The record-union., 1896-05-14
Now Only Three Annual Appropriations
Measures to be Acted Upon,
District of Columbia, Fortifcatlon and
Deficiency.
To-Day and To-rIorrow to be Devoted
to Consideration of the Delaware
Senatorial Election CaSe-The
Rinaker-Downing Contested EleC-
ton Case Occupies the Time of the
House.

House.
WASHINGTON, May 13.-The river
and harbor bill was passed in the Sen
a te to-day, leaving only three of the an
nual appropriation bills to be acted on
These are the District of Columbia bill,
the fortification and the deficiency bill,
but before either of them is taken up the
Delaware Senatorial election case will
have to be disposed of, and to that case
tomorrow and Friday have been as
signed.
The amendment which had been Of
fered to the river and harbor bill yester-
day by German of Maryland, limiting
expenditures under the bill to $4,000
900 year, was to-day, after long dis
cussion laid on the table by vote of
40 to % An amendment in the same
sense limiting the expenditures under
contracts to 20 per cent. was offered by
Bate of Tennessee and met a like fate,
and then, after a somewhat bitter en-
counter of words between Allen of Ne
braska and the Chairman of the Com
mittee on Commerce, Frye of Maine, the
latter made the closing speech in advo-
cacy of the bill, and in response to the
criticisms passed upon it Frye stated
some facts in illustration of the i'm
mense growth of the railroad, river and
lake commerce of the United States.
The railroad freight, he said, had been
cut down within the last twenty years
from 312 cents a ton per mile to about
three-quarters of a cent a ton per mile,
and yet the people wanted cheaper
freights. That requirement could only
be met by improving water facilities,
and for that reason the intelligent peo
pie Of the United States were every
where asking for river and harbor i'm
provements.
Vest Dem.) of Missouri stated on be-
half of himself and Senators Walthall
Dem) of Mississippi, Harris Dem.) of
Tennessee, Jones (Dem.) of Arkansas
and White Dem.) of California, that
the bill reported yesterday by Sherman
(Rep.)' of Ohio from the Finance Com
mittee as to filed cheese was majority
report, and that they would file the
views of the minority.
The river and harbor bill was then
taken up, the pending question being on
the amendment offered yesterday by
German (Dem.) of Maryland to restrict
the annual expenditure under the bill
and under former river and harbor bills
to $4,000, 900.
Vest (Dem.) of Missouri confessed his
astonishment at the result of the mo-
tion made by him yesterday to lay that
amendment on the table and he hoped
the Senate would reconsider that vote.
The amendment was exceedingly far
reaching, and would have an effect
which he thought the Senator from
Maryland hardly intended. Under it
the Secretary of War would absolutely
control the apportionment of the ex-
penditures. He would not give to any
Cabinet officer such power. 1t was an
invasion of the autonomy of the Gov
eminent to put such autocratic power
in the hands of any Cabinet officer. IF
the amendment We're adopted the Secre-
tary of War might nullify any provision
OF the bill.
German defended his amendment
one reason for it, he said, was that for
the first time in the history of the Gov
ernment they had gone into the whole
sale business of contracts, and it was
only because of the condition of the
treasury that he offered the amend
ment Without his amendment the
Secretary of War would have the absO-
lutte power to say what amount Of
money shall be expended in the next
fiscal year. If he (Gorman) were Sec
retary of War, or if he had control of
the Treasury Department, he would ap-
ply the rule suggested by the Senator
from Ohio (Sherman) and adopted by
Secretary Carlisle and would not en-
ter into one of the contracts provided
for in the bill, nor obligate the Govern
ment for a dollar under them unless
Congress made provision to have money
in the treasury"
Mitchell (Rep) of Oregon argued
against the amendment as pernicious
and as calculated to destroy the bill.
Pasco (Dem.) of Florida also opposed
the amendment, on the ground that if
agreed to there would be no expenditure
at all under contracts. as the direct APP
propriations in the bill would absorb
the ten millions year.
Berry Dem.) of Arkansas opposed
the amendment, arguing that with
S2S3. .000, 600 in the treasury the river
and harbor bill was no menace to the
resources of the Government
At the close of the discussion Vest
(Dem.) of Missouri renewed his motion
of yesterday TO lay Germans amend
ment on the table, and that motion was
agreed tO-yeaS ~, naSS ID.
Lindsay (Dem.) of Kentucky offered
an amendment directing the Secretary Of
War to adjust the continuing contracts
so that not more than 20 per cent. of
any one Of the appropriations shall be
expended in any single year.
The amendment was opposed by Frye
(Rep) OF Maine, on the ground that it
was entirely in the discretion of the
Secretary of War to decide as to how
much should be expended or what con-
tracts should be made.
Frye moved to lay Lindsay's amend
ment on the table. Agreed to-yeas 81,
nays Is.
Allen (Pop.) of Nebraska said that he
was not at all surprised that Republi-
can Senators should support the bill,and
should authorize the making of large
contracts for the expenditure of money,
but he was surprised that the Demo-
cratic Senators should do so. The con-
tracts provided for in the bill would be
made by Republican Secretary of War
If present prospects should be realized.
And they would doubtless be made with
class of gentlemen who would be will