The record-union., 1898-03-12
|CLAIMS BILL
BEFORE The HOUSE.
Dilatcry Tactics Resorted to to Pre-
vent Progress.
Only Two Pages Completed When the Hour
Of Adjournment Arrived.
The Bill Provides Cor the Payment
Of the Bowman Act Claims, Ag-
gregating $1,2OO,OOO, for Stores
and Supplies Furnished the I'm

and Supplies Furnished the I'm
ion Army During the Civil War.
WASHINGTON, March 1.-THE bill
to pay the Bowman Act claims aggre-
eating 81. 200, 900, for stores and sup
plies furnished the Union army during
the wal, was before the House until D
O'Clock to-day. but beyond completing
the general debate. little progress was
made. OF the 500 odd claims in the
bill, all but a few came from the South.
and dilatory tactics We're resorted to to
prevent progress with the bill. During
the iilibustering the House was in an
uproaI. At ) o'clock, after completing
two RACES of the bill, the House re-
cessed until O'Clock, for an evening
session TO be devoted to pension leg
islation. After the evening session the
House adjourned over until Monday.
Under the special order made last
week, to-day was set aside for the con-
sideration Of the bill containing pro-
vision for claims aggregating 81, 100000
reported by the Court Of Claims under
the provisions Of the Bowman Act.
Hull R.l of Iowa. Chairman of the
Military Affairs Committee. reported a
complete agreement By the conferreeS
on the army appropriation bill. The
report was agreed to without debate.
The House then went into committee
of the whole and took up the special
order.
Load of California demanded the
reading of the bill, which covers eighty
pages
Dalzell (R) of Pennsylvania, before
the debate began, made the point of
order against the bill that it was not
competent for the War Claims Commit
tee to report a bin containing $40
claims, each of which should be the
subject of a separate bill.
The Chairman of the committee OF
the whole payne of New York; ruled
that the point came too late.
The general debate then proceeded,
under an agreement that it be limited
to two hours.
Gibson R.) of Tennessee, in opening
the debate, explained the nature of the
claims. All of them We're for stores and
supplies furnished to the United States
army by loyal citizens. The loyalty
of the claimants had been Affirmative
ly proven. The claims. he said, We're
distributed as follows by States: Ala
hanna go. Arkansas sc Georgia A. IL
linois / Kansas 3, Kentucky J6. Lou
isiana 30, Maryland 70, Mississippi 100.
Missouri 81. New York l. North Caro-
lima -. Ohio ,, Oregon l. Pennsylva
MIA +, South Carolina . Tennessee $50,
Virginia 66. West Virginia 46.
Diugley, the Republican floor leader,
opposed the bill in an earnest speech.
He insisted that members who mag
ined that the findings of the Court of
Claims in these cases constituted a lia-
bility against the Government is mis-
taken. The court simply found certain
facts. He was perfectly willing, he
said, to take UP these claims separately
and pass upon their merits.
Richardson Cd of Tennessee. in adj
vocating the passage of the bill, called
attention to the fact that % per cent
of the claims submitted to it were re-
jected. OF the original claimants re-
lieved by this BILL he said, So per cent
were dead.
E,vrls Q2) of Kentucky, in advocat-
ing the bill, said that the Republican
leader Dingley) set up q scarecrow to
frighten members when he had alleged
that the passing of this bill would
establish q precedent which would per-
nit Southern claimants to loot the
Treasury. He pointed out that one OF
the first war claims passed by the
House at the session was one to pay n
citizen of Maine (William S. Grant,
SIS, 200 Dinsley's voice had not been
raised against that claim. although it
had. unlike these claims, been rejected
by The Court of Claims, and the rejec-
ton lIad been approved by the Su-
prene Court Of the United States. 1t
was only when these separate claims
were brought in that the distinguished
Republican leader cried out against
imaginary raids upon the Treasury.
After some further debate by Dalzef
and Grosvenor against the bill, and by
Ott1.n (R.) of Wisconsin in favor Of it,
the reading Of the bill for amendment
began.
Moody R) of Massachusetts, as soon
as the cnacting clause had been read,
offered as an amendment q bill CEN
tanning the French spoilation claims.
The reading of the bill was demanded
as "a flibustering movement. 1t con-
tanned forty-seven pages.
Manon Qt) of Pennsylvania Chair
man Of the Committee on War Claims,
warned Mr.. Moody, whom, he said. was
deeply interested in the French spoila-
ton claims, that if ar attempt was
made to force the reading of this
amendment. as q Elibustering movement
the hill would eventually pass, but he
would take good care that the French
spoilation claims did rot pass
Moody denied that he had offered the
amcndment for purposes OF delay. He
asked that the reading be dispensed
with. but Hopkins (R.) of Illinois OBJ
jectel.
Thereupon Williams CD of Missis-
sipp made the point that the amend
ment was out OF order.
The Chair finally ruled the amend
ment out.
Speaking to pro lorna point of or
der. Lewis CDl OF Washington COM
mentad upon q dispatch in to-day's pa
pers from Ottawa. giving the details OF
an alleged agreement between Canada
and the United States regarding the
Alaskan boundary line. Lewis said
that if the reported agreement was
true, il was a complete surrender of
the United States. and would give Can
ada Dyea. White Pass. Summit Lake,
and territory and property worth u bill
lion dollars.
Without making any progress with