Birmingham state herald., 1896-06-07

cost were those at Kansas City, Mo-. Sa- Vannah, Ga, and Camden, N. J.
 MT. Hawley, republican, inquired as to the senate amendment appropriating $15,000 for postoffiee building at Fort ress Monroe.
 MT. Allison replied that there was also disagreement as to that building.
 There was also a failure to agree on several other senate amendments.
 Mir. Dubois moved that the senate insist on the amendments for the public build ings in the news skates of Idaho, Mon- tana, Wyoming and Utah.
 Senators Sewell, Vest, Morrill,, Bacon, Platt and Cullom joined in advocating the proposition that the senate insist on all its amendments for public buildings. MT. Dubois then, at the request of Mir. Sewell, modified his motion by making 1t apply to all the public buildings instead of confining 1t to those of the four new states. The motion thus modified was agreed to unanimously and new con- ference was ordered.
 The conference report on the Indian ap- propriation bill was presented. The item in regard to legal fees on the claims of the ''old settlers" or Cherokee Indians ($833, ,000) is modified by directing the sec retary of the interior to retain the 35 per cent fund until otherwise authorized by law. The item as to contract schools for Indian children Is modified by limiting the time of their further continuance to July, 1897, instead of July, 1S98 The re- port, which is a final One, was agreed to.
 House bill to expedite the delivery of imported parcels and packages, not ex- ceeding $500 In value, was taken up, amended and passed, after an explanaf tion by MT. Aldrich, republican, of Rhode Island, that the bill, as amended, merely permitted imported merchandise not in- tended for sale to be expedited-the ex- press company giving bonds to the gov- ernment.
 The conference report on the naval ap- proprlation bill was presented and read. The amendment reducing the number of new battleships from four to two is mod flied by making the number three, and the price for armor plate instead of being limited to $350 a ton is limited to $425, with Instructions to the navy to inquire what a fair price would be and to report at the next session of congress
 Mr. Pettigrew characterized the price for armor plate proposed in the oonfer- ence report as an outrageous concession to the Carnegie and Bethlehem comblnas ton, and asked what position the repub- lican party would occupy in the coming campaign
 You will hear from this report" he exclaimed, lat every school house. We have an antitrust law, yet we propose to become the third party to trust"
 MT. Bacon said that although he had favored the construction of four battle- ships, he would now decline to vote for three, if the armor plate for them was to be paid for at the excessive rate of $425 per ton.
 A long discussion ensued on the ques- tion of armor plate, in the course Of which MT. German said that as one of the senate conferees he had not been able to agree to the report, but that he was convinced that no better terms could be obtained from the house conferees. Re- ferring to statement made in the de- bate that some of the plate furnished by the Bethlehem and Carnegie works to foreign governments was defective and full of "blow holes," MT. White sugl gested jocularly that it was "a good thing to furnish our enemies with armor plate which we can penetrate" Qaugh1 ter).
 MT Hale, in charge of the conference report, closed the debate He said the result which the conferees had come to was the best that could be done.
 If the senate believed that it's con- ferees had not done the best they could it should reject the report; and then tha danger was that the house conferees would fall back upon the original house proposition for four new battleships, and for the highest figure for armor plate.
 Finally the debate closed and the con- ference report was disagreed to, yeas 22, nays "A. A further conference was or- dered.
 House bill to constitute a. new division of the Eastern Judicial district of Texas and to provide for the holding of terms of court a Beaumont, Tex, and for tho appointment of a clerk for said court, was passed, with an amendment.
 The senate at 5:10 D. m adjourned till Monday at noon