The record-union., 1896-04-08
fold, millionfold better than that
which 1t had displaced.

i
Cabinet have carried out the civil serv-
Ice law, and President Harrison and his
Cabinet, with some exceptions, carried
1t out. But when the history of that
great reform comes to be written the
names that shall be written in indelible
| characters are the names of D. E. Eaton,
Senator Hawley and Theodore Roose-
| velt."
| Wolcott Rep.) Of Colorado made an
earnest civil service speech, in which
he said he did not agree with Senator
German that the corner grocery was the
cornerstone Of the Republic. He did
agree with that Senator, however, in
| denouncipg the habit of Cabinet Off
GERS making speeches all over the coln-
try. The last Cabinet officer that he
had heard of doing 1t was barn
stalking down in Georgia in favor of
gold monometallism." He should have
called attention to it earlier had it not
been for the fact that that official was
better away than at Washington, SO far
as his public duties and his performance
of them were concerned.
rs the point you make" Hill Dem)
of New York asked, that Cabinet
officer has no right to make these
speeches throughout the country to the
neglect of his duties, or is it that he
has no right to make political speeches
at all?"
Il take it," Wolcott replied, that he
has no right to make speeches to the
neglect of his duties''
| Hill-That is the point of your crit
icism?
| Wolcott-At this time.
Hill suggested that it had been the
custom heretofore for Cabinet officials
to make political speeches, and that it
was also the custom Of English states
men, like Gladstone, Salisbury and
others.
Wolcott, in reply to that suggestion,
said that those statesmen were also
members of the British Parliament, and
therefore were entitled to make speeches
in public justifying their action. There
fore the analogy did not lie. He COM
mented upon the neglect of the Secre-
tary of the Interior to carry out the Acts
of Congress in regard to the lands of
the Ucompahgre Indian Reservation, in
Utah, and in regard to the Pacific Rail-
road lands, and said that the Secretary
might just as well be making stump
| speeches in Georgia as sitting in his
executive office. But the very lack Of
attention to public duties which might
characterize these Cabinet officials was
more an additional reason why the
power of making appointments should
be taken from them. Nobody knew bet
| ter than the Senator from Maryland
| (Gorman) that his own personal wishes
and the wishes of his constituents, ex-
pressed through him, went absolutely
for nothing in the making Of Postoffice
appointments.
German took exception to what he
considered restraint upon him in VOL
colts remarks, which idea, however,
| Wolcott entirely disclaimed. German
declared that since he had been a SEN
ator 0SSD there had not been a dozen
Postmasters in Maryland appointed on
his recommendation. He therefore re-
sented the intimation that his opposi-
! ton to the amendment was because it
would take away patronage.
| Wolcott again disclaimed having
| given any such intimation, but he re-
/ peated that it was unseemly that those
appointments of fourth Postmas-
ters should be based on politics-..and
OF politics of low sort
Stewart of Nevada argued against
civil service reform as having a ten
! dency to replace simple democracy with
a consolidated despotism.
Allison Rep) Of Iowa, in charge of the
bill, after remarking that the question
of civil service reform had nothing more
to do with the pending question than it
had to do with the war in Cuba, moved
to place Wolcott's amendment on the
table The motion was agreed to, and
the amendment was laid upon the table
yeas 4S, nays Z.
| Wolcott's amendment, which was
thus defeated, was proviso that when
ever postoffice is consolidated with
another postoffice, so as to make it a
station or sub-station, the salary of the
| superintendent or clerk may be paid out
of the appropriation for clerks. The
result of the vote was unfavorable to
the extension of the system of postoffice
consolidation.
In the further discussion of the ques-
ton Allison suggested that the Senate
might trust in the Postmaster-Gener
that he would not in face of the debate
and action in the Senate to-day attempt
any extension of the consolidation sys-
tenn, but might even retrace his steps in
some instances, such as that of Elliott
City, Md.
Butler Pop) of North Carolina offer
ed an amendment that $4,000 of the
So 12S,000 appropriated for free deliv-
cry, shall be used to defray the expenses
of experiments in rural free delivery.
Before a vote was taken on Butler s
amendment Perkins (Rep.) of California
made an argument in favor of the COM
mittee amendment appropriating $780,
COO additional compensation for the
ocean mail service between San Fran
cisco and Australia.
At ; p m. all debate ceased and the
Senate began to vote on the amend
ments
The first vote was on Buffers amend
ment appropriating $4,000 for expert
menting in rural free delivery, and was
adopted-yeas 81, nays %.
The next vote was or the committee
amendment appropriating $4,000 as
additional compensation to the Oceanic
Steamship Company for ocean mail
transportation. The amendment was
agreed to-yeas 80, nays 81.
Villas Dem) of Wisconsin moved to
strike out of the bill the item of $780,
e14 for necessary and special facilities
on trunk lines from Boston, Mass. by
way of New York and Washington to
Atlanta and New Orleans" The motion
was rejected.
The bill was then passed, and the Sen
ate, at $50 o'clock, adjourned until to-
morrow.
HOUSE PROCEEDINGS.
WASHINGTON, April THE House
spent the day in discussing two meas