The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-05-24
CONGRESSIONAL,
SENATE.


The Senate resumed consideration
of the bill to provide for protecting
the interests of the United States in
respect t" any membranes on
property wherein they have inter-
eSts.
Beck said that under the letter of
| the act the President could pay Oft
| the Union Pacific railroad mort
gage. He was not prepared to v,st
so vast q power in the executive ot>
ficer. Authority to pay out fifty or
| sixty million dollars was a large au>
thUrity, and if we should pay rail-
road mortgages ard acquire railroads
| were we to 70 into the business of
running roads.
Sherman supported the bill. He
! said instances frequently occurred in
which the government lost large
sums OF money because of lack OF au-
! thOrity in the executive officer to pay
Oft prior liens.
Slater said that in 1895, when the
! Central Pacific railroad mortgage
natures, the amount Of all Obliga-
tons and interes: would be S1SS, VO,-
O00, and the roads would not be worth
that much money, AS they could be
built for less.
After further debate the question
went over.
Blair yielded to Logan who asked
and obtained unanimous consent to
take up and dispose of the annual
pension appropriation bill, which
was then taken up and passed as re-
ported by the Senate committee.
The labor bureau bill was then
taken up and Blair withdrew a mum
Der of amendments leaving the bill
as it came from the House.
Aldrich moved u substitute which
was agreed to-; yeas, IS; nays, Is, and
the bill as amended then passed;
yeas, S.; nays, J.
The bill rs passed is as follows, be-
ing Aldrich's substitute torthe House
bill
A Bell to Establish a Bureau of La
Dor.
BE it enacted, et:., there shall be
established III the department of the
interior q bureau Of labor which shall
he under the charge Of the commits
sioner oflabor who shall be appointed
by the President 10y and with the adj
vice and consent Of the Senate. The
commissioner of labor shall hold his
Office four years and until his sue
cessor shall he appointed and 1uali>
fed unless sooner removed, ana shall
receive a salary of three thousand dol
lars a year. The commissioner shall
collect information upon the subject
of labor, its relations to capital, hours
of labor and earnings of laboring
men and women and the means OF
promoting their mateial, social, ms
tellectual and moral prosperity. The
Secretary of the interior shall ap-
point u chief clerk who shall receive
a salary of $1,000 per annum, and
such other employees rs may be nec
cessary for said bureau, provided the
total expenses shall not exceed 49,
600 per annum- During the neces-
sary absence Of the commissioners OF
when the office shall become vacant
the chief clerk shall perform the du-
ties of commissioner. The commits
sioner shall annually make a report
in writing to the Secretary of the IN
terror Of information collected to pro-
mote the efficiency OF the Bureau.
The Utah bill was taken up. The
Senate went into executive session
and soon after adjourned till Mon
day.
WASHINGTON, May 23--WeI,er
rose to a question Of privilege saving
he bad been referred to on the floor
of the House and in newspapers ST.
ter having voted for Peele in the In
diana contested election ease as con~
sulting with w. H. English. the
father of the contestant, and then leav-
ing the House while another vote
was pending on tho same subject
without being paired. He explained
that he went to the train to meet his
family. He hoped the investigating
committee would look into the mat
ter.
Kellogg then took the floor for a
personal explanation, saying that in
the investigation of the Star Route
cases by the committee on expendi~
lures Of the department Of Justice ev-
idence had been taken rejecting on
his character; that he had requested
the committee to go thoroughly into
the matter but the committee declined
on the ground that it had no author
ity. He asserted that the proceed
ings in court against him
by malice and a statute a
quarter Of a century old and which,
it had been violated thou
sands OF times, had never before been
invoked. This was not mentioned
as a palllatiOn, however, but he would
prove his Innocence. He offered
resolution that in the in
vestigation as to the prosecution of
star route cases before the committee
Oh expenditures of the department
OF justice evidence had been given
which reflected upon his character,
aud direc ing that committee to in !
yestigate the subject of his alleged
connection with the star route SER
vice, and whether he received money !
for services rendered III matters pend
ing before Il of toe departments Of
the government or whether he paid !
money to any officer on account of
or in connection with said services. |
In speaking on the resolution kel-
Iogg referred to his recent trial and
he had pleaded the statute Of
limitations. The presiding Judge
had made that point of his OWL mo-
ton.
Blanchard said that since the dis
of the Kellogg cas Oh techni-
grounds he had been waiting for
his colleague to vindicate the honor
Of the House and of the State OF
Yesterday he informed
Kellogg that unless he asked for in
he (Blanchard) would do
20 himself.
kellogg's resolution was finally re-
ferred to the committee on judiciary
70 decide whether the House had au-
to examine into the acts of
/ member before bis term Of office !
The House went into committee Of
he whole on the private calendar.
The bill providing for the retire.
nent of i. Henry J.. Hunt, as Major
General, gave rise to a good deal OF
| scussion. In opposing the measure
springer took occasion to speak in
strong condemnation OF the bill to
,o<:ro (.ouovol ~ nm nj o,,I o.3x.o hin, 81 |