The herald., 1896-12-23
THE RAILROAD DEBT.
IN THE HOUSE.
Record Breaking Speed in the Passing
of Appropriations

WASHINGTON, Dee. 22.-The house
today passed the legislative, executive
and judicial appropriation bills, and then
adjourned for the holiday recess. This is
the first time in the history of congress
that the legislative bill has been passed
before the holidays
The day was devoted to the annual de-
bate on the civil service law, and, as
usual, the attempt to strike out the pro-
vision for the commission was over
whelmingly defeated.
There was a good deal of threshing
over of old straw and sparring for politi
cal points. Mr.. Brossius, chairman of
the civil service committee, defended
the law. Others who participated in the
debate We're Messrs. Baker of New
Hampshire, Republican; Walker of
Massachusetts, Republican; Williams of
Mississippi. Democrat; Bowers of Cali
fornia, Republican, and Neil of ArlSan-
sas, Democrat.
Mr. Settle of North Carolina, Republic
an, made the motion to strike out the
paragraph relating to the civil service,
which was defeated, 29 to 62.
The bill, as passed, carries 1922, $780,,
369 OF, $36.379 more than the current bill
During the morning hour bill was
passed authorizing the railroads in In
ments.
Mr. Baker IN. H.. Rep.) attacked the
method of administering the civil SER
vice laws under the present admins
tration. He asserted that LOG Georgiars
had been appointed to places in the
interior department by this admins
tration; that of SIG dismissals from the
department 1856 We're veterans. and that
the treasury department had also dis
| ,et,, oh inc nc n
pointments and dismissals, leaving bur
one Republican in the secret service
Under the spoils system the public busi-
ness had been better handled than now
when clerks are kept under secret es-
pionage and are no better off than fac
tory hands. Yet the civil service COM
mission had never protested against
such administration.
Mr.. Brossius pa, Rep) chairman of
the comnaittee on civil service. replied
at some length to Mr.. Bakers structures.
| He eulogized the merit system and ar
| Iaigned the remnant of the spoils sys-
! tenn which remained.
/ He charged that the complaints against
| the classified service We're in fact COM
plants against the spoils system. The
| civil service rules, he declared, preclu-
ded the possibility of political influence
in admission to the service.
| Mr.. Brossius spoke of the president $
recent order extending the scope of the
| civil service as a ''thoroughgoing merit
| system" order.
| after the president secured these Of
| fees" interposed Mr.. Baker "was not
the order an attempt to keep them?"
| You don't suppose" replied Mr. Bros
sius, turning to his interrogation, "that
! he made the appointments for the pur-
! pose of having his appointees dis
missed"
ut is for that reason" said Mr.. Ba-
ker sarcastically. that he should not be
entitled to the usufruct of his sim"
'I have always believed" responded
Mr.. Brossius. that what a man has
| done in his degenerate days ought not
| to be thrown up 10 him when he has re-
| pented and occupies a front pew in the
| church"
Mr.. Richardson (Tenn.. Dem) ex-
pressed the hope that If any further ex-
| tensions of the civil service law were
made they would be made operative be-
| fore March 4th.
Then" said he. I'VE will see whether
| our Republican friends will stand by the
| law they themselves enacted"
Mr.. Walker tMass. Rep) warmly in
| dorsed the principle of the civil SER
vice law which ne declared was the
controlling principle of every we'll reg
| ulated business concern.
| A remark of Mr.. Walkers about the
| poor white trash" of the south drew