The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-03-12
MILLIONS FOR E
A Grand Vote of Confidence in
the President.
Fifty Millions of Dollars Voted by the
House, Without a Dissenting Voice,
to. be Observation-Disclosures for
National Defense.

WAsHiNGToN, March 9.-Yesterday,
in a spirit of patriotism, with eln-
quent words ringing in their ears every
member, of the house of representa-
tiveS responded to the presidents first
call to meet the Spanish situation by
casting his vote for a bill placing in
President McKinley's hands $50, 900, 900
to be expended at his discretion
for the national defense. Party
lines were swept away and
with a unanimous voice congress
voted its confidence in the administra-
ton: Many members who We're paired
with absent colleagues. took the re-
s~ponsibility, of breaking. their pairs, an
unprecedented thing in legislative an
mails. in order that they might be on
record in support of this vast appro-
priation to maiatain tire dignity and
honor of their country. Speaker. Reed.
who, as the presiding officer. seldom
votes exception case Of a tie, had his
name called and voted in his capacity
as Il representative.
The scene of enthusiasm which greet
ed the announcement of the vote
ayes, 311; nays, O-has seldom been
paralleled in the house. All daY long
the galleries We're damned with en-
thusiastic spectators a~pplauding to the
echo the sterling patriotism of the
words of ~eloquence which were ut
tered by the members on the floor. All
the speeches were brief. Although
four hours were allowed for debate, so
great was the pressure for time that no
II member was given more than five
minutes, and most of them had to con-
tent themselves with a beggarly frac-
ton of Il minute. In all 50 speeches
were made.
With one acclaim members of the
north and south, the east and the west,
the states and the territories, battle
! SCARED veterans of the Union and the
Confederate armies, all joined in pro-
claiming their support of the cOuntry's
chief magistrate in the face of i posi-
bic foreign a
Gen. Grosvenor, of Ohio. said that il
war did not come, the S50.O 900, 900 ap-
propriated by this bill would be wisely
expended, if it only served to show the
world that when threatened from with
out the hearts of the American people
beat as one.
In the whole debate there was only
a slight discordant note caused by the
speech of Gen. Bingham, of Pennsyl-
vania, a gallant soldier. who served
with distinction under Hancock. He
spoke too conservativelyfor the aroused
temper of the house, and when he in
sisted that our relations with Spain
were as friendly as they had been for
years, many of the members Kissed
him.
While almost every member who
spoke deprecated the possibility of
war, a wide divergence of opinion as to
how close were hostilities. manifested
itself in the debate. The general con-
tention by the majority, among them
the leaders on both sides, was that this
appropriation, by preparing for war,
would prove the surest guarantee of
peace. Others insisted that wars
alarms would soon be heard, and Mr..
Mann, of Illinois, declared that war ac-
tually existed in all save name.
The speeches which attracted most
I attention were those of Messrs. Can
non. Henderson and Deliver, on the
| republican side, and Messrs. Bailey
and Sayers. on the democratic side.