The herald., 1898-01-20
FIGHTING
FOR CUBA
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/
Continued from Page one.)
would precipitate some slight discus
| sion.
| A bill authorizing the Attorney Cen
eral, the Secretary of the Treasury and
the Secretary of War to compromise and
adjust certain claims of the United
States against the State of Tennessee.
and the State of Tennessee against the
United States, was passed.
| A joint resolution providing for the
appointment of commission to make
survey of ship canal from the lower
part of Lake Michigan to the Wabash
River was offered and referred to the
Committee on Commerce.
| Mr.. Hoar offered resolution relative
to the recent order of the Postmaster
General reducing the number OF letter
carriers in some of the large cities on
account of deficiency In the free de-
livery appropriation. the resolution pro-
viding that the Committee on Postofhces
and Postroads should Immediately as
certain what amount was necessary to
preserve the postal free delivery service
of the country. For his resolution, Mr..
Hoar asked immediate consideration.
| He thought the question was most I'M
portant one, affecting, as it does, hum
dreds of thousands of people who receive
mail.
This order of the postmaster gener-
al" declared Hoar. created consterna-
ton among business men. The order
was based upon a deficiency in the ap-
preparation for free delivery of about
$3.50, 900. All that is needed to remedy the
difficulty encountered by the postoffice
department, and which confronts the
business men of the country, is small
appropriation. 1t is absolutely intoler-
| able" said Hoar. that this great branch
Of the public service should stop or be
crippled. Many of the smaller cities of
the country are to be deprived practical
ly of the mail delivery facilities, and it
is time that something be done to avoid
serious business embarrassment"
| Allison urged that the postmaster gen.
aral be sent a resolution inquiring why
the issuance of such an order as had
provoked this discussion was necessary,
and what remedy would be necessary. No
suggestion had been made to the COM
nittee on appropriations that the post
master general has not at his disposal
sufficient funds to meet the needs Of his
department.
At this point wolcott said that he de-
| sired to call the senate's attention to the
real basis of the trouble with the f1nan-
cial affairs of the postoffice department.
1T is we'll understood" said Wolcott,
that the second class mail of this coun-
try absorbs 65 per cent Of the expenses
Of the postoffice department and sup
plies only about 3 per cent of the rev.
anues. This is the serious point of the
discussion, and if congress should enact
into law the measure relating to second
class matter which will be before con-
gress the recurrence of the present diff
Guilty will be obviated."
Mr.. Wolcott then called attention to
the opposition of the publishers of New
England to the enactment of the bill
restricting second-class matter.
Allen of Nebraska spoke sarcasticaliy
of the good times the people of New
England were having under the Ding
| ley law, with their strikes and lock-outs.
| He thought that a good many OF them
would not have time to go to the post
office to get their mail if it was not
promptly delivered by carrier.
The great point involved in the dis
cussion of postoffice finances was tbs
charge that there was an annual leak
age of from eight to ten million dollars
on account of the underweighing of mail
matter.
at is most remarkable" said Mr.
Allen, "that charges of such gravity
should be made in the public prints and
yet that the party in power should re-
main with reference to them as silent as
the grave. If we only had the nerve to
take hold of these frauds and eradicate
them we should have money enough to
put corps of efficient letter carriers IN
every city in the land"
Mr.. Chandler objected to the present
consideration of the Hoar resolution
suggested by Mr.. Allison, and it went
over.
Mr.. Chandler presented and secured
the passage of a resolution directing
the committee on interstate commerce
to INQUIRE whether the fund provided for
in rules 16 and II of the joint traffic as
sociation is lawfully in existence, to
examine the details of it's expenditure,
as to whether or not it had been ex-
pended for lawful purposes and whether
any illegal or improper use of the funds
could be prohibited and punished by
law.
Mr.. Hansbrough called up bill which
had been sent to the senate by the house
providing that receivers Of public mon
eys should be responsible under their
bonds for all money received by them
| from the sale of Indian lands. The bill
passed the senate on Monday, but Mr..
| Hansbrough's desire was that the bill
should be enacted into a law by the pas
| sage of the house bill. The bill was
passed.
Mr.. Tillman presented a resolution for
| which he asked immediate considera-
| tion, extending the authority of the in
terstate commerce commission so that
| it might inquire to what extent rail-
| road companies issue passes, whether
the railroads gave transportation for
any other consideration than cash and
what arrangements they had witt
newspapers regarding transportation.
Mr.. Cullom, chairman Of the commit
| tee objected to the consideration of the
resolution, as it would involve a long
and tedious investigation by the commit
| tee, which was anxious to get some
bills before congress during the pres
| ant session. He said that he had no de-
sire to evade the truth in any part of
the investigation, but was satisfied that
the committee now had sufficient testi-
| mony before it to indicate the need of
| stringent legislation. 1t had been
| shown, he said, that in the scalpine