons for legislative, executive and judicial expenses
of the government for the year ending June 80 1854
and if So to what extent and under what actual or
alleged authority; also, whether any new stock has
been issued by either of said companies in violation of
said act"
Mr.. Plumb, from the committee on appro
priations, reported the army appropriation bill
as agreed upon by the committee. l; appro-
PIRATES $685. 900 more than the House bill
Mr.. Butler called up his resolution, offered
some days since, providing for an examination
of New York banks by a committee of the
Senate.
Mr.. Morrill, moved to refer it to the committee
on finance.
Mr., Blair favored the resolution, and said if
the Comptroller of the Currency was now doing
his duty concerning the banks, he had withheld
his activity too long
Mr.. Vest said the Marine National, the Metro
politan National and the Second National banks,
of New York had failed with deposits amounting
many millions of dollars. People had been
swindled out of these millions. He inquired
what the Comptroller of the Currency had been
doing while these banks were piling up their
swlndling operations and making false state
ments under the eyes of government officials.
Mr.. Butler referred to the recent defacation
of 500, 900 in a Cleveland bank discovered soon
after the bank had been examined by govern
ment examiner He inquired how this defalca
ton could, reported, cover long period of
time if the examiner had done his duty.
Mr.. Morrill, said no good could be effected by
an investigation.
Mr.. Plumb had heard of only one bank failure
in New York city, namely the Marine National.
The president of that bank had been indicted
by grand jury, on application of the district
attorney. The Metropolitan had closed its
doors for twenty four hours, but the Second
National had not closed its doors at all
Mr.. Vest said the reason why the Second Ma
Gonal had not closed was because one man, to
save his family honor had paid out of his pri-
vate purse So 0000 600.
Mr.. Sherman did not believe any good could
come of investigation by a committee. Such a
committee, working in public, with reporters and
crowd around, would be as helpless and useless
as possible. The fact that there were more
failures than had happened in the last ninety
days, after the instances of defalcation shown
by high bank officers, a compliment to the
national banking system Nothing Congress
could do could prevent man having charge of
money from stealing. 1t could punish him af
ter he had stolen.
MIR. Sherman referred to the action of the
clearinghouse, a voluntary association, in com
ing to the aid of the business community IN an
emergency as illustrating the excellence of our
financial system. If the occurrences of the last
few months had occurred in the old times-in
the good old Democratic times, he might say, if
they had occurred before the present national
banking system had been established, the
Ia ho1ra haa,
would have extended to other countries with
which we had financial transactions. A panic
in this instance had been avoided by the action
of the associated banks. They had worked out
their own salvation.
The matter then went over until tomorrow.
THE PosToFTIcE AND UTAH BILLS.
Mr. Plumb called up the report of the confer
ence committee upon the pOstotice appropriation
bill, and upon his motion the Senate coneurred
in the action of the House on the Senate amend
ment appropriatng $180,O00 ''for necessary
and special facilities on trunk lines. " The House
increased the amount to $500 900, in which the
Senate now concurs.
Mr.. Plumb moved that the Senate insist upon
its remaining amendments-three in number
one increasing the appropriation for transporta-
ton on railroad routes from $l1, 700 900 to $l2
$50, 000 another striking out the House pro
vision relating to REIMBURSEMENT of compensation
to railroads; and third adding 5000 900 TO the
appropriation of 81 900 900 for railway postoffice
clerks. The motion was carried unanimously.
The Senate then resumed consideration of the
Utah BILL Mr. Brown having the floor. Reply
ing to Mr. Hoar, Mr. Brown said the senator
from Massachusetts, had charged him Mr..
Brown with having, for great part of his life,
sustained an institution which prohibited legal
marriages among part of the people of Georgia.
The system of slavery to which the senator from
Massachusetts had called attention, originated
in Massachusetts and the South derived much
of its slavery from that State. Mr.. Brown read
from Elliott's History Of New England to show
that the people of Massachusetts bought and
held as. slaves Scotchmen, ITishmen, Indians
negroes and mulattoes; that they sent cargoes of
rum to Africa, exchanging rum for slaves, some
of which they sold; that they kid
mapped Indians and sold them into
slavery, and that some prohibited baptism
to their slaves that marriage was disregarded;
that they sold women and children in the mar
ket; and advertised a woman, with child six
months old, to be sold together or separate, to
suit the purchaser that they raised slaves for
the market, and, when they found it unprofit-
able to raise them in the climate of Massachu-
sets, gave away negro children like puppies, to
anyone who would take them The charter of
Georgia, Mr. Brown continued, originally for
babe slavery and while Massachusetts was inn
porting slaves and selling them for profit, Geor
gia was refusing to hold them. Finally Georgia
adopted slavery, purchasing part of her slaves
from Massachusetts. The senator from Massa-
chusetts had said there was large
number Of mulattoes to be accounted for in the
South. He (Mr. BROWN did not claim that the
South was guiltless in this particular. His eff
fort had been to show that no section Of the
country was guiltess. He read from various
historical works to show that large numbers of
mulattoes were always found in Massachusetts
during the time that slavery prevailed in that
State. When, in 1888, Massachusetts passed an
act expelling from the State all negroes the
courts held that the act applied also to muat-
toes. It may have been very natural to expel
the negroes from Massachusetts,, but it seemed a
little unnatural to expe mulattoes. not that they
were akin to the people of Massachu-
had changed their color until they were more in
the likeness of the good people of that State.
The bleaching winds of Massachusetts. some
other cause, had modified the ebony color of the
African in that State. and had infused a com