The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-14
FEW MEMBERS PRESENT
Snow Prevents Representatives
From Attending Session.
THE SUNDRY CIVIL BILL
Fifty-Nine Paragraphs Completed IL
Committee Of the Whole The
Ship Subsidy Bll-Speaker
Reed Absent.

| Washington, Feb. 13.-The blizzard
caused practically suspension of bust
ness at the house to-day. The great
markle capitol looked like snow pal
ace. Lodges, facades and parapets were
banked with snow. On the drives and
on he plaza in front of the building the
snow had drifted into great pillows, in
some places 10 feet deep. Not a car
line approached the building, but few
members of the house managed to
reach the capitol in sleighs and car
riages, and the employees trudged and
labored through the deep snow and
binding storm to reach their posts of
duty. The hall of the house was as
dark as cellar. The snow banked
up on the ground glass ceilings shut
out the light and half an hour before
noon, the hour for the house to con-
vene, the lights were turned on to re-
lieve the gloom. The committee meet
| ingS, with but one or two exceptions,
| were not held.
| The few members of the house who
arrived had no thought for anything
save the weather. They stood about
! the weather map in the lobby in the
rear of the hall discussing tempera-
lures and snowfall and record breaking
in all parts of the country and it was
the unanimous verdict of the Oldest
members in the group that nothing ap-
preaching the present cold spell and
snowfall had been known in Washing
ton in their experience. The nearest
approach to it was the blizzard of 1883,
which cut Washington off for a week
from communication by railway and
telegraph. Speaker Reed did not ap-
pear at the capitol, but sent word to
his lieutenants in his opinion it was in
advisable to hold session of the house
to-day, and after consulting several
members of the majority, General Hen
derson of Iowa. who had braved the
storm, decided it would be best to ad-
journ Immediately after assembling.
Some of the members had ludicrous
experiences in their efforts to get to
the capitol Mr. Cannon of Illinois, the
veteran chairman of the appropria tions
committee, was tumbled out of a sleigh
into snowbank as he was coming up
Capitol hill. Some of the republican
leaders We're disposed to go ahead with
session to-day and an attempt was
made to communicate with the speaker,
but he could not be reached at his hotel
by telephone.
At 1905 p. m. Clerk Mcdowell called
the house to order. There were about
go members on the floor. Mr.. Payne
inONeu tlldC the mouse aQ1Ourn, Out
there We're cries of mo" from the lit
tie circle of members, most of whom
held in their hands bills which they
hoped to pass by unanimous consent.
The motion was voted down, to A.
On motion of Mr.. Grosvenor. rep,
Ohio, Mr.. Payne of New York was
elected speaker pro tenn, amid an out
burst of applause. District day was
postponed until Thursday. and the
house, on Mr.. Cannons motion, then
went into committee of the whole, Mr..
Hopkins of Illinois in the chair. and re-
sumed the consideration of the sundry
civil bill
Mr.. Cannon asked unanimous consent
that Mr.. Hepburn be allowed to offer
the Nicaragua canal bill amendment at
such point in the bill as ne should see
fit. all points of order to be reserved.
He made the request, he said. in order
that there might be full, house when
the amendment was considered. Mr.
Corliss made a similar request in regard
to the Pacific cable bill, whereupon Mr.
Cannon withdrew it.
A resumption of the discussion of the
receipts and expenditures of the treas
ury. which attracted considerable at
tention last week, was again precipi-
tated by Mr.. Sulzer, dem, N. Y, 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
welcomed any information that would
throw light upon the bill, but he pro-
tested against alarming statements as
to the deficiencies in advance. Esti-
mates did not always coincide with APP
preparations. AS an illustration, he
cited the fact that the estimates for the
army bill had ranged as high as $145,-
100000, whereas the military committee
had prepared a bill carrying less than
$S0,O00,000. He asked why Mr.. Cannon
had not thrown his influence against
the public building bills few days ago.
Those bills, he said, would take more
money from the treasury next year than
both the subsidy and canal bills to-
gether.
Mr. Cannon declared that if the army
bill carried but $s0,000,000 there would
be deficit on that account of $45, 900 OO0
Mr. Berry, DEM, KY, made a spirited
speech, scoring some of the economists
of the house who We're 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 attributable to the ruinous
protective policy Of the republican
party.
Mr.. Williams, dem. Miss, declared
that the dream of an eastern empire
was already a failure. With the ratiti-
cation of the peace treaty, peace and
commercial expansion We're to come
Instead there was war, the prospect 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 real basis for commercial ex-
pansion, was to be postponed.
After having completed SO paragraphs
of the bill committee rose, and at 4:45
p. m. the house adjourned.