Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-01-15
AT THE CAPITAL.
"A Breezy Colloquy Between
Call and Plumb.
FLORIDA SWAMP LAND GRANTS.
The SilcOtt Matter Again Agitated
in the HOuse-The Tariff
Hearings.
Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD.

AA-~->~~@>
WASHINGTON, January 14.-In the Sen
ate, today, among the bills reported from
committees and placed on the calenda
were the following: To declare unlawfu
trusts and combinations in restraint O
trade and production (Sherman's bill)
authorizing the purchase of site for
building for the Supreme Court.
George offered resolution inetructint
the Committee on Finance to inquire int
the propriety OF reducing the penal bond
required of manufacturers of cigars in al
cases, or at least where the manufacture
is carried on by manual labor. Referred
The resolutions heretofore offered by
Call, in relation to the claims of Florida
under the swamp land grant, and in re.
lation to the alleged unlawful selection
of land in Florida, we're taken up and
Call addressed the Senate. The burden
of his remarks was that lands which
were not swamp and overhowed, but
which were fit for cultivation, had been
selected under the Swamp Land act, to
the injury of the psople's rights. He as
serted that 200,000000 acres had been
selected and approved in all the States
as swamp and overfowed lands, while
everybody knew that no such extent of
territory Gas large as Europe), consisting
of swamp and overfowed lands existed
OF over 100000 acres which had
passed in Florida, under the Swamp and
Overlooked Land act, he asserted that
II 900 900 wers high and dry.
Plumb said Florida contained about
40, 100000 acres and more than one.half
of this had been given by the United
States to the State for various purposes
Every single acre of land 80 granted had
been placed under the control of the
Legislature of Florida. Some 16, 900 900
or 18, 900 600 acres had been granted as
swamp and overflowed lands. The Sem
ator (Call) had just told the Senate that
most of it was not swamp, but arabic
land. So much greater was the derelic.
tion of the Senator's State if it had be-
trayed its trust. For himself he would
resign his seat if he were to bring for
ward such complaint against his own
State, after being too cowardly to pro-
claim it on the stump within it's borders.
Plumb went on to say that Call had
some sessions ago appealed to him as
Chairman Of the Committee on Public
Lands to report bill to ratifv and con-
firm the title to certain railway lands in
Florida. So the alleged frauds, said
Plumb, were to be condoned under Ger.
tain circumstances, but were never to be
condoned in speeches. The Senator, he
said, had been always in the habit of
impugning Senators covertly or openly,
and he (Plumb) had sometimes been in.
clined to reply to him, simply to convict
him of falsehood.
Call replied to Plumb. He said: "I
will not be moved, Mr.. President, by
this extraordinary example of the Sena-
tor from Kansas, to follow his bad man
ners, nor his contemplate methods. He
cannot have poorer opinion of me than
/ have of the Senator from Kansas. l
have not been in the habit of violating
the decorum of debate and discussion,
but if the Senator thinks by his idle
bravado, by his defense of this vast
spoliation of the public domain in the
interest of those who have profted by it,
that he can intimidate me from defend
ing the rights of the people of my State,
1 treat him with the scorn and contempt
that he deserves. My position is we'll
known in relation to the question in the
State of Florida. The officials of that
State are as honorable and as able as the
Senator from Kansas. BY their side he
would sink into insigniicance. The
statements of the Senator in relation to
their violation of trust are entirely un
true, and as Chairman of the Committee
on Public Lands (Which has jurisd
over tue matter) he should be ashamed
not to be better informed in regard to
special circumstances. II is disreputa
BILE to the Senate that it should have as
Chairman of that committee Senator
who not only defends the interests Of
boodlers, but shows his ignorance of a
subject specially committed to him. All
the Senator has said about the Legisla-
ture of Florida is utterly false and un-
true, and has been said for the purpose
of making an attack against me-"
Having made statement as to grants
to Florida for railway purposes and
under the Swamp Land law, Call pro-
ceeded: "If the things he said were
true, and if 1 were as bad a man as he
is weak man, or as vain a man as he
is, even if were all he is himself, and
ali he says 1 am, still it would remain
true that large number of people have
been deprived of their rights in these
lands"
Dolph as member of the Committee
on Public Lands, made an explanation
and justification of the acts of that
COMMITTEE in the last Congress-. Gall
disclaimed having made or attempted t.
make the slightest imputation on tina
committee.
Without action on the resolution the
Senate after executive session adjourned
House Proceedings.
In the House, Mckinley, from thu
Committee on Ways and Means, re
ported back the bill to simplify the lawl
in relation to the collection of revenue
1t was ordered printed and recommitted
Perkins, of Kansas, moved that the
House 60 into Committee of the Whole
for the consideration of the bill to pro
vide for townsite entries of land il
Oklahoma. This was antagonized BY
Adams, of Illinois, who wished th'
House to consider the Silcott matter
and the motion was defeated 65 to 81
Adams called up the Silcott report
accompanied by bill appropriatinl
>$75,000 to reimburse members
Adams argued in favor of th'
bill, holding that the Sergeant-at
Arms was public officer. Hemphill, o
South Carolina, advocated the adoption
of his bill, permitting members to brin
suit in the Court of Claims for the recov
cry of their salaries. He was Opposes