The Daily Texarkanian., 1894-02-26
WHAT HAS BERRY D0NEl"
The Question Answered Fully, and,
We Think, to the satisfac-
tion Of All.

tion Of All.
The Fishback papers have asked
the above question He has done
much, and the papers asking the
question know it, though by implica-
tion try to leave the impression that
he has done little or nothing. AS
Chairman of the public lands COM
mittee, he and Congressman McRae
have about arranged with the au-
thorities at Washington, for a Set
tlement of over a million dollars
debt due the national government
by the state, by taking credit for
swamp lands taken from us, all that
is to be done to finish the settle
ment is to pass a bill, mutually
agreed upon, through Congress.
This alone ought to secure his re-
election.
In answer to the question above,
the sprightly Dardanene Dispatch
says; The mere question is an ad-
mission that these persons take so
little interest in the course of ma
tional legislation that some of them
doubtless are not certain whether
the American Congress is continu-
ously in session at Washington City
or meets about every six years down
somewhere in Georgia. If they
only had manifested a casual inter
est they would know that during
the nine years past James H. Berry,
OF Arkansas, has been one Of the
most active men in the Senate, and
his speeches on all the great ques-
tions that have been discussed in
Congress would make a big book,
In every instance he has stood firmly
on the side of justice and fought
gallantly for the cause of the people
He has always wanted to make the
pension list a roll Of honor and,
when a partisan Congress passed
the dependent pension bill granting
$16 month to every eX-Union sol
/
der that was not in independent
circumstances, Berry led the fight
against it in the Senate. President
Cleveland vetoed the bill. He has
warmly supported every measure
for the reduction and revision of the
tariff, and heartily endorses the
Wilson tariff measure with the in
come tax amendment. He voted
against the Hatch bill on account
of certain defects, but earnestly
advocated the passage of the
George anti-options bill to prevent
dealing in futures on the products
of the farm Berry was the first
Senator to publicly denounce the
civil service law as a fraud, making
it possible to retain Republicans in
Office under Democratic administra-
ton When it was proposed to rule
the South with the bayonent by the
passage of the Lodge force bill the
grand old one-legged Arkansan was
prominent in the solid phalanx of
Democratic heroes that defeated
the bill Coming nearer home, it
was largely due to Senator Berry's
efforts that the magnificent appro-
priation for the improvement of the
Mississippi River and its tributar-
les was made, by which the Arkan-
sas river received a quarter Of a mil
lion dollars. Perhaps it is not gen
orally known that Senator Berry
quite recently prevented the u S.
Land Office at Dardanelle from be-
ing consolidated with the Office at
Little Rock. The Government In
spector, from some unknown reason
recommended to the department at
Washington that the Dardanele
Office be abolished and its business
transferred to the Little Rock Office,
Senator Berry was at his home in
Bentonville in poor health when he
was informed of the matter, but he
boarded the train at his own ex-
pense for Washington. He went to
the department and clearly demon
strated the Inconvenience and hard
ship about to be imposed upon the
poor homesteaders of Western Ark
ansas, who would be compelled to
90 to Little Rock to enter and prove
up their land. He won the fight and
the Dardanelle Land Office is still
here These are but a few instances
in which Berry has served the peo-
pie. When he rises in the Senate
to make a speech he has the whole
country for his audience, and he is
the unquestioned southern leader in
the upper house Of Congress Only