The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-06-03
Vest Makes a Rabid Speech
in Favor Of the Great
Extravaganza.
SHERMAN BACKS HIM UP
Smith and Villas Call a Halt
The Burden of
Taxation.

lng OF. yesterdays Journal having been
dispensed with. motion to proceed to the
consideration of the Presidents veto of
the River and Harbor bill was made by
MIR. Vest tDem., NJ This motion was
antagonized by Mr. Pettigrew, (Rep.,
s. ID who desired to proceed with the
conference report on the Indian Appro-
priation bill
Mr. Vest said that it was very obvious
that action should be had on the River
ana Harbor bill as speedily as possible
No other subject could be presented to
the Senate-outside of the National honor
more important to the people of the
United States than the question whether
the great works of internal Improvement
We're to be suspended and large number
sof them destroyed, or whether, in case the
veto was sustained, Congress would pro
ceed to enact another River and Harbor
bill at this session
Mr Vests motion was agreed to-
Yeas. 80; nays, 10; and thereupon the veto
was presented and read
The negative votes were given by Sena-
tors Bate. Brown, Chiffon, Harris, Nor
rill, Palmer, Pettgrew, Pritchard, Teller
and Villas.
The Vice-President stated the question
to be on the passage of the bill, the OBJ
jections of the President to the contrary
Notwithstanding
MIR. Vest said that there were state
mehts IN the Presidents message as to
Wnich. with all due respect to the Presi-
dent and his high office. something should
be said in defence of the two Houses of
Congress. He should endeavor to say lust
as much about the bill and message as
was absolutely necessary and no more.
While unquestionably the President of
the United States had the constitutional
power to exercise his veto prerogatiye it
was not the idea of the Constitution that
that veto power should be exercised as
one OF the ordinary instrumentalities of
administering the Government
The veto power had been exercised
only seven times in the first twenty
eight years of the Govern1nent-twice
by Washington and five times by Madi-
son, never by John Adams or Thomas
Jefferson.
Mr. Vest proceeded to discuss the mes
sage IN detail, and pointed our various in
accuracies in it. Among these was the
statement that the bill appropriated d.
fectiy about S140oo,00O and covered con-
tanulng contracts to the amount OF sixty
TWO millions. The former sum exceeded
the actual figures by $1,300, ,0OO and the
latter sum by s., ,34S, ,0o0. The President.
MT vest said. had rhetorically charged
congress with extravaganza; but if the
president had turned to the River and
dafhor bills enacted in the last six
years he would have discovered that
considering the size of the country and
the demands of internal commerce, the
Dill was comparatively economical. Then
II mad to be remembered that the appro-
prlatlon was not for one year but for
tMo years, so that instead of an ap-
pr preparation of about fourteen millions
as the President said, the amount 10 he
spent IN the next fiscal year world nor
ne more than six millions. being one-half
od ,1s tne twelve millions already mentioned
MI; veSt sad ne Was puzzled TO know
70 what the President alluded in speakins,
o. private interests; but he supposed thai
the Was ar u me nc ease 5, %, Of the destruction Of
,fi wnicn had been undertaken by private
citlzen, a lawyer, and where an addi-
tlonal depth of eight feet of water had
Deer. OBTAINED at a cost of $50 Co.,
This had been done in the face of the
opposition OBJ 10 OF u, the army engineers. It
Conference Committee had Voted to ex- ene
tend the. contract. He was prepared to
tae fhere r. aho ahoud 10 b say it was r,ht and
glneering by army engineers
z He prophesied, as coming events
= cast their shadows before them that in
a very few years the attention Of Con-
gress would be drawn to The necessityr
ol improving all the water. ways of the
country IN order to give cheaper trans
portation to the people. He pointed out
the revolution that had been made in the
Of the mouth of the Afississippi-New or
leans having become thereby the chief
gram to texp9rting 4na 81 port Of the country.
the payment of the $62, 900 900 covered by
the blll was as binding as the bonded
~ suggested to the President "that there
was was no interest on it. 1t did not pro-
Poses,z Pasia to use another mo- expression of the
Mr. Sherman (Rep.. ohio] gave, reasons
way ne should vote for the passage of
objections In the first place he did not
thlnk that such an appropriation bill
ought ever to be vetoed under any cir
provision, but merely a permissive one
# the Secretary of the Treasury said that
not otherwise appropriated. he was as srfs not
pound to expend it.. So chat the President
"a. nag complete control of the whole matter.
where such g bill should be vetoed. Con
gress, Mr. Sherman declared ought to !
prate Sana 5g odey 5@s exelvye power e
me expenditure Of it only when there is
sufnclent money in the Treasury for the
purpose. There was a wide difference be-
tween mandatory law binding on the
President and on all the departments and
On me people ana mere permission to
object : pai eieuiar
He could not imagine, therefore, a veto
which he would support The total Of
seven vetoes in the first twenty-eieG1t
Years of the Government vetoes came
to one House or the other now almost
every day Congress ought to curb. or
check if possible the exercise of the
veto power. -
: Mr. Smith (Dem., N. J) differed with
senators Vest and Sherman on the salh-
5ect OF Presidential vetoes and reminded
themst that similar bills had been vetoed
Dy presidents Jackson, Tyler. Polk ard
Pierce; and that, in 1876 President Grant
sent protest to Congress against a |
River and Harbor bill which did NOT an |
propriate one-fifth of the amount ap-
propriated in the pending bill.
Mr.. Villas, Dem., Wis.) said that all |
though the State Of Wisconsin had been
literally treated in the bill he could Nor |
bring himself to face the Conviction thai
under present circumstances the large
appropriations in il ought not to be super |
added to the weight Of obligations al |
ready imposed on the distressed should |
c. IF the necrie.
Where, Mr.. Villas asked was the money
TO come from? He knew that IL had |
5 been said, in the Senate and in the House
tsoneWiiat recklessly, that there was
s money in the Treasury: But that money /
ne said was borrowed for the purpose /
only Of maintaining the credit Of the |
United States. As to Mr. Si1ermar's sug-