The Saint Paul globe., 1899-02-11
DAY OF SENSATIONS
DULLNESs OF APPROPRIATION
MEASURE DEBATE WAS SUD-
DENLY ENLIVENED
CASE OF GEN. EAGAN CITED
MIR. Kirkpatrick Arraigns the Pres
ident for Committing the Sem
tence of Gen. Eagan-CIaims He
Was Rewarded for Attacking
Gen. Miles, Who Dared to Tell the
Truth About Army Abuses.

|
Gen. Miles, Who Dared to Tell the
Truth About Army Abuses.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10.-General de-
bate on the sundry civil appropriation
was concluded today. The speakers
during the day touched a variety of
topics.
Mr.. Dockery, of Missouri, who is at
the head of the minority of the appro-
priations committee. reinforced Mr..
Cannon's figures of yesterday. as to
the deficiency in the revenues. Had
1t been made earlier he said, the coun-
try might have been saved many mil
lions of dollars. Mr.. Dockery produced
figures to show that there was already
in sight a deficiency of $60,000,000 for
the next fiscal year. But this was ex-
elusive Of the additional expenditure
or $500 900 involved in the naval per-
sCnnel bill, the new ships to be au-
thorized in the naval appropriation bill,
the Cuban claims, the $11 900, 900 for
public buildings, and the enormous eX
penditures involved in the Hanna
Payne subsidy bill, and the bill for the
construction of the Nicaragua canal
should either of these latter bills be
passed. After the Civil war, he said
congress had revelled and rioted in the
substance of the people, but the Forty
fourth congress had come. Another
| Forty-fourth congress called not by
that name, however, 1t might be the
Fifty-seventh it might not be until the
Fifty -eighth-but one would come.
animated by the spirit that controlled
the Forty-fourth. and it would cut
down the tax burdens Of the people.
Mr.. Johnson (Rep., Ind.) asked how
the expenditures could be reduced un-
der the foreign policy entered upon by
the administration.
Mr.. Dockery replied that circum-
| stances would probably necessitate
| large increases in the cost of our mill
tary and naval establishments, but he
did believe there could be a great re-
! duction in governmental expenditures.
You mean then, interposed Mr..
Johnson, that we must cut down the
expenses for. our internal affairs at
| home in order that we may be able to
| support a great army and navy
| abroad"
is about right" replied Mr. Dockery.
| Somewhere the pruning knife must
| be laid, or else the tax burdens Of the
people must be increased
SPEAKER SCORED.
Mr.. De Almond Oem., Mo- argued
that if the people were to be made to
tax should be imposed. Mr.. De Almond,
speaking of the causes Of the war, de-
clared that great injustice had been
done the speaker of the house 1t was
said everywhere that the speaker had
! been opposed to the war. Yet he de-
clared no solitary man in the country,
no dozen men. in fact, had done SO
much to make war inevitable as the
speaker. He had suppressed debate in
l,,1 ate,
and consciences of members. President
| Mckinley, if he had been here would
not have dared to do so much. The
waters had been damned up until the
flood was inevitable. At last the in
! dignation throughout the country and
| the wholly unexpected blowing. up Of
the Maine, broke the flood gates.
Turning the question Of the future
Mr.. De Almond declared that all his
tory proved that when republics turn
ed toward Imperialism it was only a
| question of time when the end came.
There was no goal. We were travelling
a, new road. All our grand heritage
was to be abandoned. Should we not
pause before we made the plunge. In
| conclusion he appealed to the members
to break their shackles, rise in their
dignity and assert themselves in favor
of America in America, in favor Of
free government at home and opposed
to oppression the world over. If con-
| gress expired without acting all mat
ters We're allowed to drift on, the die
| would be cast. Our pride, our vanity
would be appealed to- There would
be protests against parting with the
| Philippines. They were ours, it would
be argued. because we had paid for
| them; they were ours because we had
shed our blood for them.
Mr.. Gillet (Rep, Mass.) declared that
| honorably rid of the Philippines than
to pay $20,O00,0 900 to keep them. The
islands could. in his opinion. never be
| Americanized. Corruption and de-
moralization would creep In, and there
could be no compensating advantages.
NICARAGUA BILL.
Mr. Hepburn (Rep., Io.), chairman Of
the committee on interstate and for
eign commerce. created something Of
a sensation at the conclusion Of Mr..
Gillett's remarks by giving notice that
at the proper time he would offer the
| Nicaragua canal bill as an amendment
to the sundry civil bill. The announce
ment was greeted with applause by
the friends of the measure. He had
been moved to take this course, he
declared. by the statement of Mr..
Cannon yesterday. that the bill would
l..
Hepburn argued that the amendment
would be in order and could properly
be placed upon the bill.
CASE OF EAGAN.
Mr.. Lentz Dem. Ohio) concluded
the debate for the day with denun-
citation of the president for committing
the sentence of Commissary General
Eagan. He declared that Gen. Eagan's s
attack upon Gen. Miles had no parallel
in military history. He had called Gen.
Miles liar for simply telling the
truth, to which $4,000 private soldiers
could testify. The troops had been fed
rotten food. said Mr.. Lentz, and Gen.
Eagan was to be suspended for six
years with pay and then to be retired
with three-fourths pay, because he
had denounced the truth as lie. He
was to be rewarded for attacking Gen.
Miles. With his pay during his sus-
pension and calculating the length of
his life according to recognized NOR
tality, Gen. Eagan would draw $78, 900
from the treasury after he had been
convicted by court martial of most
heinous offense against military dis
cipline.
Wednesday. Feb. %, was set apart
for having tribute to the memory of