Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-02-27

Mr.. Gallinger rep, N. H.) chairman of
the committee on pensions, announced
the publication in the New York Sun
of the statement last Thursday that
the senate had passed 120 private pen
sion bills in an hour in a careless, in
attentive way. He declared that only
76 had been passed in two and three
quarters hours at a total increase of
S12,072 per year. Mr. Hoar rep, Mass.)
added his opinion as to the care with
which pension legislation was guarded.
DR.. Hawley rep, Conn., upheld the
facts as stated by Mr.. Gallinger, but
added that there was quite prevalent
feeling against large pension eXpend-
itures. Mr.. Gallinger called up the bill
granting a pension of 5000 per month
to the widow of the late W. Q. Gresham
as a brigadier general with an amend
ment reducing the allowance to 800.
Mr.. Turpie dem, Ind spoke in sup
port of the amendment. He said the
choice of Gresham as secretary of state
took the country by surprise. Gresham
was never known as a democrat and
his choice marked a departure from
established usage. At the outset he
was threatened with isolation but his
good nature won him personal friends
while his substantial ability and tact
commanded respect. Mr.. Turpie spoke
of the difficulties in the Hawaiian and
Boring sea complications and the ire
mendous labor involved. The love of
justice was the absorbing motive of his
io1 io1 5:e
tinctions disappearing before this con-
trolling trait in his character. He
was a natural leader of men on the
field, in the judiciary and in the cabi-
nets of two parties. The bill as
amended passed without division.
Mr.. Lodges resolution directing the
finance committee to inquire into the
bond sales of 18945-6 was taken up.
Mr.. PETER pop, Kans.) offered an
amendment broadening the resolution,
directing that the inquiry be made
by a sepcial committee of five senator's
Mr.. Lodge moved to lay the amendment
on the table; defeated 16 to a. Mr..
Hill dem, n. W spoke in opposition.
He did not consider it the province
of the senate to investigate everything
brought before it. 1t was desirable to
look into the motives inspiriting these
resolutions. Requests for information
were one thing; formal Investigations
another. An investigation carried the
implication of irregularity. There
should be something definite and tan
gible before undertaking one. This in
vestigation was based on idle rumOr
and voiced the walls and complaints
of disappointed bond bidders" He
would make the same point even if the
secretary of the treasury was his most
bitter enemy. The resolutions were then
laid aside and the resolution for the
recognition of the Cubans as bolliger-
ents was taken up. Mr. Morgan dem,
Ala) resumed his speech in support of
the resolution.
Mr. Morgan spoke for three hours and
had not concluded when the senate ad-
journed. He reviewed the policy of the
United States regarding Cuba since the
time of President Adams. The latter
prophesied that within fifty years Cuba
would be a state of the United States
and thereafter Webster, Clay, Jefferson
and other statesmen uniformly urged
the acquisition of Cuba by the United
States. Mr.. Morgan said that the atrOc-
tiles of the Spanish forces in controll-
ing the Cubans were almost without
parallel in history. In the last war not
only had $4,000 Cubans been killed in
battle, but "A 600 prisoners had been put
to death. 1t was a most shocking holO-
caust. The senator said that he paused
in wonderment to think that the United
States stood silently by at this awful
slaughter of $4,000 prisoners instead of
moving sword in hand and driving the
Spaniards from the island. 1t was the
Imperative duty of today to declare a
state of war existing. The great body
of native Cubans were in favor of in
surrection, although the bloody code of
Weyler holds them in subsection. Spain
up to this time has sent 81 war vessels,
10000 men and $4,000 volunteers for
garrison duty, and yet this vast force
cannot keep Gomez from hearing the
morning and evening guns in Havana.
Mr.. Morgan said that if the bloody code
of General Weyler was directed against
derstand that 60,000,000 people would
visit upon her such redress as would
make the Cuban uprising a mere trife
in comparison. We had right to in
sist that the rules of civilized warfare
be observed.
Mr.. White (rep., CALI, offered a sub
stitute for the pending resolution as
follows:
Resolved, That the senate contenl-
plates with solicitude and profound re-
greet the sufferings and destruction ac-
companying the civil conflict now in
progress in Cuba. While the United
States has not interteTed and will not,
unless its vital interests so demand,
with the existing colonies and
dependencies of any European govern
ment on this hemisphere nevertheless
our people have never disguised, and
do not now conceal their sympathy for
all those who struggle periodically, as
do the CubanS now in revolt to eXer-
else, maintain and preserve the rights
of self-goyernment; nor can we ignore
our exceptional and close relations to
Cuba by reason of geographical prox-
unity and our CONSEQUENT grave inter
est in all questions affecting the con-
troll or well-being of that island We
ardently hope the executive depart