The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-04
DANGER IN BLAIR'S BILL.
SENATOR sPOONER's REASONS
WHY IT SHOULD NOT PASS

Government Assistance - A Denial
that the States Need the Proposed
Assistarce-A Hitch in the sealeries
Lease.
WASHINGTON, March SIN the Senate
to-day Mr.. Voorhees, offered a preamble
and concurrent resolution reciting that in
the recent lease of fur seal islands of Alaska
to the North American Commercial Com
pany certain provisions of the law were not
complied with. and directing the Secretary
of the Treasury to furnish to the Senate
complete copies of all bills for the lease,
with ali accompanying papers
all the testimony, memoranda,
arguments. letters, and correspondence
with the holders, and that the secretary re-
frain from executing or delivering lease to
the North American Commercial Company
until the subject be inquired into by the
Senate. He asked to have the resolution
referred to the finance committee, as that
committee meets tomorrow, and it was SO
ordered.
The bill fixing the salaries Of the several
judges of the United States district courts
at 5000 per annum was taken up, discussed
at some length and passed by vote Of 80
yeas 10 10 nays.
Mr.. George was the principal opponent of
the bill.
BLAIR'S BILL AGAIN.
At2:20 o'clock the Senate resumed con-
sideration of the Blair educational bill. and
was addressed by Mr.. Spooner. He had
voted, he said, once in favor of the bill, not
without some misgiving as to its policy.
When it came again before the Senate he
had felt constrained, after full reflection on
the subjsct, to vote against it, and now, as
it was once more pending for
action, he was impelled to vote aSainst it.
and desired to state his reasons for doing So
with brevity and directness. He agreed with
the senator from New Hampshire as to the
necessity of education among the masses, and
could not withhold the tribute of bis re-
spect and admiration for the superb in
dustry, courage, ability and constancy with
which that senator had pressed the subject
on the consideration of the Senate and the
country.
DUTY OF THE PARTY.
Referring to the claim that the Republi-
can party was pledged to the support Of
the Dill, he read an extract from the repub-
lican national platform and denied that it
contained committal of the party to the
bill. He saw no difficulty as to federal aid to
states too poor TO provide for common school
education, but he did not admit that the
federal government could take jurisdiction
of the school system of a state, and take
into It's exclusive charge the educational
system Of a state. He did not
agree with that, and did not
believe that any member of the Senate
on either SIDE agreed with it. 1t could
hardly with justice be said to be party
measure, and he submitted that no PROPOSE
ton of the kind ought to be or to become
party measure. He had no diffic ulty with
the constitutional objections urged against
tine bill.
STATE RIGHTS ADMITTED.
He admitted that the matter Of the edu-
cation of the children of a state was within
the province and jurisdiction of the state.
lie agreed that it was for the state, not for
the federal government, to declare what the
school system of state should be. No one
would contend that it was within the con-
stitutional competency of congress to de-
clare what should be the school age of a
state, or pass law that it could enforce)
for compulsory education in q state But
it did not follow from that, that congress
might not grant lands, or money derived
from the sale of lands, to aid states in edu-
eating their children. Such grants of land
and Of money had been made repeatedly.
A CHANGE IN PUBLIC OPINION.
He asserted his belief that since the bill
was introduced in 1880 there had come over
the country, north and south, q great
change Of feeling as to its expediency. One
strong evidence of that was the attitude of
the newspaper press of the country during
the discussion. 1t was idle for the senator
from New Hampshire or for any man to
contend that the great newspaper
press OF the country had
entered into conspiracy in favor of ignor-
ance. Its interest was the other way. The
newspaper press could have no interest
against the general interest of the people,
1t could not have an interest againsg uni
versal knowledge. If it had any special
interest on the subject it is in favor of the
proposition that every man, woman, and
child in the United States should not only
be taught to read, but that they should be
taught to read the newspapers
FEELS THE PUBLIC PULSE.
The press felt the public pulse, and knew
what interested the public eye. He did not
think that the press had guaged correctly
the information contained in the senator's
mir. Blair's) speech. He believed that no
newspaper could do better service than to
lay before its readers the entire speech of
the senator In learning in research, in
analysis, in statistical information, it was
worthy of the senator, and that was saying
all that could be said. The fact that the
press had not done it was to
his mind indubitable evidence that
the people of the country were
not to-day las they had been years ago)
intensely Interested in favoring the bill.
In the west there had been a great change
in public sentiment. Among the promi-
nent republican journals in the west which
formerly advocated but now opposed the
bin, Mr. Spooner named the Chicago Tt-tb-
Wlte, Milwaukee Sentinel, st. Paul Pioneer
Press, and the leading republican paper of
Omaha.
FEELING OF THE SOUTH.
Several of the southern states, he said,
were opposed to it, through their senators.
Many leading newspapers Of the south
were no longer in favor Of it.
The Charleston NeWs and Courier
in a leading editorial on the bill had given
reasons for change of faith. There had
been a time, it said, when the south was
poor That time was gone. There had
been time when the south wanted the aid
proposed in the bill. That time was gone.
There had been days when the south could
not get along without it. Those days were
gone. And to-day it was the sentiment of
educators in the south, and of the people
that this aid was no longer necessary.
If the south had needed aid from the federal
treasury in 1870 or 1880 it did not need it
now, The senator from New Hampshire
said that it did. The senators and legisla-
lures of several of those states said that It
did not; and the great mass OF southern
newspapers said that 1t did not.
AS AN OFFSET FOR PENSIONS.