The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-03-25
MEMPHIS DAILY APPEAI---THURsDAY MARCH 25 1886.


to the pending clause. But he did q o.
wish 10 delay the passage Of the bill,
and he therefore withdrew the point
OF order
After debate upon an amendment
offered and rejected, the committee
rose and the oil was passed-yeas,
226; nays, 5.
The House immediately went into
committee Of the whole Mr.. Ham
mnnd LGs 10 the chain on the post
Ctfice appropriation bill.
Mr.. b onnt lGa chairman Of the
Committee on POET ffices and Post.
roads, briefly explained the provisions
Of the bill. 1t appropliates, he said,
f54 1926 sos as against an estimate OF
s5i,SS6. 1853, and an appropriation OF
t53, zoe, 800 for the current year.
The committee then rose, and Mr..
Blouni asked that all genera debate on
the bill be limited to six hours. This
was no. considered q sufficient length
of time by the Republican side, and
Mr.. Burrows Mich. moved to amend
by making the time ten hours
The amendment was fist, 20 TO 81,
and Mr.. Blount's molten was rejected,
the committee ret ming its session.
Mr.. Dockery Mo. said the appro-
priation bill which had been reported
this session showed that the assertions
made that the distribution Of the APP
preparation bills would result in in
creased expenditureshad been without
foundation.
Mr.. Burrows Mich. called the a.
tention of the committee 10 the fact
that the estimate for the pay { t railway
postal clerks was too low. At the last
session Congress had appropriated
$8l, 0 for the purpose OF rt'establish-
ing their salaries, though it had not
been specifically stated in the bill.
The Postmaster. General had refused
to execute the law because this pur-
pose was not directly specified. If
that officer had examined the esti-
mates he could have there discovered
that the sum Estimated could not have
been reached in any other way than
by allowing $Sl, 900 fer the pay
OF postal clerks at the rate
allowed by law. There was another
instance where the law was perfectly
plain, yet for the purpose Of making
that law a nullity the Pos master G an
elal had found no difficulty in looking
beyond the law and outside OF it f)r a
re ason on which he could base his re-
fufal to execute it. This bill appropri-
ated 1875, 900 for the Transports ton of
foreign mails. The conditional esti-
mate OF the DEPARTMENT bad been $780,
600, but the Po.tmattsr.G General had
stated that il it was the will of Con-
gress TO pay American vessels the sum
OF sea and inland postage, 1t would be
necessary to increase the appropria-
ton to S425,00 By reason Of the fail
uTe Of the Postmaster-G General ID ex-
ecuts the law passed by Congress at
its last session, the department had
been thrown back on the old statute,
which provided that the Postmaster
General should, in his discretion, pay
to American vessels the sea and inland
postage. He would at the proper time
move to amend this bill 30 as to make
the appropriation equal to the full
amount of the sea and inland postage,
and regretted. under the rules OF the
House, he could not do more.
After quoting from statit tics to show
the small sums allowed to American
vessels for carrying the mails Mr.. Bur
rows cited the law of last year. su-
thorizing the Postmaster General to
enter into contracts With the vessels at
rate not exceeding so cents per nau-
| tical mile. 1t was known to all and
conceded by all that the law remained
dead letter. 1t was not executed and
the law of Congress in this regard was
entirely and wholly nullifed. The
Postmaster General had never moved
a hand or taken step in the direction
of its execution. The Postmaster
General had given as an excuse that
ON only two lines was there any COM
petition. What right had he to as
sumo that the advertisement for pro-
posals would not invite competit on
In the next breath the Postmaster
General said that it was impossible to
execute the law because there was
no competition between San Francisco
and China and New York and Cuba.
Having given these reasons the Post
msster General supplemented his
argument with tsbulation showing
il the government paid steamship
lines the sea postage 1t was paying
them more than they received for
transporting wheat or pork. II
was the business OF the Post.
J master General when Congress had
determined to let the servics to the
lowest bidder 10 make an effort to ex'
ecute the law stead OF sitting down
and declining to make the slightest
move toward it's execution. But the
administration OF the Postoffice De
partment was subject to just criticism
not only in regard TO these matters
but in other particulars OF no little
public concern. 1t had not only null
li6ed the law touching the admins
trstion OF the postal service, both do
mestic and foreign, but with uncom'
mon effrontsry had defed not only
the spirit, but the letter OF the civil
service law. Reaching, as the Post
office Department. did, into every
State, town and hamlet in the broad
land, there was 10 department OF the
public service where the administers
ton could have given more convincing
proof Of it's sincerity in the matter o.
reform in the public service. Ye'
there had been no branch OF the pub
lie service where this law had beer
more wantonly ard openly deied from
the beginning until this hour.
Mr.. Burrows continued his speech
in which the administration was sc
verely criticised, and at the conclusion
OF HE remarks the House adjourned
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THE TWO SANS,