Omaha daily bee., 1892-12-15
IN THE SENATE.


Mr.. George Earnestly Advocates the Passage
of the Anti-Option Bill.
WAsHINGToN, ID. c., Dec. 1.-THE famous
McGarrahan claim occupied the attention of
the senate today up to O'Clock, when it
went over until tomorrow without action
The vice president having presented the
message of the president, stating the rea-
sons why he had not approved the bill
passed by both houses last session (referrng
the matter to the court of private land
claims), and having stated the question to
be, ''Shall the bill pass, the objection of the
president to the contrary notwithstand-
ing!" the vote was about being taken by
yeas and nays, when Mr. Sanders inter
posed with suggestion that some explana-
tion should be made of why that bill should
pass He thereupon entered into an argu-
ment to show why, in his opinion, it should
not pass.
Mr.. Teller followed in a brief argument in
favor of the bill, and was in turn followed by
Mr., Hunton on the same side of the queS-
ton. The bill went over, however, without
action, and will come up again tomorrow in
the morning hour.
MIR. Georges Anti-Option Argument.
The antl-option bill was then taken up and
Mr. George resumed his speech in favor of
it. He commenced by saying that he saw in
one of the New York papers that the dealers
in futures in the city of New York had
undertaken to punish the people of the
United States because the senate had
yesterday, IL the performance of it's consti-
tional duty, proceeded to consider the i'm
portant bill. Cotton had been made to fall
three or four or five points-the dealers in
futures thereby undertaking to force the
senate to cease the performance of a great
constitutional duty To show that that fall
in cotton was purely fictitious, purely in the
spirit of bravado, he called attention
to the fact that while cotton had gone
down in New York, corn and provisions
had gone up in Chicago. He took it that
senators would treat such threats with that
degree of contempt to which they were en-
titled. In the course of his argument he
said lin reference to the suggestion that the
bill should go over until after the holidays)
| that poStpOnemcnt of action was impossible
without giving up the bill There was-he
also said-a blessing in disguise in the short
crop of cotton with which Providence had
| afflicted the southern people. That bless
ing was that while the gamblers and specu-
lators might temporarily depress the price,
| there was deficiency for consumption, and
| the consumers would be obliged to come for
ward and take cotton at the prices. The
| present time was, therefore, the time when
| he bill could be passed with the best
! prospects of escaping the domination of
| spectators.
Most of Mr.. Georges speech was devoted
to a description and criticism of the modes
of business in tho New York exchange,
which he characterized as an clemosynary
instit ution, mentioning frequently its ''un-
hallowed traffic in phantom bales'I He
! spoke over two hours, but had not finished
when he yielded for other business. The
anti-option bill then Went over without
action.
The resolution offered yesterday by Mr..
Daniel, calling for information ON the sub
| iect of the civil service, was taken up and
agreed to.
After II short executive session the senate
| adjourned.