Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-12-07
seth CONGRESS.
Continued from Page One.)

and Havana. was asked for by Wads-
worth, Ny.
Hepburn replied that he understood
the three steamers originally purchas-
cd as a part of the property of the
French Canal Co. were not capable of
transporting the required material to
the isthmuS.
Fault was found by Olmstead, Pa,
and Kahn, Cal, with the statement Of
the expenses furnished. Hepburn con-
CURED i'll this opinion.
Tawney, Mimi, suggested that the
Instructions to the canal commission
be for a detailed and classified or
'1temized' statement of expenses.
The floor was yielded to Williams,
Miss, who gave notice of certain
amendments he should offer to the bill
later. He declared the canal a nom
partisan question.
The principal amendment he should
offer would he to strike out the sum Of
SIG, 500O00 in the bill, and insert an
amount he should endcavor to asccr-
tain as the amount actually necessary
to carry Oh the work after Jan. | next.
Asserting that there were at least SD
OOO, 600 bclonging to the United States
new on dcposite without interest in the
national banks. Williams said he should
object to the issuance of bonds on
which two per cent. interest should be
paid to secure money to build the can
al. Failing in striking out the entire
bonding provision. he should move to
strike out the provision reimburSing the
treasury the amount appropriated in
the bill from the proceeds of the bond
sale. He called attention to the orig
inaI act authorizing the bonds for the
canal and it was plain there WAS no
thing mandatory about it. He MAIN
tanned that the position he took was
not u movement against national
banks.
At the suggestion of Fitzgerald. n
Y. Williams said he should also offer
an amendment requiring iteniized state
mcnts Of expenditures from the canal
commission.
Mann. Ills. stated that there We're.
two employees of the canal commission
who received salaries of $l0.0CO a wear.
one is Mr.. ROSS. purchasing agent. ana
the other Mr.. Bishop. secretary to the
commission.
Mann replying to questions by Clay
ton. Ala, said there was 40 doubt this
appropriation should have been carried
III tho last sunGry civil appropriations
bill but that the old canal commissions
had said they would not need the
money.
'That commission was done away
win ana new commission appointed"
he continued, and since that time the
work on the canal has progressed
much more rapidly and VIVA, We are
meeting now is Il condition and not
a theory"
An amendment was offered by Hill
Conn, making the canal bonds avail
able as security for national bank cir
collation..
A protest was entered by Olmstrd
IA. against being required to vote an
prqInif' tons tfQJs The. oaJIsI l. .wit ha,1t
having detailed statement of expend-
iturc..
Mann, ILL.,. received permission to hny..
printed a partial statement of expenses
of the work which lie said might thrnw
additional light on tho matter He indi-
Gated that the commissions would doubt
less furnish complete details of cxpendi-
lures when the appropriation for the en-
suing year is asked.
Dlrnstc1d received the statement fur
nisECd and said that in these days when
publicity of corporations is being demand
cd, such Il showing us the commission
had made was decidedly IHcking
ephurn suggested that the annual re-
port of the secretary OF var NOW in the
hands of the printer. will SHOW detailed
statement of expense on the canal
Admit ling that 1t might have b"rn hc' Y
ter if the estimates had been more in de-
tail. Hepburn saw no good reason why the
appropriation should not be made. IT."
said if The estimates hn'l hrnu III detail
il would hardly be the function Of m"m-
bcrS to set up their unproiesSionaI juiC-
mcEt against that of expert engineers. H."
read items in the estimates for river ana
harbor improvements to show that they
were not in detail and not in form. to give
information to he understood except by
the engineers. 1t would be inpcrt inrnc..
on his part, he maintained. TO set ~ his
judgment against the expert officials who
had been selected because Of their fitness
for this work.
This statement furnished the t'Xt for Il
lively speech by Bourkc Cochran, \. y,
who demanded to know if members at
the House were to bindly follow csti-
mates. what were they here for If that
was the case. he did not want to oc"upy
his position on the House floor. II" asked
Hepburn what the President meant when
he said IN his message: Il earnestly roe
omncnd to the Congress the need Of econ
omy and to this end Il rigid scrutiny OF
appropriations"
Hepburn retOrtod that he did not pro-
pose that the gentleman from New York
should make him responsible for 2 state
mcnt he had not made. He had not &C.
MED the right of scrutiny of ftny mem
Der Of the House with regard\tc appro-
prations. lie reiterated whatN he had
said, and added:
"Out of that, for the purpose OF tht
gentleman. that he might deliver one OF
his general diatrbcs upon public virtue
and upon the constitution. he attempts
to ,,istort the purpose of my language
into Il denial of scrutiny on the part OF
the membership here of the business that
comes before it, What | said was not
what the gentleman gliblv and repeatedly