Los Angeles herald., 1890-04-08
Yesterdays Proceedings in
Congress.
The Montana Senatorial Con-
test Again.
Interesting Arguments +, Made BY
Vance and SpOOner.
The Senate Service Pension Bill Fails of
Passage in the House Under
Suspension of the Rules.
Associated Press Dispatches.


WASHINGTON, April I'm the Senate
today Evarts presented resolutions of
the New York Chamber of Commerce,
protesting against the pending bill for
census enumeration OF the Chinese, as
absurd, barbarous, unchristian and cow
ardly, and memorial on the same sub
ject from the American Missionary Asso-
citation was presented by Davis
Platt presented a memorial for the adj
mission of New Mexico, without COM
mitting himself to the views set forth
in it.
Hoar moved to proceed with the Mon
tana contested election case.
Hale asked him to give preference to
the Chinese Enumeration bill, which it
was important to have disposed of as
soon as possible.
Hoar intimated that the Chinese Cen
sus bill could not be disposed of imme-
diately as Evarts desired to speak
upon it.
Hale asked Evarts whether he desired
to debate it at length.
Evarts said he did.
Hale then gave notice that he would
move to take up the Chinese Enumera-
ton bill as soon as the Montana election
case was disposed of.
The Montana election case was then
taken up, and Vance, member OF the
committee on privileges and elections,
made argument in support of the minor
ity report, declaring Clark and Maginnis
(the Democratic claimants) entitled to
the seats.
He (Vance) had never heard a title to
a seat in the Senate based on such
slender, technical, trifing grounds. He
had never known the public will Of a
community thwarted and trampled un-
der foot on such flimsy pretexts. He
knew that the fiat had gone forth. He
knew that the Republican claimants
were to be seated. The Republican SEN
ators would be sicker over the thing be-
fore they were done with it than he was
He had heard of an old fellow who
went out to Ohio to speculate in hogs.
He bought big drove and shipped them
to New York. When he got to New
York he found hogs cheaper there than
in Ohio, so he shipped them back and
sold them in Ohio. Some friend said to
him, Jim, you made bad specula-
ton" "Yes,' said he, 81 lost a
good deal of money, but l had
the company of the hogs both ways" ;"
So he (Vance) thanked God than in all
future denunciations of the South for
the suppression of colored votes, the
Southern Senators would have the COM
pany of the hogs. Laughter.
Spooner, also member of the COM
mittee on privileges and elections, made
argument in favor of the majority re-
port that Saunders and Powers, the Re
publican claimants, are entitled upon
the merits of the case to be seated. He
would pass, he said, from the jokes of
the Senator from North Carolina
(Vance), and advert to the very able and
ingenious argument of the Senator from
Delaware Gray. All the Senators
agreed that the question was one of high
privilege, and of grave import and much
delicacy 1t affected not only the right
of Montana to be represented in
the Senate by the men of
her choice, but it affected also
the dignity and integrity of the
Senate itself. 1t should, therefore, be
considered with calm and deliberation,
freed as much as might be from partisan
bias and prejudice. He knew it was not
necessary to assure the Senate that it
had been in that spirit that the major
1ty OF the committee on privileges ana
elections commenced and continued the
consideration of the case. A Senator
could, of course, only be elected by a
State Legislature, and in order to seat a
man in the Senate, he must have been
chosen by Legislature organized within
the meaning of the Constitution; but it
was not necessary, in his opinion, to go
beyond what might be called the
prima facie evidence, and that
prima facie evidence was found
in this case in the certificate
of the board of canvassers, consisting OF
the Chief Justice, Governor and Secre-
tary OF the Territory.
In the course of his speech Spooner
alluded to the charge made by Gray
against the President for undue haste in
issuing the proclamation for the admis-
sion OF Montana, and he defended the
President in that matter. The Presi-
dents whole life, he said, was ample re-
futation of any such intimation.
Spooner yielded for executive session,
and the Senate soon adjourned.
HOJTSE pROCEEnJNCS