River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-07-03
CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY

On Monday the house considered and passed
the sundry civil appropriations bill,
which ordinarily occupies two or three days
The bill. which is often filed with jobs. is
apparently free from any schemes to rob the
government and contains no features likely
20 provoke discussion. Only one important
amendment was adopted, and that was in the
nature of a section making appropriations
for the United States courts. L was offered by
Mr. Springer, and very carefully drawn. The
bill provides for the usual fees aud balances to
United States marshals and ether persons con-
nected with the United States courts. The sub
stitute abolishes the fees system, so far as it
applies to United States marshals, and paws
them fixed salaries. Under the bill as amend
ed
The United States marshals shall receive an
nualIy for their services the following salaries,
payable monthly: Southern district of New
York, $4,000; Northern New York. Massachu
settes,. l = nsylyania, District Of Columbia,
Southern Ohio and California $1,000 each;
Maryland, Eastern Missouri kentuekey, North
ern Ohio, Northern and Southern Illinois East
ern Louisiana, Kansas and Eastern Texas, ST.
coo EACH New Hampshire. Vermont Rhode
Island, Delaware, Nevada, Southern Florida,
Connecticut Northern Mississippi, 81, 0O0 each,
and all other marshals shall be paid salary
of 81, 600 year.
In the appropriation bill that passed the
House on Monday Mr.. Randall then offered an
amendment directing the secretary of war to
sell AZ public auction the following arsenals:
Allegheny arsenal, Pa, Augusta arsenal Ga. !;
indianapolis arsenal, Ind. Kennebec arsenal,
Maine, and WateTtown arsenal, Mass. Adopt
ed Also granting months extra paw to
house employees. Adopted. Also, to strike out
the provision that no speech shall be printed in
the Record which has not been delivered upon
the floor Of congress. Adopted-162 to II.
In the senate, an amendment was adopted
that reports in the Congressional Record shall
be an accurate transcript of the proceedings
,l..I,a fl,s4,
shall be published therein which was not spoken
in congress, and such speeches shall be printed
as they were actually delivered except verbal
corrections made by authors of the speeches,
and ~ o other person; and that when speeches
are we'd by their authors for correction,
they fbCt be returned to the reporter of the
house IN which they were delivered within One
week, and if not SO delivered, they shall be
printed in the Congressional Record from notes
reported
The house, by large majority, defeated the
bill to forfeit the land grant Of the New Orleans,
Baton Rouge & Nicksburg, or what is known
rs the Backbone" railroad company The
bill was discussed at length by Mr. Lewis of
Louisiana, who favored it, Mr. Payson of Hi
nois and Mr. Ellis of louisiana, who opposed,
and several other members. Substantially the
same principle involved in the land grant to
the Backbone" Railroad company, is also in
VOWED in the grant to the Northern Pacific
company. The Northern Pacific bill is pend
it Is very likely that it will not pass.
The Senate has passed the house bill to au-
thorize the president to appoint two additional
justices of the supreme court of Dakota and
one additional justice of the supreme court of
the Territory of Washington, with the Cullom
bill pensioning invalid three months volunteers
in the war of the rebellion, with their widows
and dependent parents, as an amendment.
The house on Tuesday passed the bill to re-
peal the presumption and timber culture laws
and to amend the homestead law. With refer
ence to the presumption law the bill provides
that:
All persons entitled to pre-empt any land
under existing laws who before the law have
in good faith filed their claims, or, who having
the legal right to pre-empt, have located on any
of the surveyed public lands with the intention
of entering the same when surveyed shall have
the right TO complete their entries and receive
a patent as though the repeal had not passed.
1t also provides that the repeal of the timber
culture law shall not prejudice the rights of
those who have in good faith made entries
under the law and complied with the require
ments thereof The second, third and fourth
sections of the bill provide for amendments
to the homestead law The first
amendment applies to cases
where person has entered upon land In good
faith, intending to homestead and perfect his
title thereto, but is prevented from doing SO by
a grant previously made by the government, or
by the shifting of the channel or bed of any
river whereby his lands may be lost, or from
any cause over which he has no control, with
out fault on his part, he may by making salts
factory proof of the fact, enter another home
stead upon any of the public lands of the United
States subject to homestead. The third section
provides that every homesteader shall Nuke
final proof by two credible witnesses that he
resided upon, cultivated and permanently i'm
proved his or her homestead for four consec-
utive years next succeeding such entry. The
proof is to be made in duplicate, and one set is
required to be filed in the local land Office and
one in the general land Office for one year, and
if no contest is filed or notice given charging
and specifying fraud in the entry or proof be-
fore the expiration of that time, then the patent
shall issue.
