The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-04-04
.SENATUho .AKING It EASY
The Montana Senatorial Contest 0e-
cupies But Little of the Sem
ates Time Yesterday.
Lively Debate Over the Question
of the Enumeration Of the
Chinese.
Idaho Counted Into tho Union by Speaker
Reed, SO Far as lie is Able
TO DO SO.

WAsHINGToS, April 3.-In the senate to-
day it was ordered that Tomorrow being
Good Friday, the adjournment to-day shall
be till Saturday. Blair at his own request
was excused from further service on the
committee on public lands, and Pettigrew
was appointed in his place.
Blair introduced a bill TO regulate the
compensation Of laborers employed by the
government, fixing the lowest wages at 81 a
day. The yice-president announced he
expected TO be absent several days next
week. Ingalls, was chosen president pro
tempore, eook the oath of Office and as
sumed the duties.
The Montana contested election case was
taken up as unfinished business, and Gray
resumed his argument IN support of the
democratic claimants.
The burden of Gray's argument was against
the throwing out OF the ia votes cast at
precinct "a, Silver Bow county. The vote
for the resolution of the majority would be,
he said TO violate the most sacred tradi-
tions of American history and American
liberty. He protested against putting the
odious mark of the bar sinister on the state
of Montana thus early in her career. The
matter then went over until Monday.
The bill passed appropriatlng $4,000 for
a public b1llding at Leadyille, Colo.
Stewart as question of personal privi-
lege said he had been credited by the news
papers with having introduced yesterday a
bill To regulate the manufacture and sale
of lager beer. lie had introduced no such
bill and knew nothing about it. (The bill
was introduced by Senator Wolcott.
The house bill to amend the census law
by providing for the enumeration of the
Chinese population was received with the
senate amendments. Hale said there was
demand from the Pacific coast that there
should be some identification of the China
men here, and who had the right 10 remain
here, as against the Cinnamon stealing
into the United States. He himself would
have been willing to go farther and stronger
i'll the way of Chinese exclusion than the
bill went. The amendments of the COM
mittee were all in the direction of making
the bill less severe, and he feared the COM
mittee had gone too far in that direc-
tion. Eustis thought IL strange the census
committee should report a bill which had
nothing TO do with the census, but good
deal 10 do with municipal police, and inter
national obligations. The bill provided
penal statutes with reference TO a class OF
people residing in the United States by
reason Of treaty rights. Ii gave Just cause
Of complaint to a foreign government, con-
sidered as friendly nation, civilized
government with which government of the
United States had solemn treaties, and a
nation with which the American people had
important and valuable commercial rela-
tions. If the question of Chinese exclusion
was TO be reopened, it should be done
in the proper way and not under the sham
and mockery of taking the census. The
census committee had bowed down to the
house in reporting what he regarded as the
most outrageous bill ever sent TO the SEN
ate The trade with China was exceedingly
important and the United States WAS
brought into competition with Germany
and England for that trade. The Chinese
government was engaged in vast pubic
works, the contracts for which there was
much competition, and there was no neces-
sity why that government and people should
he insulted, affronted and degraded by such
measure. Hale stated the object
of the bill was 10 carry out the settled pol
icy of the government M shown by legisla-
tion, in excluding Chinese laborers from
coming into the United States hereafter.
That was its only object. Unless some such
bill passed hundreds and thousands of Chi
nese would come from month TO month and
from year to year, as they were now coming.
The object of the bill was to prevent that.
The matter then went over till Monday. and
Mitchell then gave notice of several amend
ments which he would offer to the bill.