The record-union., 1897-12-17

terday. Gallinger expressed surprise
that so reckless a statement should
have been made by man usually so
careful as Mr.. Wright.
Pritchard Of North Carolina, Chair
man of the Committee on Civil Service,
who is engaged in a general investiga-
ton of the civil service system, fol-
lowed in a speech dealing with the gem
eral features of the civil service law. 1t
was he said, a singular coincident that
it never occurred to Mr.. Cleveland to
make his sweeping extensions of the
civil service law until he reached that
point where it was obvious to him
that his party was to be repudiated by
the American people at the next general
election, nor until nearly all the Re-
publicans had been removed from Of
fee and their places filled with Simon
pure Democrats.
At 2 O'Clock the bill went over to
future day, and on motion of Quay the
Senate went into executive session.
The executive session lasted an hour
and then at 3 o'clock the Senate ad
| journed.
IN THE HOUSE.
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 16-The House
| to-day passed bill appropriating $1l5 :
900 for the relief of the people who are
| in the Yukon River country, and also
! the bill passed by the Senate yesterday
to prohibit pelagic sealing by Ameri
| can citizens.
The former bill encountered practi-
cally no opposition. AS passed the
sum carried by it is to be expended
under the direction of the Secretary of
War for the purchase, transportation
and distribution of subsistence stores.
1t provides that these subsistence
stores may be sold at prices fixed by
the Secretary of War or donated where
the people are unable to pay for them
| 1t empowers him to purchase reindeer
| and employ drivers not citizens of the
! United States and afterWard to dis
pose of the reindeer.
| The bill to prohibit pelagic sealing
was warmly antagonized by Johnson of
| North Dakota, Loud of California,
Hepburn and others, and in the course
| of the debate there was some exceed
ingly caustic criticism on the course
of our Behring Sea negotiations, past
and present
| The currency bill framed by Secre
| tary Gage was introduced in the House
to-day by Chairman Walker of the
Banking and Currency Committee i'm
| mediately after the opening. The bill
as presented to the House Is identical
with the bill as submitted to the COM
| mittee, save for a few changes of no
especial significance, which We're sug-
gested by Walker
Cannon R) of Illinois brought for
ward the bill for the relief of the min
ers in the Klondike region, and Sayers
Cd Of Texas and Bailey CD of Texas,
spoke in favor of it.
Cannon submitted to the House a
statement prepared by DR. Sheldon
Jackson, one of the agents of the Com
missioners of Education, who was in
the Klondike region as far up the river
as Fort Yukon, that the food supply on
the Upper Yukon would not last beyond
March, and he indorsed the recommen-
dation of the Secretary Of War that
food be sent in by reindeer via. Dyea.
The bill was passed without division,
although there were scattered noes
when the Speaker called for the mega
tive vote
Secretary Alger was on the floor dur
ing the debate.
Hit R.) of Illinois, Chairman Of the
SCiililfittcr Oii It CISiSii <AlLdIS, ScCuiSu
unanimous consent for the considera-
tion of the bill passed by the Senate
yesterday to prohibit pelagic sealing by
citizens of the United States He ex-
planned its scope and purposes and the
necessity for its enactment, in view of
the pending negotiations with Great
Britain.
Hopkins 1.) of Illinois thought that
I
operation of the Act. so that in case
the negotiations should collapse our cit
liens should not be at a disadvantage.
Hit said our Government did not ad-
nit that pelagic sealing was a right;
it was barbarity. We were press
ing upon Great Britain a negotiation
for the protection of the seals that three
Governments had already agreed to. If
we were sincere we should pass this
measure.
Johnson (R) of North Dakota made
vigorous speech of an hour in oppo-
sition, and said that the effect of this
bill and negotiations now being con-
Quoted would be the bolstering up of
the two great British industries, one in
! the Behring Sea and the other in Lon
don. The present herd was not worth
protecting The purpose was to build
up new herd. He declared that Can
ada would only be willing to join with
us in prohibiting pelagic sealing on
condition that we should allew her to
write our tariff laws.
Johnson said we had been Inundated
and shamed by the complete surrender
Of our rights and honors at the Paris
tribunal. He was particularly sarcas-
tic in his reference TO Hon. John w.
Foster, whom he termed the great
surrenderer' So great was his rep
utation in this line. he said, that China
had paid him 100000 for surrendering
to Japan.
He created much amusement by
enumerating some of the expenses of
the Paris tribunal, and said he did not
marvel that the experts who had al
ready made so much out of the Gov
ernment should desire to keep up an
agitation which permitted them to draw
big salaries and rove over the world at
the expense Of the Government.
Johnson, as another phase of the
question, described the destruction of
the food fish by the seals. The recent
increase in the catch at the fisheries on
the Pacific Coast and Alaska he at
tributed TO the diminution of the seal
herd IF the sea wolves of the sea had
been completely exterminated, he said,
we would not be sending relief to the
miners in Alaska. Each seal requires
ten pounds of fish day. The coast of