The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-02-08
Congressional Proceedings,
ARMY BILL pAssRs THE uousr.


standing army to about 100000 men, but
leaving the President authority to redu o
| the troops TO sixty men each, etc., passed
the House by vote of 1863 TO 1875 This was
| the result OF the week Of hard fighting on
| the hJor during the progress of which the
| opposition compelled those in charge to
| give this discretionary authority TO the
President and to make other modi6ca-
| tions among which were a reduction of
| 331 in the number of staff officers Among
| important amendments before the vote was
taken was one to include the appoiD ment
| OF civilians 60 positions in the engineer
| corps, one to abolish cauteens and the sale
| OF liquor in camps and one to strike out the
provision for additional pay for command
| ers serving in the West Indies, the Philip
| pines and Alaska. The amendme mt of Mr..
| Cummings of New York to prohibit the use
OF troops in the several States to suppress
RIOTS, eic., except upon the application Of
| the States was defeated by large majority
| The motion To recOmmit with instructions
TO report back the minority substitute only
| commanded two republican votes and was
| lost lit 100.
THE PEACE TREATY.
| Senators Gray and Money monopoized
the time OF the executive session of the SEN
ate Tuesday in speaking on the peace
| treaty, Senator Gray favOring ratifica ion
and Senator Money opposing. Senator
Gray was the third member of the Paris
ommission to speak. He did not go into
| tulb III SuCu u ub allbu form AZ did MIR.
Frye and Mr.. Davis. He admitted that in
the beginning he was opposed to the an
| nexation OF the Phi ippinrs and said he
had freely and frankly advised the Presi-
| dent and his fellow commissioners of his
| belief that IL would be unw.se to ATTEMPT
| to shape its destiny. He had used his best
| endeavors to bring them to accept his
views, but had utterly failed. He at last
reached the conclusion that he would either
have to j1in with the majority or let the
l fail
largely won over by the arguments of his
| colleagues and by the logic of the situation
and he had at last concluded to sign the
| document.
Senator Gray did not advocate perman-
ent occupancy of the eastern islands but
said that Che duration of our exercise there
should be settled in the future and not at
present. In reply to question by Senator
Mason he said he would not attempt to fix
a time-that this only could be done after
we had an opportunity 10 study the situa-
ton, to know the people aud learn their
capacities. He would give the islanders a
| fair start in civilization before turning them
loose to shift for themselves.
RIVER AND HARBoR BILL.
The House took up the River AT Harbor
bill Wednesday afternoon and made rapid
! progress, d sposng of fifty of the eighty-six
I pages of the bill. This measure appropri-
ates directly about S125O 900 and au 'hor-
ICES contracts to the extent of $4,000, 600
additional. The general debate was I'M
work. The estimates upon which this bill
was based aggregated 500 600. 600. The
| COMMITTEE had recommended little over
$30,0O0,000 The argument advanced for
| CURRENCY MATTERS.
A favorable report ON what is known as
the Brosi Is bill, covering financial features
in line with those recommended in the
Presidents message, was made Wednesday
| by M o. Van Voorhs, representative from
| Ohio. in l,nhalf Of tle IN ffAa m hau
and currency. As TO the provision allo VIM
the banks TO Issue circu alton up to the par
value of bonds de posi- ed instead of ninety
per cent OF the bonds IA At present. the
report states that the changes would a iii 70
the circul 4tion 1923 GA ,584 The report
urges that if his b Ii becomes law there
will be an increase in the amount of circu-
lation issued when the demands of busl-
ness require it and thus distinct beuef lit
will come both to the banks and to the
community, without in the slightest degree
endangrring note holders. Concerning the
provi-ion placing the bank tax capital
surplus and undivided prof = instead of
on circulation as AT present, the re porr SAYS
the tax on capital will yield 81 40S, 953 AZ
against So, III 289 on calculations The ad
van'ages Ut having national banks estab-
lished in small towns as provided in the
bill, are also set forth
WASHINGTON, Feb 2-In caucus the Re.
publicans decided Tonight o present al this
session the currency bill prepared by the
committee on weights AMI measures hxiug
the standard of values and retiring the
| greenbacks.
WAsHIs GroN, Feb I'm the Senate Mr.
Elkins presented he credentials of Senator.
elect Scott of West Virginia Mr.. Chandler
called attention to the resolu ions of the
New Hampshire Legislature demanding the
ratification of the peace treaty. The Till
man resolution wa, adoptd, calling on the
President to inform the Sruare whether or
not franchises to corporations had been
| granted in Cuba since the islands came
under the military rule Of this government;
| and II so, 10 state the names. The credsn-
tials of Senator-elect Cu berson OF Texas
were presented. nator Spooner spoke ON
the We resolution. The House, after sew
| eral private pension and railroad bills had
been considered, went into committee of
the whole on the river and harbor bill.
| WASHINGTON, Feb. Ex-senator Spooner
OF Wisconsin, made notable speech in the
Senate in favor OF ratifying the treaty of
peace
Mr.. Spooner announced bis apprehension
| OF the policy OF expansion. 80 me- ,ople
| waltz up to this proposition of national ex-
pansion as gaily as the rroubadour to accept
the guitar" said he. Proceeding he said he
| was an expau zionist to the ext3nt of want
irg to do everything possible to extend our
trade, and no more He shrank, he said,
from the policy of making part of our land
tropical islands thousands of miles from our
| shores, a land whose people we're a lens,
not of our blood, who were foreign to our
| institutions, of a tropical climate in which
the white man cannot work. He therefore,
considered rs superficial and sentimental
much Of the talk concerning the permanent
! anuexa IN of these far away islands 81
am nor," he said, thrilled by the jingle
about not hauling down the flag when it has
once been raised. H. has been hauled down
in former times. 1t will be- hauled down
again. We will not keep it ahoat in Cuba
but we will take 1t down there leaving be-
hind it liberty and an independent govern
ment. hope this also may be soon true in
the Philippines and in aging this do not
consider 1 am inconsistent" II the ratifi.
cation of the treaty involved permanent do
minion he said he would not vote for IL. He
had not been able to find any half way rest
ing place between accepting the cession and
abandoning the islands TO their fate and
this was not permissible. The President,
kind and generous as he is, would not do
right TO make such treaty. To have at
tempted this course, would have been to in
augurate a rule of anarchy with all its hor-
rors.
RIVER AND HARBoR BILL.