The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-25
Opposed Indian Appropriatlon.

MT Culberson made a point of order against appropriating $25,000 to send In- dians to the St. Louis exposition, saying
 the government had already done enough
 for the exposition. The point was over ruled.
 Mir. Bacon, referring to MT. Hoars sug eestion yesterday that appointments to service with the Panama canal commits
 sion should be made on the recommenda- tion of senator's and members and that the President should consult democratic m embers in democratic states about ap- lpointments. Mir. Bacon characterized the utteranee as a "most noticeable one" in condemnation of a system which prac- tical1y disfranchises one-third of the peo- pie of the United States in the matter of the administration of the federal laws in their midst"
 The present system, he said, was a denial of the right of the people in this respect, and the denial said MT Bacon,
 was felt especially in the south It never
 had been intended by the framers of the | government that any community should
 be deprived in the right to be consulted
 in the selection of federal officials any
 more than in state or county offices. l In the tate of Georgia with 25OO,0O0 peo- pie. he said there Is not single office
 holder with exception of an occasional postmaster who would have been selected
 by the people of the state. The state also | is without single representative in the
 consular service. What was true of Geor- l giaw as particularly true of every south I ern state Instead of consulting the
 southern senator about appointments the | federal authorities pass them by and
 consult three referees, men who repre-
 sent nobody and are appointed by no l one in the state, and men who would not
 be selected by the state.
 "Would any republicans be elected
 there?'' asked MT. Spooner.
 Mir Bacon answered in the negative, and
 when MT Spooner, pursuing the Inquiry further, asked if there were no good ones
 there. he replied:
 Very few"
 MT. Hoar asked if MT. Bacon had been
 president instead of MT. Cleveland If ne
 would have appointed all republican office holders on the advice of the republican
 senators from Massachusetts,, but MT. Ba-
 con did not make direct reply. He said
 that the government should be along
 lines of intelligence and character rather than of partisanship. Where there are
 normal divisions" he said, the party Tn | power should appoint men of their own | faith"
 l Endorsed By Southerners. l MT. Hoar said that since the retirement l of MT. Cleveland the nominations to judicial positions in the souA had had l the endorsement of democratic senators 1 from southern states. and MT. Bacon ad- l mitted that this had been the practice l in most cases. He made the point, now ever, that the judicial positions are com paratively few in number
 MT. Bacon added that 1t was due to the present President to say that he had asked him (Mr. Bacon) to inform him in case he knew of anything detrimental to an appointee, but that he had not been able to do so, as he knew nothing about intended appointments until names were sent in MT. Bacon disclaimed any de- sire to control appointments because of the patronage itself, but said that his only interest was that of securing com potent officials.
 In his illustration of his point that the south is practically disfranchised in federal appointments, MT. Bacon said that only one of the isthmian canal com missioners is from the south, and that of the nine members of the supreme court. only two are from the south. MT. Hoar said that New England is unrepre- sented on the canal commission and MT Bacon replied that if that was the case 1t was worth nothing, for 1t was very rarely that New England Is ovedlooked in such matters.
 MT. Bacon also said that notwithstand- ing the south pays It's share of the taxes, practically all the money expended on account of pensions is distributed in the northern states.
 The senate then at 5:20 p. m. went into executive session, and at 5:25 adjourned.