The age-herald., 1900-05-17
OUR HONOR AT STAKE United States Should Have No
 Authority in Cuba. THE CLARK CASE CALLED UP Action Was Postponed so that the Com mittee on Privileges and Election Could Decide What Action
 to Take
THE CLARK CASE CALLED UP

Washington, May 16.-Discussion of the administration of affairs in Cuba by agents of the United States occupied the atten- ton of the senate during the greater part of the days session.
 MT. Bacon of Georgia addressed the sen ate at length on his resolution directing the committee on relations with Cuba to make investigation of the conduct of financial affairs of the island. He said it was due the people of this country to know just how affairs in the island were being conducted; and since the disclosures of the past few days had been made with respect to the alleged misrepresentation of funds in the postal service, the obligation upon congress to make investigation was doubly heavy. He urged that the honor of the country depended upon its being able to clear away the fraud and corrup- ton, which, it was charged, had been dis covered. lie insisted that the government of the United States had no authority in Cuba, a Id demanded to know how soon it proposed to redeem it's pledg, -hd leave the government or the island to its 'nhabi- tants.
 The following measures were passed:
 House bill repeating the provision of law allowing merchandise passing through the United States from any foreign country to be transported free of duty so far as the Mexican free zone is concerned; a resolu- ton offered by Lodge, calling upon the secretary of treasury for information of the influx of Japanese laborers into the country, and whether there had been any violation of the contract labor law, and bill to pay the estate of James Young $lO,3S3, in full settlement of claims upon the United States for damages done by its troops near Middletown, Pa, during 1S97
 Bacon's Cuban Reso uIi ,n
 The Bacon Cuban Investigating resolu- tion was then called up by its author, who In opening said that there could be no more mandatory duty than that which rests upon the United States, that every dollar collected in Cuba should be applied to the people of Cuba Every dollar so col lected, he said, belongs to the people of Cuba, and not dollar to the United States or to any official of the United States.
 Obligations of national honor demand that we investigate the affairs of Cuba and see that they have been rightly conducted. Perhaps at no time had any people consti- tuted themselves the agent for a trust such as that we had imposed upon ourselves in Cuba. In the degree of honor in which this duty was performed would the country be adjudged by the world If there were no rumorS, he said, of maladminiStration on the island of Cuba, the duty to investigate the business and governmental affairs of the island would be upon us.
 "But,' he declared, i've are not urged alone by the voice of duty. The facts urge the investigation to be made There has been in Cuba the most exorbitant and ex- travagant expenditure of money'
 MT. Bacon then called attention to the statements in reports submitted by the sec- retary of war to the senate, which showed that during the year 1899 the receipts in Cuba were $16, 346,015, while the expenditures were $14, ,0S5, ,S05
 IT., said the Georgia senator i've had before us only the naked fact that the re- ceipts on the island during a single year were more than $16, OOO GOO and the. expendi- lures more than $14000O00 we would be bound to investigate the subject to see that tnls vast sum had been properly and pru- dently handled"
 The Clark Case
 At this point MT. Chandler, chairman of the committee on privileges and elections, called up the resolution declaring that MT. Clark of Montana was not entitled to seat in the senate and asked that it be postponed until Saturday, fin order said MT. Chand- Ter, that the committee on privileges and elections may consider what action shall be taken.'
 The request was agreed to.
 Continuing, MT. Bacon presented a state- ment showing the receipts and expeditures or the various states, including Georgia, Missouri and Mass. They were in every instance less than those of Cuba
 These expenditures in Cuba" said Mr. Bacon, "are so much larger in proportion than those of many states, even if there were no rumors of extravagance and fraud and corruption in connection with Cuba. that they would call in trumpet tones for an investigation. We have had all sorts of accusations in the press of the country, and finally there have been admissions of irregularities in the financial affairs of the island"
 Misuse of Funds
 MT. Bacon discussed at length the al- lowances made to various officers in Cuba by direction of Secretary Alger He in- quired why allowances were not made to General Wilson and General Lee. He read the order of General ,Alger making an allowance of $7,5OO per year in addition to his salary to Governor General Brooke. What is there," MT. Bacon inquired, 'in the office of governor general of Cuba which requires him to exercise functions of greater dignity than a general com manding an army in the field? What obli- gation was there on this government to place him in a position of vice regal au- thority? What obligation was there on the government that any one who claimed to have an official dignity in Cuba should be the guest of this man?" MT. Bacon declared that one of the