The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-16

would be wise to wait until the house knew more about the matter but MT. Cooper insisted that the report should not be credited to General Bristow.
 Mr. Griggs, however, maintained that 1t was Bristow's report Continuing, he said 1t had leaked out prior to the report that the committee was in possession of information that would condemn mem bers of congress. In the committee he said he had contended that if there were to be leaks it was the committees s duty to make it public, which they very properly had done. The United States, he said, '.is too powerful and too great to convict anybody by a suppression of the facts.
 But" he said, If the publication of all those things would convict not only men under indictment, but men higher mp CT lower down, the report should be taken for what it is"
 Should Not Be Afraid. "If there were men in the inspection ser vice." he declared who were afraid to have their reports see daylight such men ought to be got rid Of. and men put in who were not afraid There was yet more of the report he said, the reports or lh- spectors, who ought to go before the pup lie He called attention to what .e termed the ridiculous position in which the house had placed itself
 we sought to investigate the post office department" he said, and you gentlemen, turned out here like hornets and insisted that the whole department from top to bottom must De investigated. ed. Both the republicans and the democrats he said, had declared they would tear the roof off the old thing and ne hquifeu'
 What did you do?'
 "The house got tired and turned tail. Amid laughter and applause he cmded members of the house with having start ed out to Investigate the department and having wound up by having the depart ment investigate them That WAS great coup on the part of the department ne said with sarcasm. He poked fun at the republicans having so readily yielded to the persuasions of the party leaders and voting against q departmental investi- gaton. adopting instead, a miserable resolution Investigating yourselves
 Is Finest in the World.
 The republican organization, he said was the finest in the world. There's nothing like it." he continued, from Julius Caesar down to General Roosevelt" which latter remark provoked much l laughter.
 No conquering hero" he said, lever marched before better drilled hosts than does the republican leader, MT. Payne at which there was more laughter, only to break out again when he referred to l MT Dalzell as lieutenant"
 MT. Griggs then said the present sys- tenn which had grown up in the depart ment requiring members to go personally and ask for what their constituents were l entitled to- was wrong
 The secret regulations of the postoffce department were condemned as a wrong system. He advocated the publication of a departmental daily record and the requirement. that the rules of the de- partment should be made public.
 Mir Williams of Mississippi interjected the remark that this might prevent post masters from being swindled by the de- partment out of what they were rightful- ly entitled to.
 Mr. HardwcI of Georgia claimed the distinction of initiating the first rural free delivery law for ex-Representative Thomas E. Watson of Georgia.
 Speaks of Increased Salaries.
 MT Barnes of Ohio spoke for an in- crease of salary of city carriers and post office clerks. He then spoke of the growth of abuses in the various government de- partments, and pointed to the fact that Presidents Cleveland, Mckinley and Roosevelt has misappropriated public l property in using naval vessels as their private yachts President Roosevelt he declared found it necessary to have two vessels, the Mayflower and the Sylph the l latter fitted out at an expense of $10o, GOO. The papers, he said. refer to them as the Presidents yacht Mayflower" and the Presidents yacht Sylph." Continu- Ing, he said that with these examples before them, with this irresponsible use of public property, is there any reason why the underlying and understrappers in the departments should not feel authorized to over-step the boundary just a little now and then?'
 | He spoke of the number of carriages and horses in use by the department of commerce and labor. and said it showed a pretty rapid development.
 l He pointed to report of the amounts expended for @funllies brass buttons and the like" and said there was no author- ity for the expenditure of money in this way.
 After agreeing that general debate on the bill be limited to five hours. the house at 5:9O D. m. adjourned until tomor- row.
 THE SENATE. 1 Washington. March 15-The senate passed the Notifications appropriation bill l today after a three hours discussion of the amendment authorizing the purchase of an experimental torpedo boat. and the provision for the purchase of sites for de- fense works in the Hawaiian islands The torpedo boat provision was stubbornly fought. but the amendment suggested by