The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-25
Mr.. DcughcIty and Jacksonviilc's
Public Building

Public Building.
a correspondent informs us that one
of the points which Mr.. Greeley attempts
10 make against Mr.. Dougherty, in the
speech which IL Is reading to the audi
ences at the meetings, is that the bill
providing for public building in Jack
sonville, the passage of which was Sc
cured by Mr.. DougheIty in the House,
contains no appropriation and therefore
is of no value. We credit Mr. Greeley
with being too sensible a business man
TO be taken in himself by such trashy ar
gument; and therefore, in making il, his
hope must be that he will be able to
hoodwiDk and deceive others, whose
knowledge of the methods of legislation
is limited.
The facts In regard to the public build
ing are simply these: The bill is in the
usual form, being "A verbatim reproduc-
ton of all the public building bills that
have passed the House and Senate, the
only changes in the form being the
amount called for and the name of the
place where the building is TO be erected.
The passage of such bill commits Con
gress to the erection at the place named
of public building to cost the amount
called for therein. AS these bills, how
ever, are not appropriation bills, the
amounts called for in them are inserted
as separate items in the Sundry Civil APP
preparation Bill, and il is in this bill that
the actual appropriation of money is
provided for.
The reason why the appropriation for
the Jacksonville public building was not
found in the Sundry Civil B;ll passed at
the last session Is perfectly well under
stood by Mr.. Greeley and the gentlemen
who prepared his speech for him. The
sentiment of the House throughout the
last session was very strongly against
new public building bills; and the Indis-
position of the House To pass them was
intensified by the fact that the Presi-
dent vetoed most of them that came be.
fore him for consideration. 1t was only
by the most strenuous effo rts on the part
of Mr.. Dougherty, and by special favor
the Speaker during the last days of the
session. that the bill was taken up by
unanimous consent and passed. Even
when it passed the House the Sundry
Civil bill was in the conference commit
tee passing through its final stages, and
that bill WIS completed and passed be-
fore the President had been persuaded
to sign the Public Building bill and per
nit il to become a law. When he had
signed it, it was too late to get the item
inserted in the Sundry Civil bill, which
had passed.
But the fact is of comparatively slight
consequence. The vital point is that
Congress has declared that a public
building to cost $3.50. 900 shall be erected
at Jacksonville. and the President has
approved their action. And at the next
session, which convenes within little
over two months, the amount called for
in the bill will be inserted in the Sundry
Civil bill and passed without question,
as a matter of course,
The delay caused by this circumstance
will probably not amount to three months
in all. If the money We're now in the
treasury, assigned 10 that purpose, work
upon the building could not be begun
until all the preliminaries of securing
the lot, etc, had been completed, and
as 1T IL a mere matter of form, il is prob
able that this preliminary work can be
done before the money appropriated Is
actually available. so that when il be
comes available there will be no delay in
the prompt commencement of the work |
Of construction.
If Mr.. Greeley has no more substantial
fault than this to find with Mr.. Dough
erty's work in Congress, he had better
abandon the role of critic, and take To
explaining to his darkey constituents the
mysteries of loans. mortgages and fore
closures. Times onion.