Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-02-10
THE NATIONS 'SCAPITAL.
The Western Union and Jay
Gould Hauled Over the
Goals.
The Senate Discusses Appropriations for
the Erection Of Public Buildings.
The Coinage Of Cent Pieces to be sus-
pended-Probable Passage OF the
and Commerce OF American
Republics.
WARRINGTON, Feb.
Senate.

! WARRINGTON, Feb. 3.
/ Senate
| The House bill to allow U. s. patents TO
| be signed by one of the Assistant Secretarys
of the Interior (under the direction of the
secretary was passed
| On motion of Pasco, the Senate bill APP
propriating $50, 200 additional for the public
| building at Pensacola, was taken up. 1t be-
came the text for general discussion as to
! the erection of public buildings.
1 Vest from the committee on public build
ings, stated that the tariff bill and the Blair
bill would sink into insignifcance when COM
pared with estimates for the public build
ings.
Hale spoke in severe condemnation of the
general practice of disregarding the limita-
ton put by Congress on the cost of public
buildings. He said the evil ought to be in
vestigated; otherwise Congress might as we'll
fix no limits hereafter and might as well de-
clare that public buildings should be erected
at a certain place and leave the rest to the
sweet will of the departments.
Vest said that the committee was now
wrestling with the question and hoped that
the report on the general bill on the subject
would get rid of all log rolling. He illus
trated the system by imagining that the Sena-
tor from Maine desired public building in
in his State; coming to the committee on
public buildings he would say that he was
very much interested in the question: that
Liberty would lie bleeding in the streets if
that building were not constructed.
| Hale said that he was greatly pleased with
the imaginative sketch presented by the Sem
ator from Missouri, but that he didn't want
to go on record as asking the committee to
increase any appropriation for public
building in Maine. Ample appropriation had
been made for large and adequate building
! in Augusta, yet it was now estimated in the
urgent deficiency bill that that building
would require the sum of S35, 900 more,
which surprised him. He didn't think that
such an estimate should have been sent to
/ Congress. He was not in a position for urg
| ing the Senator from Missouri to yield his
virtue as a member of the committee on pub
lie buildings and grounds.
| Dawes related his experience in regard to
public buildings, mentioning the cases of the
St. Louis post office, where the original linn
itation of $500, 900 was increased to the act
ual cost of SO 900, 900: the New York post
office where the limitations of cost were
changed and increased several times and the
| Boston post office, where the cost ran up to
three or four millions in the same way. He
declared that every man connected with such
increases of expenditure should be indicted.
! Until somebody was indicted and made to
realize that the law was made to be obeyed
by officials, the evil wouldn't cease.
The discussion was further continued by
Stewart Vest, Hale, Morrill,, Voorhees, and
Plumb The Pensacola bill, however, was
finally passed
| The Senate at LAO proceeded to executive
business and at five o'clock adjourned till
Monday.
The House passed a bill to discontinue the
coinage of the three cent piece. Also the
bill amending the laws regulating the fees
for exemplifcations of land patents
| The next bill on the calendar was that re-
quiri z subsidized railroads to maintain aud
operate separate telegraph lines.
Anderson of Kansas, the author of the
bill, vigorously supported it. He said that
the railroads had bantered away their fran
chses by entering into contracts with the
Western Union by which they gave the West
ern Union the absolute monopoly over the
western half of the continent; through that
/ genius, the most INSCRIPTIONS pirate in the
country, Jay Hawk Gould, the monopoly had
been created. The pending bill was simply
proposition to interj ject a little of Coils
burning justice between the people and Jay
Gould. The people of the country were
praying for relief from the merciless grind
of most extravagant and enormously un-
scrupulous, practical set of incorporated
scoundrels on the continent The bill was a
square blow between the eyes of Gould, the
Western Union monopoly and each of the
Pacific Railroad Companies, saying to them
| ''Gentlemen, there is a power in wealth, a
power in combination and monopoly, but
there's more power in the American people
and you shall obey the laws"
White of New York opposed the bill as
impolitic and unconstitutional.
The matter went over. The discussion
will probably be resumed Saturday.
The House at 40 adjourned
General Congressional News.
Ex-Governor McCreary of Kentucky, will
report to the House in a few days his bill au
thorizing the President to invite the republics
of Central and South America to send dele
gates to grand conference to be held in tht
city of Washington for the purpose of pro
noting arbitration and improving our com
mercal relations with the republics of Cen
tfdl anu DUutu hHlttttd anu Aiit VI
Brazil. The subcommittee of the foreigr
affairs committee, of which Governor Nc
Creary is chairman, has agreed unanimously ly
to the bill, and it was reported today to th'
full committee all of whom, Governor Nc
Creary has assured himself, are in favor O
it. Governor McCreary is hopeful of grea
commercial advantages to this country if tn,
the purpose of the bill is carried out. 1t i
the first bill, he says. which has invited
conference relating to both arbitration an,
commercial matters Henry Clay was
warm champion Of political sympathy be
tween the northern and southern republics
and the late Vice President Hendricks wa
an ardent advocate of closer commercial re
lations.' A closer commercial union be
tween the South American republics and ou
own, would, Governor McCreary says, ope
up new markets of immense value to thi
country and give US enormous political an
commercial advantages. Railroad commu
nication will be completed within twent
, years between Washington and Buenos Az
res, the capital of the Argentine Republic
Already many of the links in the chain ar
complete and one of the latest charter
granted by Bolivia, has been taken by a
English company. Nearly all the commerc
l of these southern countries goes at preseu
to England, France and Germany. The
, get ninety per cent. of their cotton good
I from England. This trade Governor Nc
Creary wants to come to this country, wher
it naturally belongs, and he believes the cor
ference provided for in his bill would go
long way towards accomplishing il. He hs
left the date of the conference to be deteru
ined by the President so that it can be fxe
about the time of the centennial gathering
if the President thinks best.
Notes.~
!, The majority of the committee on post Of
fees believe that the postal telegraph bi
would compel the Western Union to condu,
e business without discrimination. Dockey {
I Missouri said that had the pending bill bee
. Law last summer the absorption of the