The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-12-19

pri ,tion Committee the bills heretofore i'll
It's charge and distribute them among
| eight or nine other committees. The re-
| suit would be Il friction and delay, and
| possibly form combinations. The thing to
| do was to shear the Appropriation Com
| mittee OF every vestige OF power OF enact
! ing general legislation in the form of riders
| or amendments to Appropriation Bills.
This power should be left with the COM
mittee. The question was not simply to
distribute bills. 1t went further than that.
The proposition was now to destroy.
abolish and annihilate the Appropriation
Committee as far as the responsibility for
the expenditures of the country was con-
cerned.
Mcmillan, OF Tennessee, did not believe
that the question presented was one ofcor-
fidence or want OF confidence in the intes-
rity Of the members of the House. The
question was wheti:sr the House should
have committee supervising the expendi-
lures of the Government, and he would op-
pose distribution OF the appropriation
bills for the same reason that he would
the proposition to divide the duty OF the
Committee on Ways and Means, to give the
subject of tariff to one committee and OF
internal revenue to another. He regarded
the proposed change as one which would
permit amendments increasing the expendi
lures, and rule out those tending to reduce
them.
After IL few remarks by Burrows, ofMich
igan, in support OF the proposed change,
the revision was read by clauses for amend
ment.
Springer, OF 1lilois, offered an amend
ment for a division of the Committee on
Railways and Canals into two committees,
and this proposition was favored by Hen
Cerson, OF Illinois, Murphy, OF Iowa, and
theirs OF the advocacy OF the Hennepin
t anal project, who contended that the in
derests OF railways and canals were so an
oagonistic one to another that they should
not be combined under the Jurisdiction OF
one committee. The House. however, re-
fused to order division by vote OF "a
to 133. .~
proposition to create a "COnstitu-
tional Amendment" Committee, presented
by Mr.. Bayne, OF Pennsylvania, having
been defeated, through vigorous opposition
of Tucker, OF Virginia, an amendment was
offered by Payne, OF New York, to give the
Committe on Revision OF Laws Jurisdiction
over the proposed amendments to the
Constitution. The amendment was lost.
The membership OF the Committee on Ac-
counts was increased to nine.
Springer, OF Illinois, made several at
tempts to abolish committees which he
deemed useless, declaring that some OF them
did no business except to select clerks, but
| his efforts were unsuccessful.
Several other speeches followed.
Randall, of Pennsylvania, in closing the
debate in opposition to the majority re-
port, said he knew and members who had
| served upon Appropriation Committees
knew, that in the effort to resist untu ap-
preparations they had been engaged in a
| thankless task, but he had never known
| there would be those in public station who
would rise up and condemn a man or set of
men who were engaged IN the laudable pur-
pose OF saving the expenditure OF public
money. The gentleman from New York
| (Hiscock) had stated as he (RandalD
| thought to his discredit that on one occa-
| sion, in order to execute IL certain policy,
| he has! found it an incumbent on him
| to delay the Appropriation Bills. ne
| (RandalD submitted that as to the Tariff,
| River and Harbor and Interstate Com
merce Bills, the Committee on Appropria-
tions never had intcrposed, except when it
| was essential that Congress should pass
| Appropriation bills. The policy which the
| Committee on Appropriations had adopted
| when under control of the Democratic
party had been one Of economy, and failed
| to find anywhere declarations OF his party
| in convention where that principle was not
announced as the one which would be fol-
lowed il the people entrusted it with that
power. He (RandalD had come here during
the war. He was not going to refer
| to what his course OF conduct had
been during that immediate period, but
| when that war was over he wanted the
country to 90 straight back to strict con-
sideration OF the Constitution, to the
| teachings OF the founder OF Democracy.
Jefferson said there should be no money
appropriated for any purpose unless there
was direct authority III the Constitution OF
the United States to that end. The River
and Habor bill was only objected to when
it went outside OF the Constitution and
Congress had 10 right to collect taxes i'll
order to make such Il distribution OF them
He remembered very well the declaration
OF the late candidate for the Presidency on
the other side, when he proposed to divide
the surplus funds OF the Treasury
among the States The peoples reply
had been that this government possessed
no power to take from the people OF the
| United States taxes to distribute anon!
the States, and that the great objection
thereto was that it made States the vas
sails Of the Federal Government. He dit
| not say one set of men were ADLER THAI
another nor that it possessed more integ
rity OF purpose than another. lie INSISTED
on the proposed change solely because N
believed it was entering on dangerous
field OF appropriation OF public money, ant
he affirmed with positiveness that to dis
tribute these bills was to take away tha
unity and harmony OF action which wa
essential to every party in power, that !
might come up to the requirements ot tn
pledges that had placed it in power.
Morris on, of Illinois, said that the as
sumption OF the gentleman from Lousian'
that anybody found fault with the Appro
: priation Committee, or any member OF 1t
and the assumption or inference INTENDED
to be drawn from these rules, that any
J BODY who had participated in making thu
l report had for his purpose an increase {.
) cxpeditures. or that the adoption OF thu
report would increase expenditures, wa
equally gratuitous.
Pending an effort on his part to abolis
the Committees on Public Expenditures
, various departments, and to create on
, Committee on Expenditures in the ENecr
, tive Department, the House adjourned.
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