The herald., 1897-03-01
That Appropriation Bills May
Pass
BOUNTIES FOR BEET SUGAR
Provided for 10 the Suudry Civil Bill
As Adopted
cleveIand's Forest Reserve Order Set Aside.
The Billion Dollar Congress Is
Beaten Out Of Sight
Associated Press Special wire


WASHINGTON, Feb. 2S.-The usual
Sunday quiet of the capitol building was
disturbed today by a session of the sen /.
ate, made necessary to pass appropria-
tion bills. Large crowds filled the gall
lery ana overflowed to the corridors
The attendance of senators was even
greater than that through the week. the
absentees, other than those out of town
or sick, numbering only thirteen, viz:
Cameron. Davis, Hansborough, Jones
of Nevada, Kenny, Pascoe. Platt,
Pritchard. Pugh. Smith. Turpie. Wet
more and Wilson. The venerable figures
of the senate-Hoar, Sherman, Morgan
and Palmer-were among those presen-
By parliamentary fiction the session
is part of the legislative session be-
ginning Saturday. a recess having been
taken at 230 this morning until d. m.
today. The sundry civil appropriation
bill was under consideration, a number
of important items in payment of sugar
bounties, for rivers and harbors, etc,
remaining to be passed upon. A vote
on the sugar bounty amendment was
taken as soon as the session opened, and
it was agreed to by 81 to IL. The amend
ment appropriates s1,0s0,156 for the bal
ance of bounties earned from August
1894. to June, 1895.
The river and harbor items next were
considered, most of the committee
amendments being agreed to as reported.
Allison, in charge of the bill, explained
the provisions as a whole. No estimates
had been submitted in the usual way
for any of these items, but they were
based on reports of the chief of en-
gineers as to which could be profitably
used These amendments had been re-
duced 2 per cent before being reported
in the bill. In the course of the discus
sion Senator German made an earnest
speech, pointing out the enormous total
of the bill and urging that it be not
loaded down with river and harbor
items. The bill carries the unprece-
dented total of SOL ,000,0 900, of which s1i,-
100000 was for river and harbor con-
tracts. 1t was, the senator said, more
than the condition of the treasury war
ranted. In particular, German resist
ed a new item of 100000 to prevent the
Mississippi river from breaking through
into the Cachen river, north of Cairo,
III. 1t led TO a prolonged contest, Cui
lom supporting the amendment as one
of urgent necessity.
Blanchard of Louisiana spoke on the
general subject of Mississippi river in-
provements. The amendment was
finally modified and agreed to.
Another protracted contest occurred
over the committee proposition to 10
away with river and harbor appro-
priatiens in the sundfy civil bill and
directing a separate bill on these terms.
The amendment finally went out on a
L ..x@fxr y,
Dor items were agreed to.
Hill of New York took occasion to
chaff senators on work on Sunday in
connection with a debate on electric
light conduits in Washington. He Sc
riously doubted the propriety of meeting
today to enact legislation. He had re-
ceived many petitions urging law for
a rest day in the District of Columbia.
Moreover, the senator (McMillan) who
urged this conduit amendment had him
self offered bill ito protect the first day
of each week, commonly called Sunday,
as a day of rest and worship"
The amendment appropriating S325,000
for the purchase of the old Concord art
gallery, for the court of claims, was
agreed to.
When the amendment was reached
providing for a commission to visit the
fisheries, Pettigrew of South Dakota
aid he believed we Snoulu not seHu
commission to Alaska to visit the scene
of destruction of our seals by Canadian
poachers He advocated the destruction
of all the seals. In this connection he
ridiculed the treaty relative to the Alas
kan boundary recently sent to the sem
ate
IF this administration lasted much
longer" he said, st would be sending
In a treaty between Great Britain and
the United States for arbitration of the
table"
Morgan of Alabama, member of the
Paris court of arbtra tion, discussed
"the awkward position OF the United
States on the seal question. Referring
to the Paris tribunal, he said that, as
usual when the court was made up of
European arbitrators. the decision was
against us. 1t always would be so un-
der these circumstances. There was
more real danger OF trouble over this
seal question since the arbitration than
there was from all the conflict before ar
bitration was adopted. The present
trouble, he said, was due to the delber-
ate refusal of Great Britain to carry
out in good faith the spirit of the Paris
award.
'I do hope" said Morgan, that the
incoming administration will have the