Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-06-27
PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS
WHAT IT HAS BEEN DOING THIS WEEK
Senate Favors Panama Canal Route The
House Compares Philippine Atrocities with
Horrors of the Civil War-Territories Will
Probably Not Be Admitted to Statehood at
this Session-Cost of the Philippine War.


Horrors of the Civil War-Territories Viii
Probably Not Be Admitted to Statehood al
this session-Cost of the Philippine War.
The Senate Thursday by majority
of eight votes adopted the Spooner sub
stitute for the Hepburn Nicaraguar
canal bill, the vote on the substitute
being AZ to 81. After two amendments
to the measure had been adopted, one
providing for a commission to super
wise the construction of the canal anc
the other providing for the issuance OF
Sl30, 600, 600 of = per cent. gold bonds
to raise money with which to construct
the water way, it was passed by vote
of 81 to 6. The Spooner amendment
provide that the president, through
the law officers of the government,
shall determine whether clear title
can be obtained of the Panama com
pany's property, rights and concessions.
If so, he shall purchase the property,
right and concessions for $40, 900, 600.
If not, he shall construct canal by
the Nicaraguan route.
The House committee on interstate
and foreign commerce, sent the bill to
a conference Friday without the pre-
liminary of further reference to com
mittee, or consideration in the House
after non -coucurring in the Senate
amendment. Debate on the Philippine
civil government bill continued in the
House Mr.. Jones of Virginia, the
ranking minority member of the insu
lar affairs committee argued that I'M
der the provisions of the bill the friar
lands which the government was to
purchase would find their way into the
hands of corporations. He declared
that, in his opinion, it would be bet
ter for the Filipino people to live I'M
der the present hybrid rule than to
have imposed upon them the civil gov
eminent proposed by the pending meas
ure which would enable that civil gov
eminent to dispose of all the valuable
franchises in the islands, to strip the
forests of their timber and to sell the
agricultural lands to corporations and
syndicates
In the Senate Monday Mr.. Quay of
Pennsylvania moved to discharge the
committee on territories from further
consideration of the measure to admit
as states the territories of Oklahoma.
New Mexico and Arizona He main
tdlHtd llidt DOlu pOllliIuI IdIllts III
national convention had pledged them
selves to the admission to statehood of
the territories. No action was taken.
The disposition is to let the measure
go over to the next session.
Debate on the Philippine civil gov
eminent bill assumed lively charac-
ter in the House Monday. Comparison
was made of the cruelties charged to
have been practised in the Philippines
with those which occurred during the
civil war, Mr.. Grosyenor of Ohio re-
viving the memory of the extremities
to which Grant and Jackson were put
during the rebellion. This was fol-
lowed late in the day by a speech from
Mr.. Mahon of Pennsylvania in which
be paraded the horrors of Anderson
vile and Libby prisons. He predicted
that in the coming elections the Amer
lean people would stand by the "boys
in blue.
The Senate Tuesday passed bills
creating a national forest reserve in the
southern Appalachian mountains and
ratifying the agreement between the
Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians of the
Indian territory aud the United States. /
The first bill provides for the purchase
If 1000, 600 acres in the southern APP /
1alachian system, at cost not to ex-
iced 5l0,000,00 The secretary of agri-
culture is to designate the lands to be I
bought, and to take measures to pre- +
erve the hardwood forests which they
year. Two notable speeches marked +
he closing of the general debate on the
Philippine civil gov rnment bill in the
House. They were made by Mr.. Ian
is, an Indiana Republican. and by
lr. Williams, a Mississippi Democrat.
here were big demonstrations after
ach concluded.