Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-20
ANOTHER DAY SPENT By the House in Consideration of
 Naval Appropriations. A CONFERENCE REPORT On the Income Tax-JoneS' Silver Coinage Measure Dis
 cusSed in the Senate.
CONFERENCE REPORT

| WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.-Another day was spent in consideration of the naval ap- | propration bill without .disp3sing of it. The proceedings were marked by several spirited passages between MT. Savers, chairman of the committee on appropria- tions, and members of the committee on naval affairs over amendments O. rd by the former to reduce the amount carried in the bill. Only on two oi these was the Texas member successful, and then the amendments were insignificant. l At the beginning of the consideration of the bill Chairman O'Neil, democrat, of Massachusetts, decided the point of order made yesterday by MT. Savers against the proposed increase of the force of enlisted men in the navy, holding that it was in order, notwithstanding statutes limiting the number to 5000 men. From this ruling l MT. Sayers appealed, but the committee of | the whole sustained the chair-143 to 37, l and against this Mir. Savers entered his | earnest protest.
 In the course of the day several other i'm portaut matters were acted upon by the | house. The joint resolution reported yes- | terday by the committee on ways and | means directing the secretary of the treas- | ury to suspend the shipment in bond 6 for the free zone of Mexico was passed. l Also bill authorizing the president to appoint Gen. Don Carlos Buell. colonel on the retired list of the army.
 | A conf ference was agreed to on the agrl- cultural bill. The report of the conferees upon the joint resolution extending from March 10 April 15, 1895, the time within which income tax returns may be made | was agreed to.
 The statement of the conierees was as follows:
 The effect of the first amendment of the senate is to allow the owner of real estate to deduct the amount necessarily paid for
 fire insurance from the income of the same when making his return. It applies only to real estate. It does not enlarge in other respects the amount of deductions that may be made in the income tax law for neces- sary repairs, but not for betterment. This provision remains and is not enlarged by | tue amendments agreed upon.
 The effect of the second amendment is to | require corporations to return the tax list ou corporate property and relieve the indi- vidual from the necessity of doing so. It is agreed to by the conferees to prevent the possibility of double taxation. Whilst the law guarded agaiost this, it was thought not improper to add any additional assurance thereof that was necessary. The amendment added by the con ferenoes to the second amendment frees employers 1 from the necessity of returning the names and saisries of their employees except when called for by the collector to verify the re- turns of employees. For that purpose the report will still exist from the third amendment, limiting prerogatories. Tax payers shall be required to answer to those specially provided in the act. This was thought best not only for the government, but the tax payer.
 The house at o'clock adjourned until tomorrow at noon.
 IN THE SENATE.
 MT. Villas, democrat, of Wisconsin, made long, able and eloquent speech in the senate today in defense ol the president of the United States and his secretary of the treasury in the matter of the sale of s62, = OOO, ,0CO oi4 per cent bonds for gold. The speech was made on the bill before the senate for the free coinage Nof silver, but had no reference whatever to that bill.
 MT. Villas showed that the president had endeavored to get congress to act upon the financial difficulties in which the treasury Iound itsef by the drainage of gold. and as congress had declined to act he had 10 avail himself of the power which the ex
 the issu ue of bonds. The price obtained for the bonds, Mir. Villas contended, was the highest that could be obtained under the circumstances, or in other words, 3M per cent was the lowest rate of interest at which the bonds would be taken by the great banking houses which had been ap. piled to. Three and five. .eighths per cent had been offered in all the great money centers and had been refused, and all be- cause the bonds did not provide specifically for repayment in gold coin.
 After MT. Vlas' speech Mir. Platt, re- | publican, of Connecticut, made a speech against the free silver bill itself. An effort was made by Mir. Jones to have time fixed | for taking the final vote on the bill, but as its antagonists refused to fix any time the debate went on, and MT. Patt is at this hour, p. m., engaged in arguing acainst l the bill.
 Another proposition to have the vote | taken at o'clock tomorrow was made by MT. Jones and objected to by Mir. Aldrich, | who said that when the bill was first intro duced by Mir. Jones it contained nine sec. | tons, including one for the issus of $500,- COG, 900 in bonds and one for the retirement | oi green backs, and he thought that the senate was entitled to an explanation as to | why those eight sections had been aban- | doned.
 As all attempts to have an hour fixed for | taking the vote met with objections MT. l Platt went on with bis speech. He gave it | as his belief, in which he knew many of his republican associates would not agree | with him, that the vice of the whole finan- | cial situation in this country lay in the | paper currency issued by the government. | There WAS an unusuaI attendance of sem | ators this morning, probably in view of the | expected contest over the free coinage sill | yer bill, and the galleries were also well | filled with interested spectators. The rou- 1 tine morning business, however, consumed | the first half hour with matters of little l public concern.
 A conference report on the diplomatic aud | consular appropriation bill was presented 1 and agreed to. All the differences between | the two houses on that bill have been arr | ranged except as to the appropriation of | $500, 900 to begin the construction of the | ca ole to Hawaii, on which the conferees l wee unable 10 agree. A further confer | euce was ordered on that item.
 | Mir. Call presented memorial to con- | gress of the Worlds Arbitration league, | signed by Bishop Newman as president, with the signatures of 150 members of the British parliament, and asked that 1t be