Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-03-05
NATIONAL SOLONs.
REVIEW OF THEIR WORK AZ
WASHINGTON. .
Detailed Proceedings Of Senate and
House-Bills Passed OF Introduced
in Either Characterization of NO.
ment to the Country at Large.
The Legislative Grind.

The Senate adjourned ut S:15 o'clock
Friday night, after having spent almost
eight hours in continuous executive ses-
sion on the arbitration treaty. No result
was accomplished beyond voting down
the motion made by Senator Nelson to.
postpone further consideration of the
treaty. A very spirited debate on the
general subject of the payment of claims
found to he due against the United States
was INDUCED in by the House during the
consideration of the general deficiency ap-
preparation bill. Mr.. Richardson (Tenn.l
had called attention TO the apparent in
consistency of an item to pay the costs of
defending suits, and the fact that the bill
contained no item to pay the judgments.
MIR. Mahon (Pa.), chairman of the War.
Claims Committee, made the statement
that the House had been frightened by q
"bogie man," and the just claims against
the Government, instead of aggregating:
hundreds of millions, as was frequently
stated, could be discharged with $1O,OOO.-
OOO. The consideration of the bill was.
not completed. The bill carries $S,441,-
O27.
Both houses worked hard Saturday.,
getting measures in shape for final action.
Appropriation bills and conference re-
ports We're before the House for action.
There is evident Ill intention to pare APP
preparations down to the last notch, and,
CONSERVATION reigns among members who
have pet measures, affecting their partic-
ular districts. which they hoped to put
through. Senator Sherman announced.
his purpose not to again bring up the arbi-
tration treaty for debate SO long as the.
appropriation bills are pressing for con-
sideration, but if there should be a lu!l
i'll this work he ma renew his efforts tn
secure ratification. The Senate joint res
olution for an international monetary COIL
ference looking to the adoption of %interna-
tional bimetallism was unanimously re-
ported to the House.
The Senate spent its first hours Monday
in listening to Washington's farewell adj
dress. read by Mr.. Daniel (Na.). and then
resumed consideration of the Indian APP
preparation bill for IL time. The Loud
1-cent postal bill came in for some sharp
criticism from MIR. Butler, MIR. Stewart.
and Others. The House passed the GEN
eral deficiency appropriation bill and he
gan The consideration of the last of the.
money bills. that providing for the naval.
establishment. a long debate occurred
over the propricty of the appropriation of
$1,31O,OOO for the Southern Pacific Rail-
AOuu u1NcI III JltuSiueuI vi tlIe OUutI OF
Claims, but the House 10y n vote of 1O2
to lbs. refused to strike it out. The men,
bers who favored the appropriation for
the repayment to members of the last
Congress of salary .itllheld from them.
Oh account of absence carried the fight
into the House, but We're beaten, 81 to,
l22. Sixteen of the forty-cight pages of
the naval bill We're completed.
The House sent the naval bill. the last
of the appropriation bills, to the Senate
Tuesday. 1t was passed practically with
out amendment. The feature of the day
was a political debate which occurred late
in the afternoon on the subject of civil
service reform. 1t developed during the.
consideration of IL bill, which was finally
passed. to permit the Governors of the,
territories to appoint certain officers of
the territories III case of vacancies with
out the consent of the Legislative com.
ellis, which is now required by law. The
Senate made slow progress Oh the apprO-
priation bills. disposing of only one item
of the Indian bill, it being that directing
the opening of the Cncompahgre Indian
reservation in Utah. 1t involved Il conflict
with the executive branch, which has.
steadily resisted opening these lands. Oh
the ground that they contained valuable
mineral deposits. MIR. Villas cndeayored
to have Il royalty reserved to the Govern
ment. but WAS defeated in this and the.
clause WAS agreed to after an all-day de-
bate. During the day IL resolution by
MIR. Mills. of Texas. WAS adopted. asking
the President for information as to the
death of DIR. Ruiz at Guanabacoa, Cuba.
Most of Wednesday was devoted to Dis
trict of Columbia business. The confer.
ence report on the hill to define the rights
of the purchasers of the .Atlun1ir and Pm.
cific Railroad under the foreclosure sale
was adopted. Attention was recalled to
the Cuban question in the Senate hy the,
presentation of three resolutions on TINT
subject. One of these came by unanimous
vote from the Committee on Foreign Re.
lations and called for the Immediate and
unconditional release of Julio Snnvuily.
held at Havana. Another resolution liz
Mr.. Allen. of Nebraska. calls ON the Pres
idcnt to effectively protect American citi-
zens i'll Cuba. and for that purpose to send
battleships TO Cuban waters. 4. third res
olntion. by MIR. Hill. of New York. was
agreed tn. requesting the Secretary of
State for the correspondence with Consul
General Lee relative to Americans i'm
prisoned in Cuba. A sensational episode,
occurred late i'll the day during the ron.
sideration of he Indian hill. Several of
the New England Senators had criticised
various items. This aroused Mr.. Petit
grew. in charge of the hill. to some ca,ls-
tic recitals Of barbarities practiced
against Indians in Massachusetts in the
early days. Mi. Hoar defended his State,
and amid impressive silence arraigned
Mr.. Pettigrew. q New Highlander by birth,
for 'befOnling the nest in which he was.
born" Little progress was made on the.
Indian bill. and Mr.. Allison warned the
Senate that the tatus of appropriation
bills was most dangerous.
Joseph Murdoch. of Scott County, Va.
who was supposed to have been murdered
twenty-five years ago. and for which
crime Bud Lindsay served twcnty-one-
years in the Nirginia penitentinry. has.
returned to his former home. Lindsay
died recently.
Gov. Thornton has placed the local COM
pany of infantry on guard Mt the neniten-