St. Paul daily globe., 1896-04-29
THE PICKLER GENERAL PENSION
BILL WAS PISSED BY THE
sfer'a H6GsE. ssa
BANKRUPTCY BILL IS ON.
THE FINAL VOTE ON 1T WILL BE
TAKEN ON SATURDAY
NExT.
His Death Sentence at Pretoria
Caused the FIuttef of the ses-
sion of the Day.

WASHINGTON, April 2S.-The house
today passed the Picker general PEN
sion bill by voteAof 1877 to 54. The
Republicans and Populists voted solid
ly in favor of the measure, and the
Democrats, with six exceptions, solidly
against it, The section to which the
bulk of the opposition was directed
provides that persons otherwise enti-
tied to pensions shall not be disqual-
ified on account of prior service in
the Confederate army, provided they
Joined the Union forces ninety days
before Lees surrender. The bank
ruptcy bill was taken up for vote
Saturday under q a. special order.
Under the special, order adopted yes
terday, the vote on the passage Of the
Picker bill was taken Immediately
after the reading of the journal. The
bill was passed-1S7-54. The Repub-
licans and Populists voted solidly for
the measure, and the Democrats, with
six exceptions, voted against It, The
six Democrats were Fitzgerald (Mass.),
Sorg (O.), Cummings IN. Y.), Walsh
IN. V, Downing Qll) and Layton (O).
There was great pressure for unani-
nous consent legislation after the an
nouncement Of the vote, and quite
number Of minor bills were passed be-
fore the regular order was demanded.
At 1:30 Mr.. Mahany IN. W created
furry by asking for the immediate
consideration Of the following reso-
luton:
Resolved by the house. That where
as the cable report announces that
John Hayes Hammond otherwise de-
scribed as Eugene Hammond. an Amer
lean citizen, has been condemned to
death for treason in the Transvaal.
the secretary of state take action to
safeguard the interests of said Ham
mond, and exert the friendly offices
Of that department innh1s behalf. If the
secretary Of state in his Judgment,
deems such interposition advisable"
Mr.. Bartlett Oem.,, N. Y.) asked If
the resolution had been considered by
the foreign affairs committee Mr.. Ma
hany explained in reply the urgency Of
the case. It was a matter of life and
death. Hammond might be executed
under the sentence at any time. and
delay might be fatal.
rs not the secretary Of state COM
petent to deal with the situation?"
asked Mr.. Bartlett.
Certainly replied MrMahany, "but
the case might escape his attention.
With the house of representatives be-
hind him he can proceed vigorously.
I desire to say in this connection" he
added, that the whole power of En-
glish diplomacy is being, employed to
safeguard the interests of the subjects
OF In II
Pretoria. Some one will be made the
scapegoat of the affair. do not pro-
pose to attempt to shield any Ameri-
can from the just consequences of his
acts, but I am determined that an
American shall not be made the scape-
goat"
Are you q member of the foreign af-
fairs committee?" asked Mr.. Bartlett.
I am not; but am member of this
house, and have a right to seek the
protection of an American citizen any
where on the globe" Much applause.)
Il desire to say" interposed Mr..
Hill Rep, Comm at this point, that
some time ago, at the request of some
Of my constituents, I wrote the secre-
tary Of state regarding this case, and
received the usual American reply.
to the effect that the interests of the
American citizens In the Transvaal
were being guarded by the English
government. I think it high time" he
continued emphatically, that the
American government should protect
the interests Of it's own citizens" pro
longed applause.) r
Mr.. McCreary Oem.s Ky.), ex-chair-
man Of the foreign affairs committee,
thought the state department would
take such steps as were necessary for
the protection Of American citizens
without instructions from the house.
If congressional action, were necessary,
the foreign affairs committee, he
thought, could be relied upon to
promptly report thea matter to the
house. He, therefore, objected. Mr..
Mahany disclaimed any purpose Of
rejecting upon the state department.
and appealed to Mr.. Hit, chairman of
the foreign affairs committee, who
had just entered the hall, to give his
opinion on the subject, but the OBJ
lection Of Mr.. McCreary prevented
further discussion. The resolution was
then, at Mr.. Mahany's request, referred
to the foreign affairs committee
Mr.. Henderson Rep., Ia.) then, from
the committee on rules. reported a
special order, which was adopted with
out division, for the consideration of
the bankruptcy bill, debate to run until
o'clock on Saturday, when final vote
shall be taken. The house accord
ingly went into committee Of the whole
and entered upon the consideration Of
the bill. 1t was arranged that Mr.
Henderson should control the time in
favor Of the bill, Mr.. Bailey Oem.,
Texas) who favors a voluntary bank
ruptcy bill one-fourth, and Mr.. Brod-
erick (Rep., Kan.) who opposes the en-
actment of any law on the subject, the
remaining one-fourth.
Mr.. Henderson took the floor and
submitted an extended argument in
favor of the bill as reported by the
judiciary committee. THE bill before
house, he said, had for its basis the
"Torrey" bill, which had been urged
upon congress unsuccessfully for
number of years. 1t had been stripped
of the harsh features criticised in
former bills and could not be objected
to by any honest debtor. Upon the
conclusion of Mr.. Henderson's speech,
the house adjourned.
ARMOR INVESFIGATI0N