Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-29
A PUBLIC LIBRARY
Continued from First Page.)
Id take favorable action upon the

project.
Attention was called in the 1895 report
tlonal movement toward the establishment
OF municipal libraries free to the public.
inns movement began, it was stated about
t t and 1t was set forth that Washington
mao surely reached that stage Of develop
ment when 1t could expect progressive
library legislation. 1t was stated as be-
yond dispute that the modern public library
is part of the educational system of the
city or state, ard should therefore. be sun
ported as our schools.
Plan of the Committed.
The plan of the committee was set forth
as ioLoWs: % To secure a library subscrip-
uon list, the subscriptions to be conditioned
upon the creation by Congress Of a library
maintained at the Districts expense and
10 De expended IN books for such library;
~ TO secure, either through a separate bill
or through provision on the District ap-
sirod Dill legislation creating the de-
strco library and providing for its municipal
maintenance; CD to secure from the United
states Whatever may be had in the way of
. LOOKS ana space in a public building but
THESE are not to be essential features of the
project. and may possibly be obtained q fter
"ard II denied at the time of the creation
of the library.
Its History Before Congress-
library bill framed by the library COM
mittee of the board of trade was introduced
on the Both of December in the Senate by
Chairman Mcmillan of the District commit
tee, who has from the first taken q deem
interest in this project and has given 1t his
most efhcient aid at every stage SIM
liar bill was about the same time intro
cCced In the House, in order that work
might proceed simultaneously at both ends
OF the Capitol The House bill was intro
District C, mmittee. who has evinced quite
as lively and useful an interest in the
library movement as any other member of
Congress.
before both the House and Senate COM
mittees. and after a favorable report by
the Commissioners in January the bill was
reported en- the 4th of February by Mr.
with a recommendation that it pass The
tlll lay on the Senate calendar for nearly
q nor tn untouched, but on the I'd of March
Senator Mcmillan found an opportunity %
call 1t up for passage. There was a brief
debate in which the bill was warmly advo-
Gated by Senators Wolcott, Gallinger
Chandler, Harris Plat, Call and Mcmillan,
M answer to few formal and perfunctory
objections by one or two Senators who did
rot quite understand it's purpose. The bill
was passed without division by unan-
imous vote, and, being sent to the House.
was the next day substituted by the Dis
trict committee for the House bill then
pending.
A week later, March Z, that being Dis
bill up for passage. and an interesting de-
bate followed. in which the bill was cham
pioned by Mr.. Babcock, Mr.. Wellington,
who was chairman of the library subcom-
mittee of the District committee and Mr.
Grout. who had warmly favored the meas
ure in the preceding Congress. Represent
ative Powers Of Vermont moved an
amendment to the bill striking out the
sixth section, which read follows: Sec.
g. That the expenses of the maintenance of
said library. including salaries of employees,
shall be treated as among the current mu
n.cipal expenses of said District, and it is
hereby made the duty of the Commission
ers of the District of Columbia to include
these expenses in the annual estimates of
the District of Columbia, transmitted by
them to Congress In accordance with the
prov lions of the act Of June II. 1873. reg
ulatlng the transmission of said estimates
and the appropriations by Congress to
meet the same
For this provision he moved to insert the
following as a new section 4: That the
eArenses of the maintenance of said
library, including salaries of employees,
shall be charged upon the revenue of the
| District of Columbia. Provided that no
liability shall be incurred under this act
unless Congress shall have first made ap-
propriations for the object herein stated"
This amendment was adopted on division
by vote of "a to Al in committee of the
whole and 20 to 81 in the House. and the
bill thus amended was then passed with
out division
The Senate promptly refused to accept
this amendment inasmuch as it not only
defeated the central proposition of max
ing the library a truly municipality SuS-
tanned institution but established a danger
Gus precedent by ignoring the organic act
of 1873. which expressly divided all the
expenses of the District between the CEN
trail government and the District itself.
April the bill was called up in the House
for action on the Senate's disagreement,
and again there was spirited debate on
the relations between the District and the
| nation. in which the Powers amendment
was vigorously opposed by Representatives
Wellington. Henderson, Griswold. Cannon,
Hulick, Babcock, Hainer and Grosvenor.
After a discussion, lasting considerably
moro Than hour. a vote was taken on
the motion of Mr.. Babcock that the House
1ecede from its amendment to the bill, and
on roll call the yeas We're lib and the
nays 127 OF the ia who did not vote it
was known that large majority were in
opposition to the action of the House.
The Final Conferences.
The bill was then sent into conference
between the houses, but from one cause
and another no meeting of the conferees
was had until Tuesday, last, when they
assembled in the Senate District commit
tee room. Senator Mcmillan, holding the
proxies of Senators Proctor and Wetmore,
advocated the adoption of the bill as it
pa ssed the Senate, while Representatives
Powers, Mines and Babcock were in at
tendance in behalf of the House. After a
discussion of the fundamental principles
of the relationship between the District
and the government a nominal compromise
| was effected whereby the House receded
from the Powers amendment and the
Senate agreed to eliminate the sixth sec
ton of the original bill, above set forth.
By this so-called compromise the cause of
| the municipality sustained free public libra
ry on the basis of the organic act Of 1878 is
protected from the slightest injury. The
bill, as it stands, establishes free public
library and reading room, and declares
that it shall be maintained in the District
as the property of the District, and sup
plement of it's public educational system
1t thereby places the library on exactly the
same footing as the public schools-impiied-
ly with reference to the organic act of
1878, and division of financial responsible
ity between the national government and
the District, in all other respects. The
sixth section, which was dropped as a re-
suit of the conference, contained only
direction to the District Commissioners to
submit estimates to Congress of the ex-
penses of the Districts library a duty
which they would naturally perform
whether specifically required to do SO or
not, especially in view Of the first section
of the bill. Any reference in the sixth sec
ton to the division of the expense was only
l