The Portland daily press., 1886-03-31
XLIXth CONGRESS- FIRST SESSION.
SENATE.
WASHINGTON. March

tne e1nclency OF the army was taKen up. MT.
Logan took the floor and continued his re-
marks in support of the bill.
Mr.. Logan continued at some length and
was followed by Mr. Teller. During the lat
ter's speech a controversy arose between him
self and Mr.. Logan as to whether remark
made by Mr.. Logan recently had been cor
rectly quoted in the Record.
The hour of two O'Clock arrived and the
interstate commerce bill, which was to have
been taken up bylspecial order, was laid over
admission BILL on which Mr.. Pratt had the
right of the floor, shall have been disposed
OF. Mr.. Pratt then resumed the floor in fav-
or OF the Washington Territory bill. He
contended that it should be admitted as
State because she filled every requirement.
therefor and her people were entitled to the
full rights of citizenship, He said the Ter
rltory had large coal fields, excellent iron
mines, great water ways and the most mag
niicent body of timber existing today in the
make it one of the richest States in the
Union; its agricultural lands were as fertile
as any in the United States and all susceptible
of profitable working; its yield of wheat ay-
eraged "a bushels per acre, the high
est in the United States its yield OF oats av-
eraged Al bushels per acre, the highest in the
United States; its yield of barley 80 bushels
per acre; all crops and all fruits cultivated
in temperate latitude could be successful
ly cultivated there; shipbuilding was a
thriving industry in the Territory and wood
en- ships could be built there at one-half the
cost in Maine.
AT the close of Mr.. Pratt's speech Mr..
Voorhees, introduced bill for admission of
the Territory of Montana in place Of the bill
originally introduced by him. The bill now
introduced, Mr.. voorhees, said, was an
enabling act while the first bill provided for
immediate admission of the Territory.
Mr.. Vance gave notice that after the morn
ing business tomorrow he would call up his
bill for repeal of the civil service law for the
purpose of addressing the Senate upon it.
At 415 p. m. the Senate went into eXecu-
tive session, and at $40 the doors were re-
opened and the Senate adjourned.
HOUSE.
In the morning hour the House resumed
consideration Of the bill to regulate the
compensation and duties of United States
attorneys, marshals and commissioners.
Mr.. Herbert of Alabama said the fee sys-
TEN has proved a failure and earnestly advO-
Gated change from that system to a salary
system, as proposed by the bill.
Mr.. Springer of Illinois took the same
ground.
over without action and resumed its place on
the calendar.
Mr.. Cox of North Carolina, in behalf of
the committee on civil service reform, called
up the bill to secure an equitable classifica-
tion and compensation of certain officers of
the United States, but the reading of, the re-
port lasted until the morning hour expired
and the House then went into committee of
the whole on the post office appropriation
bill
Mr.. j. NJ. Taylor of Tennessee defended
the Postmaster General from the criticisms
made by Mr.. Burrows of Michigan for
not increasing the salaries of fourth and
fifth class postal clerks, and quoted from the
Record to show that this subject of increase
had been left by Congress to the discretion
of the Postmaster General.
Mr.. Dingley of Maine said the question in
volved was not one of subsidizing American
compensation for mail service. There was
no proposition to initiate England, which
annually gave her steamships three and one
quarter millions of dollars, one and one
quarter millions of dollars more than the
postage, or Germany, or Italy, or Spain,
which paid their steamships million each
The bill appropriated $375, 900 for the trans
portati0n of our foreign mails, but 100000
of this was to go to foreign steamships and
only $4,000 to American Steamships Itwas
said that foreign steamships were paid by
us five times as much as American steam
ships because they performed so much more
service. That might be so, if by service was
simply meant pieces transported without re-
gard to distance. The trouble was that our
basis of payment, which considered simply
the weight of the mail, was unjust and fav-
ored foreign lines which occupied the trans
Atlantic routes where the mail was heavy,
WuliS lll6 AIll0IlCctu llllGS OCCupl6u IOuLGS OH
this continent and on the Pacific where the
mail was light.
We paid the British Cunard and White
Star lines So cents per mile for mail service
on their outward trips last year, but the
American steamships were paid only cents
per mile one way, and the maximum which
our laws allowed would only gives cents per
mile. We paid the line to China and Japan
only 81 cents per mile last year, and the
Venezuelan line only Il cents per mile each
W. and the amount nrOOOcQ6 hU thic hill
would allow only 81 cents per mile to this
line next year, and at the same time we pro-
posed to pay the Cunard line 3S cents per
mile.
We had no difficulty in paying our coast
wise steamship lines a reasonable compensa-
tion, and why was it that we allowed our
selves to discriminate against our lines in
the foreign trade when some one who SEEM
ed to be afraid that we should Interfere with
England's prestige on the ocean, cried out
'subsidy?" The last Congress appropriated
a sufficient amount to enable the Postmaster
General to pay the existing American steam
ship lines as much per mile as he paid the
Cunard line, and to secure the establishment
of new line to Buenos AyreS. But that of
fetal declined to execute the law, and it was
denounced as subsidy" If this policy
was to be continued, we would in due time
see the last American steamship in the for
eign trade.
To fill the chapter of injustice to American
steamship lines it was now proposed to COM
pei them to carry our mails for whatever
compensation the Postmaster General might
be pleased to give. A British steamship
could come and go as it pleased but an Amer
lean steamship in the foreign trade was to
be detained until it consented to carry our
mails for sum insufficient to pay expenses.
The owner of a stage coach was free to make
contract or not to carry mails, but the
moment Americans become the owners of a
steamship the government proposed to COM
pei service for inadequate remuneration.
Replying to the charge of Mr.. Dockery of
Missouri, that the Republican tariff policy
had driven from the ocean the flourishing
merchant marine that we had before the
war under Democratic policy, Mr.. Dingley
said that the portion of our merchant ma
rine which had been protected-to wit: that
in the coastwise trade-had flourished and |
had today three times the tonnage of the |
home fleet of the United Kingdom; while |
that portion Of our shipping which had been
unprotected for 50 years-to wit: that in the |
foreign trade-had steadily declined since |
1856.
Messrs. Springer of Illinois, Dockery of |
Missouri, and Warner of Ohio thought that |
the discretion of the Postmaster General |
had been wisely exercised.
NIna antnaY tfaaf fha,,