Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1886-07-31
SENATORIAL WRATH,
A Row Over the. OIeomargarlne
Blll-Beats the House.

Blll-BeaCS the House.
Special Correspondence Of the ISrER.OcEAS.
WASHINGTON, July 2S.-What is the
matter with our legislators? Is it the
hot weather? Last week there were
blows and bloodshed between two dis.
cordant members of the lower house,
and a vicious battle of words between
two presidential candidates in the sen.
ate. The present week opened with a
violent scene of passion in the upper
house, such as has not been witnessed i in
that august, dignifed body for years,
and had the dispute occurred outside
the n chamber there probably
would have been a repetition of the
Cobb.Laird incident.
And it was all about oleomargarine
and butter, or as Senator Vance would
say, all about grease" He character
lied the oleomargar,ne bill as "protec-
ton gone to seed" Any business that
came to congress and invoked the arm
of the law to keepi it alive at the expense
Of other business was unfit to live. He
charged that the supporters of the bill
were influenced by political considera.
tons; that butter, like conscience, made
COW herds of them all. The necessity of
grease" to carry the State of New York
two years hence vas what affected them.
But will return to the subject of SEN
atorial courtesies. While Senator In
gals was making a speech in opposition
to oleomargarine, he found in his desk
material for a satirical speech VIII CHI he
directed against Mr.. Edmunds. He
pulled forth from some mysterious re-
cess 81 small vial containing coloring
matter, manufactured at Burlington, VT,
the residence Of Mr.. Edmunds, which
was warranted to add five cents to the
value Of every pound of butter with
which it was used. The Kansas senator
then sarcastically referred to the inno-
cent, bucolic farmer who jumped upon
oleomargarine as a fraud that should be
stamped out, while he doctored up his
own pale.faced butter with extracts that
looked like iodine, until 1t put on a rich,
creamy hue and added a nickel a pound
to its market price.
Somehow Senator Warner Miller. of
New York, who liyes on a farm when at
home, felt attacked by this sally. His
face grew red and white with anger dur
ing the talk, and when lie arose to speak
his voice fairly quivered with passion.
1t took two or three minutes for him to
repress the temptation to pounce upon
the senator from Kansas. "He charges
me with being directly interested in this
MEASURE" shouted Mr.. Miller. ut is
true ! live on a farm and keep a few
COWS and horses, and at some periods of
the year ! make butter and cheese. But
for every dollar that | have received from
my cattle | have paid out ten, and in no
sense am ! directly interested III tho
pending legislation Bursting into a
frenzled rage he defied Mr.. Ingalls,,
shook his fist in his face, stigmatized the
charge against himself IA malicious
and untrue, called him Il coward for
protecting himself behind the parlia-
mentary usages Of the senate, and more
than intimated that he would never
have dared to say what he had outside
the senate chamber. He also described
ingalls, as a circus peddler and told him
if he failed as U. S. senator he could
probably make a living by manipulating
bogus jewellery.
The senator from Kansas, who was
thoroughly angry himself, disclaimed
having had any reference to Mr.. Miller
in his remarks, but retorted that he was
now going to be personal some himself.
He has a limitless indicative vocabu-
larry and he drew literally upon his re-
sources. He proceeded to say hat it
was a national indecency and improprie-
tv for Mr.. Miller, who was a dairy farm
err and personally interested in what the
COW did for mankind, to be chairman of
the committee which brought forward a
bill to head off all competition with the
COW.
The senate listened breathlessly to this
quarrel between Republican senator's,
and Mr.. Butler, of South Carolina, ex-
pressed the hope that the comedy of the
little bottle of coloring matter would not
end with a CORY tragedy. 1t probably
will not, but the senate has reached the
record Of the house for breaches Of dig
nifty, and it would not be safe to say
what it might not be guilty of. The de.
moralizinG effect Of a session prolonged
into dog days is quite apparent. and it
is evident that it is time for to
adjourn. In case the tempers Of the
senators and members continue to fail
them as the summer advances, it has
been suggested that a special committee
Of honor be appointed t 0 consider these
personal encounters. "You dare not
say that outside has become the watch.
word Of both house-and most of them
do not.
As if apologizing for wasting the little
remaining time Of the session in private
controversies, a bright light may be seen