Evening star., 1899-03-04
A Long and Bitter Fight on the Dis
trict Bill.
ISPUTE ON ELECTRIC LIGHTING
The House, After an AIl-Night
Session, Yields.
G o N F E r E ES AG RE

1t was nearly eight o'clock this morning.
after continuous all-night session, when
Mr.. Grout, in charge Of the District appro-
priation bill. came into the House of Rep
resentatives with agreement between
the conferees on all the disputed points in
the bill.
All through the night the conferees had
wrestlad with the Senate conferees, twice
reporting a disagreement. 1t was remark
able fight and was stubbornly contested by
all the parties at issue.
The agreement Is explained in full else
here in The Star.
Mr.. Henderson of Iowa bitterly criticised
the striking out of the appropriations for
the orphan asylums under control Of So
called sectarian institutions. He said the
House was brought face to face with
proposition to leave the orphans unpro-
tected.
Mr.. Grout said it was a mistake to assert
that no provision was made for the Or
phans. The board of children's guardians
were given a liberal appropriation.
Mr.. Henderson eloquently pleaded for the
orphans and paid a warm tribute to the
devotion of those who brought them up
He said he proposed, although not Cath
olic, to defend them, and that in face of the
fact that an A. P. A. organization was To-
invective against those who would bend the
knee to tyranny worse than any Sec
tarianism.
Mr.. Fitzgerald of Massachusetts also de-
some further debate the conference report
was adopted and the appropriation bill was
put in course of enrolment to be sent to
the President.
Disagreement on Electric Light Com
duits.
The fight upon the bill began last night.
Mr.. Grout came into the House about 10
o'clock and reported a disagreement of the
conferees on the electric light item. He
said the Senate conferees had declared they
would never agree to the position of the
House, announced in the instructions
adopted upon motion of Mr. Babcock
Mr.. Babcock said that what the Senate
wanted was the one thing that Congress
had held sacred for one hundred years-the
control of the streets of Washington. This
combination of electric light interests which
is forming in Washington asks Congress to
give it the right to go anywhere in any
street and alley in the city.
The House had presented the counter
proposition that the company should give
as consideration for this privilege certain
rates for the protection Of the citizens.
Mr.. BabcOck said that one company had
sublet a contract with the government to
another company at less than cents and
put the ditference in its pocket. If electric
current was worth 10 cents, as claimed,
why did one company sublet a contract at
less than cents? He said that a distin-
guished electrical engineer had announced
that current could be furnished at less than
cents per thousand watts. The limit pro-
posed in this bill was cents
is there any reason" said Mr. Babcock.
Why the company should furnish the gov
ernment current at 4 cents and charge the
citizen nearly four times as much?'
The privileges asked by these COM
panles, said Mr.. Babcock, 'if put I'D at
auction, would bring a million dollars gold.
today '
Mr. Grosvenor suggested that it would be
better TO let the electric light subject stand
as 1t IS for the present, and in the n.xt
congress to try to establish government
plant upon sound basis.
Should Demand Lower Rates.
Mr. Dockery said that Congress should
demand of the companies a reduction CT
the present high rates. Unless Congress
should avail itself of this opportunity to
reduce rates, another chance would not he
offered for years.
The question is now," he said, "Whether
we should abandon the fight altogether. or
whether we should get a small reduction
at this time
MT Dockery said the electric light COM
pahies nave the streets nov, and want to
eXteBd their privileges
Now, will you maintain the nrasant s,+
uation. giving no right of extension or viii
you grant 1t and take a small reduction i'm
rates?' ~ "
Mr. Cannon asked if Mr.. Grout Thought
tEe senate would agree to reduce the cost
OF are 1Shts from S91 a year to ST. Il wear
ana lncandescent lights from II cents a
thousand watts to 10 cents
MI GTout thought such an agreenant
might be reached, the House retaining ali
rights to hereafter ATTEMPT to Iowar9 ~ ~
ra teS. 1Ii@
Mr.. Hopkins of Illinois held that the ex-
tensions demanded by the comna,ias sho,,I,
De passed bV the 1I,lx
hlttees. after due consideration and should
ho' De authorlZed in an appropriation bill
Mr. McEwen of New Jersey thought no
harm could come of postponing action untfI
the next session. ~
Mr. Curtis of Iowa said he had aIwavs
favored legislative control of gas electric
ana telephone rates. He thought the sub
1ect a proper one for the District commit
tee to handle.
Mr. Hepburn of Iowa said this was the
time to fix the rates. 1t is necessary to
use the coerclse influence of an appropria-
Ioh Dill w hen separate bills are proposed
they are likely to be stopped at the ct her
END OF the Capitol. That was the expert
ence Tor years with respect to gas
Mr.. Payne of New York advocated ac-
cepting reduction to 10 cents if that could
be obtained and not to embarrass the con-
ferees with Instructions
Mr.. Babcoch moved to reinstruct the con-
fefees in the terms of the Instructions
adopted Thursday night.
Conferees instructed to Stick.
His motion was adopted by vote of lob
to 81
About 2 O'Clock this morning Mr. Grout
again came into the House and reported a
disagreement upon the electric light item.
He said the Senate conferees refused to con-
slider the question in the face of the in
structions. He moved a further confer
ence
Mr.. Babcock thereupon moved that the
instructions to the conferees be renewed
This motion was lost-40 yeas, to 50 nays
and the eonferees went back to conference
free to agree to whatever they thought
best.
The long hours of the night passed with
out unusual incident In the House The
naval bill, sundry civil bill and District
bill were at issue and upon each the House
was dosgedly insisting against Senate
amendments. The conferees would report
from time to time, to gain support from
the House and then return to their task
The members utilized the meantime by
singing in the lobby and doing wherever
they could find soft places. The member
ship dwinded rapidly toward morning, and
at O'Clock this morning less than eighty