The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-01
SUNDRY CIVIL BILL
MEMBERS OF HOUSE TALK OF
MANY THINGS.
NEGRO DISFRANcHlsEMENT.
SOUTHERN MEMBERS DISCUSS THE
SUBJECT.

North Carolina Members Had Rather
Sacrifice Seats In Congress Than
See Former Condition of Affairs
I'm That State Restored-Chinese
Exclusion an Insignfhcant Prob
lem Compared With the Negro
Problem in the South-BeII of Col
OradO Invefghed Against Growing
Influence of Senate.
Washington. March sf.-The House
to-day entered upon the consideration
of the sundry civil appropriation bill,
completing the general debate before
the close of the session. Little of the
speechmaking to-day vas pertinent to
the DILL Three speeches, by Messrs.
Williams of Mississippi, Pou of North
Carolina and Spight of Mississippi,
were upon the proposed investigation
of the Southern franchise question. Mr.
Bell of Colorado discussed the finan-
cial bills before the House. Mr.. Payne,
/ chairman of the Ways and Means Com
mittee, reported the Cuban reciprocity
! bill and gave notice that he would call
| it up a week from tomorrow.
Mr.. Cannon, in charge of the sun
dry civil bill, explained that that meas
use carried 49,S2S, 1896, being $12, 455,542
less than the estimates and $12,5T2, OH
less than the current law He pointed
out that last year s41.OOO,O0O of war
taxes were removed and this year &c.,
100000 were to be removed, making a
I ta1 of IN
years of SILL 0O0.O 900.
To Make the District Pay Half.
With regard to the project for beau
| tifying Washington by a vast park
scheme to cost ultimately 5000 900. 900,
| Mr. Cannon said the committee had
recommended the policy of having the
| District of Columbia pay half the cost
| and of proceeding no faster than the
district was able to go. The pending
bill carried $4,000. Mr.. Cannon also
adverted to the shemes for completing
the Capitol building according to the
original plans, with an extension on the
east side and for various other im-
| provements involving an expenditure of
over Sc, 000,0 600. The committee, how
ever. had postponed this question of en-
tering upon these improvements until
Congress could see the result of the re-
d1etion Of revenues.
II.
opinion that $3.50 100000 escaped taxa
tion in the District of Columbia. This
statement led to some discussion, and
Mr.. kluttz of North Carolina said It
was notorious that millionaires were
coming to Washington to escape taxar
ton.
The Legislative Trust.
Mr.. Bell OF Colorado. taking advan-
tage of the latitude allowed in debate,
II. n 49,
| infunece of the Senate and the retro
/ gression of the House as an influence
In legislation.
He declared that as a deliberative
/ body the House of Representatives
had ceaesd to exist 1t was absolutely
controlled now by few men and the
4 greatest trust in the country to-day
was the legislative trust.
Mr. Bell also severely criticised the
banking bill, now pending in the
! House. which. he said, proved that the
4 national banks are fair weather instl-
| tutions and could not stand the stress
of financial storms.
Mr.. Spight of Mississippi and Mr..
| Pou of North Carolina, spoke on the
| question of the disfranchisement Of the
! negro in the South. The former APP
| pealed to the Republicans not to dis
1 turb the era of good feeling inaugural
ted by the late President Mckinley,
manner in which 900 negroes had been
indicted into office in North Carolina
| between 1894 and 1899 through coali-
ton between the Republicans and the
Populists, said the Democrats, having
again secured control, proceeded to
disfranchise as many negroes as pos
| sible.
Had Rather Lose Their Seats.
..If our representation is TO be re-
/ he erf4
! ing to submit to it. There is not a
member from North Carolina who
/ would not prefer to sacrifice his seat
| here than go back to the conditions
that existed prior to 1900"
Mr.. Pou called attention to the res
! olution he had introduced to invesu-
gate the alleged campaign corruption
| funds raised in the North. If election
laws were to be investigated in the
South, he said he saw. no reason why
the corruption of the ballot In the
North should not also be investigated.
Compared with Chinese Problem
Mr. williams of Mississippi discuss
ed the question of Chinese exclusion
from a philosophical standpoint. He
insisted that the Chinese problem on
the Pacific coast was insignificant
compared with the negro problem IN
the South. The South had always
stood with the people of the Pacific
coast against the invasion Of the Mon-
golians but when the South needed
help it received none.
Mr.. Williams defended the franchise,
provision of the Mississippi constitu-
ton. He contended that the Missis-
sippi constitution did not abridge the
right to vote under the constitution
of the United States.
The general debate was then closed.
At 4:50 p. m. the House adjourned.