The San Francisco call., 1896-03-11
PRUNING THE
APPROPRIATIONS,
Expenses of Conducting the
Postal Service Before
the House.
ENGINEERED BY LOUD.
Charges of Bulldozing on the
Part of the Committee
Chairman.
RIVALRY OF THE RAILWAYS.
Obnoxious Sections in the Bill to
Restrict Competition Are
Thrown Out.
RIVALRY OF THE RAILWAYS.

In a Territory prerequisite TO obtaining
divorce there.
To relieve Captain w. ]. Kountz of $22,-
S45 Liability as freight contractor for the
United States army on the Yellowstone
River in 1873.
Authorizing the auditing and payment
of quartermasters' vouchers Tor $6363 held
by John Finn of ST. Louis.
The House then went into the commit
tee of the whole to further consider the
postofice appropriation bill.
A little breeze occurred in the course OF
by Bromwell (R.) of Ohio, member of
the Postotfice Committee, to increase the
appropriation for streetcar service from
$3.50, 900 to $200, 900. 1t was antagonized by
Pickler (R.) of South Dakota, who had
previously made futile point OF order
against the paragraph on the ground that
1t was new legislation. He criticized the
amendment named In the bill as totally
insufficient, in view of the fact that it was
proposed to double the service, which for
the present year, he said he had been in
formed, cost $163 900. In this matter, as In
others, Picker said he had been informed
that the chairman of the committee, Loud,
had overborne the members of the COM
mittee and had brought in, as Bromwell
had said, premature and ill-digested bill
that should have been prec eded by other
measures.
Loud assured the gentleman from South
Dakota that he had been wholly misin-
formed and that his informant had stated
that which was totally false.
Ogden CD of Louisiana, member OF
the committee, stated that the gentleman
from South Dakota travelled outside the
record in making his assertion, no such
action as he has described having ever
taken place in the committee.
Pickler (excitedly)--I can prove it by
more than one of the members.
Ogden-No, sir; l repudiate and deny
that the chairman has been guilty as
charged. He has been fair throughout
Bromwelrs amendment was rejected.
On point OF order raised by Pickler that
it changed existing law. the chair ruled
out of the bill two pages of the text regu-
lating the method of adjusting the &C.
counts for carrying mail on streetcars.
When the paragraph was reached appro-
priating $195.000 for special mail facilities
on trunk lines from Boston via New York
and Washington to Atlanta and New Or
leans, Loud, il charge of the bill, made a
point of order against it.
Crisp D.) of Georgia, speaking on the
point of order, called attention to the nov
city in legislation presented by Loud in
making the point of order.
Bills of this character, Crisp said, were
oil oh at uyb in,
favor of its provisions, but here was seen
man in charge of bill raising the point
OF order against that bill.
Bingham (R. y of Pennsylvania sustained
Crisp's contention.
Dingley (R.) of Maine sdverted to the
report of Postmaster-General Wanamaker
to show that the appropriation not only
did not secure the object for which it was
made, but absolutely prevented its accom-
plishment-instead Of expediting mail it
retarded it. Chairman Payne, following
the prece dents, overruled the point of or
der ON the ground that the appropriation
was not in continuation of an object al
ready in progress.
Cousins (R.) of Iowa asked Loud who
was responsible for the item IN tn e bill to
appropriate 100000 for special facilities
on the line from Chicago to Omaha, via
Burlington Was it recommended or re-
quested by the Postoffice Department?
Loud replied that all Postmasters-Gen-
eral for years had denounced the system.
Even the present official, who m ig ht have
voted for the Southern railway subsidy
when a member of the House, condemned
it in unmeasured terms. 1t was not a GER
titled item before the committee and not
contained in the estimates. But as to who
was responsible for the item if he knew he
would not say.
Lorimer (R.) of Illinois acknowledged
that the item was inserted upon his mo-
ton, but that he had intended to move to
strike out the words, "via Burlington"
leaving the service open to the competi-
ton OF all roads between Chicago and
Omaha. On point OF order being made
against 1t the Item was ruled out OF the
bill
Loud moved to strike out the appropria-
tion Of $4,000 for special facilities from
Boston to New York, his point of order
having been overruled. He said that the
New York Central and Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company ran entire mail trains from
New York to Chicago and st. Louis with
out a cent of additional revenue above the
regular rates for carrying postal matter.
The train which the appropriation paid for,
Loud said, was two hours slower than an
other train run over the same route, also
carrying the mail. The hour OF departure
from New York was not one that tended
to expedite or benefit the mails, and the
hour of arrival at New Orleans was one
which made the train of no value to the
country beyond.
Crisp called attention to Loud's state
ment that every Postmaster-General in the
past seventeen years had denounced the
appropriation of this sum of money, and
asked ii the House was ready to believe,
In view of the provision in the bill. that no
part OF the appropriation shall be expended
unless the Postmaster-Gen shall deem
such expenditure necessary in order to
promote the interest of the postal SERVICE"
that these officials had been spending the
money not to promote the interests Of the