The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-06-21
IN COMMITTEE OR ON THE TABLE
Yesterdays hubbub Among the Law
makers In Detail.

makers In Detail.
WASHINGTON, June 2O.-In the House to-
day after prayer by the chaplain. yesterdays
contest was renewed.
The journal of yesterdays proceeding, was
not read and Speaker Reed announced the
pending question to be the ordering of the
previous question on motion made by Mr..
Mills of Texas, to approve the journal of
Wednesday as amended by the resolution of
yesterday. The previous question was or
dered and resulted, yeas, 1876; nays 122. Mr..
Mckinley of Ohio, before the announce
ment of the vote changed his vote to the af-
firmative and then moved reconsideration.
Mr.. Tracy of New York, voted with the
Republicans. The Republicans voting in
the affirmative were Bartine, Carter, De-
haven. Hermann, Kelley, Morrow and
Mr.. Mills moved to table the motion to re-
consider the motion and it was tabled,
yeas, 131 nays, 129.
The question then recurred on approving
the journal of Wednesdays proceedings as
amended. The motion to approve the jour
nal Of Wednesday, as amended, was agreed
to, yeas, 1872; nays, 100; and the clerk then
proceeded to read the journal of yesterdays
proceedings amid triumphant buzz on the
Democratic side.
The journal having been read and APP
ference report on the antitrust bill.
After short debate, in the course of which
Mr.. Kerr, of iowa, declared it was the first
bill directed against trusts ever passed by an
the control of the House, the Democratic
party not having produced a syllable of
legislation Of any kind, the report was
adopted, yeas, 243; nays, 0.
Mr.. Bland, Of Missouri, then offered his
resolution to take up the silver bill.
Mr.. Mckinley, of Ohio, made the point of
order that the motion was not privileged.
The only way to reach the Speakers table
was to follow the order of morning business.
Mr.. C0nger, of Iowa, added, as a further
point, amid sarcastic Democratic laughter,
that the bill was not on the Speakers table,
but in tho hands of the coinage committee.
Mr.. Springer said that the new matter in
serted by the Senate was not subject to ref
erence to the committee OF the whole. If the
friends of free silver would vote iD the
proper direction they would soon have an
opportunity to vote directly upon the bill as
1t came from the Senate.
Mr.. Conger of Iowa. maintained that all
the House had done so far was to blot out or
erase the reference of the bill. There was
evidence that the Speaker had referred the
bill to the committee on coinage. that it had
been delivered by the journal clerk to the
clerk Of the coinage committee, that he had
to recall the bill from the coinage committee
1t could do so by proceeding under the rules.
Mr.. Morrow of California, said the action
of the House yesterday was exceedingly sig
nificant of its disposition. The fact was
there was no reference at all; the Speaker
had no authority to refer the bill. His ac-
| tion was not voidable, but void. The fact
was the bill was upon the Speakers table.
:, Mr.. Butterworth of Ohio, denied that the
House, by adopting the Mills resolution, had
declared that the bill had not been referred.
ihere were not 25 men under the dome of
the Capitol who believed the bill incorrectly
| referred upon their oath. Republican ap-
| plausel.
Mr.. Morrow replied that a majority of the
| House had declared otherwise.
MIR. Williams Of Illinois said that vester-
| day, while the motion to reconsider was
| pending, and the resolution had been adnnt-
| ed, the chairman of the COMMITTEES on coin.
| age walked up to the Speakers desk and
took up bill that he (Williams) had every
| reason TO believe was the silver bin, and
handed it over to the clerk of the Committee
on coinage, who refused to answer his
| [Williams'sl question as to whether it was
| the silver bill or not He carried it awav,
| This required an explanation and looked
| like conspiracy to obtain physical possess
sion of the bill and deprive the House of the
| opportunity to pass upon it.
| Mr.. COnger said the bill had been delivered
| to his clerk before II o'clock yesterday
! morning and receipted for during the after.
noon. Upon request Of the journal clerk II