The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-02-06
Senator Vest Makes a Sensa-
tional Speech.
TRIES TO RIVAL TILLMAN
In His Use of Keen Satire and
Scathing Invective.
THE CUBAN QUESTION AGAIN
The Senate Consumed the Afternoon
Debating Distribution of Appro-
pration Bills but Reached
No Vote

No Vote.
Washington, ID. c., Feb. 5.-The most
caustic utterance heard in the Senate
since Mr.. Tillman's sensational speech,
was that of Mr.. Vest, of Missouri, to-
day, arraigning Secretary of Agricul
ture Morton.
The keen satire and ridicule directed
against the Secretary and the illusions
to the President made the speech hard
ly less notable than that which recent
ly startled the Senate Mr.. Vest refer
red derisively to ''the colossal intel
lect dealing with cabbages."
At one point the Senator said: The
Secretary of Agriculture charges from
his office, reminding us of what Cicero
says of Cataline's fight from the Sen
ate: Albeit eXcessit, evasit, erupit.'
(Laughter). When the Secretary of
Agriculture hears of silver lunatic,
he is like the war horse in Job, his neck
is clothed with thunder. You might go
further and say, "He saith among the
Prophets ha! ha! and he smelleth the
battle afar off, and the thunders, cap
tains and shoutings."
Mr.. Vest severely criticized the prac-
tice of furnishing costly flowers from
Government greenhouses for the recep-
tion at the Executive Mansion, and
added: "Sir, / would rather give twice
the amount of this appropriation to
enable some poor man in a distant
county of the West who is fighting the
hard battle of life, l would rather give
him something that would make his
cheerless home comfortable and bring
light to his fireside; / would rather
put one flower in the sick room of a
noble working girl or matron, than
to have it said / voted a hundred and
odd thousand dollars for the flowers
and exotics to go to the receptions and
banquets of the officials of this govern
ment, where the chandelier flashes it's
light across the red wine and the air
IS fragrant with perfume like the spicy
breeze of Araby the blessed"
The technical construction of the
law by the Secretary, said he, was Il
mere sham, to cover up the personal
opposition to this particular law.
which had stood for years and had
been executed with incalculable value
to the whole country. 1t was an eff
fort to discredit those in Congress who
distributed seeds.
.'The Democratic party has been
most unfortunate" said the Senator
with emphasis, mot only as to it's i'm
ternal discords but also in the fact
that the devil has owed us a grudge
and has paid it in Secretary of Agri-
culture
The Secretary had, continued Mr..
Vest, put the Democratic party in an
tagonism to the great agricultural in
terests of the party. although that
party had always stood as the close
friend of agriculture.
Why did not this Secretary turn his
searchlight ON the sale of bonds TO
foreign syndicate Why did he not
investigate the profigacy of public
printing? "The gigantic intellect of
this Secretary OF Agriculture" had
daily gone outside OF his legitimate
duties and why did he not discover
some of the really fagrant abuses.
This Secretary" proceeded the
Senator, assumed to run the entire
Government. He has been practically
the Secretary of the Treasury flooding
this country with reports and pamph-
lets denouncing the silver lunatics, and
upholding the single gold standard"
Mr. Vest said the Senator from
South Carolina CTillman) had been
called communist because he had
sounded a warning in the Senate. He
compared this with a New York publi-
cation threatening revolution unless
Senators and Representatives yielded
to the gold standard. When the Demo
cratic party was defeated, he (Nest)
had seen an interview with this Sec
retary of Agriculture gloating over the
fact that the Democratic banner was
trailing in the dust. The Secretary
shouted with ghoulish glee at the
Democratic defeat. "The trouble, !"
said he, sis that the Secretary of Agri-
culture is a monomaniac on the gold
standard. lie sees only gold, gold, red
gold, and he thinks any man who does
not see as he sees is a lunatic."
Mr.. Vest closed with Il remarkably
sarcastic and bitter peroration. He
referred to the useless seeds which it
was asserted the Secretary had prop
erly refused to buy, but added the
Senator, there was one seed not men
toned.
at was he proceeded, 1.-The aurefuF
feniculum canes mortonae, or, in plain
er words, Morton's golden dog weed.
This would flourish while this Sec
retary, swinging his golden censor at
the Executive Mansion shouted his
Holy, Holy, art thou, 0 Grover, King
of Kings, and Lord of Lords"
A new phase of he Cuban question
was presented 10y Mr.. Morgan's report
from the committee on Foreign Rela-
tions recognizing a state or war in
Cuba, and according both contestants
INnIl &c
The debate on the resolution distrib-
uting the appropriation bills was con
tinued during the afternoon, but no
vote was reached