Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-02-26
THE DAY IN CONGRESS.
FILIBUSTERING TACTICS IN THE
HOUSE.

Browne Moves a Vote of Censure on
Gibson Which is Defeated-The Eads
| Clause in the River and HarbOr Bill
The Swain Court Martial in the
| Senate.
! WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.-In the Senate
Mr. Allison submitted the conference re-
| port on the army appropriation bill, and
said the conferees had agreed as to all
the differences except that relating to
cOurts-m artial in time of peace. The
House provision. he said, so amended the
| Oath article Of war as to enable courts
martial to control the hours of their own
session, instead of being limited, as now,
to the hours from a. m. to pm.
A long and rather acrimonious debate fol-
| lowed, in the course of which Messrs. Dawes,
ingalls, and COnger attacked the President
for his action in the matter of the findings of
the swain cOurt-martlal made public yes
| terday. and the court itself.
| ''If the public elements were correct" Mr..
| Ingalls, saId, ''the proceedings subsequent to
| the trial were disgrace to civilization. 1t
was a shame that any tribunal of Jaw should
| be subjected to the pressure and violent in
| reference that appeared TO have been
| brought to bear, not IN the interest of Justice
| but for the purpose of compelling a verdict
| more injurious to the accused. The findings
| of the court had been several times returned
| to the court, the last time with most offensive
| epithets on the defendant"
| Messrs. Hawley, Hale. COckreIl and Aldrich
| defenued the President and the officers of the
| court, and protested aga nst the offensive i'm
| put2tions cast upon tn
| On motion of Mr.. All tie Senate further
| Insisted on Its amendment to strike out he
| House provision permitting courts martial to
| control their own hours of session. The Chair
| reappOlnted the conference committee al
ready acting on the bill.
| The Committee on Appropriations reported
| the legislative, executive and judicial ap-
| preparation bill, and asked its immediate con
| sideratlon. The bill was taken up and its
| reading proceeded with
| The committees amendments were con-
| CURED IN with but unimportant exceptions.
| Several Senators had amendments topropose,
| ana considerable confusion prevailed. Motions
| to adjourn, and to go into executive session,
| alternated for half an hour or more the roll
| call sometimes disclosing the absence of
| quorum. Finally, at 1:l5 p. M. it becoming
| apparent that the bill could not be disposed OF
| tonight, the Senate adjourned.
IN THE HOUSE.
In the House, Mr.. Geddes, of Ohio from the
committee on war Claims, reported the bill
making an appropriation for the payment OF
| the Fourth of July claims. Referred to the
committee of the whole.
| Mr.. TOwnshend asked unanimous consent
| to take from the Speakers table, for reference
| to the Committee on Appropriations, the post
office appropriation bill, with the Senate
| amendments, but Mr.. Payson objected.
Mr.. Burns moved to suspend the rules and
| pass the deficiency appropriation bill with the
various amendments reported from the Com
mittee on Appropriations.
The following were the important amend
ments reported and Incorporated in the bill:
| ApprOpriating $23S, ,44S to pay judgments rem
| dered by the Court of Claims; appropriating
| Sl62,340, together with the unexpended ball
| ances, for the completion of the new cruisers
and dispatch boat; abOlishng the office OF the
| tenth census, and providing that the work Of
| the census shall be com pleted in the Office of
| the Secretary of the Interior. The motion to
suspend the rules and pass the bill was agreed
tO-yeas 2ll, nays 80. The House then pro-
ceeded to consideration of business under the
special rule.
A number of public building and other
special interest bills were passed and the
| House then resumed consideration of the
river and harbor bill, upon tine third reading
| of which the previous question was Operat-
| ing, and proceeded to vote on the amendments
reported from the committee of the whole
Two hours were consumed in voting upon
| the amendments separately, as the question
| of no quorum was raised in nearly every in.
| stance, necessltating tedious vote by telers.
| In each case the amendments were adopted
without yea and nay vOie, until the amend
ment was reached striking out the clauses
| approprlatlng for the improvement of the
MISSISSIPPI river from the head of the passes
| 10 the mouth of the Ohio river, and recon-
mendlng the President to appoint James d.
| Eads as advisory engineer of the Mississippi
committee of the whole with the assent of the
Committee on Rivers and Harbors, in order
| to facilitate consideration of the bill IN the
| committee, the intention being to renstate
| the CLAUSE in the House. 1t having been
! agreed by the River and HarbOr Com mIttee to
| strike from the bill the paragraph for the ap-
pOlntment OF an advisory engineer, Mr.. Willis
| asked unanimous consent that, should the
amendment of the committee of the whole be
( rejected and the Mississippi river clause be
again placed in the bill, that portion of it re-
.erring to Capt. Eads should be eliminated.
