The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-14
Blizzard Was So Fierce that Few
Members Attended Either Branch
of Congress Yesterday.
CITATIONS WRITTEN In VAIN
LINCOLN DAY SPELL-BINDERS COULD
NOT GET OUT OF THE CITY.
Speaker Reed Remained by His Fire
side, but the House Refused to Adj
journ-Senate Proceedings.

blizzard caused practically a suspension of
business at the House to-day. The great
marble Capitol looked like a snow palace.
The edges, facades and parapets were
banked with snow on the drives, and on the
plaza in front of the building the snow had
drifted into great pillows in some places
ten feet deep. Not a car line approached the
buildings but a few members of the House
managed to reach the Capitol in sleighs and
carriages, and the employees trudged and
lahored through the deep snow and binding
storm to reach their posts of duty. The hall
of the House was as dark as a cellar. The
snow banked up on the ground glass cell
ings, shut out the light and half hour
before noon, the hour for the House to con-
vene, the lights were turned on to relieve
the gloom. The committee meetings, with
but one or two exceptions, were not held.
The few members of the House who
rived had no thought of anything save the
weather They stood about the weather map
in the lobby in the rear of the hall discuss
ing temperatures and snow fall and record
breaking in all parts of the country and it
was the unanimous verdict of the Oldest
member in the group that nothing APP
preaching the present cold spell and snow
fall had been known in Washington in their
experience. The nearest approach to it was
the blizzard of 1888, which cut Washington
off for a week from communication by rail-
| read and telegraph.
Speaker Reed did not appear at the Capt.
toll but sent word to his lieutenants that
in his opinion, it was inadyisable to hold a
session of the House to-day and, after con-
sulting several members of the majority.
/ General Henderson, of Iowa, who had
| braVed the storm decided 1t would be best
to adjourn Immediately after assembling.
General HENDERSON nad an engagement 10
speak at East Orange, n. j.. to-day, but
found that he could not get there by rail.
Mr. DolliVer, of Iowa, was to speak al
Sunday school gathering i'll Newark, n. j.
General GrosVenOr, of Ohio, slated for
a speech at the Marquette Club, in Chicago,
| tonight, but could not get away, and Rep
resentatives Lacey, of Iowa; Mann of Ili-
nois, and Packer, of Pennsylvania, with AS
sistant Secretary of State Hill were to have
| spoken at the Lincoln banquet tonight at
| WilliamSport, Pa.
Some of the members had ludicrous ex-
periences in their efforts to get to the Capt.
tol. Mr.. Cannon, of Illinois, the veteran
chairman of the appropriations committee,
was tumbled out OF sleigh into a snow
bank as he was coming up Capitol hill
Some of the Republican leaders were dis
| posed 10 go ahead with the session to-day
| and an attempt was made to communicate
with the speaker but he could not be
reached at his hotel by telephone.
REFUSED TO ADJOURN.
At 1906 Clerk Mcdowell called the House
to order There were about sixty members
on the floor Mr.. Payne moved that the
House adjourn, but there were cries of No
from the little circle Of members. most of
whom held in their hands bills which they
hoTed to pass by unanimous consent. The
motion voted down . to A. On motion
of Mr. Grosvenor (Rep., o. Mr.. Payne, of
New York, was elected speaker pro tenn.
amid an outburst of applause District dav
nOGfp0na1 until Thursday he
House. on Mr.. Cannon's motion, then went
| into committee Of the whole. Mr. Hopkins,
of Illinois, in the chair. and resumed con-
sideTation of the sundry civil bill.
Mr.. Cannon asked unanimous consent that
Mr.. Hepburn be allowed TO offer the Mica
ragua canal bill amendment at such point in
the bill as he should see fit, all points Of
order TO be reserved. He made the request,
he said in order that there might be a fllI
house when the amendment was considered
MIR. Corliss made a similar request regard
ing the Pacific cable BILL whereupon Mr..
Cannon withdrew 1t.
A resumption of the discussion of the re-
ceipts and expenditures of the treasury,
which attracted considerable attention last
week, was again pTecipitated by Mr. Sulzer
(Dem., N W who offered some figures as
to the cost of the steamship subsidy bill
Mr.. Cannon reiterated his statement of
last week regarding the ship subsidy bill
and the Nicaragua canal bill.
Mr.. Payne. chairman OF the committee
which reported the subsidy BILL said he well
coined any information that would throw
light on the BILL but he protested against
alarming statements as to the deficiencies in
advance. Estimates did not always coin
eide with appropriations. AS an Illustration
he cited the fact that the estimates for the
army bill had ranged as high as $145. 600 600
whereas the military committee had pre-
pared IA bill carrying less than $50 900 600 He
asked why Mr. Cannon had not thrown his
influence against the public buildings bills
a few d;ys ago. Those bills, he said, would
take more money from the treasury next
year than both the subsidy and canal bills
together.
Mr.. Cannon declared that if the army bill
carried but $50 100000 there would be a deficit
on that account of $40, 0000O0
Mr.. Berry (Dem.. Ky) made a spirited
speech, scoring some of the economists of
the House who were shouting for economy
and reaching their hands into the treasury
at every opportunity. He attacked the
steamship subsidy BILL charging that the
/, decay of our merchant marine was attribu-
table TO the ruinous protective policy of the
Republican party.
Mr.; Williams (Dem., Miss) declared that
the cream or Eastern empire was already a
failure. With the ratification of the Dea &c
treaty peace and commercial EXPANSION were
to come. Instead there was war the pros
pect of long bloody and expensive war
and now owing to the great expenditures
involved in the East the construction of the
Nicaragua canal which would furnish a real
basis for commercial expansion was to he
postponed.
After having completed fifty-nine pages of
the Dill the committee rose at las D. m. and
the House adjourned
DEBATE IN THE SENATE.
The McEnery Resolution Discussed