The herald., 1898-03-11
FREE HOME ADVOCATES
MAKE A GALLANT BUT USELESS
STRUGGLE
ALL SENATE AMENDMENTS
Non-Concurred in by the House and
the Indian Bill Sent Back
to Conference y.
Associated Press Special wire

WASHINGTON, March 10.-After de.
bate in the house which lasted more than
five hours the senate amendment to the
Indian appropriation bill providing for the
free entry of ceded Indian lands, was to-
day non-concurred in by vote Of 80 to 1876.
The friends of the free home clause made
a gallant struggle, but they met the OPP
position of some of the prominent leaders
on the Republican side, Messrs. Dingley,
Grosvenor, Dalzell and Payne, and they
were further weakened by the fact that
many Of the friends of the proposition
were alienated by the belief that as drawn,
the amendment would work injury to the
agricultural colleges of the country. The
senate amendment for the ratification of
the SeDinole treaty was also non-concur-
red in after the substitute proposition Of
fered by the conferees to ratify the Kiowa,
Comanche and Apache treaty had fallen
under point Of order. The action of the
house today sends the bill back to confer
ence with non-concurrence on all the SEN
ate amendments.
A resolution was adopted directing the
secretary of war to loan the citizens COM
mittee of Cincinnati tents for use in the
thrity-second grand encampment Of the
G. A. r.
| A bill was passed granting to the Shreve-
port Bridge and Terminal company the
ilSHI ~ COIlStTuCL d DTluSe ACROSS LuG tteQ
river at Shreveport, La.
The house then went into committee Of
the whole and resumed consideration Of
the excepted senate amendments to the
Indian bill. The pending question coming
over from yesterday was the motion Of
Eddy of Minnesota, Republican, to concur
In the free homestead clause placed in the
bill by the senate.
Two hours and a half of the four agreed
on yesterday for debating this proposition
remained. Handy of Delaware, Demo-
crat, advocated an amendment to the free
| home clause, SO as to amend the act of
1852 for the endowment Of agricultural COL
leges. to as to strike out the words ''arising
out of the sales of public lands If this
amendment was not made, he declared thai
the sfxty-four colleges of the United States
which now received money from the sale
OF public lands, would suffer. Lacey of
Iowa, Republican, gave notice that he
would move to concur with an amendment
to exclude from the operations of the free
home clause the trust lands, aggregating
about 100000 acres. situated principally
in the Sioux and Chippewa reservations.
| Morris of Minnesota, Republican, antag-
| onized the interposition of Mr.. Lacey, re-
ferring to the fact that a bill embracing
all reservations In this amendment had
twice passed the senate
I'm the last congress-" said he, "the bill
| came back here and died on the speakers =
| table. because the chairman of the public
lands committee (Mr. Lacey then drew
this illogical distinction regarding trust
lands and because, perhaps, the speaker
of the house opposed the BILL"
The debate was very spirited on both
sides. johnson of North Dakota, Repub-
lican. created something of a sensation by
| charging that Secretary Bliss in his oppo.
sition to the free home clause, not only
procured his argument, but actually pla-
giarized his language from the message Of
James Buchanan vetoing the homestead
| bill before the war. He followed his state
ment with an attack upon the secretary.
asserting that his interests. sympathies
and horizon were bounded by the Allie
gheny mountains, and as a matter of fact
he had never been west of Buffalo.
Mr.. Bailey, the Democratic leader, an.