Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-19
SENATORS ARE NOT EXCITED They Went About Their Work
 as Calmly as Usual. NO WAR TALK INDUCED IN A Bill Was introduced to Relieve Confederates
 of Their Disabilities. THE HOUSE WAS THE REAL SEAT OF WAR MT. Hitt Introduced and Had Passed Bill Appropriating $loo,ooo to Defray
 the Expenses of Venezuela
 Investigating Committee.
THE HOUSE WAS THE REAL SEAT OF WAR

Washington, Dec 1S.-There was an unusually small attendance of senators at the opening of today's session, and there was not the least sign or indication of excitement growing out of the presi- dents message in reference to the Mon- roe doctrine. MT. Hill, democrat of New York, introduced bill to repeal the law which provides that no person that held a commission in the army or navy of thd United States at the beginning of the late rebellion and who afterwards served in any capacity in the military, naval or civil service of the Confederate states, shall be appointed to any position in the army or navy of the United States. He asked that the bill be put upon it's passage at once, remarking that it was particularly proper and opportune lat this critical period of our history, that such an offensive epithet should be wiped out. The vice-president asked whether there were any objections to MT. Hills request that the bill be now considered. MT. Platt, republican, of Connecticut, said that the request seemed to him rather remarkable It was likely that all the senators would vote for it, but in the absence of the senator from Massa- chusetts, Hoar, who was the first repub- ]ican senator on the judiciary committee, he would insist on the bill going to the committee There was no immediate haste for the passage of the bill. The country was not likely to get into war before the reassembling of congress. The bill was allowed to remain on the table
 MT. Davis republican, of Minnesota, offered a resolution, which was agreed to, calling on the president for all diplo- matic correspondence and other informa tion respecting the establishment of post routes by Great Britain or the Do- minion of Canada over or upon United States territory in Alaska, also respect ing the occupation of that territory by the military or civil authorities of Great Britain or Canada, also respecting any other attempt by Great Britain or Can ada to assert any claim to the territory of the United States in Alaska.
 The resolution heretofore offered by MT. Call, democrat, of Florida, for the appointment of select committee to Investigate the organized efforts of cor porations to control the election of mem- bers of congress, or to influence the legis- lation of congress, was taken up. and MT. Call made an argument in favor of its adoption.
 MT. Hale republican, of Maine, could see no reason why, if the subject was to be investigated, it should not be done by the committee on privileges and elections "a committee that had always investi- gated that class of subjects. He admit ted that perhaps the great corporations of the country were beginning to exert stronger and more dangerous influence on legislation than they had done for merly.
 MT. Chandler sustained MT. Calls re- quest, and said that if he (Mr. Chandler) were in a grapple with the corporations in New Hampshire, as MT. Call was in Florida, he would confidently ask the senate for an investigation, and would expect his request to be compiled with.
 MT Call denounced railroad corpora tions in Florida as a political power that had divested the people of the control of questions connected with their corporate interests. They had done it through bribery and corruption, and even the two houses of congress had not escaped the imputation that the same influence had been powerful over them.
 MT. Sewell, republican, of New Jersey, made his first speech since his election to the senate in opposition to the resolu- tion unless its scope was confined to the state of Florida. He saw no reason why select committee should be appointed to drag railroad officers and directors all over the United States. These men, he said. were the peers of senators-they were eminent before the country, and were as a class, as honest as other men.
 MT. Caffery of Louisiana also opposed the resolution. The senate, he said. would belittle itself by entertaining loose, nOat1ng, lnQe0nlIe cndrSeS against cor porationS. If any specific charge was made in the senate he would not be be- hind other senators in voting for an in vestigation.
 The resolution having been again read, Mr. Hale, republican, of Maine, re- marked that it needed still further prun- ing. It now applied to the election of members of the other house, as well as of the senate. and such an investigation was clearly outside of the power of the f<,x 1fr tion by confining it to the question of the election of senators.
 During the discussion the concurrent resolution for a recess from December 20 to January was received from. the house. laid before the senate and re- ferred to the committee on appropria- tions.
 Mr. Caffery, continuing. argued that the states themselves were primarily charged with such investigations, and intimated that if a bill on the subject should be reported the republican ma jority would re-enact the late federal election law. The question was taken on MT. Hale's amendment to confine the resolution to the election of members of the United States senate, and it was re- jected.
 Mr Sewell, republican, of New Jersey, moved to amend the resolution by insert ing after the word corporation" the words "of the state of Florida" and it was rejected-yeas 20, nays 32.
 The following Is the vote In detail:
 Yeas-Caffery, Cameron, Faulkner, Frye, Gallinger, Hale, Hawley Hill. Lodge, Mcbride, McMillan, Merrill, Per kins, Platt, Proctor Sewell, Sherman, Shoup, Smith, Wetmore-20.
 Nays-Allen, Bacon, Baker, Bate, Ber- ry Blackburn, Burrows. Butler, Call Car ter. Chiffon, Clark. Cockrell, Davis, Du- bois, George, Harris, Jones of Arkansas, Kyle, Mantle, Mills, Mitchell of Wiscon- sin, Morgan. Peffer, Quay, Roach, Teller Thurston, Tillman, Turpie, Walthall, Whte--32. s
 The morning hour having expired, the resolution would have gone to the calen- dar, but MT. Call moved to continue it's