Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-06
It Comes Up Again in the sundry
Civil Bill.
CONFEREES ARE UNABLE TO AGREE
The Matter Discussed at Some
Length in the Senate.
OTHER DISTRICT MATTERS


| newed in the Senate this afternoon, when
| Chairman Allison of the appropriations
| committe" presented the conference report
| on the sundry civil bill, and asked for in
structions from the Senate in regard to the
| items remaining in dispute between the two
| houses. Among these items upon which no
agreement has yet been reached there are
! several relating to the lighting of the EX-
ecut.ve Mansion grounds and other public
! grounds in this city. Mr.. Allison explained
| that the House conferees refused to accept
| the amendments of the Senate establishing
| the rate fixed by the bill which recently
! passed both houses, which is now awaiting
executive approXal. The Senate conferees,
! however, he went on. feel bound by this
| ACTION and can not see their way clear to
acquiesce in the demands of the House
conferees. He therefore asked that some
| member from the committee which original
| ly framed the gas bill might make a state
mcnt that would either strengthen or
| weaken the position Of the conferees.
Mr.. FauIkner's Statement.
In response to this request Mr.. Faulkner
| took the floor. He said he very much
| surprised at the announcement of this dis
agreement The bill that has just passed
| both houses, he said, is, SO far as the pub
| &c lighting is concerned, the original bill
| of the House of Representatives. The very
question that the House now antagonizes
| the Senate upon was surrendered to the
| House in the conference, where the Senate
! GonfereeS yielded to a provision for dollar
gas for the government and for the Dis
| trtct. In the conference the Senate con-
tcrees submitted an amendment to this eff
| feet which included the term government
pulidings, but the House cOnfereeS feareF
that this might cut out the street lamps
| from this provision, whereupon the phrase
oogy was changed to include the
| street lighting well as the government
| buildings and parks. In the conference 1t
was practically agreed that the present
| system of Lighting the streets is mistake
| il being urged that instead of having GER
| tain number of street lamps burning six
feet hour there should be twice that
| number burning three feet an hour The
| reason foI this that the great amount
| Of foliage along the streets of Washington
| reduces the effectiveness of the six-foot
burner.
| 1t was decided in the conference that the
Commissioners have ample power at this
| time to make such n change and to enable
| them to do it if they should see tit to take
| q step, the price for the public lighting was
| fixed at SO much thousand feet rather
than for SO mucn rer lamp. Mr.. Faulkner
submitted, TO be appended to his remarks
| a table prepared BY the District Commits
sioners, showing the price of stree. light
ing IN the principal cities of this country
| He stated that this showed that Washing
| ton nov gets its public lighting cheaper
than all other cities n the country but
| two, Cleveland ana Allegheny City, which
are SO located that gas can be manufac-
tured with great cheapness.
MIR. German asked If the dollar thou
sand was to be exclusive of the cost of
maintaining the lamps Mr. Faulkner an
swcred that the dollar was to pay cnly for
the gas consumed
| Mr. GalIinGer's Protest.
Mr. Gallinger protested against this re-
| opening Of the gas question after 1t had
been settled by both houses at the expense
| of arducus !abors by the committees Each
member of the Senate committee, he said.
| is now congra lulating himself that fair
! and just adjustment of the question has
| been reached, that the problem would
| not trouble the committee again IN the
near future.
He thought that the gas bill, as recently
passed. made very large reduction and
ne declared that it would have been doing
the committee and the company injustice to
make further cut in the price of gas He
protested against such methods of leg:sla-
ton as that proposed by the House con-
terees, and the Sundry civil bill and an
pealed to the Senate to ratify the work of
| the committee ard the work of both houses
| in this regard.
| At the conclusion of Mr.. Gallins.r,s re-
marks the Senate voted, without dissent to
instruct the conferees to stand by the SEN
| ate amendments to the bill in this particu-
lar.
According to the report by Mr.. AL
| lson, made today, two other local items
are still in dispute. One is the appropria-
| ton for an additional building for the Ma
tCnal Museum, which was covered in the
unanimous vote OF the Senate, insisting up
| on all of the public building amendments
still in dispute. The other controver.ed
| item is that relating to Providence and Car
| field Hospitals.
District Appropriation BILL
There was further conference on the
| District appropriation bill yesterday after
Again this afternoon the confarees met
and work was e5,Imed. There is a stub
| born fight over the amendment of the Sen
ate providing for an increase of the water
supply by means of the completion of the
| aquedrct tunnel. Representative Pitrey OF
New Jersey, one of the conferees for the
House, insists that there is d sufficient
supply Of water a present, and claims 10
know that the proposed plan of comple ting
the tunnel is not feasible. He points to
the fact that the late Gen. Casey did not
approve of the plan as reported from, the
War Department to Congress. the Senate
conferees Stoutly resist his Dropositions
and at the conference today particular at
tention called to the editorial in last
Evenings Star appe aling to the Senate to
stand by its amendment. Capt. Burr one
of the engineer officers on duty at the Dis
trict building, was summoned to the con-
ference room and made a brief statement
showing that a further increase in the wa
| ter supply is urgently necessary in order
| to avert the constantly impending possi-
bility of water famine.
Up to the tine The Star went to press
| this afternoon no agreement had been an
| nounced from the committee on this bill.
| To Investigate the Colored Schools
| The petition which was introduced in the
| House Tuesday by Representative Skin
ner, by request, asking Congress to inves-
tigate charges made by colored citizens
against. the conduct of the public school
| system of Washington, is In the hands of
the District of Columbia committee.
Representative Skinner says he doesn't
know anything about the petition, except
| that a colored man named Black, supposed
| to be Oliver c. Black, had been frying to
! get the petition introduced for some time
| and did not succeed until Mr.. Skinner con-
sented to put 1t In for him. Mr.. Skinner
| says he doesn't know anything about the
| facts, and told Black that he would have
| TO fight it out in committee for himself
| The petition, Mr.. Skinner says, was drawn
| up by Black, who presided over a meeting
| tod NIT of