The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1902-02-06
Congress-.
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An animated and prolonged discussion
was precipitated in the Senate on Mon
lay over the right OF army officers tC
l .riticise utterances made in the Senat,
| Or elsewhere on the conduct of affairs il
the Philippines. At times it became
l somewhat acrimonious. officers in tn,
| Philippines being taken sharply to task
'or statements attributed to them in dis
patches from Manila. The House adopt
ed a resolution calling for documents re-
iating to the old training ship Vermont
| which was placed out OF commission last
| summer, and also passed a bill to pro
| vide for the compulsory attendance OF
witnesses before registers and receivers
| Of the general land office. A bill TO ap
propriate 100000 for establishing homes
for the teaching of articulate speech e
| deaf children was defeated.
-
Philippine debate grew so bitter in the
Senate on Tuesday that prsonal encoun-
| iers We're narrowly averted. The storm
ragged for three hours. and the chairman
was kept busy maintaining order. After
years of patient effort commercial organ
izations and business men were rewarded
by the Senate passing the bill for rhe
creation of a department of commerce
and labor. The measure goes TO the
House in substantially the form in which
it was introduced. The most important
change is in the name of the depart
ment. As originally suggested it was to
be the department of commerce and in
dNstry. No material opposition in the
House is anticipated. Its quick passage
is confidently expected. A bill to permit
the extension for twenty years of the
charters Of national banks was favorably
reported by the Senate committee on
finance. Just before the adjournment of
the Senate Senator Spooner introduced
q substitute for the Nicaragua canal bill.
Senator Cullom, as chairman Of the
committee on foreign relations, virtually
appealed to the Senate on Wednesday
rom the decision of his committee on the
question Of reciprocity treaties. Broadly,
he took the position that treaty is the
supreme law Of the land. supersediny
acts Of Congress. and that under the con-
stitutiOn the President by treaty ratified
by the Senate can do anything Congress
can do. For an hour the Senate had un-
der discussion the question whether a
censorship of press dispatches exists N
Manila. The debate for time was very
spirited. The Secretary of War was
quoted as saying that no press censor
ship now existed in the Philippines. and
letter from Gen. Greely. chief signal
officer of the army. was presented by Mr..
Beveridge of Indiana. making the state
ment officially that there was no censor
ship and that ''the press is entirely free"
1t was contended by the opposition that
censorship did exist in the Philippines,
and that copies OF every news dispatch
filed with the cable company were filed
with the military authorities. The House
adjourned after being in session only
twenty-five minutes. Mr.. Hopkins Of
Illinois reported the permanent census
bill and gave notice he would call it up
Thursday. A request to make the Oleo-
margarine bill a special order for the fol-
Democratic side.
The House on Thursday passed the bill
for the creation of a permanent census
bureau. The friends of the civi! service
law. who were opposed to making Inc
employees of the bureau eligible for trans
fer or retention. were overwhelmingly
defeated. By the terms OF the bill the
permanent organization will succeed this
present temporary organization July ].
1902. and all employees on the rolls upon
the date OF the passage OF the act vii!
become eligible for transfer to other de-
s,, tb., n ant
organization. The bill also provides FOR
a manufacturing census in 1905 and tor
the collection OF certain special statistics
A bill for the protection Of
the lives of miners in the territories was
also passed The session of the Senate
was entirely void of the tumultuous
scenes which characterized the sessions
of the foregoing three days. After the
Philippine tariff measure was taken up
at 2 o'clock Mr.. Tillman delivered
speech devoted almost entirely to lis
cussion of the part his State took in the
war for the independence of the colonies.
Incidentally he referred occasionally to
the pending bill, drawing morals. as he
said. for the benefit OF the majority that
they might be applied to the Philippines.
Prior to taking up the Philippine bill the
Senate passed a number of bills on the
which were not objected to.
-
An extended speech on the pending
Philippine tariff bill was delivered in the
Senate Friday by Mr.. Morgan Of Ala
bama. who devoted particular attention
10 an amendment he offered to the bill the
previous week. He maintained that the
enactment of the bill as it stands now
would not be constitutional remedy for
the situation the measure is designed 70
relieve, but said with the adoption of his
the bill would stand the clos
est scrutiny of the courts. The Alabama
Senator did not discuss the political
phases of the Philippine question. devot-
ing his entire speech to a consideration
Of the legal and constitutional questions
raised by the presentation of the tariff
measure. An hour and half was de-
voted to consideration of bill TO in
crease the salaries of judges Of United
States courts, but no action was taken.
The House prepared to defend itself
against what it considers the threatened
invasion of the Senate of its prerogative
in the matter of revenue legislation by
directing the ways and means committee
to investigate the subject and report TO
the House its conclusions. The action
was the outgrowth of the agitation in the
Senate of the claim that reciprocity |
treaties affecting the customs revenues
,an he negotiated without the concur
renee of the House.