MIR. HlscOck objected, and the yeas and nays
were called amid much confusion upon the
amendment of the committee. When the roll
| call was completed, the amendment to strike
out the clause was carried by a small majOri-
| ty, but it was stated in private conversation
| that 81 motion would be made to recommit the
| bill, with instruction to the commit ee on
| Rivers and HarbOrs to report it back with the
| Eads clause stricken out, and this caused sew
eral members to change their votes from the
| affirmative to the negative, and the vote was
declared to be yeas l37, nays l39. This re-
| jects the amendment of the Committee of the
whole and restores the Mississippi river prop
| OsltiOn to the bill.
Mr.. Hunt moved to reconsider the vote and
| moved to lay that motion on the table. Agreed
| to. Yeas l45, nays 1874.
Mr.. Willis then asked that the Eads propO-
sitiOn be stricken out, but Mr.. White OBJ
ected.
The opponents of the bill then resorted to
| fhbustering tactics, and several motions to
adjourn were made and severally voted down.
| Then motion was made for recess, and no
quorum having voted call of the House was
| ordered. The Sergeant-at-A Arms having been
| llbDdlCuCtl IN QueSb Oh absent MEMBERS, Ine
House lapscd into comatOse state as far as
business was concerned. The greatest list
| lessness was evinced by the members. and the
proceedings under call were not even marked
| by the hilarity which usually characterizes
| them. This continued until 9:30, when Mr..
White, Of Kentucky, secured the floor on a
motion connected with the call Of the House.
| HIS presence was the signal for cries of
"LOuderW Leave to print!' ''VOtev' ETC.,
| and general shouts and confusion, while Mr.
| Weaver, of Nebraska, in the guise of par
1fuwr1 1arafn rhaf
| with the most mouth was entitled to all the
| time of the House.
Amid shouts of approving laughter Mr..
White called the attention of the House to the
fact that the gentleman who was jeering at
| him was violating openly the rules of the
| House by smoking on the floor.
This turned the laugh against Mr.. Weaver,
who quickly returned that it was necessary
for a man to do something to keep from being
bored to death. But Mr.. White was not to be
diverted from his purpose of making q speech,
which he continued to do to the intense en-
| joyment of the House at large, but to the
manifest annoyance of the friends of the
river and harbOr bill. Jeers, laughter and
shouts greeted him on all sides, and confusion
reigned supreme.
Mr.. White then proceeded with his speech,
and amid Kisses from the Democratic side he
referred to President-elect Cleveland's being
in a saloon in Buffalo with the boys.
oh" said Mr.. Gibson, of West Virginia,
''this is disgraceful. The gentleman shall not
utter falsehOods on this floor"
Mr.. Brown, of Indiana, demanded that the
words be taken down.
Several Democratic members Withdraw
them"
mol" replied Mr.. Gibson, 81 do not take
them back, but repeat them."
The language was read at the Clerks desk
as given above
Mr.. Browne said that he was not surprised
that in the confusion the reporter had not
taken down accurately the remark Of the
gentleman from West Virginia. The language
used was: "And the gentleman has been stand
ing here tonight uttering deliberate false
hoods"
Messrs. Ellis, of Louisiana, and Buckner of
Missouri, stated their understanding of the
gentlemans language that he had used the
word advertising" instead of ''utteriHg."
Mr.. Gibson being allowed to make state
ment said that his language was this: 81 sub
init that the gentleman from Kentucky has no
right to stand on this floor and advertise de-
liberate falsehoOds."
Mr.. Browne then moved that in the judg-
ment OF this House the language used by the
gentlemen from West Virginia was unpar-
liamentary and in violation of the rules, and
that he is subject to the censure OF the
House.
Mr.. Browne, continuing. said that the time
had come when one member might charge
his fellow member with being a liar, scOun-
drel, or anything else within the language of
lnvective, yet it was not a violation of the
decorum OF this dignifed body. He had
heard language used here which would have
disgraced the vilest pot-hous in the city.
Mr.. IIlman, of South Carolina, thought
that the House was engaged in an eXtraordl-
nary proceeding. 1t was engaged in what he
tiOn put it IN the power Of one-ffth of the
members to veto the will of the majority by
calling the yeas and nays. Since O'Clock it
had been evident that vet0ing minority
was determined that the river and harbOr
bill should not pass. and the question had re-
endurance.