The Washington critic., 1888-06-19
THE HOUSE.

A letter from the Secretary Of State was
received in the House to-day transmitting
a message from Minister Pendleton, thank
ing Congress on behalf of the relatives of
the late German Emperor for its resolu
tlons of coincidence on his death.
Several pension vetoes were read and APP
propriately referred.
The Senate bill for an appropriation to
the Ohio Centennial was sent to the APP
propriations Committee.
By special order to-day was set apart for
the consideration ofbills reported from the
Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds.
After discussion an arrangement was
made whereby the order was extended to
Thursday. Mr.. Mills said it was abso-
lutely necessary that the appropriation
bills be passed before the end of the
month and on this account he had laid
aside the most important bill of all, the
Tariff bill.
Mr.. Townshend's resolution granting
the use of tents and military aCcoutre-
ments to the Army of the Potomac to be
used at the Gettysburg celebration was
adopted.
On motion of Mr.. Randall the House
went into Committee of the Whole, Nc
Millin in the chair on the Sundry Civil
bill.
The debate on the Congressional Lii
brary building was resumed by Mr.. Ryan,
but he yielded twenty minutes to Mr..
Nutting, who advocated the completion
of the library. He criticised the action
of Mr.. Holman and the opposition who,
he said, were trying to undo what had
been done by destroying the present plan
and going back to the old scheme of max
ing an addition to the Capitol for the ac-
commodation of the library.
The whole debate, it seems, is based on
| information recently obtained that to
| complete the new building on the present
| plan will cost between 81 10000 and Sl2,-
| 100000, while the original estimates on
which the bill was passed in the Forty
ninth Congress gave S2,300,00O as the
amount for which the building could be
completed.
Mr.. Sawyer was against completing
the building on the grand scale now
mapped out. He said the erection of
such a magnificent public building was a
curse to the city and would tend to
make Washington the centre of the
wealth of this country.
Mr.. McCreary was in favor OF pub
lie library, but he wanted the work
stopped and a careful estimate made as
to the cost Of completing it, He said the
House had been told that the building
could be erected for So, 100000 and it had
been discovered that the new library
|
! 100000. He also favored proposition
to provide for the Supreme Court in the
new library.
Mr.. Milliken said the library ought tC
be completed on the present plan. O
course, building like the Pension build
ing could be erected for the proposed cost
Mr.. Hooker was in favor of building
that would be an ornament to the city
and meet all demands for the future aC
| pOmmOlntiOn of the library
Mr.. Ryan said he had always favored q
new library building, but in this instance
the House had been imposed upon. He
offered resolution constituting the Pub
lie Buildings Committee commission e
obtain plans for a library from five archi
tects and appropriating $4,000 for tht
| purpose, the present property in thu
| meantime to be turned over to the Secre
tarY of the Interior,
Mr.. 0'Neill made a strong argument II
favor of the present plan.
Mr.. Blount denounced it as fraud.
Mr.. Randall explained why he ha(
taken the construction of the library
from the commission and placed the mat
ter in charge Of the Secretary OF the In
terror,
Mr.. Holman offered an amendment tC
the resolution providing that the com
mission inquire into the expediency o
placing the library in one Of the publ
parks. The amendment was adopted g
TO "a.
Mr.. Nutting raised the point of n
quorum, and tellers were appointed.
The amendment was finally adopte
by q vote of ia to So