The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-17
Accomplished Only After Hours of Debate and to Exclusion
 of All Other Business
BISHOPS DUTIES AS
 PRESS AGENT CEASE
Mr. Cuberson Says Insurance Com panies "Are Greatest Aggregation of LordIy Thieves This
 Age Has Developed.

Washington December 16.-The Senate today passed the Panama canal emerg- ency appropriation bill but the result was not attained until after the debate on the bill had been continued the greater part of the day to the exclusion of practically all other business. Set speeches were made by MT. Bacon in advocacy of his amend ment requiring estimates from canal com mission salaries; by MT Allison, who de- voted himself largely to the details, by Mr. Culberson, who criticized the em- ployment of MT. Bishop as press agent" by MT Stone, who criticized the purchase of American ships to carry Pan- anna supplies In face of the announced determination to go abroad for vessels under the conditions then existing, and by MT. Newlands, who expressed the opinion that the construction of the canal should have been intrusted to the geologi- cal survey.
 A substitute for Mir Bacon's amendment offered by MT. Hale was accepted It specifically requires that Congress shall be supplied with regular estimates of all salaries except those paid to laborers. skilled and unskilled. Otherwise the bill was passed as reported from comniit- tee.
 During the day MT. Hale made the authorized announcement that MT. Bishops duties as press agent" would be discontinued.
 Baaos Takes Floor | When the Panama canal appropriation l bill was taken up, MT. Bacon took the floor in support of his amendment re- auiring quarterly estimates ( the salaries and other expenses of the canal commis- sion.
 | He said that under tho present system 1 Congress WAS deprived of the opportun- ity for proper scrutiny of the salaries paid to the commission employees. Although there were really stronger reasons for such estimates in the case of the canal employees than In the regular departments of the government, he said such course would go far towards preventing tne extravaganza now practiced in the com mttee, He commented on the fact MT. Shonts' salary was more than twice as much as that paid to the justice of the supreme court, and said 1t was not the policy of the government to emouate tho high salaries paid by private corporations. | Even the auditor or lHt cpiihhSSioi btt' s10OOO, while the man passes on his work receives only s400O and the executive head of the department, the secretary of war. ] only SS000.
 Tn my humble judgment he said. Tho man does not live whose personal services are worth $150,000." He said in reply to MT. | Spooner that he thought the S3O.0o0 paid the chief engineer of the commission too great.
 ''I would not pay any of them more than { the chief justice Is paid, the Georgia senator declared.
 MT Spooner expressed the opinion that ! the President ought to be given suffi- ! cient latitude in the matter of salary to
 secure the best possible engineering tal- ] ent and said that the competition among l railroads for such talent was such that i 1t could not be procured for small pay
 MT. Bacon said he .arded the sal 1 aries paid the hi'@ ;ials as the least
 imnortant featlf ause there was SO
 few of them comp Fed to the long list
 of subordinates. but the fact that these [ positions bring honor and fame must
 be taken into consideration In estimating
 their compensation. To his mind tho
 alarming fact Is that subordinates are paid exorbitant salaries for services that
 can be rendered by hundreds and thou- ! sands of others. He referred specially 1 to Mir Bishop the 'press agent" and
 said that while he was only one there
 was A small army In the canal work l whose pay was out of proportion to tho | allowances to others. Referring again | 10 the payment of sl0.000 10 the canal com-
 mission auditor he said;
 Pay Is Monstrous.
 'It Is perfectly monstrous that this
 subordinate officer should be paid 70 i per cent more than is paid to the Sec 1 retary of War or the Secretary of the Treasury the head of the financial sys- | tenn of the entire government. He ex-
 pressed the opinion that not single i senator would say that the salaries should not be reduced, and he paused to hear | from any one who might think cher
 wise No one responded directly, but Mir. ! Gallinger expressed the opinion that MT. l Tafts testimony before the commission { supplied good reasons for the payment 1 of high salary to the commission audar tor.
 | MT Bacon expressed the opinion that 1 the high salaries were largely respon-
 sible for the defalcations so frequently | reported The government could not be ! conceded control the private corporations.
 but 1t does not become us to follow ! the example and thus become respon- | sible for debauching the young men of | the country"
 1 When MT Bacon concluded MT. Till | man secured the adoption of resolu- | ton requiring the interstate commerce
 commission to send to the Senate tho | record and testimony in the Atchison, | Topeka and Santa Fe railroad case. al- | leging unlawful practices and rates In | the transportation of coal and mining
 supplies.
 The consideration of the canal bill was | then resumed and Mir, Allison replied to | Mir. Bacon He agreed with the Georgia | senator as to the desrability of securing | estimates of the funds necessary for the | canal salaries but he urged that the bill
 as 1t stands makes ample provision for
 such estimates to be supplied by the ! President himself. He considered MT. | Bacon's provision limitation rather than