This, it will be seen, gives the time between
the filing of the proof and the issuing of tine
patent to detect fraud, if any on the part of
applicant The law as it now stands only re-
quires notice TO be published in newspaper of
intention to make this proof. Section of the
substitute amends section 2301, to require
thirty calendar months to expire after the
party files his presumption claim before he is
entitled to his patent 1t also requires the
proof of settlement and cultivation to be filed
at least six months. This amendment, it is be-
lieved will tend largely to prevent fraud
The house on Tuesday, after protracted dis
cussion, passed the Eaton substitute for the
senate bill fixing the day for the meeting of the
electors of president and vice president, and to
provide for and regulate the counting of the
VOIeS 1OF pT0SIuent ana VICE ptesluSnt anu tllt
decision of questions arising thereon. The
senate bill provided that the electors of zach
state shall meet and give their votes on the
second Monday in January next following their
appointment, at such place In each state as the
legislature thereof shall direct The house
bill fixes the second Monday in December. 1t
is not expected that it will pass the Senate
On Tuesday the senate concluded its consid-
Grafton of the Mexican pension bill and it
passed by vote Of 81 to ~ The so-called
90 all
early in the session. provided for the pension
ing of the surviving officers, soldiers and sail
ors Tor their surviving widowsl who served
fourteen days in the various Indian wars be-
tween 1890 and 1912, IN the war of 1912, and in
the war with Mexico; and those who served
thirty days in the Greek war of 1S35-lS}6; in
the Florida war of 1S35-1S SIS; or in the Black
Hawk war of 1912. This measure passed
the house on the Sd of March last In the SEN
ate an amendment was adopted comprising the
substance of Senator Cullom's bill, providing
pensions for invalid soldiers and sailors who
have been discharged from the army or navy
of the United States after three months services
in the war of the Rebellion, and for the widows
and dependent parents of deceased pensioners.
Another amendment which was adopted pro-
vides that no person shall be entitled to more
than one pension at one time under the laws Of
the United States, unless that fact be specially
stated in the law.
The following nominations were sent to the
Senate on Friday:
Gilbert A. Pierce of Illinois, governor Of Da-
kota; John H. Kinkead OF Nevada, governor
of Alaska; Andrew Robson of Minnesota, re-
ceiver of the public moneys, Redwood Falls,
MINI. James NJ. Armstrong of Washington
Territory, register of the land office, Spokane
Falls, Wash. Charles A. Witherell, Nevada,
register of the land Office Carson City, Ne
vada; Darlington G.. Belknap, California agent
for Indians at Tulle River Agency, Cal John
r. Kinney, Nebraska, agent for Indians at the
Yankton Agency
Postmasters-E o. Brauns, Tracy, Mimi !;
Henry O. Basford, Austin, MINI. Jacob Ry-
cord, Iowa City Iowa; Charles G. Perkins,
Onawa, Iowa; w. F. Scott Mapleton, Iowa; +.
Elrod, Clark, Oak John Il. James, Columbia,
Oak; John H. Carroll, Desmet, Oak; \. Il.
Weston, Blunt Oak d. G. Grippen, Kimball,
Oak Henry T. Rising, Redfeld, Oak; David
r. Mead, Glendive, Mont.
Conference report in the house ON Friday the
pension and army bills were agreed to. An
unsuccessful attempt was made to consider the
Northern Pacific land grant forfeiture bill The
bill to forfeit the Backbone railroad land grant
was finally killed by vote of ia to 124. 1sle
bills to relieve certain soldiers of the charge Of
desertion and for the relief of Myra Clark
Gaines passed.
In both houses Friday some campaign talk
was INDUCED in, friends of Logan in the SEN
ate and house, and Logan himself in the former
body, denying that the republican candidate
for vice president owned 10000 acres of land,
as charged in recent publication.
Mr. Hawey called the attention to the senate
to a statement in the Record that Senator Lo-
gan owned $4,000 acres of land. This state
ment, he said, was untrue The gentleman re-
ferred to is only owner of the land On which
SO, fa8h Iio1 on to- had adj a