The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-30
NEW ENGLAND MEN AT ODDS.
RETT, OF MA SACHU Sits, FUR
NIsHED THE FUN
REPRESENTATIONS OF THE A. & p.
When the Gentlemen Had Finished
Calling Each Other Names the
Pending Report Was Rejected.

END OF an acrimonious debate on the
conference report on the bill to confer
the rights and franchises of the Allan
tic q Pacific railroad on the purchasers
under the mortgage foreclosure, Mr.
Powers (Vt) and Mr.. Barrett (Mass9
exchanged broadsides. The former de-
Tended the conference report against
the assaults of half-score of members
led by Mr.. Barrett. The latter was par
ticularly severe in his criticisms,
charging that a stock jobbing opera
ton was behind the measure. This
drew from Mr.. Powers near the close
of the debate a reply in which. he
charged that Boston was the home of
the railroad wreckers. With keen satire
he ridiculed the Massachusetts mem
Der and continued that perhaps he was
interested in his opposition.
Mr.. Barrett, in responding, was very
vicious, not only denying absolutely
any interest in the bill, but scoring Mr..
Powers, who, he said, was on the SUI
preme bench Of Vermont when the Cen
trail railroad Of that state was wrecked
under it's decree
He was not called to order but Mr..
Grout CVt) twice protested against the
attack on the Judiciary of his state. The
report was rejected by an overwhelm-
ing majority--714 to 143-and the con-
ferees were instructed to insist on the
house amendments.
Just before adjournment Mr.. Hardy.
(Rep., INDY, who was refused unan1-
nous consent to continue a political
speech he was making declared that he
would retaliate by objecting to every
request for unanimous consent for the
remainder Of the session.
The conference report referred to was
called up Immediately after the read
ing of the journal. Mr.. Powers ex-
planned the nature of the agreement
reached by the conferees. One of the
provisions Of the report, which was
combated, was that providing for an
issue Of stock by the new company
to the amount of the funded debt I'M
paid at the time Of foreclosure and linn
iting it to $100, G00, 900. With regard to
the house amendment requiring that,
as a condition precedent to reorganl-
cation, the purchasers should relinquish
in writing all claims to lands granted
to the Atlantic & Pacific and unearned
July g. 1886, which the conferees aban
doned, Mr.. Powers said that the ques-
ton as to the forfeiture Of land grants
was now before the supreme court. II
the court declared they were not for
feited, he argued that the mortgages.
were entitled ztG these lands! If they
were forfeited, no legislation was need
ed on the subject.
Mr. Barrett Rep., Mass.) secured the
floor. declaring that he desired to dis
cusS this report as a
STOCK JOBBING SCHEME.
He asserted that no railroad in the
country had such a disgraceful his
tory as this one. 1t was black with
fraud and dishonor. Before closing,
MI. Barrett severely condemned the
great power given by the rules to con-
ferees which, he said, enabled them to
bring in propositions Endorsed by
neither the house or senate. He said
it was a parody on parliamentary
pra ctice.
After some further remarks by vari-
Gus members, Mr.. Powers took the
floor to close the debate. He appealed
at the outset to members not to be
taken off their feet by charges Of ras-
Cality made by the gentleman from
assachusettsb- (BarretD. The latter,
he said, was probably representing
some of those who were interested in
the affairs of this company. If any
Massachusetts, interests were involved
he declared emphatically they were
not involved in the direction Of public
coed Boston was the place where
railroads were wrecked, and it was a
dirty bird which befouled it's own nest.
Massa chusetts; he went on, ironically,
was a great state. 1t had furnished
MANY great men. y '"They have passed
away and we are left today" he said.
ito bask in the sunshine of the gentle
man from Massachusetts (BarretD and
learn righteousness at his feet. daugh-
teri. ., He had come to congress to
blossom and bloom, but his destiny
has been to Wither and waste his
beauty on the desert air"
Mr. Barrett was very much aroused
by Mr.. Powers ridicule and innuendo.
and the moment the Vermont member
took his seat he was on his feet. After
Indignantly denying that he was in
anyway interested in the opposition to
the pending measure or had communi-
Gated with anyone on the subject ex-
cept his colleague (Mr. Moody and
the gentleman from Vermont himself.
he said menacingly: 1.-THE gentleman
charges me with being interested; be-
fore I have concluded 1 shall draw a.
parallel which 1 think he will under
stand"
He defied anyone to show that he
had any further interest In the matter.
He said he was not surprised that the
gentleman from Vermont had talked
about his being interested In the bill,
when he remembered the recent debate
On the Pacific funding bill, of which
the gentleman had charge. On that oc-
caSion
GRAVE STATEMENTS
were made to the effect that the bill
hn tn