Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-08-14
NUMBER 33.

4
bosn more divided In opinion this year
than any other COMMITTEES ~ the house.
and the irascblo Bland has been com.
pollcd to admit that his spccialtios are
l just now on the ebb tide Chairman
Hatch % the committee ON agriculture
has fought ably and vigorously for his
fayorite bills. and several of them have
go, through the house and been put
quietly 90 sleep In the senate At tho
close however. he had tho satisfaction
of knocking out the Hansbrough amend.
ment. which the senate had voted, add.
ing tl, 200. 900 to tho agricultural bill
for exterminating the Russian thistle.
AMI II evidently did him good clear down
% his fctlOcks
The Claim. Com.,ittse.
The committee on claims has done
Just about it, regular work. The oom.
mittee ON education has killed the usual
number ~ crank bills All Of the va.
riOus committees ON expenditure have
done only routine busincs.. and tho
same may b. said of all tho-s commit.
tees which deal with Affairs ~ per.
manent nature. from the District of Co
lumbia down Tho committee on for.
eim Affairs has done really splendid
work. and no other COMMITTEES has boen
more generally successful When tho
committee on Pacific railways was an.
nouncc4. SENATOR Cullom said In his
quiet way. "Don't trouble yourself to
hunt up the details ~ testimony and
bills II Is fised that nothing II 30 b.
done " This prophecy was pretty nearly
fulfilled ~ to final results. but not
quite The committee has heard an
enormous amount % evidence and Argu.
ment ga the subject and has formulated
avery elaborate measure which will D.
known a. the Reilly bill. for funding
,hc indebtedness and extending its pay.
ment A minority. however. consisting
~ Mc-srS Boatner ~ Louisiana. sn0d.
grass - Tennessee. Cooper ~ WILSON,.
Sin and Hepburn u Iowa has fle'l ~.
pr, In favor ~ a much mOrc radical
measure II PROPOSES that the govern
mcnt shall forccloso II. claim and soll
the rad to ar.organil@i company. Mr.
Harris, In n supplemental report. recon.
mcnds that the government take tho
rad into iis direct ownership and run II
a. SORT ~ experiment to so how that
sort Of thing could b. done.
rn.a.....faI CI.im..
The last q July Is the proper day to
sum up 90. for ~ the session draws
near an cnd members begin o. bring in
bills by the Wholesale. so OF 100 Per
day. for political effect only. and with
CERTAIN knowledge that they will not
pass This congress met Aug !, 1898,
aud the first session adjourned Nov. ,.
the second session beginning De. 4; ~,
deiuciing the six weeks % last fall and
the Christmas holidays, this might b.
called good lOk months session
On the last a July there had h.sn
brought into the house. printed and ~.
frrrcd :, $50 bills and In the senate
2,2i0. reports made to the house l.3!D
and 20 the senate 5g7. house executive
documents 25S and senate 49,. with
miscellaneous 1919. and q the senate
22s Nevertheless. ~ laws classod n
public acts there hal b"cn passed. and
signed but l3l and 81 private acts,
with 81 public and only 8 private
resolutions At that time. however. tho
senate wa. Just fairly getting it, hand
In on the pile u private and special acts
brought over from the h0us' the mum.
ber running far into the hundreds before
the end There wero at the same date
but 81 Joint resolutions passed cut ~
2l2 which had been brought in. and it
1. 10 D. remembered that this great mas
of over n, 900 bills and resolutions nc.
tally brought into the two houses and
acted upon In some way l. but the re.id'
uum of very much greater mas u
stuff which l. forced upon the consider
alton u the committees.
p.r.s,.r.R.. Rewarded.
There i. the COMMITTEES on e'lucaiion,
for instance which l. generally looked
upon a. sort - buffer to keep the
crank. from bothcring the hOuse, and 10
seldom happcns that more than one In
so Of the measures brought before II
reaches the hOn.e More than All othcrs,
however. the COMMITTEES On claims has
o. sift q few grains out of vast pilo- of
stuff There arr. take IL one year with
another. 40, 600 claims hle,l, and some
~ them have b.come standing Joke,
while othtrs are u really pathetic in.
tervst. There, for instance, i the old.
old claim ~ Margaret Kennedy. on
Whose property For, sedgwick was
built during the war. th. rcsult being
the destruction u her home She was
offered $1,000. but REFUSED IL and has
prosecuted the claim ever since with
great yigur
Another old case l. that ~ Captain
T. T. Leathers ~ the Mississippi steam.
er Natchez, who ran with the American
fiag un his jlckstaii till h. was driven
from the lower river northwari with
each Successive state secession The
government still owes him fOr carrying
the mails in 1901. but every year his
little bill i crowded out There was
until recently poor. forlOm old lady
hanging about the capitol and bsse.ch'
ing every member Of the committee sho
cUuld ct o. in favor - her claim for
siO, 600. In law theru was not u par
ticle ~ basis for IL, yet after being i'm
portuncd for years the older members
~ the committee got - tir,d of seeing
the AL. pitiful old face that they called
Ler In and agreed 90 allow her 5000
II she would then leave the city never %
return She accepted. got the money
and went away happy, but esporiencoi
old clerks say that her heir will b. back
here In the fifty.eighth 90 sixtieth con.
grss for the other a.. 600. with big In
tepst Truly. as Mr. Bailey says an
honest oongrcssman's life 10 not an idle
cue J. IL BrADIE
Counsel F.r th. sugar Trust
Inh, q par.nt,s ihn lnMNnr Mhnsa