Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-28
THE HOUSE,


Under the impression that the order I'm .
der which the House has been operating the
past Two weeks, so far as the hour Of
meeting was concerned prevailed, today the
pubic galleries of the hall of the House Of
Representatives were filled before 10 o'clock
THIS morning. and many members were in
thelr seats on the floor at that hour The
surrounding corridors and lobbies of the
moor We're also filled with throng of peo-
pie, curious TO know the outcome of the
oratorical contest which has been going on
within the chamber for fourteen DAYS.
These people struggled for advantageous
points OF view and perspired freely from
their exertions. But even those fortunate
enough to become possessed of seats and
comparative Quiet found it impossible to
maintain any degree Of comfort, for the at
mosphers was hot and muggy Heavy
clouds lowered over the city and there wss
no breath Of air stirring. The practical
outcome of the votes to be taken was con-
ceded on all hands to be the defeat OF
every proposition relating to the free coin
age Of silver at any ratio with gold. and
also of the resolution revivng the Bland
Allison act of 1878. This much was freely
leader of the silver forces. He said that the
estimate of the anti silver committee of
majority of about fifty against any Of the
orSsr sS, covering the Of the day
that have been brought to bear upon our
be surprised to see the Wilson bill go
through the Senate some day soon, with
little or no friction"
The knowledge that the day would be de-
voted to dreary roll calls. which. though re-
lating to the most important question which
has attracted the attention Of the country
for the past quarter of a century, are not
of exciting interest to the ordinary spec
tator in the galleries, had no effect upon the
audience this morning.
. Long before the hour of meeting the pub
lie galleries were tammed with earnest
listeners. When. at a quarter before noon,
the reserved galleries were opened there
was a rush made to secure good seats, and
In q moment every bench was filled with
ladies In summer costumes. who manipu-
lated ffutterfng fans in order to temper the
mugSy heat which permeated the chamber.
The Leaders Appear.
The leaders Of the House attracted the
usual amount of attention as they came
upon the floor. Mr.. Reed came in at II 20,
his form towering above all his associates
on the floor, and being particularly no.
ticeable because of his suit of Kentucky tow,
making him look like a white spot on a
dark gray background. Gen. Tracey and
Mr. Bland were busiiy engaged in con-
the decisive count of votes. Lafe Pence.
the enthusiastic populist from Colorado,
earnestly assured Amos Cummings of New
apparent defeat of the advocates Of free
coinage. Bourke Cochran did not appear
until after the Speakers ,gavel fell, but
Messrs. Harter. Rayner and Tom l.. Johns
son. anti-silverites. buzzed and beamed with
anticipations Of victory. When the Speaker
commanded order at u nearly every seat
In the hall was filled, an unmistakable evil
dence of the general and individual interest
In the matter in hand. Chaplain Hadda-
way PRAYED briefly and in a voice inaudible
at a distance of more than ten feet from
the desk for an especial gift of wisdom and
Judgment to rightly settle the great ques-
the journal Mr. Weaver (N. " appeared at
the bar of the House on the arm of his col
league. Gen. Tracey, and was sworn in by
The resolution contained in the order OF
procedure on the silver question was
ported by the clerk. providing for. vote
first upon free coinage Of silver at the pres
ent ratio of 16 to l.
MIR. Baiiey's Qne.tion.
Representative Bailey CTeX) asked IL.
in the event of all the amendments in
cluded in the order being defeated, it would
be in order to propose an additional amend
ment germane to the subject.
Speaker Crisp replied that as at present
advised he would answer no; that the order
provides exhaustively all that the House
may consider: but that when the time came
to formally present the question the gen
Representative McMillin Tenn) desired
to offer an amendment providing for- the
free coinage OF the product OF the Sll~r
mines of the United States, but Mr.. Bland
objected to even having it read. saying that
such a proposition was not free coinage at
all.
The floor was the scene of a noisy, bus
Ting confusion, the various leaders being
busy In marshaling their cohorts. Every
member was on the tip-toe Of expectation,
and 1t may be safe to say that every Rep
resentative who was not detained by III
ness was in his seat.
The House was called promptly to order
at 12 o'clock and the chaplain invoked the
special Divine guidance on members at
this critical moment.
The First Amendment Defeated.
The Wilson bill having been read Mr..
Bland (Mo.3 offered his first amendment
that of free coinage at the present ratio of
16 to land it was defeated by a vote of
yeas, 124; nays, 226, amid applause from the
anti-silver men, who received one more
majority than they expected. The follow
ing is the detailed vote:
The Vote in Detail.
Yeas-Messrs. Abbott I'd. TeX.), Aitken
(r. Mich, Alexander ID. y. O., Allen ID
Miss). Arnold d.Mo). Bailey ID. Tex),
Baker (p. Kan). Bankhead q. Ala.). Bell