The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-09
NEED A LAW.
Knute Nelson
Defends His
BANKRUPTCY BILL.
Pending TOrrey Law Criti-
ciSed as Unduly Harsh in
Its Terms.
MORGAN'S THIRD DAY.
More Cuban Talk by the
Honorable Gentleman
from Alabama.

WASHINGTON, April 8.-The senate
! today heard Mr.. Morgan, Of Alabama,
| for the third successive day, on his
| resolution declarig that a state OF war
| exists in Cuba. He was severely crit
| tcal of Spain's methods against Amer
| lean prisoners, and went over In de-
| tail the circumstances in the Compel
itor case. Mr.. Morgan said he would
| close his speech at the next meeting
| of the senate, when he would present
a letter from one Of the Cuban officials
Of the Eastern province of the island,
| showing the complete civil system Of
| government now maintained by the Gu
! bans.
Mr.. Nelson, Of Minnesota, spoke for
two hours on the bankruptcy bill, op-
posing the pending Torrey bill as ex-
cessively harsh and designed as a col
| lection agency for large creditors and
urging his substitute as q measure
| drafted in the interest Of thousands Of
| poor debtors struggling to get on their
feet
Mr.. Chandler offered a resolution,
which was agreed to- as follows:
Resolved, That the committee on interstate
commerce be directed to investigate the pay
ments made or agreed to be made by the
interstate commerce commission for attor-
neys' fees and also to inquire whether in any
cases the attorneys Of the commission have
also been employed by railroad companies in
similar cases, and further, whether any addi-
tional authority from congress is required
for the employment Of counsel in any pending
proceedings which have been instituted by
or on motion of the commission.
The resolution Of Mr.. Earle Oem.,
S. d. for the reorganization of senate
committees went over, Mr.. Chandler,
presenting an amendment to be urged
when the resolution is taken up. The
amendment provides that on Tuesday.
| April 20, at p. m, the senate will
proceed to appoint its committee.
In resuming his speech on the resO-
! luton declaring that a state of war
| exists in Cuba, Mr.. Morgan reverted
| to the statement Of Mr.. Hale yesterday
| that the number of American prison
| ers in Spanish prisons was reduced 70
twelve. In sarcastic tones Mr. Morgan
said that such releases as had occurred
were the result of application by our
| government, and perhaps it would be
! appropriate to adopt a vote of thanks
! to Spain for not Staying these pris-
OnerS
Mr.. Morgan, continuing, spoke of the
| Competitor expedition. He reviewed
| the circumstances of the case-the de-
| parture Of the little schooner, prob
| ably with the purpose of carrying aid
| to the insurgents. In particular. the
! senator took up the case of young
| Owen Melton, one of the Competitor
| prisoners, and followed the progress of
his trial and his Imprisonment incom-
municado in the Spanish dungeons
Mr. Morgan declared that it was long
| course of violation of treaty rights and
| of ordinary methods Of judicial proceed,
ure. Young Melton" said he lis held
| today in a lOathSOme dungeon, not be-
| cause guilt has been established
| against him, but because he is a young
American boy" The evidence of such
| Spanish cruelty came to the senate
! from untmpeachable sources. 1t was,
! declared the senator a. record of horror
| unmentionable to decent and civilized
ears. 1t could not even be described
! on the floors of the senate without
shocking all present and driving peo-
! pie from the galleries to the outer cor
! ridOrs.
Mr.. Morgan read from the laws and
| treaties to show the unjustiiable char
acter of Melton's Imprisonment Then
| the senator exclaimed with great vehe-
mence: Whether there are seventy
| four prisoners in Cuba or $4,000 or
! whether 1t is one, in the person OF
| Owen Melton, this Arka youth, the
| flag of the United States, if 1t re-
| fuses to shelter him. is a disgraced
| rag
Mr.. Morgan gave way at 2 O'Clock to
| the bankruptcy bill, stating that he
would conclude his speech at the next
meeting Of the senate.
Mr.. Nelson (Rep. Minn) addressed
the senate on the bankrupty bill He
said there was no public demand for
the drastic collection machinery pro-
vfded by the Torrey act When the
measure came up, the other day, he
| received shower of kilograms favor
| ing 1t, evidently inspired by interested
parties in Washington. But the men
| who wanted a harsh collection system.
VINO loaned money and clipped coupons.
| should not be aided by a bankruptcy
bill 1t was the honest debtor who was
| struggling to get on his feet
Mr.. Nelson criticised the Torrev bill
| in detail. saying it was vicious and
complicated, providing fifteen distinct
causes for bankruptcy. The bill also
| created thirty-four criminal offenses
with severe penalties. This was most
inopportune time, he added, to build up
a great criminal code against the poor
debtors of the country. Instead of that
any bankrupt law provided by congress
| should lift up the poor debtor, place
him on ~ feet and say Godspeed,
There was he said. no limit to fees
the attorneys might charge under the
| bill This was one of the crying evils
of the law of 1875, under which so many
attorneys made fortunes. So also was
| the rule OF preferences under the Tor
rey bill hard and unreasonable
Mr.. Nelson then discussed the main
features of his substitute bill. He said
that this bill was In the main a volun-
tary bankruptcy bill. and that it was
| based upon the George bill, differing
only from that measure in that 1t re-
quired no preliminary assignment, and
that 1t provided for uniformity in the
matter of fees. The purpose of the
substitute was to make the proceed
ings simple and inexpensive, limiting
bankruptcy to a few causes and leav-
| ing creditors in all other cases to the
state laws. There was no demand out
| side of a few jobbers and wholesalers
in favor of the excessive Torrey bill.
In the Northwest the hard times had
nearly shipwrecked many worthy busi-
ness men. They were loaded with
debt and 1t was to the interest Of
that whole section and the country to
/ give them law to put them on their