Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-02-05
Congress.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


On Friday vote was reached on the
urgency deficiency bill. The item that had
aroused Democratic opposition was in
g9niously amended so as to appropriate
$500. 600 for "the protection and shelter
Of American troops serving in the Phil
ippines, instead OF specifically for bar
racks. Ia its original form the item had
received the support of only one Demo
crat. Mr. Cummings of New York. When
the vote was taken upon it in amended
form X received the support of sixteen
Democrats in addition 10 the full Repub-
lcan strength. the vote being 1IS to l05.
An animated and prolonged discussion
was preeiptated in the Senate o., Mon
day over the right of army officers to
critieise utteraHces made 10 the Senate
or elsewhere on the conduct Of affairs in
the Philippines. At times it became
somewhat acrimonious. officers in the
Philippines being taken sharply to task
for stnte1ents attributed TO them in dis
patches from Manila. The House adopt
ed resolution calling for documents re-
lating TO The old training ship Vermont,
which was placed out of commission last
summer. and also passed a bin to pro-
vide for the compulsory attendance of
witnesses before registers and receivers
Of the general land office. A bill to APP
propriate 100000 for establishing homes
for the teaching of artculate speech 20
deaf children was defeated. The House
adjourned until Wednesday.
Philippine debate grew so bitter in the
Senate on Tuesday that PERSONAL encoun-
tiers were narrowly averted. The storm
ragged for three hours. and the chairman
was kept busy maintaining order. After
years - 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 il was to
be the department of commerce and in
dustry. No material opposition in the
House is anticipated Its quick passage
is confidently expected. A bin to permit
the extension for twenty years of the
charters of national banks was favorably
repC ted by the Senate committee On
finance. just before the adjournment of
the Senate Senator Spooner introduced
a substitute for the Nicaragua canal bill.
The new bill is practical authorization
to the President of the United States to
choose between the Panama and the
Nicaragua routes.
Senator Cullom, as chairman of the
committee on foreign relations, virtually
appealed to the Senate on Wednesday
from the decision Of his committee on the
question of reciprocity treaties. Broadly,
he took the position tltt a treaty is the
supreme law of the land, superseding
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 I'M
der discussion the question whether a
censorship of press dispatches exists IN
Manila. The debate for a time was very
spirited. The Secretary of War was
quoted as saying that 40 press censor
ship now existed in the Philippines, and
a letter f~.m Gen. Greedy, chief signal
officer of the army, was presented by Mr..
Beverage of Indiana. making the state
ment officially that there was no censor
ship and that 'the press is entirely Tree"
1t was contended by the opposition thar
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
bin and gave notice he would call it up
Thursday. A request to make the oleo-
margarine bill a special order for the fol-
lowing Monday was objected to on the
Democratic side.
The House on Thursday passed the bill
for the creation of a permanent census
bureau. The friends of the civil service
law, who were opposed to making the
employees of the bureau eligible for trans
fer or retention, were Overwhelmingly
defeated. By tie terms of the bill the
permanent organization will sue eed the
present temporary organization July 1.
1902. and all employees on the rolls upon
| the date of the passage of the act will
become eligible for transfer to other de-
partments or retention in the permanent
organization The bill also provides for
a manufacturing census in 1908 and for
the collection of certain special statistics
annually. 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 tumultuods
scenes which characterized the sessions
of the foregoing three days. After the
Philippine tariff measure was taken up
at o'clock Mr. Tillman delivered a
speech devoted almost entirely to a dis
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 humber Of bills on the
| calendar which we're not objected to.
WaShiupfou Notes,