Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-02-09
AT THE CAPITOL TO-DAY.
LIVELY SCENES IN THE HOUSE.
ADULL DAY ON THE SENATE SIDE
The Senate.

The chair laid before the Senate the creden-
| tials of reelection of Senator VOORHEES,, which
were read and filed.
COMMITTEE CHANGES.
The chair appointed Mr. Slater to service on
| the committee on commerce, and Mr.. Butler to
service on the committee on transportation
routes to the seaboard, both in place Of Mr.:
Farley, who, at his own request, was excused
from ON further service on those committees.
Bills were passed increasing various appropfi-
| ations for public buildings, and to provide for
the erection of public buildings.
The concurrent resolution to authorize the
President to announce to foreign governments
| the result of the deliberations OF the lnterna-
tional conference, held in Washington in Octo-
Der last, for the purpose of fixing prime me
| ridian and universal day, and to invite the
concurrence of such governments in such result,
| was agreed to.
Mr.. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, called up the
resolution heretofore submitted by him, direct
ing the committee on finance to inquire whether
it would be expedient to eXpend the surplus
| revenue of the United states for the purpose of
reviving the shipping and export trade, on
which he addressed the Senate at length.
House of Representatives.
THE CONTEST BETWEEN THE RIVER AND HAIR
BoR AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES.
The fight between the river and harbor COM
| mittee and the appropriations committee began
in the House this morning, with considerable
| bitterness. The House took a recess from Sat
| urday afternoon until 10 o'clock this morning
| upon motion of Mr.. Willis, his purpose being to
continue the consideration of the river and har-
Dor bill, but Immediately after the reading Of
| the journal this morning Mr.. Townshend, from
| the appropriations committee, moved to go into
! the committee of the whole house to consider
| the post office appropriation bill. Mr.. Willis
anfagoniZed the motion, and the yeas and nays
| were ordered which consumed the time until
nearly II o'clock, resulting in vote Of 53 yeas
The House then, at II o'clock, went into COM
| mittee of the whole (NIr. Hammond, of Geor-
gia, in the chair on the river and harbOr apprO-
| pr1ation bill, the pending amendment being
that offered by Mr.. Hepburn uowa) Saturday,
| Mr.. ]. d. Taylor (Ohio) offered an amendment
| providing that no money appropriated in this
act shall be paid out until such payment shall
and constitutional.
Mr.. Post (Pa:) defended the members of the
committee on rivers and harbOrs from the at
tacks made upon them and attributed these at
tacks to spirit IF rivalry.
Mr.. Taylor withdrew his amendment.
The paragraph making appropriation for the
| Improvement of Galveston harbor having been
reached, Mr. Springer moved to strike it out
| because he was utterly opposed to farming out
the appropriation to be controlled by particu-
lar individual, however eminent he might be.
Mr. Willis said that he had been instructed
move, as a substitute for the Galveston harbOr
item, an amendment appropriating S5OO,OOO
for the Improvement of that harbor, and direct
| ing the harbor board to proceed at once to eX-
anime, survey and report to the Secretary of
War for his approval, plans, specifications and
estimates for said improvements; and when
these have been approved, the work shall be
carried on with all possible expedition.
AT 12:O5, Mr. Townshend, of Illinois, moved
| that the committee rise. Agreed to-yeas, 1913;
nays, SO.
AN EXCITING SCENE.
Mr.. White (Ky) rose to a question of privi-
lege, but his first sentence convinced the
| Speaker pro tenn. (N1r. Blackburn that such a
question was not presented, and requested the
gentleman to resume his seat, but Mr.. White
| continued with his remarks. The Speaker
directed the sergeant5at-arms to seat the gen.
aYf dQ6 tn
| perform his duty, but without carrying his en-
| blem of office. Mr.. White declined to recognize
| and proceeded toward Mr.. White, who took his
| seat, but who in a moment was again on his
| feet to matter of personal privilege.
"When l was occupying my place on this
| floor,' he said, "the sergeant-at-arms came to
me, a citizen, without the semblance of
authority and attempted to seat me-
| went under direction Of the chair, the chair
| having repeatedly ruled that the gentleman
was not in order and requested him to take his
| Seat, which he persistently refused to do. fAp-
plause on the democratic side1
81 desire to debate the question:" said Mr..
| White.
| The Speaker pro tem.-The chair does not de-
| sire to hear the debate. The chair declines to
| hear the gentleman further on the question of
| personal privilege. on the ground that it is not
question of privilege.
81 desire 20 ask" said Mr.. Kelley, Pa.),
"whether person, with no insignia of Office,
may place violent hands on member and push
him from his seat"
appeal If you wish to-" cried several voices
| from the democratic side.
The Speaker.The chair hears no appeal
privilege" broke in Mr.. Cutcheon, (sIich. e''
"And the chair differs from the gentleman" !"
| replied the Speaker.
Mr.: Hammond (Ga.) made the point of order,
| which was sustained by the chair, that no ap-
peal having been taken, debate was not in
order.
| Mr.. Townshend n) moved that the House
go into committee of the whole on the post Office
| appropriation bill. Agreed to-yeas, LAC; nays,
| Pending going into committee Mr.. White
again claimed the floor question of privi-
lese, and proceeded to sharply criticise the con-
duct of the Speaker, denouncing him as a Crom-
| well. This crowded the aisles with members,
| and nearly all were involved in the discussion,
some of the men about Mr.. White claiming that
member to his seat without the mace In his
hand. For few moments there was the utmost
confusion and perfect crOss-fire of words,
G. WISE Hs' way Called GIsf NJ White to order
the point of order, and the House, at 1880,
| went into committee of the whole Mr.. Springer
| of ILL.,, in the chair on
THE POST OFFICE APPRoPRIoTIoN BILL.
Mr.. Townshend explained the provisions of
| the bill, which he characterized as the most
important postal appropriation bill ever re-
ported to Congress.
| 1t appropriated, he stated, $50, ,253, 200 being
| S3,212, 800 less than the amount carried by the
| law for the current year. The most important
| of these changes was one in the method of COM
| pensating railways for railway service, which
| would save the government over 81 SOC, 900
per annum.
The District i'm Congress-.
DISTRICT DAY CUT OUT IN THE HOUSE.
| The morning session of the House ran over
| without an adjournment at noon, SO that Sat-
urdays session is continuing, and there will be
no Monday. The idea in allowing this to occur
| is understood to have been to get rid of the
claim of the District committee to the day, so
| that work on the appropriation bills could be
| design of the District committee to take up the
free bridge bill and other matters of importance
relating to the District, but being cut out of the
day these matters will go over until the fourth
Monday in the month, which is the last District
day of the session.
Capitol Topics.
TALK OF AN EXTRA SESSION.
The hitch in the progress of the river and har-
Dor bill has created considerable uneasiness and
| an extra session is said to be imminent Mem
| bers of Congress are complaining on every
hand, and it is declared that if the bill is not
disposed of to-day, it will have to be laid aside,
done, many say 1t will be impossible to dispose
| of the business this session. A member of the
| House said to STAR reporter to-day that he
had talked with several Senators, who were
very much worried, and said that If it was the
to crowd all the bills into the Senate on the
| last days of the session, they would have to
! bear the responsibility of an extra session, for
| the Senate would not work day and night to
| get rid OF the bills.
| MIR. RANDALL SAYS
| that If the vote to-day may be taken as a test
of the spirit of the House, the appropriation
bills will go right through and the danger of an