The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-13
PERRY HEAIH HARD HIT
SQUIRMED UNDER THE LITERARY
ASSAULT OF CONGRESSMAN
SULZER
RECORD ORDERED EDITED
NEW YORKER SAYS WHEN LETTER
WAS PRINTED HE WAS
SATISFIED
RECORD ORDERED EDITE:
ARMY APPROPRIATION BILL
Passed After a Discussion Devoted
Mainly to the Charge of
DesertiOn Against
Soldiers.

WASHINGTON. Feb. 12-The house to-
day passed the army appropriation bill
and entered upon consideration of the
sundry civil bill, the last but one of the
big money bills. The debate on the army
bill was confined largely to a discussion
of the question of passing bills to remove
the charge of desertion against soldiers
and was made notable by a statement
by Mr.. Mcclellan IN. V, comparing the
cost of the soldier in European armies
with the cost in the United States. Ac-
cording to his figures, including the cost
of pensions etc, each United States
soldier involved an expense of $2,S2S, while
a German soldier costs $227, and a French
soldier $232.
At the opening of the house the chap
lain of the house in his invocation today
referred to the fact that this was the
anniversary of the birth of Lincoln the
emancipator, and prayed that his life
might be an example and inspiration to
those now living. AS soon as the journal
was read and approved, the struggle
over the question of expunging from the
record the anonymous letter rejecting
upon Mr.. Perry S. Heath, which was read
at the instigation of Mr. Sulzer On. Y.)
during the exciting session of yesterday,
was resumed. The letter appeared in the
Record this morning.
SULZER AND HEATH.
Mr. Knox (Mass) called up the
alleged infringement of the privileges of
the house He claimed that the matter
was before the house in two ways:
First, as unfinished business; second as
matter appearing in the Record over
which the house had control. Mr.. Knox
said he admitted that a member might,
upon his own responsibility, charge any
sort of offense against man not men,
ber of the house and not be liable to be
called to order He contended that when
a member introduced a paper the house
obtained jurisdiction. He asked the house
to adopt a resolution which he sent to
the clerks desk. The resolution recited
the occurrence of yesterday and directed
that the document be stricken from the
Record.
Mr.. Bailey CTex) asked Mr. Knox to
withdraw the preamble Of the resolution.
"I myself" said he, Intend to vote to
strike this anonymous communication
from the Record Republican ap-
plause)
MI Knox consented to strike out the
preamble and was about to demand the
previous question, but at the request of
Mr. Sulzer, yielded five minutes to the
New York member.
SULZER STRIKES AGAIN,
Mr.. Suizer said he was at a loss to un-
erstand the anxiety to protect the char
acter of Perry S. Heath, who was not a
member of the house, while his party
associates were eXulting delightfully."- in
the attack upon his personal character
and repu ion. Il stand here he con-
tinued, and say that no man in this
house can charge me with any offense
wha tever or with any misconduct. My
life is an open book, and when the gen.
tleman from Pennsylvania yesterday at
tackled me, l felt justified in smoking out
the culprit who was responsible for the
charges. And l did smoke HIM out" Mr..
Sulzer shouted with arm upraised. Il
had the courage to stand here yesterday
and say that l was responsible for every
word in that letter. If Mr.. Heath thinks
there is anything libelous or scandalous
in that letter. 1 will not plead my con-
stitutional privilege, ! will plead the
truth of the statements. This morning
a gentleman, a former member Of this
house, said to me: The man who wrote
that letter knew Heath like book;
every word in it is true l have no OBJ
lection to striking the letter from the
record.
But I serve notice that I am going
to say everything in that letter and 1
want Perry S. Heath to answer. If he
v.
/ want him to understand that 1 am re-
sponsible in damages for what l say.
The house has no compunctions of con-
science when he attacks me, but when 1
attack him he squeals like a pig under a
gate. 1 got that letter III the record.
That was what l was after. 1 am now
content to have it stricken out
Mr.. KnoX's motion to expunge the let
ter from the permanent record was then
adopted without division
APPROPRIATION BILL.
Mr.. Tawney (Minn.), chairman of the
committee on the special committee on
the ST. Louis exposition, then tried to
get up the exposition BILL but Mr.. Can
non, chairman of the appropriations COM
mIttee, declined to allow it to come I'D
until the pending appropriation bills were
out OF the way, and accordingly the
house went into committee of the whole
ana took up the consideration of the
army appropriation bill. 1t was arrang-
ed that the general debate should run
for three hours. Mr. Hull, chairman Of
The military affairs committee, made a
brief explanation. The bill carries $177,-
SS4'C49, l2S55,1SS less than the estimates
GROWTH OF BILLS.
Mr.. Slayden CTex), a member of the
committee, devoted thirty minutes to
discussing the enormous growth in recent
years of bills to remove the charge of
deserticn against soldiers of the Re-
beli1on. During the present congress
OF the $500 private bills referred to the
military committee, 1000 were to remove
the charge of desertion
Mr.. William Alden Smith CMich.l de-
Tended the old soldiers against the sweep
ing charges made by Mr.. Slayden.
Mr. Boutell Qll) and Mr. Clayton (Ala)
also contended that there were MANY
meritorious cases among the claimants
for the removal of the charge of :leser-
tion. Each cited cases
Mr.. Mcclellan On. " made an inter-
esting statement as to the total cost
he said, was s12S, ,799, ,76O To this must re
added, he said, $154, ,094 for the cost
of past wars, pensions, etc, bringing the
total up to $2S2, ,S51, SEA. The cost of each
soldier not counting pensions, etc,
therefore, would be $1,2SS; including pom
sions, $2,S2S
The cost of the German service inelLd-
ing pensions and expenses of past wars,
he said, was only SIT, and OF the French
soldiers, also including pensions and the
expense of the Franeo-Prussian war,
Continued on Sixth Page.