, 1896-03-31
WORK OF THE HOUSE.
Sundry Civil Bill Under Con.
sideration.
BILLION FOR TWO YEARS.


Washington. March Gothic house
today took up the consideration of the
sundry civil appropriation bill and dis
posed of Is of the 100 pages before ad-
iournment. During the general debate
Mr. Cannon, the present head of the
appropriation committee, and his pre-
decessOr, MIR. Savers, Of Texas, inter
changed opinions as to the present and
past appropriations. Mr.. Cannon in
the course of his remarks. expressed
the opinion that the appropriations for
this season could not fall below $685.
OO0, 600. The action of the committee
in apprOpriating for contract work
only until March 1897, was attacked,
but Mr.. Cannon justified it on the
ground that the same thing had been
done last year in the case OF the forti-
fications bill. The public service, in
his opinion, could not be provided for
two years, for less than a billion dol
lars. Now. however. the government
was borrowing money to pay current
expenses. In view of this fact. he ap-
pealed to the house to keep down ap-
preparations and be content with car
ing for public service as it existed and
not enter upon any new expenditures
while borrowing is going on.
Mr.. Savers. democrat of Texas. re-
piled at some length to Mr.. Cannon.
In a general way he endorsed the items
in the bill. but he declared /; was false
p%retense on its face. 1t purported to be
a bill providing for sundry civil eX-
penses for the fiscal year ending June
80, 1897, whereas it was admitted that
in all contract work appropriations did
referred to the adroitness with which
appropriations aggregating millions of
dollars had been inserted INTO the de-
liciency bill. which properly belonged
on this bill. By putting them on the
deficiency bill they We're charged to the
last congress. He compared the ap-
preparations made by the democratic
committees and those made with Mr..
Cannon as the head of the committee
on appropriations and said the latter
was perhaps trying to MAKE a record
for the presidential campaign. After
some further remarks the bill was read
for amendments under the five minute
rule. But few amendments were added
to the bill today. Eight amendments
to increase the salaries OF light house
superintendent from $1,000 to 1900
were adopted.
An amusing incident occurred at the
opening Of the session. GrOsvenor
arose to correct an i]naccuracy in the
record. BY some mistake a remark
made by Connolly at the pension ses-
sion Friday night about presidential
fuglemen' was omitted from the on
~gressional record, but G~rosvenor's re-
joinder. which was rather vigorous in
its character, appeared without cause.
Mr.. Grosvenor explained that the Rec
ord placed him in the ridiculous atti-
tude of slashing at nothing. Mr.. Con-
nelly replied he had not obliterated his
remarks. He had not been long enough
in the house, he said, to learn the trick
of editing his speeches. The mistake
must have occurred elsewhere.
The senate resolution authorizing f.
Green to exercise the duties and pow
ers heretofore conferred upon the late
General Casey in relation to the con-
%struction OF the library of congress was
adopted. The senate resolution author
izing ex-President Harrison to accept
certain medals presented to him by
the governments of Brazil and Spain
was also adopted.
Mr.. Hit. chairman of the foreign af-
fairs committee. gave notice that the
would call up the conference port on
the Cuban resolutions as soon as the
sundry civil bill was out OF the way.