Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-10
Fiftieth Congress--First Session.
WASHINGTON, Feb. ;. c-xr.--, rrL. .1-4:.-. oeearad bv Nr

E1ftIeth COngress--F1rSt SesslOn'
 WASHINGTON, Feb. 9. | sENArE.-The resolution offered by MT
 Riddleberger to consider the extradltion treaty with Great Britain in open session was taken up. Mir. Riddleberger said chat he l heard it suggested by senators around him | that there was no occasion for further cons1d- l eration of that matter and he thought they l were probably right. He thought that the I British lions tail had been twisted by vote of 23 to 21 and he only wanted to state this | fact now in open session (Riddleberger's allu- sion was to the vote in secret session yester- day by which the consideration of the treaty 1 was postponed until next December). The next resolution was that offered by Mir. Riddleberger to amend rule 37 so as to ! have executive business considered in open session. MT. Riddleberger said he had offer ed the resolution looking to a change of the rules, under which change he thought he could get the so called British treaty consid- cred in open session. Further remarks by MT. Riddleberger were cut off by MT. Hawley, who rose to point of order and said that the Senator from Virginia was constantly and dehantly violating the rules of the Senate. "I did not hear the remark of the Senator from Connecticut" :" said MT. Riddleberger. 'I make the point of order, said MT. Flaw ley, that the Senator's remarks are out of order, because they are conscious and will full defiance of the rules of this body, which he has taken an oath to support. The Sem ator from Virginia said the presiding officer will not be permitted to take up any matter of executive business when the doors of the Senate chamber are open"
 1T wanted to ask the chair" Mr. Riddle berger went on to explain, ''to listen to what I said, that I wanted the resolution disposed of, but do not propose here or anywhere else to be called out of order at ali times and under all circumstances.
 Fnrk khars -sTx a1c
 by the presiding officer instructing the clerk to read the next resolution.
 The Blair bill being taken up as the unfin- ished business was laid aside after a state nent by Mir. Hawley that he wished to speak upon it next Tuesday and that another Sen ater wished to speak upon it next Monday.
 On motion of Mr. Teller the House bill to allow United States patents to be signed by one of the assistant secretaries of the interior (under the direction of the Secretary) was taken from the calendar and passed.
 On motion of MT. Pasco the Senate bill ap- propriating $50,000 additional for the public building at Pensacola was taken up and be- came the text for general discussion as to the erection of public buildings. MT. Kent, from the committee on public buildings, stated, in reply to 8 question as to the aggre- gate amount of bills for that purpose now be- fore that committee, that he was unable to furnish the information, but that the tariff bill and the Blair bill would sink into insigni- fcance as compared with the estimates for public buildings.
 MT. Hale spoke in severe condemnation of the general practice of disregarding the linn itations put by Congress on the cost of public buildings and said that the evil was some thing which ought to be investigated Other- wise Congress might as well fix no limit here after and might as well declare that 8 public building should be erected at a certain place and leave the rest to the sweet will of the de- partnent.
 MT. Vest said the committee was now wrestling with the question and hoped to re- port general bill on the subject and get rid of all log rolling. He illustrated that system by imagining that the Senator from Maine desired building in his State and coming to the committee on public buildings said he was very much interested in the question, that liberty would lie bleeding in the streets if that building was not constructed.
 MT. Hale said he was impressed with the i'm aginative sketch presented blythe Senator from Missouri, but did not want to go on record as in the position of asking that committee to increase an appropriation for public build ing in Maine. An ample appropriation has been made for large suitable building in the capital of that State-Augusta, and yet there was now an estimate for au urgent deficiency for that building for 8 sum which surprised him. He did not think that such an estimate should have been sent Congress.
 Mir. Dawes related his experience in regard to public buildings, mentioning the cases of the St. Louis postoffice, where the original limitation of cost was $300.000 and where the actual cost has been $3, 900, ,000; the New York postofhce, where Limitations were changed and increased several times, and the Boston postofiee where the cost had run to three or four millions in the same way. Every man connected with such increase of expenditure should be indicted. Until somebody was indicted and the law was made to be obsyed by officials the cost would not cease.
 MT. Call observed that these spasms of economy always occurred in connection with buildings in small States and he explained the cause of the deficiency in connection with the Pensacola building.
 Mir. Plumb gave his hearty endorsement to the remarks of MT. Call. He gave some amusing illustrations of how money appro- priated for public buildings is wasted, on the principle, he said, of a dollar for the dress and $10 for the trimmings. There had been last year spent on the new library building in Washington over $38, ,000.
 MT. Dawes-The place where the hole isl
 Mr. Plumb-Yes. The hole is large one and will carry into it before the construction is begun more than the sum of money origi- nally appropriated for the building. He proceeded to read a list of the employees of the library building including the janitor, to watch Che supposed) this hole in the ground, a sculptor and four women. It was very remarkable he said that the wo- men seemed in the report he was reading to be in charge of horses and carts. He de- claIed his belief that there was no honest purpose to complete that building within the contemplation of the act of Congress.
 The discussion was further continued by Senators Stewart, Vest, Hale, Morrill, and Voorhees,. The latter as chairman of the committee on the library building professed h hio fn Iy {o int md criticism on that subject. He felt perfectly serene in the integrity of those in whose hands the work WAS.
 The Pensacola bill was finally passed.
 The Senate at 4:40 proceeded to executive business and at o'clock adjourned till Mon day.
 HoUsE.-Mr. Belmont of New York, from the committee on foreign affairs, reported a joint resolution for an international confer ence to secure greater safety at sea; commit tee of the whole.
 The Speaker stated that the unfinished business was the consideration of the bill authorizing the investment of the lawful money deposited in the treasury in trust by national banking associations for the retire ment of their circulating notes. On motion of MT. Dingley, of Maine, it's further consid- eration was postponed until Wednesday next. Mr Bland of Missouri, on behalf of the committee on coinage, weights and measures, called up and the House passed bill to dis continue the coinage of the three cent piece. A bill was passed amending the laws regu- lating fees for exemplifcations of land pat ents.
 The next bill was that requiring the subsi- dzed railroads to maintain and operate tele- graph lines. The majority of the committee on postoffices and post roads believed this authorization and the arrangement entered in I to did not relinquish the railroad companies from the requirement to construct and main | tain separate lines. The committee was un- I able to say what view the courts would take | of the question, but even should they hold \ that the removal of the lines of the Pacific Telegraph, the Overland Telegraph company | and the California State Telegraph company to the lines of the railroad companies was g | fulfllment of the requirement. of their char ! ters then the bill would compel the Western
 Union as the successor of these other tels graph lines to conduct it's business without | discrimination.
 MT. Anderson of Kansas, the author of the
 bill, vigorously supported it. The railroad
 companies had bartered away their franchises
 by entering into a contract with the Western l Union by which the railroad companies re- ! fuaod fO 1lerf0rno their fala0Taphjc aarvices