The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-02-04
JERRY JOKES D|NaEY
About Wearing an English
Made Pot Hat.
RETURN OF PROSPERITY
Is Debated, to the Neglect of
Serious Business.

Washington, Feb. 3-The house spent
the day ostensibly considering the forti-
fcations appropriation bill. In reality,
the major portion of the time was con-
sumed in the discussion of political top
ics The existence of prosperity in this
country was again the main question of
dispute. The feature Of the day was the
discovery of Mr.. Simpson, the Kansas
Populist, and the exploitation of the al
legged fact, that Mr.. Dingley, chairman of
the ways and means committee, wore a
London-make pot-hat. Mr.. Dingley ex-
planned that the hat was made in New
York. The London trade mark was sim
ply placed there to please the Auglo-
Inaniacs VINO always preferred things be-
cause they were English. All attempts
to increase the appropriations in the for
tifications appropriation bill or to amend
it in any respect, were voted down to-
day.
washington, Feb. "A bill was passed
in the house today appropriating $4,000
Il
bility of securing 35-foot channel in the
southwest pass of the mississippi river.
The house then resumed consideration
of the Notifications appropriation bill.
The debate drifted directly into politics
and Mr.. Burke Dem, TeX) and Mr.
Grosvenor CRep., Ohio Joined issue on the
subject of Mckinley prosperity.
Mr.. Simpson Pop., Kan) followed and
again took up the controversy he had
few days ago with Mr.. Pitney CRep., n.
j over the trusts, which, he said, were
organized in New Jersey to prey on Kan
sas and other states. Sin a humorous
vein he said the people of New Jersey
were not to blame that LEGISLATION in that
state was knocked down to the highest
bidders, as they were the descendants Of
the Hessians.
When asked by Mr.. Sam Smith (Rep.,
Mich.) why he had done nothing 10 ex-
terminate the trusts, Mr. Simpson replied
that he was helpless in the house.
I'm this house." said he, 1.-The speaker is
the whole thing 1 had as well fight
bill in the Potomac river as in this house"
Mr.. Pitney in reply to Mr.. Simpson, re-
ferred indirectly to the fact that Mr.
Simpson was born in New Brunswick.
He rememgered, he said that after the
war Of the revolution many of the tories
and traitors in New England were de-
ported to the neighboring province of
New Brunswick. He did not mean to i'm
ply. he said, that Mr.. Simpsons ancestry
was necessarily tainted by that fact, but
he asserted his pride of his own ancestry.
He also paid a glowing tribute to his
state.
The political discussion was continued
by Messrs. Shafroth Pop. COLI, Gaines
Dem., Tenn), Mccall (Rep., Mass),
Green (Pop., Neb) and King Dem.,
Utah)
Mr. Foote (Rep., n. " then devoted
some time to the criticism of the fortifi-
cations bill At the rate of appropriations
privided in this bill he said it would
require fifteen years 10 carry out the
plans of the Endicott board. He asserted
that on the South Atlantic and Gulf
coasts there was not a gun that could be
fired in defense of the harbors.
Mr.. Hemenway CRep., Ind) in charge
of the bill, denied that these coasts were
defenseless. At Charleston, said he, there
were three ight-inch guns. one ten-inch
gun and eight mortars. If the coast was
in the condition represented by the gen
tleman from New York, he said, he would
be willing to appropriate $i0.0OOOoO. Mr..
Hemenway declared that the coast was
fairly well protected. not as well as he
would like 10 see it, or as it would be.
The pending bill carried every dollar
which the government could afford to APP
pirate at this time.
Mr.. Livingston CDem., Ga.) read some
statements from southern papers charg-
ing that in the distribution of munitions
of war, New Orleans and other southern
ports had been neglected. Mr. Livingston
said he had no knowledge on this point,
but he proposed to make inquiry of the
proper authorities and if the allegations
should prove true, he warned the house