Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-08-02
CONGRESSIONAL DOINGS
ANOTHER OPINION ON THE SEN.
 ATE TARIFF BILL.
Foreign Relations and Agricultural Com mittee Bins--S3O, 900 Appropriated for
 aPlInceton Battle Monument

WASHINGTON, Aug, IA gentleman whc has been in consultation with Democratic mem bers of the Senate Committee on Fi- nance expresses the opinion that the Tariff Bill will not be reported to the Senate be- fore the 1st of September. He says: ''The Democrats upon the Committee do not in- tend to postpone the discussion of the bill until it is reported to the Senate, but ln- tend to have full discussion of the Mllls bill and the proposed subs stitute in the Com mtttee. That certainly will require two weeks, and the present indications arc that the Republican bill will not be reported from the Subcommittee to the whole Committee much before the middle of Au- gust. The earliest time at which the Democrats now think the consideration of the two bills may reasonably be expected to begin in the Finance Committee is Sep tember 10. The Democratic members of the Committee consequently arc very .con- fident that the session will be prolonged into October The Republican members are not prepared to make any statement even as to the time when the bill will be reported to the full Committee.
 MT. Plumb (Rep., Kan.), from the Committee on Agriculture reported back the House bill to enlarge the powers and duties of the Department of Agriculture, and to create an executive department to be known as the Depart mont of Agriculture. He said the bill was in the same shape as when last reported and recommtted, aud that he would call 1t up for action at a very early day. In the bill as reported the provisions of the House bill for the transfer of the Weather Bureau from the War Department to the Department of Agriculture arc struck out.
 MT. Evarts (Rep., N. Y.), from the Com mittee on Foreign Relations, reported back rhe Senate joint resolution authorizing and empowering the President of the United States to take such measures as in his judgment may be necessary to obtain in- demnity promptly for the injuries, losses, and damages suffered by the Venezuelan Steamship Company of New York by req soR of the wrongful seizure and detention of the company's three steamers in 1871, and to employ such means or exercise such powers as may be necessary; placed on calendar.
 MT. Stewart offered resolution calling on the Secretary of the Interior for in- formation as to cancelled desert land ap- pIications; laid over,
 The House blI for the erection of an ap- praisers' warehouse in the city of New York was passed.
 The Senate bill appropriating S9O,00 for monumental column to commemorate the battle of Princeton, N. J.-a like amount to be contributed by the Princeton Battle Monument Association-was also passed.
 After disposing of unimportant routine business on the Speakers table, the House went into Committee of the Whole (Mr. Springer of Illinois in the chair) on the Senate amendments to the Army Appro- priation BAL The pending motion was that made by Mir. Townshend (Dem., nL) to non-ooncur In the amendment appropria- ting $2, 500 for repairs to sea-wall and wharf at Willest's PoinL N. Y.
 Mr. Burnes of Missouri addressed him. seI1 to the policy which the House should follow in acting upon Senate amend nfsnts. which, if offered in the House, would be out of order. He conceded the right of the Senate to place upon a House bill any amendment which was not in con- t1ict with the Constitution; but the House was the equal of the Senate and had the right to enforce it's own rules. It could not compel the Senate to accede to its rules, but it could not insist upon enforcing them itself. This was no partisan question. The Dem nocratic party had the majority of the House to-day, but how soon would it be before the Repu hlicans held the maioritya
 A ARepubiican-Very soon.
 Mir Burnes---May God forbid. I hope it will be very long tune. Continuing, Mr. Burnes said that he desired to lift the House from its knees before the Sanhe- drim and place it on bts feet, asking for it's rights. He then proceeded to oppose the establishment of a gun factory at Water viiet Arsenal He had no fear of an inva- sion of this country by an armed foe. He could see why the gentleman from Troy (Tracy) might be alarmed, because he had this arsenal to represent That gentle man might feel that au armed fleet of Great Britain would sail as near to Troy as the Hudson River would allow. but he (Burnes) did not share this apprehension Yet there might be one chance ill a thou and that the United States might have as foreign war. Was the United States wiser than the great nations of Europe that it should establish gun factory to meet that possible chance ? Neither England, Germany, France, or Russia had estab- Nshed a factory of that sort.
 Mr. Tracey (Dem., N. Y) stated that all these nations had Government factories with the exception of Germany.
 Mir. Burnes replied that England main tained just about such an establishment as was at present at Watervlet, but she bought her Krupp and Armstrong guns from private parties. The Secretary of the Navy was authority for the state- ment that at Bethelem, Penn, private en- terprise had established a plant for mak- ing guns, which was the best in the civil iZed world. The friends of American in- dustry were asked to put the Government into competition with public enterprise and to establish factory to be controlled by popinjays of the War Department in- stead of opening the doors to American capital and American labor.
 Mir. Cuteheon (Rep., Mich.) asked the gentleman to withdraw the epithet so far ss the officers of the Ordnance Bureau were concerned.
 Mir. Burnes replied that an ordnance officer had appeared before the Committee on Appropriations and tes fled that $1, 5OO- = 600 would be sufficient to purchase all the steel that the Watervliet factory could consume in the next five years Yet, be- fore the Senate Committee representa- tives of the Ordnance Bureau had advoca- ted the appropriation of $5,O0O,OOO for the purchase of steel and the gentleman asked him to recall an accidental word of criticism when he spoke Of the popinjays of the War Department.
 Commanders James J. Green and Chas. McGregor have boen ordered to duty at the Naval War College. Asslstant-Surgeon A. McD. Mccormick has been ordered to duty in the Bureau of Medicine aud Sur gery. Commander Thomas Nelson has