Los Angeles herald., 1890-04-24
HOUSE PROCEEDINGS.
An Acrimonious Political Debate
Legislative Appropriations.

An Acrimonious Political Debate on
Legislative Appropriations.
WASHINGTON, April 23.-In the House
today, Harmer, of Pennsylvania, pre-
sented memorial of the Manufacturers
Club of Philadelphia, in favor of prompt
action on tariff legislation which shall
check the importation of articles pro-
duced by our own people. Referred.
The House went into committee of the
whole on the Legislative Appropriation
BILL the pending question being the
motion to strike out the clause providing
clerks for Senators. Lost, IS to 81.
In speaking to a verbal amendment,
Kelly, of Kansas, replied to remark by
Allen, of Mississippi, to the effect that
some newly-appointed postmasters in
Mississippi had moved their offices into
the country, by saying that he had
learned at the Postofice Depart
ment that in some places it had
been impossible for Republican
postmaster to secure a location in town,
and he was obliged to go to the country
He also read letter from Postmaster
Finley, of Abbeville, stating that shortly
after his appointment he was set upon
by mob, led by son of Congress
man Cothran, beaten with barbed wires
and ordered to leave town.
This provoked a heated political de-
bate.
Enloe asked if Kelly wrote the letter
for the postmaster, and Kelly replied
that he had, because on account OF the
beating received, Finley's arm is para
lyzed.
These statements were received with
much derisive laughter on the Demo-
cratic side, which led Powell, of Illinois,
to remark that the gentlemen on the
other side thought it was funny to hear
accounts of murders and beatings with
barbed wires.
Kelly proceeded to read from letters
of Southern postmasters to First Assist
ant Postmaster General Clarkson, com
planning of outrages.
In the discussion which followed,
Tarsney asked about the litigation going
on between Kelly and his son against a
colored congregation in Fort Smith to
prevent the erection of a colored church
on the ground that it was a nuisance.
Kelly denied that there was any such
litigation, and said he did not own any
land in Arkansas.
McRae and Rogers, however, stated
that Kelly's son was involved in such
litigation.
Allen, of Mississippi, said the gentle
man from Kansas seemed to be the rec
ognized mouth-piece of the Postofice
Department of the administration.
There had never been time in the
history of the &c. o. P" when Southern
outrages were more necessary for the
purposes of that party. 1t had gone to
the wall on the tariff, was "busted"
higher than a kite on civil service, the
elections were going against it, and if it
could not carry the election on Southern
outrages, the chances of the sc. o. p"
were gone. He had in his desk long
list OF Kansas outrages, but would not
descend to that sort of debate.
Cothran, of South Carolina speak
ing of the Abbeville matter, said
after the war Northern man was ap-
pointed postmaster and served until
Arthur's term, when he died and his
widow succeeded him. When this ad-
ministration came in Finley filed an ap-
plication in which he misrepresented
and DETAINED the character of the post
mistress. There was feeling of out
rage against him, and number of
young men, including Cothran's son,
went to Finley's house one night and
made demonstration, not for the pur-
pose OF doing him any harm. With a
guilty conscience he ran out OF the back
. door, and in jumping down broke his
leg. The young men sent for physician
and paid all the expenses.
Rogers, of Arkansas, called attention
to the fact that under leave to print,
Kelly had printed in the record vile cal