Morning journal and courier., 1886-02-02
FORTY.NINTH CONGRESS-.

l WASHINGTON, Feb 1, 1886 | SENATE.-The chair laid before the Senat' l to-day letter from the Secretary of Wa 1 transmitting report on the military force l of the United States; also letter from thu
 same Secretary introducing a communication
 from the president of the board of commis
 sioners of the Soldiers Home asking author 1 ity of Congress for the disposi
 tion by the commissioners of tht
 effects of deceased inmates of tn,
 home. Also a letter from the Secre 1 tary of the Interior submitting a copy of
 communication from the superintendent o
 the coast and geodetic survey, with draf | of a proposed bill to authorize the supplying l of standards of weights aud measures to the
 territories. The papers were appropriately referred.
 l Mr. Call submitted resolution, which al
 his request was laid over for the present directing the Military committee to report {
 bill providing that ex-Union soldiers 1 shall not be compelled to sub
 init to civil service exam | nation before appointment to any position l covered by the civil service rules. MT. Call 1 explained that he introduced this resolution
 because distinguished ex-Union officer ir 1 Florida who applied for subordinate posi- | tlon in the pension office was barred by the | civil service directions of that bureau. MT | Call thought that man who had intelG. l gence and ability enough to become distin, l fill subordinate place in the pension | bureau.
 MT. Morgan's resolution in regard to the l appointment of officers of the United States to participate with the officers of the Mor- 1 mon church in the management of the affairs l of that church was then taken up and MT. 1 Morgan agreed against any constitutional power to provide for the appointment of the l trustees mentioned in the Utah bill that re- l gently passed the Senate and against const1- 1 tutional power in the President to make | these appointments.
 l The Senate resumed consideration of MT. l Hoar's electoral count bill. MT. Hoar ex- 1 plained that the bill before the Senate was 1 the result of more than twelve years discus sion in that body and that it had been passed three times. There were two things that MT. Hoar supposed were fixed for the pres ! ent generation. First, that the president of the Senate was not trusted with the exclu- sive power to count the presidential vote, and, second, that the power was not vested exclusively in the House of Representatives. He opposed MT. Sherman's proposed amendment to submit disputed questions of double returns from a State to the House and Senate jointly. The arbiter selected by MT. Shermans amend ment would be composed of about four hun dred eager political partisans, men whose future and whose success in life might be intimately involved in their decision. It would be body in which individual responsibility would be wholly lost, body with no character of it's own to sustain.
 MT. Sherman said whatever we did in volved more or less danger. The amend ments submitted by MT. Hoar involved it's special danger. It gave the governor of a State authority to certify the returns in case there were two sets.
 MT. Hoar denied this.
 MT. Ingalls, expressed his amazement at the suggestion that this bill was perfect the Senate could make it. He moved it's recommitment to the Committee the Ju dietary and in doing so called attention to the fact that the recently passed presidential succession bill had hardly been passed when it was discovered to be defect i've in an important respect t,-namely, in the contingency that the President and Vice President-elect should die before the time of the inauguration to office the presi- dency would be held by an outgoing Sec retary of State. This question of the pres idential count had been debated since 1796 and would continue to be debated till we had a constitutional amendment. The electoral commission of 1S76-77 was a contrivance that would never be repeated. It was adopted by each party in the hope that it would defeat the other and resulted in cheat ing both. The Democrats would never have consented to it if they had not supposed
  It happened that David Davis had been sent to the United States Senate and so taken off the United States bench, and so the eight to seven became changed to to s. The count was a politi- cal function and no matter how it was look ed at, no act could antecedently be passed that would be binding on the great body to which the constitution committed the count. Although MT. Ingalls, reprobated the declara- tion made by the presiding officer of the Sen ste on the occasion of the last presidential court, and although it was practi- cal abdication of the power of the Senate, still MT. Ingalls, admitted that the presiding officer had the right to make that declaration. No sovereign had ever laid down sceptre and crown more absolutely and unnecessarily, or more in violation of what MT. Ingalls, conceived to be the proper func- tions of the presiding officer on the subject, than was done by the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Edmunds) on that occasion. It had never been determined that the president of the Senate being for the time the custodian of the votes did not also have the right to count them. In the great contests of the future emergencies might arise under the state of law on the subject when it might be we'll for us not to be confronted by that pernicious precedent. The Senate had never renounced it's authority to it's presiding off cer to count the vote that was in his possession. Later on MT. Ingalls, characterized the whole electoral system provided by the constitution 'de- bris' and the electors like the marionettes in ''Purch and Judy show' The country repudiated it. Why, then, should we tinker with ita It had no longer any signif- substance Any attempt to patch it up or patch over it's deformities mere ly delaying the action which the people must eventually take with regard to it.
 |. i. Senate at 4:20 p. m. went into executive ses sion and at $40 when tine doors were reopen ed adjourned.
 HoUsE.-The chaplain, in his opening prayer, alluded in very touching manner to the second bereavement of Secretary Bay ard.
 Mir Hanback,, of Kansas, rising to ques. tion of personal privilege, sent to the clerks days New York World entitled ''The Tele- phone Scandal but it was decided that as nothing in the article reflected on MT. Han back personally he must state the question of privilege.
 Finally in order to get around the difficult ty MT. Hanback, offered resolution directing the committee on expenditures in the depart ment of justice to make a full inquiry into the expenditure on the part of the govern ment relative to the rights of the Bell and Pan Electric telephone companleS, and author izing the committee to send for persons and papers, the expenses of such inquiry to be paid upon audited and approved vouchers. Some debate ensued, during which MT. Ran dall said that while he did not believe the House had anything to do with the matter as presented, he opposed obstructing inquiry on any matter pertaining to good government.
 After more discussion MT. Morrison asked unanimous consent to immediately consider the resolution, which being granted, the res olution was adopted without dissent.
 Under the call of States the following among other bills were introduced and re- ferred: By MT. Herbert, of Alabama, to pro iJo of ba