The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-04-15
CONGRESS-.

WEDNESDAY, April SIN the senate, a
petition from the mayor, aldermen and
many citizens of Portsmouth, N. II +, in IA
vor Of arbitration in the Venezuelan matter,
denouncing atrocities committed on the
Armenians, and recommending an alliance
against the Turks and the seizure OF Con-
stantinople, was presented by Mr.. Gallinger
OF New Hampshire, and was referred. The
bill giving pension of $50 per month to the
widow of General Charles s. Hamilton was
passed. Mr.. Teller of Colorado introduced
bill providing that all national banking
associations shall keep their reserves in their
own vaults, and moved its reference to the
committee on finance. He said there was
very general impression that the congestion
Of money in the Eastern cities grew out of
the practice OF country banks keeping their
reserves in the city OF New York and other
Preserve cities" He desired the finance
committee to inquire whether there was not
some way to stop that evil. Possibly the
banks ought not to be required to keep all
their reserves in their own vaults, but they
ought to be required to keep large proper
ton of them, 80 as to prevent an accumula-
ton OF money in the banks of the " ressr
cities" Approval OF this bill was expressed
by Mr.. Hoar of Massachusetts and others.
The joint resolution introduced bv Mr.. Call
Of Florida, proposing intervention by the
| United States in the war in Cuba, was taken
| up and advocated at length by Mr.. Turpie
of Indiana. - The house voted, 119 to
LII, W pass 10 d lulTu TtduluR Un6 Dlll 10
adopt the metric system Of weights and
measures in the United States. Later the
vote was reconsdered, and the bill was
ordered to lie by vote of 132 to Ill.
THURsDAY.-Mr Mantle of Montana ad-
dressed the senate at length in support OF a
resolution heretofore offered by his col
| league, Mr.. Carter, to recommit to the
finance committee the house tariff bill
passed in the early days of the session. He
spoke OF the unwarranted aspersions cast
| by the metropolitan press on the senators
who favored silver coinage and who voted
in opposition to the bill, and he defended
those senators and the people of the silver
states from the ndiscrminate charges of
selfshness and lack of patriotism brought
against them. He gave statistics to show
the high condition of prosperity, morality
| and education in those states, as compared
with states further East, and he declared
that in point of intelligence, morality, love
of home life, love of order, social status and
civil and political organization, and in their
answering love and devotion to every
thing purely American, the people Of the
far Western states were the peers of the
people of any other section of the country.
Seventy-ive private pension bills were
passed. - The house spent the entire
day in discussing the appropriations for the
District of Columbia. The senate amend
ments to the post-office bill were not con-
CURED in, and conference was requested.
| Mr.. Cooke of Wisconsin addressed the
house in support of the bill and asserted
that at least 100000 pounds of filled
cheese was made annually, which had
driven cream cheese out of the market in
many parts of the country and stopped the
sale Of American cheese in several foreign
countries
FRIDAY.-The senate was not in session
- The house went into committee OF
the whole to further consider the filled
cheese bill. Mr.. Cannon Of Illinois reviewed
the oleomargarine legislation and said he
had been the subject, and he believed
rightly so, of criticism for his vote on that
measure. He was satisfied that almost
every gentleman in the house was con-
sumner of oleomargarine, and his judgment
was that it was better than the average OF
butter produced. 1t was a mistake, he said
to tax the product and the dealer, and while
he was in sympathy with the general pur.
pose of the friends of the bill sthat of pre-
venting fraud, he would not go further than
to compel the maker and dealer to stamp
the article and sell it for what it is. The
discussion lasted the entire day, and no vote
on the bill was reached