Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-08-29
Blackburn and Hale
Provide the Diversion in the
Senate Proceedings.
KENTUCKY INVEGrIVE LET LOOSE.

An AIl-Round Political Debate Takes Up
the Statesmen's Time Allison Gives
some Figures on appropriations and
Estimated Revenue-sherman Talks of
the Balance of Trade, and Beck Takes
Issue with the Ohio Senator, a. Is His
wont-CapitaI Notes.
WASHINGTON CITY, Aug 20 The consid-
Grafton of the sundry civil bill IN the senate
Yesterday gave rise to sharp debate, in
which Hale and Blackburn We're the princ
pal participants When Allison presented
ihc conference report on the bill, and while
explaining the appropriations for public
buildings, he incidentally, ard with eonsid
arabie feeling, referred to the distinction
apparently made by the president in approx
ing public building bills IN Democratic states
and disappearing similar bills for buildings
in Republican states Public building hills,
he said, for small towns with from 1900 to
5000 people in Mississippi, Arkansas Texas,
and North Carolina We're rushed through con-
gress, and ran the gauntlet of the presidents
approval, while a bill had been sent
back To the senate Monday referring to the
Sioux City, Ia, public building biil with
veto mrssage, "sneering in tone and undgni-
lied in character" Near the close of his
-tatement and while making some general
observations on all the appropriation bills,
he justified the additions made by the senate
appropriation committee as necessary for the
proper conduct of the government, and as hay
ins been urged by the heads of the various de-
partments This he mentioned in reply to
I uriuan's recent speeches characterizng the
appropriations of congress as "monStrous
The total appropriations for the current
year, he said. not including what are called
permanent appropriations, would amount to
s3i6 0O0, 900, and including the permanent
appropriations would reach an aggregate of
S42l O00, 600, or only $40, 900 800 less than the
stimated revenI.-Si4O .0GO CO., He also
furnished a statement showing that the ex-
penditures for the four years of Clevelands
administration exceed by S95. 010, 900 the ex-
penditures for the four years of Arthur's adj
min straticn.
Hale, commenting on these figures, and on
Allison's entire statement, said that one by
one the illusions about the present admins
tration faded, and one by one its preten-
Sions for economy had exploded For a tine the
administration sailed under the pretense of
being civil service reform administration,
but never was there one that had so prosti-
tuted its office to the use of partisan politics.
The testimony taken by the special commit
tee, of which be [HaleI is chairman, he said,
showed that every kind OF discipline had been
brought to bear to break down the forces re-
sstng the administration in the person of
Randall Patronage had been bestowed to
pay men for deserving Randall Postoffices
and custom houses had been turned into
sideways through which might run contri-
buttons for partisan purposes. When the
fishery treaty was rel acted President Cleve-
land had come in with message assuming
new grounds, and so Hale thought that when
AIlson's figures reached the country, show
ing that this administration had expended
S95, 900. 600 more than its predecessor, We
might expect message from the president
declaring that there must be more economy
and holding, perhaps, that less money ought
to Re paid to soldiers and their wives and
children.
Beck said that what money had been ex-
pended since the Democratic administration
came into power had been well spent, and
the people knew what had been done with
| the money When money had been spent for
navy We got navy to show for it, but
prior TO the advent of this administration
hundreds of millions had been spent and we
got nothing for it. The increase in this
years appropriations over thoss OF last year
were accounted for perhaps entirely by the
deficiencies, the river and harbor bill, and
new guns and armament. Besides. all that
| was lying in the treasury now There was
no need of being alarmed We had bought
| se1, Coz. 600 of bonds Every bond bought
diminished the interest paid from the perma-
neut annual appropriation which emhI aced
the interest on the public debt Beck closed
with Il brief review OF the general financial
| situation. and paid Il compliment to Allison
| for his fairness and zeal as chairman of the
committee on appropriations, declaring that
| all matters in that committee had been de-
termined upon their merits, and not with re-
gard to partisan considerations
| Blackburn said he meant to call the atten-
ton of the senate TO matter outside of the
appropriation bill winch the senator from
Maine had seen fit to bring into the debate
| After fashion that involved a question of
| common decency, he had seen fit 10 refer to
a message of the president Of the United
States, and had undertaken to make it ger
mare TO the issue by telling the senate that
| it was not within human power to calculate
| the losses which were to be- imposed upon US
Nobody had been disturbed about the action
| of the Republicans Of the senate IN rejarting
| that treaty or about the message which fol.
lowed it. If anybody was disturbed or sweat
ing blood by reason OF that transaction it
occurred to him that it was the Republican
side Of the chamber The senator from
Maine, in pretending to discuss an item in
An appropriation bill, had seen fit to drag
before this body what he said was the tasti
mony taken by a committee raised on bis
own resolution. and of which he was chair
man, and of which he blackburn CHANGED
to he a member,
The senator raised a mud singing com
mittee, and started out to find this admins
tration responsible for Inconsistencies in the
execution of the greatest and grandeSt 10
iitical abortion in his [Blarkburn's1 Judgment
that ever afflicted or cursed people in the
shape of civil service law He Hale
lugged that committee TO Baltimore anG
Philadelphia, and New York and then al
lowed days to stretch into weeks and week!
into months before he ever called it together
again He did not call it together, and die
not dare to do it. He was disguised with
his own failure and was skulkiug away from
his own imposed duties, never daring to MAKE