Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1905-02-15
THE WORK OF CONGRESS
The Senate and House Regularly at
Work-What They are Doing.

After nearly four days of discussion,
the House, by a vote of 1926 to II, pass
I'd the Esch-Townsend bill, providing
for the regulation of freight rates. The
negative vote vas made up of IL Re-
publicans and six Democrats.
The closing hours of the debate were
occupied by Messrs. Williams, of Mis-
Sissippi, the minority leader, and Hep
burn, Of Iowa, chairman Of the CON-
mittee which reported the bill. Mr..
Williams, while supporting the minor
ity measure, said he knew it could not
pass. and complimented the Republi-
cans for bringing in a bill which was
much better than he expected would
come from them.
The speech of Mr.. Hepburn was
rather in defense of himself. He said
that his needs and acts were Suffi-
Gent answer to the Lies and SANDERS
which had been heaped upon him. The
bill known as the Hepburn bill, he
said, had been prepared by the Attor-
ney General and he only yielded to
his colleagues on the committee on the
Esch-Townsend bill, because he did not
want the committee to be the target
for scribblers, who wanted sensational
headlines.
Personalities in the House.
Not in recent years has the House
witnessed such a spectacle as it did
Monday with Mr.. Sullivan, of Massa-
chusetts, and William R. Hearst as the
central figures. Both INDUCED in per-
sonalities of the gravest character,
and so stirred the House as to arouse
among certin members a feeling of
the greatest indignation. Mr.. Sullivan
heaped upon Mr.. Hearst a TRADE of
denunciation, while the latter, by i'm
plication, charged Mr.. Sullivan with
completely in a murder.
The affair grew out of the recent
discussion of the freight rate question
in the House, when Mr.. Sullivan in
quired Of Mr.. Lamar. of Florida, who
was favoring the Hearst bill, why Mr..
Hearst did not defend his own bill,
this being followed by a criticism of
Mr.. Sullivan in The New York Ameri-
can and Journal.
More Frequent Cotton Reports.
The Senate heard ten witnesses in
the Swayne Impeachment trial Mon
day, and devoted the remainder of it's
time to the consideration of the agri-
cultural appropriation bill. The major
portion of the debate in connection
with the appropriation bill was baAed
on an amendment suggested by Mr..
Bacon, providing for semi-monthly re-
ports on the condition of the cotton
crop, which was amended so as to
cover the last five months of the
year, and adopted.
Mr.. Bacon, in offering his amend
ment, said that no provision could be
incorporated in the bill that would
be of s. much Importance to the cot
ton producers as this one. He traced
the failure of the growers to secure
profitable returns from last seasons
crop to the in%frequency of the Off
cial reports. The loss in one month on
this account had not been less than
$40, 600, 900. He also urged that the
Secretary should publish a synopsis
of the information on which his esti-
mate is based, as well as the estimate
itself. Mr.. Proctor presented a letter
from the chief statistician of the Agri-
cultural Department, saying that the
adoption of the Bacon cotton amend
ment would involve an additional ex-
penditure of 5000 per mum.