Telegram-herald., 1886-04-22
THE DAY IN CONGRESS
Judge Kelley Quotes From
the "Mikado."
The RIVER AND HlRBOR BILL
Much Wino and Little Work "a the
House festerday-fo our Hundred
Private Pension Bills Passed
IN the Senate.

wAsHINeloN, April 2i-Consideration oi
the bill Tor the relief Of Alabama sufferers
wss resumed ia the House, bat pending
action the morning hour expired and the
House went into committee Of the Whole
on the River and HaIbor bills. Nj Hep
| burn. Of Iowa. moved 10 strike on the para
graph appropriaging $4,000 for the im-
proyemeDt Of Galveston harbaF, He could
see no material difference between ihe
proposed improvement and that which had
been denounced by the Galveston
representative lOchiuee during the
last Congress Mr.. Craine ia
quired whether there was any appfopTia-
tion in the bill for the district represented
10y the gentleman from loea and Mr.
Hepburn replied in the negative, stating
that there were no navigable services IA
Iowa. Mr. Crane regarded that fact a. the
milk in the cocoanut If the gentleman had
share Of the pork be would not have made
complaint Mr Hepburn suggested that the
gentleman remarks seemed 10 imply that
no one had night 10 talk about
the bill except those Who had some
pork in the barrel. The motion
To strike out was lost-3s 10 s2-bui II Vas
agreed that ii vote should be taken upon ID
in the house Mr.. Negier. of Penusy lyania
raised the point of order against The clause
OF the bill which directs the Secretary of
War To nccoiiate for the purchase OF the
works Of the Monongahela Navigation
Company The value of the works 10 be
ascertained by commission Oi three
engineers of the engineer corpse II the
Company refuses 10 sell It's works OF de-
mands a price deemed by the Secretary 10
be excessive, the Secretary j. directed 10
acquire the works by condemnation or IN
exercise of his discretion 10 take possess
sion of the works. Mr.. Negier regarded the
clause as extraordinary unconstitutional
and without precedent. II proposed 10 con
fer on executive officer of the government
the power 10 seize private franchises and pri
yGte rights without due process Of law. The
chair Mr.. Wellborne, OF Texss,) ruled that
the point was not well taken as the reasons
given in support went entirely TO the ques-
tan of the exPedency of the legislation.
Mr.. Reagan, of Texas, then moved to strike
out the clause. declaring that II was a PLAN
proposition 10 cOntlscate the property of the
company and tO ignore its charter rights.
Mr.. Bayne. of Pennsylvania, said the Mo-
nongahela river was national highway
and in support of that proposition declared
the tonnage of that river was greater than
that of any other river in the country or of
the harbor of New York. All this tonnage
would have to pay tribute To corporation
If the clause were stricken from the
bill. Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania.
could not help thinking that, though
IL might be an old fashioned no
ton of his that Congress should recog-
nize the right of property and the rights OF
the judiciary. There was property bad by
charter of the State of Pennsylvania for
half century. Here was a stream on
which no boats bad fioated except in time
of freshet and over which only 10000 tons
of coal had been carried and that with great
risk and danger Now ii was proposed 10
say TO their army engineers that they should
estimate what the property was worth, bat not
to take the corporate franchise into consid-
Grafton nor the fact that for twenty years
no dividends had been paid 10 those who
put their money into the improvement.
They were to take up business question
and say what the works would have cost.
III the works had been constructed by an
economical army ens ineer, the Lord High
Executioner himself could not dispose OF
such state of things and "preity messes'
more promptly than his colleague. Bayne.
and the gentleman from Louisiana Blanch-
ard were doing here in the handling of
millions of invested property. Ii was
proposition to dispose Of the individual
rights Of citizens of Pennsylvania BY town
meeting. To adopt it would show that the
doctrines of socialism controlled Congress.
and the rights of individuals were no longer
TO be held sacred.
Mr. Hewitt, of New York. concurred with
Judge Kelley in regarding the proposition
as an extraordinary one. The proposition
was for the benefit Of coal land owners in
the neigbborboood of the r.vei After
further debate on motion of Mr.. Willis, Of
Kentucky, that portion OF the clause was
stricken out which gives the Secretary of
War Discretionary power TO seize the works
of the Navigation Company.
Pending further action the committee
rose and the house. at b .. M. adjourned.