Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-04-13
CONGRESS-.
Senate.

The Senate spent the entire day or the 9th
on the postofhce appropriation bill. but did
| out some sharp criticisms by Senator Cor
man on the administration of the postoffice
department. and by Senator Allen on alleged
| Irregularities resulting from the civil serv-
| ice system. Mr. Allen repeated sensational
| charges as to large money contributions said
! to have been made in the interest of Mr..
cleveland and Mr.. Harrison. The charge
| that Mr.. Wanamaker contributed $780, 900
| toward Mr.. Harrison's election led to an
emphatic denial from Mr.. Hawley. Mr..
Allen alluded to the President as His Ma
| Jesty" and as the chief Mugwump of the
| country. The vote on the postofice bill will
| be taken the 18th.
| The postoff1ce appropriation bill. which
| has engrossed the Senate for almost week,
was passed by that body just previous to
| adjournment on the 18th. The entire day,
| with the exception of a few minutes at the
| beginning of the session. was devoted to de-
| bate and voting on the amendments pro-
! posed to the bill. the Wolcott amendment
| Tor the consolidation of smaller offices with
| larger ones receiving the greater share of
| attention. The discussion on this PROPOSE
ton again took the form Of q debate upon
the merits of civil-Service reform and was
| participated in by Messrs. Villas. Wolcott,
| Allen and Hill. Hoar, German. Stewart and
others. Mr.. Wocott criticized Secretary
Smith for his participation in the Georgia
campaign and was replied to by Mr.. Hill.
The amendment was defeated by a decisive
vote, receiving only seven votes in its sup
port.
Senator Turpie's speech on Cuba was the
event of the 9Th in the Senate and in many
respects 1t was the most picturesque and
vehement utterance heard on that subject
The senator has an inexhaustible vocabu-
larry, and bitterly satirical style While
arguing for radical action on Cuba. even to
the extent of sending a feet to Cuban wa
tiers, much of Mr.. Turpie's speech was
given to sarcasm. and ridicule of the course
OF Mr.. Sherma1rand Mr.. Lodge in managing
the Cuban resolutions. The senator created
much amusement by his portrayal of Sena-
tor Lodge as warrior about to fight duel
with Minister Dupuy de Lone of Spain.
Most of the day was given to the Indian APP
preparation bill, which was not completed
unanimous consent was secured for taking
up the resolution for q Senate inquiry into
recent bond issues on the 18th.
In the Senate on the 9th Mr.. Gallinger
(Rep.. N. H.) read letter from the general
secretary of the Armenian Relief assoca-
tion referring to the extreme urgency of the
situation in Turkey and asking that steps
pc taken to stop the most appalling sacrifice
In the history of the world. Mr. Gallinger
added that while he would not suggest ways
and means to the foreign relations commit
tee yet he sincerely hoped that some meth.
cd would be devised to check the Turkish
atrocities Mr.; Mantle (Rep., Mont.) was
ton reconlmitting the tariff bill to the
finance committee. There was special inter-
est in the speech from the fact that Mr.
tors who voted against proceeding with the
tariff bill. 1t was, moreover his maiden
speech of formal character.
House.
The House On the Sd revived the agitation
of the question of Cuban beIligerency in
connection with the conference report of the
Cuban resolutions. 1t was not expected
that there, would be much debate, but Mr..
BOutelle, by his vigorous opposition pre-
vented action and the chances were that
the debate would run all the following day.
Mr.. Hit, chairman of the foreign affairs
committee in presenting the conference re-
port, made very temperate speech in the
course of which he expressed the greatest
confidence that the Observation-Disclosures the
resolutions being concurrent had hind
ing effect on the executive-would not ''be
so recreant to his duty as to disregard the
refused to entertain the suggestion that MI.
Cleveland might not recognize the belliger-
ency Of the Cubans as result of the adop-
ton of the resolutions. On one occasion
during the day the speaker made the inn :
pOrtant ruling that ITS constituted a quo
rum. thus deciding that a majority of the
members present were quorum instead of a
majority of the full membership of the
House, a point raised in the Kentucky sena-
torial fight. This question had never been
absolutely settled In the Fifty-first Con-
gress Speaker Reed held that a majority of
full house was quorum. Mr.. Richardson
called attention to the Importance of the
ruling, and asked if the speaker intended to
reverse his decision III the Fifty-first Con-
gress Ihe speaker replied that he did
The House on the 4th decided to vote on
the Cuban resolutions on the 9th, immed-
ately after the reading of the journal This
agreement was accompanied by an under
standing that the debate on the resolutions
should be continued into the evening With
the exception of an hour given over to mis-
cellaneOus business at the beginning of the
session, the entire day and night sessions
were devoted to a discussion of the wis
dom. expediency and justice of adopting the
resolutions recognizing Cuban bellgerency
and rendering the friendly offices of the
United States for the settlement of this
trouble.
The House on the 9th adopted the confer
ence report on the Cuban resolutions by a
vote of PA to q, and passed the river and
narbOf Dill under suspension of the rules
a mir nfn Inv
vote of PIG to 40 The report on the Cuban
resolutions had been debated for two days
and the vote was taken Immediately after
the reading of the journal on the 9Th Eight
cen Republicans and nine Democrats voted
against the report After the most de-
termined opposition of those opposed to the
recognition of the insurgents in the Senate
and House. there were but ten more votes
against the report than against the original
resolutions. The former vote was 262 to H.
By its present action the House agreed to
the Senate resolutions and disposed of the
Cuban question for the present. Those
resolutions were as follows: Resolved
that, in the opinion Of Congress, a condition
OF public war exists between the govern
ment of Spain and the government pro-
force of arms by the people of Cuba; and
that the United States of America should
maintain a strict neutrality between the
contending powers according to each all the
right of belligerents in the ports and terri
tory Of the United States.
Resolved, further, that the friendly of
fees of the United States should be offered
by the President to the Spanish government
for the recognition of the independence of
Cuba
The House spent the 7th debating bill
to fix the standard of weights and meas
ures by the adoption of the metric system
on and after July l. 1898, and proposition
that the government share with the district
of Columbia the expense of creating and
maintaining a public library in the city of
Washington. The latter was defeated-113-
127-and the fate of the metric system bill
still hangs in the balance. On rising vote
it was defeated-65- 80-but c.. w. Stone of
Pennsylvania, chairman of the committee
on coinage, weights and measures, who has
given the subject much attention, and who
warmly supported it. secured the ayes and
noes and pending the roll call the House ad-
journed. In advocating the metric system,
Mr.. Stone spoke of the great embarrassment
the use of our present system entaied in
connection with our foreign trade and the
inextricable confusion it involved. The
metric system had proved a complete sue
cess. 1t was international in character, al
most universal in use among civilized ma
tons
NH OH,