Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-06-24
WASHINGTON.
Proceedings of the House
and Senate.
LAWYERS AT LoGGERHEADs

LAWYERS AT L0GGERHRADs,
The President yetOes Unjust Pen
sion Bills and Grows Slightly
| Ir0nical.
Especial to the Herald bu the associated Press.
SENATE.
WASHINGTON, June 23.-Hawley' 8
motion was taken up to reconsider the
vote by which the Senate passed the
bill prohibiting members of Congress
from acting as attorneys Of land.grant
railroads.
Beck resumed the floor and continued
his remarks against reconsideration. He
denied that he had intended to injure
anybody by the introduction Of the bill.
II the Senate should agree to the mo-
tion to reconsider that would be the last
OF the bill. MIR. Beck read Mitchell's
amendment proposing to forbid members
Of Congress from doing law business for
men who were managers OF banks or
importers Of foreign goods, or who
manufactured butter, oleomargarine, to-
bacco or whisky. 'If that is not taking
lick at creation, what is it?" exclaimed
Mr.. Beck. He deprecated that sort of
amendment, but added that he had
often heard the fable of the ad-
vice given to all foxes by fox
whose tail had been cut of. That
advice was that they should all have
their tails cut off because his had been
cut of. He thought the fable illustrated
| the case Of this amendment. II would
be as reasonable to say that because
man had been punished for criminally
killing another man, therefore he should
be punished for killing mouse or for
taking life of any kind. Mr.. Beck did
not know whether Mr.. Mitchell was the
attorney Of the Northern Pacific road or
not. Mr.. Beck had been informed that
he was. He believed that MIR. Mitchell
had right to be such, railroad compa-
nies sought the best lawyers and had
right to them.
Mitchell warmly replied that he was
the attorney of no railroad. BE de.
sired the Senator from Kentucky (Beck)
to understand that he MitchelD had
never, while In the Senate, been en-
ployed by any railroad company To argue
any case in Court or out He was not
now, and had not been for over a year.
the attorney Of any corporation. II the
bill were to be passed on the idea that
every member of Congress who was
lawyer was dishonest, with view of
making him honest, their bill should
be made to include the matters indicated
in Mitchell's suggested amendment.
Mitchell asked Beck when anybody
had told him that he (Mitchell) had
been an attorney for the Northern Pa
cific railroad.
Beck said he had been 30 told, the
time did not matter. He was glad to
hear the Senator confess that he had re-
signed as attorney when elected to the
| Senate.
Mitchell said he was not in Congress
at the time, but had resigned eight
months before his election.
Mr.. Evarts noticed that no disability
had been al piled by Beck to another
profession than the law.
Mr.. Beck said he was himself q law
yer, and would not place any indig-
nifty on the profession of the law.
When elected to Congress. how
ever, he found that his public
duties required all Of his time,
not being possessed of the transcendent
abilities that the Senator from New York
perhaps possessed. The country be-
iieved that the 5000 year received
by Senators and Representatives in Con-
gress entitled the people to their whole
service, and il Senators or Representa-
tives could not live on that compensa-
ton they had no right to supplement it
by taking fees from corporations whose
| interests were adverse to those of the
people.
Mr.. Sherman. taking the floor. said
that the universal rule Of the Senate
was to grant reconsideration almost as a
matter Of course, whenever asked for.
Even when the Senate was almost a
unit against bill a vote for its recon-
Alteration had often been unanimous.
This bill had his hearty approval. The
criticisms made against it were rather
/ too fine.
The motion to reconsider having been
brought to a vote, il was agreed to-
yeas 81, nays 81. The only Republican
voting in the negative was Mr.. Van
Wyck. The Democrats voting in the
affirmative were Messrs. Call. Gray,
Payne, Pugh and Ransom.
Mr.. Hawley then moved to refer the
bill to the Judiciary Committee.
Vance called for the reading Of the
bill by way of q final farewell to it.
l[Laughter.
The bill having been read. Edmunds
assured Mr.. Vance that he should have
the pleasure of seeing the bill back in
the Senate within eight days.
Msxey tsotto yocee"With an adverse
report.
The bill was then referred TO the Ju-
dietary Committee by vote Of 30 to 81.
A number of veto messages received
from the President were read and laid
on the table, Mr.. Logan. remarking as
TO one of them. that he had never before
known of such construction as that a
soldier on furlough was not in the line
of duty.
Mr.. Blair said the President seemed
to find it congenial duty to express
himself ia the most extraordinary Terms
respecting the two Houses Of Congress.
That, however, was matter OF official
propriety. as to which every man must
judge for himself. Mr.. Blair defended
Congress from the criticisms made by
the President, and stated that some of
the Presidents statements were an entire
misapprehension Of the facts. Blair
gave instances to support his assertions.
He charged that the Pension Office, as
organized, was organized to reject claims
whenever 1t could be done. 1t had
come to be court of chancery. Some
of the statements made about the action
OF Congress regarding pensions were
petty, trifling and contemplate.
The bill to repeal the pre-emption and
timber culture laws was then placed be-
fore the Senate and was debated until
adjournment. In the course of some
remarks on the bill Mr.. Plumb said that
IL there was not some changer in the
methods Of the management OF the Gen
eral Land Office the litigation which
would ensue would outiast the life
time of every man who heard
him and would exhaust the entire
value Of the lands. The malicious, in
terested and careless Investigations of
special agents invested with an absolute
power, would render injury TO thousands
and tens Of thousands of persons who had
never had thought Of wronging the
government. 1t was agreed that at )
O'Clock tomorrow q vote should be
taken on the bill.
After an executive session the Senate
adjourned.
| HOUSE.
wAsHNeToS,, june %. = Morrison
called up the report of the Committee
on Rules amending the rules Of the
House upon which the debate occurred
yesterday.
Reed. of Maine. raised the question