The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-10
THE HEPBURN CANAL BILL
 PASSES BY VOTE OF 3OS TO }


 cised by members. But he offered there and then to give MT, Cannon the speech and sent it over to him by page Mir. Cannon. declared that in his recol- lection a member presenting great measure to undertake a work that was to last for centuries had never pursued such course. He declared it was not decent parliamentary procedure, and when MT. Hepburn made some quick reply. he ob- served, amid laughter, that if the gentle man from Iowa were only as straight forward as he was flip of tongue, he should be a better legislator ! Mr. Cannon. discussing the language Of
 the bill, asked what was meant by au- thorizlng the President to obtain "full controf. over the land upon which the tcanal was to be built. Did it mean the purchase and ownership of miles of prop | erty owned by speculators. both Ameri- can and NicaragIan? With great em- | phasis, Mir. Cannon declared that, in his | judgment, the general appropriation | which the bill contained and the artful l language of it, would cause the claim | that it gave the President full power not | only to pay Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but the Maritime Canal Company and European, American and Nicaraguan spectators, now much he could not tell. | It might be five. ten or twenty-five mil ] lions. He denounced what he termed the undue haste of those who wanted to build this canal "between no. and sunrise to-
 morrow He also objected to the, author
 ization the bill contained to negotiate con
 tracts for the whole work. MT. Cannon said he would vote for the Morris amend ment, and. if it failed. he would move to recommit the bill with amendments he suggested.
 Mir DeArmond CMo) said the question before the American people was not as
 to whether Congress would pass bill
 for the isthmian canal, but whether the
 bill would be matured and proper when
 passed. If confidence existed in the Pres
 ident. why should he not be given the opport unity to negotiate with Colombia or Nicaragua according to the informa- tion in his possession? Alternative author- ity would enable him to make better terms. Experts differed to the advant- ages of the two routes. Why not give the President the discretion to select? Neither peril nor risk would be involved in it. The bill. he urged. needed matur- ing. Were the army engineers to build the canal or was there to be one gigantic syndicate whose influence, baleful per-
 haps, but certainly mighty, would ex-
 tend over many years. Were the princi- pies of the civil service to obtain. or were political considerations to govern? He was tired of passing legislation in the House and allowing the Senate to perfect it.
 MT. Vandiver CMo) and Mir. Hooker CMiss.) advocated the passage of the un- | amended Hepburn bill.
 Mir. Hepburn answered the criticisms adduced against the bill during the de- bate. devoting considerable time to MT. | Cannon. The gentleman from Illinois, he | said, demanded clearness and definite | ness, yet he proposed to support the Nor ris amendment which, MT. Hepburn I pointed out, was vague and indefinite. He | had impugned bad motives to no one, | but he believed that forces were working | for delay. "I do not impugn the motive of the gentleman from Illinois," said he. l..whep he says he is in favor of this canal, In a parliamentary sense, I am convinced. yet I am free to confess that only the obligations of parliamentary
 law would convince me when I remember that he has invariably been a stickler for delay"
 MT. Hepburn then proceeded to review Mir. Cannon's record on canal legislation to show that his declarations of friend ship did not harmonize with his constant course of hostile delay. He repeatedly drew applause and laughter after he loosed his shafts of sarcasm on the
 chairman of the Appropriations Commit tee. Mir. Cannon seemed to take 1t all good naturedly and joined in the laughter provoked at his own expense. Mir. Hep
 burn said that MT. Cannon posed as a
 business man, yet he said he wanted to
 pay $40, ,0O0.O 900 for something the commits
 sion said was worth s27, 100000. With re-
 gard to the alleged claims of the Mari
 time Canal Company, which the gentle
 man from Illinois discovered in the pale
 moonlight" the committee reported that
 they had already been eXtinguished. Ad-
 dressing the Democratic side, he read the
 plank in the Kansas City platform, 'pledging the party to the Nicaraguan n
 canal.
 That. he said, amid laughter, lis in my
 opinion, the most respectable declaration
 tn the platform.
 "There are reports in the air." said he.
 that any isthmian bill will have rough
 and rocky road to travel in another
 body; that the sentiment of certain per-
 sons of potency is against it. What will
 be the moral effect if this House, by a
 practically unanimous vote, indicates it's
 purpose to do what the people demand shall be done.'
 If the Morris amendment carries. he said, the selection of the Panama route
 would depend upon the attitude of a majority of the committee Choice
 might hinge upon the attitude of one man. and no man, he declared, should
 he placed in such T position with $4O, 0O0.- 900 in the balance.
 The bill was read for amendment under the five minute rule.
 MT. Shackelford CMo.) offered the amendment to authorize the President to determine the choice of routes as be- tween Nicaragua and Panama if the property and franchises of the Panama Company could be procured for $4O.OOO,- OVO The amendment was defeated upon rising vote, 102 to 170.
 Mr., Parker (N. J.) Mir. DeArmond and MT. Burges, offered various amendments which were voted down. The committee then reported the bill to the House, whereupon MT. Cannon moved to recom- init the bill with instructions to report back within thirty days substitute to enable the President to acquire the neces- sary rights for q canal from Nicaragua or Colombia and to authorize him to select the route within sixty days. The amendment was defeated without divis- ion, Mir. Cannon being unable to secure a record vote.
 The bill then was passed. ayes. 30S; nays ?. Messrs Fletcher (Rep. Minn.) and Lassiter Dem.. Va.) cast the ncga- tive votes. The announcement was greeted with applause.
 At 5:30 the House adjourned