The record-union., 1896-04-09
METRIC SYSTEM OF
WEIGHTS and MEASURES.
The House Orders the Bill ReCOmmitted
to the Coinage Committee.
A Motion to Lay It on the Table Voted
Down.

The Bill to Repeal the Compulsory
Pilotage system, So Far as 1t Affects
Sailing Vessels In Coastwise Trade,
Taken Up, With an Agreement to
Take Vote on the Subject This
Afternoon.
WASHINGTON, April S.-The House
spent two hours to-day in roll-callS
and questions relating to the bill to
make the metric system of weights and
measures the legal system in the United
States after January /, 1901, and final
ly it was recommitted to the Committee
on Coinage, Weights and Measures.
The first vote was on the motion to or
der the bill to a third reading. That
was agreed to-yeas lis, nays II, not
voting lis. A motion was made to re-
consider and to lay that motion on the
table. The ordinary parliamentary de-
vice to clinch action upon the measure
followed, and the House refused to lay
the motion to reconsider on the table.
The motion to reconsider was then car
ried- The bill was then sent back to
the committee
ne Oil 10 Tepedl the COMPULSORY
pilotage system still in force in nine
Southern States, so far as it affects
sailing vessels in the coastwise trade,
was then taken up, and its considera-
ton begun under an agreement to take
a vote at o'clock tomorrow The bill
was advocated by Payne (Rep.) of New
York and Simpkins (Rep.) of Massa-
chusetts, and opposed by Minor (Rep)
OF Wisconsin and Cummings Dem) of
New York
The conference report on the agri-
cultural appropriation bill was present
ed and agreed to.
Acting under the operation of the pre-
vious question upon the engrossment
ard third reading of the bill to adopt
the metric system of weights and meas
ures in the United States, the House
proceeded Immediately after the read
ing of the bill to vote upon it by yeas
and nays, the result being yeas 119,
nays III. TIE vote wa seen to be ex-
ceedingly close, and some minutes were
spent in recapitulating the vote and in
changing votes by members. At the
last moment Dockery (Dem.) of Mis-
souri, changed his vote from no TO aye,
thereby changing the result.
Hurley (Rep) of New York moved to
reconsider the vote and to lay that
motion on the table, on which an
other vote by yeas and nays was or
dered. There was a decided change on
this call, the motion to lay on the table
the motion to reconsider the vote being
defeated-ayes Ill, noes 132.
The vote recurring then on the motion
to reconsider the vote by which the
House ordered the engrossment and
;,@l 1~:J1
ordered to be taken by yeas and nays
The motion to reconsider was carried
yeas 141. nays 80.
c. w. Stone (Rep.) of Pennsylvania
asked unanimous consent to withdraw
the bill from the further consideration
of the House, but to this Dockery and
others objected. He then moved that
it be recommitted to the Committee on
Coinage, Weights and Measures. This
was agreed to-130 to 10.
After the House had agreed to Senate
amendments to certain bills, Payne
Rep) of New York called up the bill
reported by him from the Committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries to
abolish the compulsory pilotage sys-
TEN, otherwise known as a bill to re-
lieve American coastwise shipping Of
an unjust discrimination. 1t was ar
ranged that the debate on the bill
should continue until tomorrow at
D. m., when a vote on the passage of the
bill shall be taken.
Payne explained the intent of the
BILL He said: 'It is contended that
many of the Southern ports are rendered
dangerous by the shifting channels and
by the changing conditions of the sand
bars and that man must be upon the
ground every day in the year in order
to know the dangerous places. 1t is
hard to believe that this is true in the
ports of Virginia, Georgia, South Car
olina. Alabama or Texas. as the Legis-
latures of those States have declared
that their ports are safe without the
service of pilots if the owner paid tax
annual or otherwise. There is not the
slightest danger that the service will
go down or even be. seriously crippled
by the proposed change. When pilots
are necessary and can render real serv
ice they will be employed. When they
are not necessary and their services
are not used they should not be per-
mitted to become a charge upon inter-
state commerce"
Cummings CDem) of New York, op-
posing the bill, said it had appeared
been a member, and was defeated in the
Fifty-frst Congress on a question of
consideration. 1t was a bill, he said,
drawn in favor of the vessel owners
and against the pilots. Were not ship
owners already sufficiently protected?
ne asked.
Cummings said that Congress while
enacting plentiful, generous protection
for the ship-owners had done nothing
for the pilots, relegating them to the
Legislatures of the several states.
That was where the advocates or this
bill should have gone for the relief
they ask. That would have been the
manly thing to do.
Referring to the statement by Payne
and by Simpkins that the pilots asso-
Citations had sent representatives to
Washington to lobby against the bill
Cummings said: Il have seen in the
corridors of the House, and / know two
or three of the members who he has i'm
portuned in behalf of this bill, myr-
lad of mugwumpery named Chamber
lain, said to be a Harbor Commissioners
Grover Cleveland, President of the
United States, has removed from the
Office of Governor of Arizona MIR
Hughes, because he was accused OF
sending kilograms to Congressman ask
ing them to vote for some school bill
say to the gentlemen on the other
eide that IL they are friends of Mr.
Chamberlain they will allow this bill