The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-15
GREED OF OFFICE.
GrOsVenOr and His Following
Seize Every Opportunity
To Push the Fight Against the
Civil Service.
SHORT SESSIONS HELD.
Both Houses of Congress Ad-
jOurned Early
Out of Respect to President Me-
Kinley and His Bereavement.

Washington, Dec. 15.-The house yes
terday at session of about two hours,
adjourned out of sympathy for the
president, whose mother was buried at
Canton in the afternoon. The time of
the session was devoted to the cOnsid-
Grafton of the legislative, executive and
the judicial appropriation bill 1t was
decided to postpone consideration of
the item providing for the maintenance
of the civil service commission until
after the other features of the bill had
been concluded. It was apparent from
the remarks made that the entire sub
ject viii be exhaustively debated. There
is seemingly no disposition to curtail
the discussion and it probably will not
be concluded before the holiday recess.
So absorbing i sthe topic that almost
the entire time, despite the fact that
the consideration of the question had
been technically postponed, was con-
sumed in the debate upon it.
Mr.. GrOsvenOr (Rep., % under whose
direction the fight on the civil service
law is being made, expressed the Opin-
ion that the bill should not be pressed
TO final vote until after the holidays.
Mr.. Barrett (Rep-, Mass.) took the
floor and made some general remarks
in support of the civil service law, in
the course of which he referred to the
slender minority against the civil SER
vice law when it passed the house in
1888.
Mr.. Cannon QI) and Bingham, CPa.)
extension Of the law by executive or
ders. The latter explained that the law
was passed under suspension of the
rules. practically without debate, and
never contemplated an extension by ex-
ecutiVe orders that would cover 81 900
government employees.
Mr.. Barrett, continuing insisted that
It was a republican measure, passed
by Republican votes and that the party
was irreVOcably committed to the pol
icy of civil service reform.
7vr sold h ma
willing to give q hearing on the civil
service question and he did not propose
to give a judgment in advance.
Mr.. GrOsvenor commended this state
ment All he asked was that the house
should honestly consider the question
and give its careful judgment. THE
statesmanship that does not do its own
thinking he said, the craftsmanship
that only respects what others say is
the craftsmanship the parrot displays
in the course of his morning ablutiOns."
(Laughter).
Mr.. Dockery Dem., NOD discussed
the immense growth of the expenditure
of the government during the recent
years. The ordinary expenses of the
government, exclusive of the public
debt, during the last eight years eX-
ceeded the figures of the preceding
eight years by $1,000 900 in round num-
bers- In view of this fact there were
only two ways, he said, to bring the
receipts and expenses together. Either
taxation must be increased or expenses
I'll ee-4ACtA- II the G@ApGAiSGS were ~ bG
reduced congress alone could not ac-
complish much without the aid of the
executive branch of the government.
Despite the presidents appeal in his
message for economy, the executive
branches Of the government had sub
mitted TO congress estimates for apprO-
priatiOns of S27, ,000, 900 in excess of the
appropriations for the current year.
At this point the committee rose and
Mr.. GrOsvenOr, (Rep., OhiO) addressing
the chair. said: Mr.. Speaker, as is
we'll known the funeral exercises of the
mother of the chief magistrate of the
nation are to take place at this hour
and therefore, conforming to the action
of the senate as a token of our sympa-
thy and respect for the president Imove
that the house do now adjourn
The motion was unanimously carried.