The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-07
Addresses the Senate for an
Hour on the Cuban
Situation.
He Urges That "the Cover Be
Taken Off the Scene of
Butchery."
The President Is Instructed to Demand
the linn diate Release of
Sanguilly.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 6.-There
were not more than dozen Senators in
the chamber to-day when the chaplain
offered his opening prayer and the
galleries were almost deserted.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy
in relation to the cost of construction OF
armor-plate was presented and referred to
the Committee on Naval Affairs.
An adverse report from the Committee
on Foreign Relations on the claim of John
S. Waller, United States Consul at NADIA
gascar, for damages by reason of his arrest
and i'm prisonment, was presented and in
definitely postponed.
A resolution was offered by Hale (R.) of
Maine and agreed to, calling on the Secre-
tary of State for a statement concerning
the action of the President or Secretary of
State, touching the recognition of any
foreign people or pow er as an independent
Government and the corresponding action
of other branches of the United States
Government.
The resolution offered yesterday by Call
Cd of Florida in relation to the condem-
nation of Julio Sanguilly, an American
citizen, by the Spanish authorities in
Cuba to perpetual Imprisonment in
chains was taken up, and Call addressed
the Senate. His opening remarks were
directed, however, to the case OF Charles
Gown and to the report thereon of Consul
General Lee, which was pres ented to the
Senate yesterday. Call discredited the
statements of the Spanish officers as to
Gown having died of wounds received in
battle, and asserted on the authority of
person, whose name ne declined to give
but who was person of character, that
Gown, citizen of the United States and
who was in Cuba as newspaper reporter,
had been arrested, tied to q tree and cut
in pieces with mace etes by squad of
cavalry as it rode past.
Reverting TO the case of Sanguilly Call
read from a statement to the effect that
SanguilIy, also an American citizen,
had been guilty of no offense whatever
that had been or could be proved against
him. The two cases, Call said, were types
of what was occurring to hundreds of
American citizens in Cuba, and it only
needed investigation by the Senate to
stake the cover off the scene of butchery."
As to a com bination of European powers
against the United States Call declared
that there was no danger OF such thing
n view of the effect which ii would have
on the masses of the people in European
countries and that the sympathies of man.
kind would be with the American Repu b.
lie in such struggle.
At the close OF Calls speech, which &C.
cupied over an hour the resolution call
ing for the correspondence in the case OF
"a n q q
luton instructing the President to de-
mand SanguiJy's immediate release.
The Senate then at l P. NJ. went into
executive session and after a short session
the doors were again opened and legisia-
tive business was resumed.
Senate bill to amend the act repeating
the timber culture laws was taken up and
passed, Pettigrew (R.) of South Dakota,
who reported it from the Committee on
Public Lands, explaining its provisions
and stating that it applied only to the
lands of the great Sioux reservation.
The House bill to provide for the APP
pointm~ mt by breyet of active or retired Of
ticers of the United States army was taken
from the calendar, amended in some
slight particulars and passed.
Senate joint resolution requesting the
Government of Great Britain TO pardon
Mrs. Floren E. Maybrick as an act of
gnanimity-whlch was reported ad-
verseiy last SeSslon-wes taken from the
calendar and indefinitely postponed.
At2 P. NJ the unfinished business was
taken up, being the House bill providing
for free homesteads on the public lands in
Oklahoma Territory. The Senate bill, as
it passed the House, referred only TO the
public lands in Oklahoma. AS reported
back by the Com mittee on Indian Affairs
it applies to al country lands acquired
from the various Indian tribes. The COM
mittee amendment provides that all sums
of money released, which if not released
would belong to any Indian tribe, shall be
paid to such Indian tribe by the United
States.
Pettigrew explained the bill at much
length, arguing that it was in the line
with the public policy of developing the
settlement OF new Western States.
In the course of the discussion letters
were read from the Interior Department
and from the Government Land Office,
stating that the bill, if restricted to Okla
homa, would result in a loss to the
Government of over $4,000, 600, and, if
applied to all lands acquired from Indians,
would result in loss of over $35, 900 0C0.
An argument in support of the bill was
made by Carter (R.) of Montana, who
urged that the free homestead policy of
the Government should not be changed
as to those Indian lands to the disadvant-
age of people seeking homes there. The
lands, he said, would either have to be
opened to homestead settlers or be given
over to the dominion of the cattle kings.
The bill went over without action, re-
naming as the unfinished business, and
at p. M. the Senate ad iourned until to-