Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-22
CONGRESS AT WORK AGAIN Neither the Senate Nor House Accomplished Much. SENATOR CALL HEARD FROM fhe Arrest of an American Citizen in Cuba
 Aroused Him. SENATOR PUGH'S BILL WAS TAKEN UP An Attack Was Made in the House on the Abuses of the Fee System in Paying
 United States Court
 Officials.
SENATOR PUGH'S BILL WAS TAKEN LIP

business of the morning hour a "service pension bill' was reported to the senate from the committee on pensions without any recommendations and was placed on the calendar.
 A resolution was offered by MT. Call democrat, of Florida, requesting the president of the United States to inquire into the arrest and forcible removal of Mark c. Rodriguez. a citizen of the United States. on board of the United States mail steamer Olvette in the har- Dor of Havana on the 18th instant, and also the arrest of Louis s. Someillan and his son in Havana; and if no just cause of such arrests existed that the president shall demand their immediate release.
 MT. Hoar, republican. of Massachu- setts, said that if any action on the sub- ject was to be taken at all the better form would be to ask the president in the first place for such information as the state department had
 MT. Gail suggested that the state de- partment might not yet have received any information on the subject, as his own came from cable received by him last evening, and which he read to the senate. MT. Hoar remarked that there seemed to be notion in some quarters that the senate was a constantly loaded cannon for any single member of the senate to "touch off" at his discretion. He thought 1t best to go little more slowly in all these cases.
 MT. Call consented to modify his reso- lution so as to make 1t one of inquiry merely
 He added that the arrest of American citizens in Cuba entrusted with the ar rests of the subjects of Great Britain and ether European powers, and that the protection of the American flag really amounted to little or nothing.
 MT. Sherman, republican, of Ohio, chairman of the committee on foreign re- lations, said that the resolution would be setting an example that might give the government great deal of trouble. He moved the reference of the resolution to the committee on foreign relations and said that committee would meet tomor> row. tH s re oeaar ubare ,xoati -bthesd nm
 Mir. Call said if there was any desire to have the resolution referred he would make no objection. He did not see why the senate did not act on information given it as to arbitrary arrest of United States citizens in foreign countries. He wanted to show the people of the United States and the people of his own state that so far as he was concerned he was prepared as senator to demand the pro- lection of the American citizens in for eign countries, without reference to the action of any other department of the government.
 Mir. Hoar remarked that whenever such information received by senator was communicated to the state department steps were immediately taken to cable an Inquiry into the facts. Why this one case which had come to the knowledge of the senator from Florida should be sim gled out and made the means of apply ing a spur to the president or secretary of state or the senate he could not say.
 The resolution was referred to the con- mittee on foreign relations and then MT. Call directed attention to resolution offered by him last week, and which was on the vice-president's table, calling on the state department for the reports of consuls in Cuba on the war existing there.
 Mir Sherman suggested that the reso- luton should also be referred to the com mittee on foreign relations, which would report on the subject. He remarked that the publication of such consular reports would be a betrayal of official confidence and might expose the writers to much danger. It seemed to him that the state department ought not. under any cir cumstances, make public what is said by consuls in a time of war, which would merely attract attention and prob ably endanger the lives of the consuls.
 The resolution was referred to the com mittee on foreign relations.
 MT. Pughs resolution, relating to the payment of United States obligations in silver was then laid before the senate. but it went over for the day.
 At the close of the morning hour the bond bill came up as unfinished business, but it also went over for the day, and business on the calendar was proceeded with and about sixty-five bills, to which no objection was made, were passed.
 About twenty-five were private pen sion bills and half dozen were bridge bills.
 At 3:35 the senate. adjourned until to- morrow.
 The House.
 In his opening prayer Chaplain Couden; of the house invoked the blessing of God upon Miss Barton, president of the Red Cross society, and her party on their trip to Turkey.
 A resolution of inquiry reported from the committee on interstate and foreign commerce by MT. Bennett. republican, of New York, was agreed to, directing the secretary of the treasury to inform the house whether or not in his opinion the regulations for the safety of the public on ocean travel are adequate; if so, whether or not the regulations are being carried out.
 ment that public prints charged that many ocean vessels were permitted to sail from the United States ports with inadeouate and imperfect lifeboat equip ments. see, called attention to a conversion of the columns of the Congres, lonal Record by the insertion in today's issue of twen- ty-three columns of matter which accom- panied the report made to the house yes terday by Secretary Olney upon the reso- lution of inquiry relating to Ambassador Bayard's speeches at Edinburgh and Boston, Eng The speaker having been informed that the matter appeared through a mistake of the government printer, stated that 1t would be excluded ktx<xv ant nrd A in, aff fnvf was made by Messrs Turner, democrat, oF (1oorpia and McRae der1ocrat of Arr