Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-07-19

IN THE SENATE.
Sale Of Public Lands-ladian Appropriations
Under Discussion.

WASHINGTON, July l8.-In the absence
of the Vice President, who had gone home
to Bloomington, Ills, the Senate was pre-
sided over by the President pro tenn, Mr..
Harris Dem Of Tennessee. The Senate
bill to provide for the reservation, sale and
settlement of certain lands in several states
and territories was taken from the calendar,
amended, and passed. 1t provides to en-
courage the reclamation of arid lands, and
the cultivation and sale thereof in small
tracts to actual settlers, reserved for the
purpose and upon conditions provided in
the act, in each of the states to which the
desert land law of the United States is
applicable, 200, 900 acres of surveyed pub
lie arid lands thereon respectively, to be
selected by each of them within 10 years af-
ter the passage of the act, and from the
date of such selection to be thereafter with
held from other disposal, except as pro-
vided in the act, provided that any lands so
reserved, which shall not be reclaimed with
in five years from the date of their selec-
ton, or as to which the Senate has not ex-
pended or caused to be expended 50 an acre
in works intended for reclamation of such
lands, as now required by the United States
desert land law from the claimants, there
under, be released from such reservation
and become subject to disposal as other
public lands of the United States, after
proclamation by the President. The act
applied to Montana and Kansas, and the
states that may be formed of the territories
of Arizona New Mexico, Oklahoma and
Utah when admitted.
The Indian appropriation bill was taken
up. The appropriation of $l,000,000 for
the support of Indian day and industrial
schools and other educational purposes pro-
voked a good deal of discussion. Quay
presented petition from the Universal
Peace Union protesting against the proposed
reductions in the appropriation for the day
and industrial schools, and for the Carlisle
Indian school.
Call, in charge of the bill, denied the ex-
| istence of any secretarian purpose in the
matter. Gallinger referred to what he
called the remarkable fact" that within
the last eight years the Catholic church had
received 81, 1866, 900 for the education of
Indian children and the Is other churches
received little more than half that amount.
| Finally the committee amendment was
agreed to.
The item of 100000 for the Indian in
dustrial school at Carlisle, Pa, was, on
| motion of Quay, increased to $4,000.
The item of $1,000 for the repair of the
church and building used for school pur-
poses on San Xavier reservation, Arizona,
led to statement by Cockrell that this is
probably the oldest church in the United
| States. a work of rare skill in architecture,
and the real object of the appropriation
was to preserve it as one of the antiquities
| of the country.
There was no discussion on any other
provisions of the bill, which was read
| through to the close. All the committee
amendments were agreed to. The only in
| dependent amendment that evoked con-
troversy was one offered by Squire, author
izing the Puyallup Indians, who hold lands
in severalty on the reservation near Tacoma,
WASH, to sell portions of those lands to
raise money enough to improve the re-
| msinder.
Final action was not taken on the amend
ment, which went over until tomorrow.
After an executive session, the Senate ad
| journed.