The San Francisco call., 1896-04-09
IN THE HOUSE.
Payne and Cummings Discuss the Bill
to Abolish Compulsory Pitotage.

Payne and Cummings Dtscuss the Bill
to Abolish Compulsory Pitotage.
WASHINGTON, D. c., April s.-Acting
upon the operation of the previous aues-
tion upon the engrossment and third read
ing of the bill to adopt the metric system
OF weights and measures In the United
States, the House proceeded Immediately
after the reading of the bill to vote upon it
by ayes and noes, the result being ayes 119,
noes LII.
The vote was seen to be exceedingly
close, and some minutes were spent in re-
capitulating the vote and in changing of
votes by members. At the last m moment
Dockery (D.) of Missouri changed his vote
from mo" to AYE" thereby changing the
result.
Hurley (R.) of New York moved to re-
consider the vote and to lay that motion
on the table, on which another vote by
ayes and noes was ordered. There was a
decided change on this call, the motion to
lay on the table the motion to reconsider
the vote being defeated by Ill ayes to 132
noes.
The vote recurring then on the motion
to reconsider the vote by which the House
ordered the engrossment and third reading
of the bill that was also ordered taken
by ayes and noes. The motion to recon
slider was carried by 141 ayes to so noes.
c. w. Stone (R.) of Pennsylvania asked
unanimous consent to withdraw the bill
from the further consideration of the
House, but to this Dockery and others OBJ
iected. He then moved that it be recon-
mitted to the Committee on Coinage
Weights and Measures. This was agreed
to by. 130 to So.
After the House had agreed to Senate
amendments to certain bills Payne (R.) of
New York called up the bill reported by
him from the Committee on Merchant
Marine and Fisheries to abolish the COM
pulsory pilotage system, otherwise known
as bill to relieve American coastwise
shipping of an unjust discrimination.
1t was arranged that debate on the bill
should continue throughout to-day's ses-
sion and until tomorrow to 2 P. NJ. when
vote on the passage of the bill shall be
taken.
Payne explained the intent and SCOPE
of the bill. He said: "It is contended
that many of the Southern ports are rem
dered dangerous by the shifting channels
and by the changing conditions of the
sandbars and that man must be upon
the ground every day in order to know the
dangerous places. 1t is hard to believe
/ that this is true in the ports of Virginia.
Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama or
Texas, as the Legislatures OF those States
have declared that their ports are safe
without the services of pilot if the owner
paid tax. annual or otherwise. There is
not the slightest danger that the service
will go down or will even be seriously
crippled by the proposed change. When
pilots are necessary and can render rea.
service they will be employed. When thew
are rot necessary and their services are
not used, they should not be permitted to
become charge upon interstate com.
merce."
Cummings CD of New York, opposing
the bill, SAID it had appeared in every Con.
gress in which he had been a member.
and was defeated III the Fifty first Con.
gress on question of consideration. II
was bill, he said, drawn in favor of the
vessel-owners and against the pilots. Were
not the ship-owners already sufficiently
protected? he asked.
Cummings said that Congress. while
enacting plentiful, generous protection for
the ship owners. had done nothing for the
pilots, relegating them to the Legislatures
OF the several States. That was where the
advocates of the bill should have gone for
the relief they seek. That would have
been the manly thing to do.
Referring to the statement by Payne
and by Simpkins that the Pilots Associa-
tlon had sent representatives to Washing
ton tolobhy against the bill Cummings
said: II have seen in the corridors and I