Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-12
AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
Anti-0ption Bill Tabled by the
House Committee
2z-2 .
BUT WILL COME UP LATER
A General Banking Bill to Be Formulated and
Reported.
RULES REGULATING HOAR'S RESOLUTION
Assistant Attorney General Hall of the In
terror Tenders His Resignation and
Will Return to His Home
in Georgia.
UT WILL COME UP LATER
ULEss REGULATING HoAR's RESOLUTION

Washington, March 1.-THE house
committee on agriculture today, by vote
of 8 to 6, laid on the table the "anti-op-
ton" bill The measure was discussed
for an hour, after which the motion to ta-
BILE was agreed to. Those who favored
the measure intend to bring the subject
before the committee in different form
later. The great objection to the present
measure was that it did not make def
mite distinction between Options and
futures" The aim of the new bill will
be to discourage and retard the option,
or wind SALE" process. The legitimate
dealing In futures where actual deliver
les are contemplated is not objected to-,
but the option system is objectional, and
the friends of this measure will do all in
their power to break 1t up. The vote to-
day, they say, does not express the sense
of the committee on the subject of op-
tions, and they feel confident that a
measure drawn to-break up this practice
and not affect legitimate futures will re-
ceive a favorable report.
The house committee on banking and
currency voted today to proceed immedi-
ately to the formulation of a general
banking bill to be presented to the house,
and to meet Mondays and Wednesdays
until such bill is reported. The general
banking bills drawn by members of the
committee will be first considered and
disposed of in order.
The treasury gold reserve today at the
close of business stood at $125,8 OIL
The Withdrawals for the day amounted
to $498,000
When Mr.. Hoar's resolutions to refer
the Cuban resolutions now before the
senate in the shape of a. conference re-
port went to the calendar at o'clock this
afternoon, the parliamentary status of
those resolutions remained unchanged
Mr.. Hoars motion was simply the chan
mel through which he got the floor to
make a speech, and that speech could
have been made as well I'M discussion of
the conference report proper.
= The resolutions Of the two houses having
been sent to conference the senate yield
ed and agreed to the house form of the
resolutions. That agreement, which lis
now before the senate, Is to certain ex-
tent privileged 1t Is not a privileged
question, but motion to proceed to the
consideration of a conference report
must be taken without delay and cannot
be sidetracked by unlimited debate.
The question of the right of a senator to
a seat in the senate as one of the high
est privileges would, 1t appears, take
precedence over a conference report.
Vice-President Wheeler held in the con-
tested cases of Kellogg-Sp -Spofford that the
question of consideration was in order
Immediately after the reading of the
journal, and when Mr.. Thurman ap-
pealed from the decision the chair was
sustained. 1t would doubtless be held
now that the Dupont case was of greater
privilege than the conference report on
the Cuban resolutions, shoulda the point
be raised. An arrangement fhas been
made 1t is said with Mr.. Mitchell, in
charge of the Dupont case, SO that the
two matters will move along without
friction Tomorrow the Cuban question
will probably come up during the morn
ing hour, but at 2 o'clock Mr.. Mitchell
will claim the floor and Mr.. Pritchard,
for the committee will speak in reply
to the speech of Mr.. Turpie, which was
concluded this afternoon. The Cuban
question may then be taken up again.
As there Is no rule limiting debate on
a conference report 1t can be discussed
just as long as senators may desire. If
the report is finally agreed to in the sem
ate it then goes to the house, where the
agreement would, in all probability, be
adopted pro forma, the senate having
yielded on every point to the house. The
report of the managers on the part of the
house, to the house, Is necessary to COM
plete4he Record and show that the sub
ject matter was finally and definitely
disposed of.
Judge ]. 1. Hall, assistant attorney
general for the department of the iute-
rior has rendered his resignation to Sec
retary Hoke Smith to take effect March
He will return to that state to take the
position of general attorney for the
Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad.
Runor around the department has At
that Judge Hall will use his influence
with the road In behalf of Secretary
Hoke Smith in the senatorial contest, In
which Ex-Speaker Crisp will be an ac-
tive ca caudfdate