The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-24
SESSIONS OF THE SENATE.
only a Fourth of the Senators o.
Haud at the Onaufn1

WASHINGTON, FEB. Z5.-After the three
days recess Of the two houses the senator's
were not very punctual in their attendance,
for not one-fourth Of their whole number
was present when the opening prayer was
offered and the Journal of last Friday as
read. Mr.. Vest gave notice that he would,
on Thursday next. call up Mr. Hale's
reciprocity resolutions for the purpose of
submitting some remarks upon them.
Mr.. Call gave ike notice for Monday
next on his resolutions. as to railroad cor
Forations In Florida influencing senatorial
elections.
The calendar was taken up and the Sem
ate bill appropristing 100000 for a public
building at Newport News, Va, came up,
and was passed.
PAY OF LIFE SAVERS.
To fix the CONVERSATION of the keeners
and crews OF life saving stations. Ii
passed. Keepers of life saving stations. exc
ceps statious known as houses of refuge are
to be paid 500 per year, and the members
OF crews OF stations are to be paid S65 per
month during the time the stations are
manned.
The House bill to provide an additional
mode or taking dispositions of witnesses iu
causes pending in United States courts, al
lowing dispositions to be taken under state
laws, passed.
The Senate bill to provide a COM
mission on the subject of the alcoholic
liquor traffic was read at length and was
passed without .ssenr, when Mr. Vest made
remark as to the improperly Of such an
important bill being passed with only scme
nalf dozen senators present. Attention
being thus drawn to the bill, it was laid
aside for the present.
The Senate joint resolution for an inter-
national bimetallic agreement was next
taken up and Mr.. Stewart made some re-
marks upon it, but as the morning hour
mad already expired, it went over without
action.
PADDoCK'S PURE FOOD BILL.
The bill to prevent adulteration aud mis-
branding of foods and drugs was then taken
up as the unfinished business, aad Mr.. Pad
DOCK, who is In charge of it, made some re-
marks in its support. All that the bill
aimed to do, he said, was in the first place to
deal with subject Of interest 20 commerce
All ttat it aimed 10 do was to make it
impossible, so far as legislation might do so,
Tor any article Of food or drink or any drug
TO be sold for what it was not. That was
all there was in the bill. 1t was unneces-
sary for him to say word on the constitu.
tonal questions involved, as all such ques-
tons had been swept away last session by
the passage Of the meat inspection act, which
had been drawn on lines less liberal than
the pending measure. In regerd to
the constitutional authority Of congress to
lezlsIate on interstate commerce lines. what
ever might be said against the bin on con-
stitutional grounds. he would make no an
swer 70 it, and hoped that ns other senator
would. The bill was aimed at no honest
product, at no honest article Of food
or drink. 1t Disseminated against
nothing. Ii treated everything alike.
It'staiply asked that everything should be
ibranded and sold fer just what it was. As
to The objections that might be made to the
bill IN the interest of cotton seed oil, be
assured the senators that that interest would
be helped, nos1r5ured, byshe passage of the
BATE OPPOSES THE BILL.
Mr.. Bate made an argument against the
bill. He aid mot suppose that any senator
would oppose proper laws for preventing
adulteration and mishranding of food,
drink audndFpgs. He certainly did not.
But he was one OF those who believed that
that shoult1dseitdone through the proper
channels, the state legislatures and
not congress-. Home rule was the
safest and best over all such matters. He
favored home rule and therefore he opposed
federal Legislation for the households Of the
home people. He had calculated some OF
found that the pay Of inspectors and labor
ers at every rail Dad station assuming the
stations to- BE Ten miles apart would amount
to over $27, 600, 900 year.
Mr.. PADDOCK said that Massachusetts, had
similar wald that it was administered
by seven inspectors.
Mr.. Bate took that statement as proof
OF the correctness of his position, that while
administrator of local aud state govern
mQnt gflnGf@NlanR a hnO1a YOfnrhf no oh
there was ,f0ehd TO the expense when con-
gress undertook like matter.
TOO MUCH POLITICS INVOLVED.
There might be demand. he said, for a
pure food bill, but the proposed measure. he
feared, was only an excuse for impure poll
tics. 1t conferred on the agricultural de-
partment possibilities to corrupt politics by
commissioning q multitude Of employees dis
guised as pure food inspectors and station
ing them as videttes along the railroads,
and, of course, at places convenient to vot-
ing precincts. He could not vote to intro
duce Trojan horse, with its belly full of
government employees, to open the gates for
a republican or democratic triumph.
COKE DECLARES IT IMPRAoTICABLE.
MIR. Coke also opposed the BILL If it was
not TO be, he said, mere peri Inctory
measure to provide few favorites with
SOAb pldC0s 0Gl SOOu ndlGLlSS, uuU IL IL was
to be vigorously executed so as to subserve
its purpose, operative as it would be over
all the states and territories, the undel-
taking would be vast one and would add
enormously TO the expenditures of the gov
eminent. The source and inspiration of the
bill, as shown by the committees report,
had been officials of the agricultural depart
ment The bill attempted an utterly
impracticable thiug-that of regulating
and taking care of the food, drink ana
medicine of 100000 people. That never
had been done and never could be done.
The bill would overrun the country with
spies and informers. Chemists I'd inspect
ors would have to be everywhere. and
even then the attempt would be failure,
for the people of the United States would
never accept the dictum Of Washington
bureau as to what they could eat or drink
or what medicine they could use.
PADDOCK DENIES EXTRAVAGANZA.
Mr.. Paddock declared thai Mr. Bates
the bill was most extravagant. The Score
tary OF Agriculture, he said, asked for only
500 900 to defray its entire expense for the
year. On the basis OF the expense Of the
administration Of ike law 10 Messschu-
sets the cost of admins .ering the pending
measure would not exceed $4,000. All
that the agricultural department would
have TO do would be when COM
plants are made to have the articles
complained OF analysed. Tho idea of hav-
ing inspectors stationed at every railroad
station was too absurd TO be answered. Mr..