The Mena star., 1899-02-01
RECORDINGS IN c0NGNA.
yS ors ot Our Nattnnni Lawn1aEt ra h e 3rgion During the si''sfag Days "f
 th. Fi3rv- FIfth Session

TWO notable speeches were made in the sen n on the 4th ere D" Senator Lodge tMaSS and the othsr by Senator Clay tGa). Sena;oT Y,i.e al,peaied for .he ratification of the pedv9 treaty and 70 trust the American congross ana ueople to deal justly with the Philippines afterwards Senator Clay, while favoring ratl- ication. strongly opposed expansion The nate in executive session refused to consiaer the peace treaty with open doors by very larre vote. The house began the consider ntion of the army reorganization bill The de- bate was not exciting. At the night session on the bill there were only IS members present. The principal speech was made by MT. Slmp- son Kan.). who spoke in opposition to the oliL
 ONLY brief time was occupied by the sem ate on the 18th in open session. senator COCK rell ,Mo) introduced resolution asking for information about a claim of the old settler Chorobees on account of interest. The bill pro- ytdinr for the erection of building in Wash ington for the department of justice at cost of 0j0,G0 was carried An agreement was made to take a vote on the peace tre ty on Feb ruary 6 and to go into executive session on the tr. each day up to that time at two o'clock ....1he house lis ened to two stirring speeches by MT Johnson Qnd) and Mir. Deliver Ia) The army bil was under debate, but the ques- tion of expansion came to the front MT John- son spoke for almost two hours and denounced th proposition to annex the Philippines When h. finished Mir. Deliver replied to him and defended the administration Both mem- bers were repeatedly cheered by the galleries and their friends on the floor.
 THE ~enate on the 26th passed the house bill authorizing the Little River Valley Railway company to construct railroad through the hoctaw and Chckasaw nations in the Indian territory. Senator Ma lory C'la) then made speech against the annexation of the Philip nine islaads Aft r an executive session the au,ronria' ion bill was taken up. It carries l,t23{.8n senator Sullivan (MiSs) offered an am ndment that no person should be paid cnsion who had an income of 750 year It WIS ruled out as being new legislation. Sena- tor Butler tN C then spoke on his amend mant to pension confederate soldiers, main- 5aining that the great fratricidal conflict was forced unon the south and that the coufederates simply defended their constitutional rights. Al ihe conc usion of his speech he withdrew the amenGment...T The third day Of the debate th bill for the reorganization of the army in the house passed without notable incident Its feature was an hours speech by Mir Grosvenor o ). who declared that the present situation in the Philippines was due to the opposition in this country to the ratification of the peace treaty several other members also spoke for and against the bill
 IN the senate on the 27th Senator Platt (N. Y spoke on the general subject of expansion. Afterward the pension bill was considered,
 
 large amount carried 145. G0). .000-and stating that the war with Spain will swell the pension roll by at least 5J0l names After some brief re marks from other senators the bill was pa sed and an executive session taken to con- sieer the peace treaty ... Strong opposition was manifested in the house to the bill for in- creasing the army. The debate caused several speeches for and against expansion to be de- Ivered The bill was afterwards read for amendment under the fve-minute rule. The evening session was devoted to private pension leci ,ation.
 THE sepaJc on the 2s n adopted . resolution asking the secretary of state to procure from our representatives abroad the annual amounts paid by foreign governments for pensions not civil 4 resolution was also adopted calling upon the secretary of the treasury for informa- ton concerning the investigation of the bureau of printing and engraving. The diplomatic and consular appropriation bill was passed after q spirited debate. The senators took recess to attend the funeral of ex-Senator Garland ... In the house the senate bill authorizing the construction of bridge over the Missouri river at Lexington, Mo, was passed Little progress was made on the army reorganization bill, ow- ing to eulogies being delivered on the late Rep resentative Simpkins (Mass.l.