The Monticellonian., 1898-03-25
NATIONAL LAWMAKERS.
fl Condensed Report of the Doings of Our Senators and Representatives in
 Washington.

THE senate on the lith passed number of unmportaat bills on he cal suaar among the number being one to construct eight new reye- nue cutters at cost not exceeding s2 235.0J0 A resolution was also passed to ask Spain to indemnify August BOften and GustaVe Riche lieu for wrongful imprisonment ill Cuba Sen ator Hoar (MaSS.) introduced bill prohibiting the importation into tue United States Of birds or their feathers for ornamental purposes Senator Foraker (O1 introduced bill provld- ing for the awarding ot public lands in the arid land states to individuals or corporations who may provide for their reclamation by irriga- tion not more than l0) QUO acres to be patented to any one company or person .... The proceed ingS in the house were devoid Of interest the time being spent in District of Columbia buSi- ness. Mir Newlands (NevD introduced a bill to create a public land commission and Mr. Henderson tIal one to prevent the usa of the United States flag as business advertisement or the use of any government publications as advertising mediums.
 THE blind chaplain of the senate on the 18th made a touching reference in his invocation to the death of Mrs Thurston the wife of the junior senator from Nebraska. Afterwards, upon motion Of Senator Allen (Neb1. the prayer was ordered printed in the Record. Alter numerous unimportant bills from the general calendar were passed the bill providing for national system of quarantine was taken up and debated. Senator Vest tMo). who is in charge of the measure offered as q committee amendment paragraph stating that nothing in the bill should be deemed to conflict with the right of any state to protect it's citizens from infectious diseases by such regulations as 1t might think necessary The bill was after wards laid aside and an executive session held An agreement was made in the house to consider the bill for the relief of the legal heirs of the victims and survivors Of the Maine disaster as soon as the post office appropriation bill which was taken up. was out of the way In the general latitude allowed in the debate Mr. Tawney tMinn.j made a speech in favor of annexfng the Hawaiian islands.
 THE senate on the l6th confirmed the uomi nation Of T. Y. Powderly to be commissioner of immigration by vote of B to %. Several unimportant bills were passed and then Sena- tor Davis tMina }, chairman of the committee on foreign relations, reported a resolution for annexing the Hawaiian islands 10 the United States IL was placed on the calendar .... The post office appropriation bill was before the house, but the subject was almost lost track of in the debate, the Cuhan-Spansh question be- ing brought up by Mr. Cochran tAtoD. In the discussion which followed MT Grosvenor 6O) took occasion 10 deny emphaticalIy the stories ahoat to the effect that the president desired an early adjournment of congress in order that he might effect a settlement without congress sional interference The subject of Hawaiian annexation also came in for some attention.
 AMONG the bills passed by the senate on the l7th was one to erect | statue of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, Pa, the commander of the =. A. R the secretary of War the com mauder Of the army and the governor ot Penn sylvania being named commissioners for carry ing out the work Senator r Proctor (Nt mad1 a lengthy speech on his trip in Cuba and de- picted the misery and woe on the island from disease and starvation. He said also that au- tonomy was an utter failure and the Spanards could only hold what their army sat upon Senator Stewart (NeYa gave notice of amendment he will offer to the naval Hppro- priatton bill to provide for the construction of IS coast defense monitors. The senate then adjourned until the 21st====M Mir Hull Ia) chair man Of The committee military affairs in- trodueed d bill reorganiziu1 the army ant placing il on q war footing for the full strength Of l04 001 men. The bill has baen carefully gone over by the war department MT Wheeler tAta introduced Il joint resolution for com mittee of five senators and five representatives to report an address to bs delivered to Spain declaring in firm language that Americans and American interests must be protected in Cuba.
 THE senate was not in session on the 18th. The house considered the post ofcs appro- priation bill but only two pages were disposed Of, most of the day being devoted 10 q discus sion of the merits of the pneumatic tube mai service in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. An effort Was made t0 have the appropriation of GOO for the purpose struck out. but 1t was not successful. The opponents of the ap- propriation Suecee led, however. in getting an amendment adopted that no additional con tracts for pneumatic tubes should be made.