The Portland daily press., 1898-03-11
House Fails to Concur in Senate
Amendment.
PROVIDING FOR FREE ENTRY OF
CEDED INDIAN LANDS.
Free Homesteaders Made a Good Fight
But the Odds Against Them We're Too
Large-seminole Treaty Also Nom
concurred In.

hours the Senate amendment to the
Indian appropriation bill providing for
the free entry of ceded Indian lands was
today non-conourred in by vote of SO to
1876. The friends of the free home clause
made gallant struggle, but they met the
opposition of some of the prominent lead
ers on the Republican side, Messrs. Ding
ley, Grosvenor, Dalzell and Payne, and
they were further weakened by the fact
that many of the friends Of the proposi-
tion were alienated by the belief that as
drawn, the amendment would work in
| jury to the agricultural colleges of the
country The Senate amendment for the
ratification of the Seminole treaty was al
SO non. concurred in after the substitute
proposition offered by the sonferees to
ratify the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache
treaty had fallen under point of order.
The action of the House today sends the
renee in all the Senate amendments.
| Washington, March 10.-Rev. j.. Man
ton Smith of Spurgeon's g Tabernacle, Lon
don, delivered the Invocation in the
| House today.
| A resolution was adopted directing the
Secretary of War to loan to the citizens
committee of Cincinnati tents for the use
of the thirty second grand encampment
Of the Grand Army Of the Republic.
| The House then went into committee
of the whole and resumed consideration
/ of the excepted Senate amendments to the
Indian appropriation bill. The pending
question coming over from yesterday was
the motion of Mr.. Shafroth, Populist
of Colorado to conour in the free home
clause placed in the bill by the Senate.
Two hours and half Of the four hours
agreed upon yesterday for debating this
proposition remained. Mr. Handy, Dem
| OCrat Of Delaware, advocated an amend
ment to the free home clause SO as to
amend the act of 1869 for tho endowment
of agricultural colleges SO as to strike
out the words "arising out of the sales of
the public lands If this amendment
was not made, he declared that the sixty
four colleges Of the United States which
now received money from the sales Of
pu bl.c lands would suffer.
| Mr.. Lacey, Republican of Iowa, gave
notice that he would move to concur with
an amendment to exclude from the opera
tions of the free home clause the trnst
lands aggreRating about 10000, 600 acres
situated principally in the Sioux and
| Chippewa nations.
| Mr.. Norris Republican Of Minnesota,
antagonized the opposition of Mr.. Lacey,
referring to the fact that a bill embracing
| all, the reservations named In the amend
Inent had twice passed the Senate. ''In
the last Congress" said he, "the bill
came back here and died on the Speaker 8
| table because the chairman OF the public
land commission, (Lacy) then drew the
illogical distinction regarding trust lands
and because, perhaps the Speaker of the
| House opposed the bill. u"
| The debate was very spirited on both
sides. Mr.. johnson, Republican of Indi-
ana, created n sensation by charging that
Secretary Bliss in his opposition to the
free home clause not only procured his
argument, but actually plagiarized his
language from the message of James
fore the var. He asserteds that the secre-
tary's interests, sympathiess and horizon
| were bounded by the Allegheny noun
| tairs and as q matter Of fact he never Lad
been west Of Buffalo.
| Mr.. Bailey, the Democratic leader, an
nounced that he would vote for the SEN
ate amendment because he stood COM
an original proposition he adm tilted he
was against giving free homesteads to the
people.
opposed the amendment. He thought that
free home bill should have strength
enough to come into the House and stand
or fall alone on its merits.
Mr.. Dalzell, RepublicanE.so Pennsyl-
vania, also opposed the amendment. He
denied the right of Congress to tax the
farmers of Pennsylvania to give free
farms to the farmers of Oklahoma, North
and South Dakota and Minnesota. Mr..
Grow, Republican of Pennsylvania,
xol
stead laws, supported the amendment.
MIR. Dingley, Republican of Maine, closed
the debate with brief speech In opposi-
tion to the amendment. He called the at
tention to the fact that all treaties ced1ng
Indian land by the United States had
been ratified by Congress with the under,
standing that the purchase money paid
the United States. Never had a PROPOSE
ton been made to purchase Indian lands
for the purpose of donating item to free
homes To his mind it was an act of bad
faith on the part of those who had In.
duced Congress to buy these lands.
Mr. Handy's motion to concur with an
amendment changing tho law relative to
payments to agricultural colleges for the
| sale of public lands was ruled out on a
point of order.
MIR. Lacey, Republican of Iowa, then
| offered his motion to concur with an
amendment excluding trust rsservatio ms.
| 1t was voted down 10 to 1873.
Two other amendments designed to pro-
tect the payments to agricultural colleges
were ruled out by Mr.. Hepburn, who was
| in the chair, on poinst of order.
| The vote was then taken on the main
proposition and the House non-con CURED
| in the Senate amendment 80 to 1885,
| conference substitute for the Senate
amendment to ratify the Seminole treaty
| which also ratified the Kiowa, Comanohe
and Apache treaty went out on point
of order and the Senate amendment was
| non-concurred in.
The bill was then sent to conference
and at 5.47 the House adjourned.
IN THE SENATE.
| Washington. March lO.-The Rev. Ed !,
wardgEverett Hale of Boston, delivered
the Invocation at the opening of the oeh-
ate today.
y A bill granting to the Norwich ana
Worcester Railroad company rlghS OF
way through the naval station at new .y v,
London, Conn, was passed; also nlll
changing the name of the United S1ases