The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1885-02-19
PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS-.

Z PROG EEDlngS OF CONGRESS-. Z.
:WAsHMaToN, Special Telegram. Feb. 10
The senate, after spending two long execu-
! live sessions and the entire afternoon in a
! chaotic debate, passed the house BILL to re-
peal the presumption and timber culture laws
6y 26 to 60 1t Is safe to say that no bill has
, been passed this session which is in a worse
middle and is Less understood The discus
zion to-day was on Palm er's amendment This
: was simply the old and much described On
Onagon land grant bill, which was success
:. fully tackedon the repeal The original bill
3 virtually the bill which Gen Washburn got
through the house two years ago. It was
passed by the house last June. The amend
ment provides: s4
Whenever public lands have been withdrawn
ef railroads, and such Withdrawals have been
terminated by act Of congress, executive order,
have been, by operation of law, reduced in price
20 81. Is per acre and purchased in good faith or
antered with warrants or scrip, and the officers
sf the land department have issued certificates
rpatents in accordance with this purchase
without such lands having first been proclaimed
BY the president and offered at public auction;
were no valid conflicting claims thereto or state
ments thereon, all such entries, etc, are con-
aIWeu ana OeCldreO Vallu ana legal
Morgan amended Palmer's amendm ent so as
10 except two hundred or more settlers who
have gone ON the disputed lands in Northern
Michigan and entered homesteads The Pal
ner amendment passed by a close party
Vote Senator Vest produced sensation by
,ading letter from Michigan citizen,
arging that the proposition covered big
al, in which q few capitalists were inter-
ted Senator Palmer, in very temperate
speech, denied the aspersion, but the letter
produced & hub-bub for some time after
ward Commissioner Mcfarland says there
are between 100, 900 and 100000 acres of
land embraced in the Ontanagon amend
ment The original entry men, having paid
81 20 for them, and having paid taxes in
many cases for fifteen years, will now have
their patents endorsed as regular. The SEN
ute amendments to the orig inal house bill
are numerous and sweeping-so much SO
chat there is no expectation that they will
be concurred in The final vote was almosta
strict party one, Edmunds being the only
Republican to vote against the repeal, and
Brown the only Democrat to vote in the
Affirmative
sENATE-The senate in spite Of strong efforts
oy MI. Van Wyck to have the Texas Pacific land
grant forfeiture bill considered, voted to take
mp tho bill prohibiting the importation of for
e1Rn contract labor. This measure was debated
at great length without action.
HoUsE-A bill passed amending the Pacific
"''road act so as to authorize the construction
roed from Sioux City, Iowa, to Granger,
70 The senate bill regarding jurisdiction over
lie Yellowstone National Park passed. The post
ONCE Appropriation bill was considered. The
chair overruled point of order against a para
graph allowing additional compensation to
American steamships carrying ocean mails, and
on an appeal the decision was sustained. After
ward. by a vote Of los to 81, the house struck
out the paragraph in question. An evening ses-
sion Tsas held for the consideration of private
tension bills.
. There was an animated discussion,
during which the 3 scandal over
the Pacific mail subsidy in the
Forty third congress was referred to by Hol-
man, Mills and Blount as warning against
affirmative action Bayne Of Pennsylvania
made the decisive attack on the clause,
charging the Democr}ts with utter incompe-
tency and with being led by the agents of
Jay Gould When the vote was taken on the
motion TO strike out the subsidy advocates
were paralyzed by the discovery that they
were defeated and that their pet scheme was
punched out of the bill
SENATE-The day was mostly devoted to tho
Indian appropriation bill. The provision for
the,Hayment of claims for Indian depredations
wal struck out
The nomination of E. A. Kriedler,
20 be marshal of Montana, was
taken up, and, at the request of Senator
Cameron of Wisconsin, was laid over till
Monday:
The house passed the postof1ce appropria-
RI ho oau ~ %1o
ship subsidy clause made the most de-
termined efforts to overcome the adverse
vote Of yesterday in committee of the whole,
but their efforts were unavailing. The prin-
cipal objection to this clause was that the en-
tire amount of the appropriation-$BOO,O 900
would be absorbed by the Pacific Mail
steamship pany, in whose special inter-
est 1t was charged the clause was drawn.
This allegation was given color by the fact
that MIR. Louderback, a prominent director
&c the company, has been here most of the
winter nursing this scheme and it was given
further confirmation to-day by his presence
IN the corridor, surrounded by professional
lobbyists and notorious strikers, all of whom
were actively working for the subsidy clause
. under Louderbacks orders Considering
the persistent and bare-faced operations of
&c Mail lobby 1t is creditabe to the
-& lat the action of yesterday in elm
.aulng the subsidy clause was confirmed by
N increased vote to-day. Many of those
who voted against this clause are favorable
to granting proper aid in the form of liberal
compensation for carrying the United States
mails, but in the case under review no ben
eft would have followed to the commerce of
the country, and no additional facilities
would have been furnished the postal SER
vice.
The paragraph Of the bill which provides
for the reduction of postage on letters, as
passed by the house, reads as follows:
Upon all matter Of the first class as defined bv
tho laws Of congress declared subject to postage
ct the rate of three cents for each half ounce or
traction, postage shall be charged on and after
the 1st day of July. 1885, at the rate of two
cents for each ounce or fraction thereof and
drop letters shall be mailed at the rate Of two
DENTS per ounce or fraction thereof, including
delivery at letter carrier Offices and cent for
|; each ounce or fraction thereof where their de-
livery by carrier Is not established.
The paragraph providing for the reduction
of the rate on newspapers reads as follows, +.
and forms part OF the paragraph above
quoted:
10 That upon all publications of the second class,
Except as provided in section 25 of the said act
" ian sent by the publishers thereof and from
the Office Of publication to bona fide subscribers,
or when Aent from news agency to actual SUBJ
scribers thereto or to other news agents, shall
on and after July l, 1885, be entitled to trans
mission through the mails at one cent pound
or fraction thereof, postage to be prepaid as now
provided by law; provided, however, that pub
fishers OF second-class publications may mail
sample copies OF such publications at the rate of
one Gant for each four ounces or fractional part
thereof, to be prepaid by ordinary stamps af-
fixed thereto; and all acts, so far as they fix
different rate Of postage than herein provided
upon such first and second class matter. are to
that extent repealed on and after July l. 1885,
and any article or item in any newspaper or
other publication may be marked for Observa-
tion except by written or printed words without
increase Of postage.
= BENATE-The Indian appropriation bill, after
pr~tracted consideration. passed. Mr.. Dolph
introduced bill making Seattle and Tacoma,
Wash, ports Of delivery. :. -
An amendment was yesterday proposed by
Senator Morgan to the anti-silver coinage bill
It strikes out the present provision for the sus-