The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-17
GOVERNMENT BOOKS.
Suspiciously Large Number in a
Dealers Hands


WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.-In the House
to-day MIR. Richardson, of North Carolina,
from the Committee on Printing, submitted
a report upon the resolution directing an
inquiry as to why members of Congress
could not procure books standing to their
credit on the books of the doorkeeper. The
report shows that there is a small shortage
IN the number of copies of Ave publications.
1t makes note Of the fact that a shortage of
1900 volumes in the publication of the Ag-
ncultural Report for 1879 was made good
by Mr.. Defrees, the public printer, procur-
ing that number of volumes from private
book dealer in Washington.
Mr.. Burrows, of Michigan. and Mr.. Pay
son, of Illinois, expressed surprise that any
book dealer should be in possession of so
large number of volumes of a government
publication, and the former intimated his
intention OF asking for an investigation of
the matter The committee was then dis
charged from further consideration of the
resolution.
RECORDS OF THE WAR.
In the Senate to-day the resolution offered
by Mr.. Manderson some days ago requiring
the Secretary Of War to furnish to Senators
on their requests lists Of persons to whom
copies of the records of the late war are to
be issued was taken up. Mr.. Manderson
said that since Offering the resolution he had
had conversation with the Secretary of
War, who expressed his readiness to supply
the information asked, and said that the
refusal to do so before was owing to rule
of the department not established by him.
The discussion upon the resolution took
rather wide latitude In its course Mr..
Teller laid some stress upon the fact that
matters III the departments were kept
secret, and he protested against there being
any secrets, the people being entitled to
know what their servants were doing.
Extending this idea to the Senate itself he
declared that he considered the secret seS-
sions Of the Senate to be entirely un-repub-
llcan, except, perhaps, when there was a
treaty pending, which ought to be consid-
cred in the secrecy of executive session. There
was no more reason why the question of
confirming executive appointments should
be considered behind closed doors than there
was why the Senate should legiSlate behind
closed doOrs-as it had once done. If there
was any subject which the Senate desired
to consider in private and which ought to
be considered in private, the doors, on ap-
plication of two Senators, might be closed !;
but as soon as the matter was determined,
every Senator's vote should be made known.
If he could inform his constituents how he
had voted on this or that nomination, it
would be satisfactory to them, and he
should be ashamed of himself if he ever
cast vote in the Senate Secret
or OPEN that he would not be
willing to have published "a treaty
comes here of Importance to the people-a
treaty in which the whole people of the
United States are interested-and yet we sit
here with closed doors, and refuse to assume
the responsibility of our votes for rejection
or ratification
After further discussion. which was par
ticipated in by Messrs. Vest, Manderson,
Teller, Hawley and German, the resolu-
ton was adopted.