The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-12-21
CONGRESS-.
THE SENATE.

Srooner and ingalls, Speak in Favor Il the
ecti'ns Bill
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20-1n the Senate this
morning Pettigrew introduced bill to pro-
hibit the sale of firearms and ammunition
to Indians on reservations. Referred.
dozen private pension bills were passed.
Moody. from the Committee on Indian
Depreciation Claims, reported the House bill
for the adjudication of claims arising from
Indian depredations. Referred to the cal
endar.
Sawyer asked unanimous consent for the
fixing of an early day in January for the
consideration of the Postal Telegraph Bill.
but Wolcott objected.
ingalls,, at his own request, was granted
two weeks leave Of absence.
Platt introduced a joint resolution apprO-
priating 100000 to enable the President to
axe action to obtain from the German Gcv-
ernment supply of the remedy discovered
by DIR. Koch, and the formula for tie manu-
facture of the same. Laid over.
Morgan introduced resolution relating to
Privileges and Elections is directed by the
resolution to amend Section 81 so as to show
what are the changes and notifications in
the sections of the existing law which are
intended to be made by the present bill.
The committee is instructed to make
supplemental report showing tue changes
and notifications in the existing statutes
which they recommend, and provide for
them In amendments reported 10 the
Senate.
The morning hour having expired, the
presiding officer laid before the Senate the
Elections BIZ.
Paddock gave notice that after the con-
sideration Of the pending bill he would ask
the Senate to take up the Pure Food Bill,
which was demanded by the farmers from
end Of the r nj fry Tn lo cfb
Edmunds demanded the regular order and
the floor was taken by Spo0ner, who spoke
In advocacy Of the bill.
SpoOner defended John /. Davenport from
the attacks made upon him and contended
that the Federal election law, instead of
being Offensive to the Democrats in the
North, had been put into opera tion at their
request in many Instances.
A stranger in the gallery, he said, listen
Ing to the debate without any knowledge of
idea that all the love of liberty and devotion
to the constitution and freedom from part
lsanship were to be found on the Demo-
cratic side of the chamber He hoped the
gentlemen on the other side would not
assume that the Republican Senators were
not equally with them, lovers Of liberty.
1t had been said on the other side that the
bill was aimed at the South. 1t was in
part. 1t was aimed at every spot in the
United States, where, by fraud or force.
men who had right to vote for members
OF Congress were cheated out of that right.
The South, he thought, was where the bill
was specially needed. In pr. of, he read
extracts from speech by Delegate Chris
man In the late Constitutional Convention
Of Mississippi, declaring that since 1875
there had not been fair election in that
State; that in plain words they (the whites)
had been stuffing the ballot boxes, COM
mitting perjury aud carrying elections by
fraud aud vl0lencs. He also read the quail
Mississippi, among others being the ability of a
voter, after January, 1892, to read, or to
give reasonable explanation of the mean
ing OF any clause of the Constitution of the
State. If the Constitution of Mississippi
had stopped at the educational test aud ex-
cluded from the right OF suffrage every
white or black who could not read that in-
strument, nobody would complain Of 1t.