·- . CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. - Govinfo.gov

·- . :. . . 1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5117

SENATE. THURSDAY May 22, 1890.

Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. J. G. BUTLER, D. D. . The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and approved.

SE"MINOLE INDIAN LANDS.

The VICE-PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the following message from the President of the United States; which was read, and, with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs, and ordered to be printed. To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith a. communication of the 20th instant, from the Secretary of the Interior, and accompanying correspondence, in the ma.tt.e.r of th~ request of the Seminole Nation of Indians for negotiations with the Creek Nation of Indians for the purchase of an additional quantity of land, being a.bout 25,000 acres, for the use of the Seminoles,

The request is based upon the fa.ct that former purchases do not embrace all of the lands upon which the Seminole Indians have ma.de improvements, a~d which by the corrected survey were given to the Creeks. The money to be pa.id for thes~ lands is to be reimbursed to I.be Government b)J~hNle~~iUsoN.

ExECUTIVE MANSION, May 21, le90.

LYDIA K. WHITE.

The VICE-PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the amendments of the Honse of Representatives to the bill (S. 1207) granting a pension to Lydia K. White, a volunteer awmy nurse.

The amendments of the House of Representatives were, in line 6, before the word "dolJars," to strike out "twenty-five" and insert "twelve,'; and in line 12, after the word "months," to strike out ''from March 4, 1888. ''

Mr. BLODGETT. I move that the Senate concur in the amendments of the Ho.use of Representatives.

The motion was agreed to.

CREDENTIALS.

· Mr. PAYNE presented the credentials of Calvin S. Brice, chosen by the Legislature of Ohio Senator from that State for the term beginning March 4, 1891; which were read, and ordered to be filed. ·

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

Mr. SHERMAN. I present a memorial of the national convention ·of wool-growers, held in the city of Wa-shington, D. C., December 2 to 9, 1889, presenting the claims of the wool-growers to full and adequate protection for the woolindustry. ·As it is a paper of importance, I move that the memorial be printed as a document and referred to the Committee on Finance. ·

The motion was agreed to. Mr. SQUIRE. I present a petition of the Chamber of Commerce of

the city of Seattle, in the State of Wash~ngton, praying for an appropriation of sufficient money to renew the cable between Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery, and for the repair of the Government telegraph line from Cape Flattery to the nearest point of conne.ction with the lines of private companies. I move that the petition be referred to the Committee on Commerce.

The motion· was agreed to. Mr. STOCKBRIDGE presented a petition collected by the National

Woman's Christian Temperance Union, signed by 426 citizens of Michigan, praying for the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

He also presented a petition of employes of the knitting-works at Lansing, Mich., praying for the passage of the McKinley tariff bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. FAR WELL presented a petition of G. Neitzel, of Peru, Ill., praying for an adjustment of his claim for bounty, which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. HISCOCK. I present resolutions adopted by the New York State Dairymen's Association, reciting that the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States known as the original-package decision, allowing goods to be shipped from one State to another under the interstate-commerce clause, unless restricted in its application, is inimical to the dairy interestB of New York. The association in itB petition prays for the enactment by Congress of such suitable laws as will protect our citiZens on account of this decision.

I move the reference of the resolutions to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.

The VICE.PRFSIDENT. The bill being before the Senate, the petition will lie on the table.

Mr. HISCOCK. There is no bill on that subject before the Senate, so far as I am aware.

"l'he VICE-PRE ' ID ENT. The Chair understands the petition to refer to original packages.

Mr. HISCOCK: It asks for original legislation, as I suppose, in respect to the shipment of oleomargarine from one State to another. No bill has yet been presented on that subject.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The petition will be referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry .

. ,.

Mr. INGALLS presented a petition of Larrabee Post, No.164, Grand Army of the Republic, at Russell, Kans., praying for the passage of a service-pension bill; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions.

He also presented a petition of Post No. 74, Department of Nebraska: Grand Army of the Republic, praying for the passage of Senate bill 4?6, to rem9ve the limitations in the act granting arrears of pension; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions.

He also presented the petition of J. R. Matlock and 14 other members of the Farmers' Alliance, of Crawford County, Kansas; the petition of John Keck and 16 other members of the Farmers' Alliance, of Crawford County, Kansas, and the petition of W. J. Longfellow and 15 other members of the Farmers' Alliance, of Crawford County, Kansas, praying for the passage of the Vance su btreasury or warehouse bill, for the free and unlimited coinage of silver, and for a deep-water harbor at Galveston, Tex.; which were referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. CULLOM ·presented sundry petitions, signed by numerous citizens of the State of Illinois, praying for the passage of a Sunday-rest law; which were referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

He also presented the petition of Florian Zugg, of Peoria, Ill., praying that an act of Congress may be passed for his relief by and through which letters patent may be granted to him for improvements in gasburning apparatus; which was referred to the Committee on Patents.

Mr. PETTIGREW presented a petition of the mayor and city officers of the city of Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, praying for the passage of a bill making it unlawful to transport intoxicating liquors from one State or Territory into any other State or Territory having prohihirory laws; which was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. PLATT presented the petition of D. P. Mills and other empfoyes in knitting mills at Naugatuck, Conn., praying for the passage of the McKinley tariff bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. PAD DOCK presented a petition of the national convention of mutual life and accident underwriters, prayiogforareduction ofletter postage to one cent an ounce or fraction thereof; which wa.<J referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads. ·

Mr. VOORHEES presented a petition of survivors of the Mexican war, residing in the State of Ohio, praying for the erection of a m?nument to General Zachary Taylor; which was referred to the Committee on the Library. -

Mr. PAYNE presented three petitions of citizens of Ohio, praying for the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which were referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. ..

Mr. PASCO presented a petition of citizens of Alachua County, Flotida, praying for the passage of certain legislation to relieve the present depres.sed condition of agriculture; which was referred .to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestzy.

He also presented resolutions of the Board of Trade of Savannah, Ga., favoring a change in 8chedule F, relating to tobacco and manufactures thereof, in the McKinley tariff bill; which were referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. BLODGETT presented a petition of 64 citizens of New Jersey, praying for the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which was re-ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor. _

Mr. CAMERON presented a petition of citizens of fennsylvania, praying for· the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

He also presented a petition of James D. St.eel and 44 other operatives in the knitting mill at Wiconisco, Pa., and a petition of William Hetrick and 133 other operatives in the knitting mill of Justus Koch & Co., in Philadelphia, Pa., praying for the passage of the McKinley tariff bill; which were referred to the Committ.ee on Finance.

Mr. PLATT present.€d a petition of 143 citizens of Plainville, Conn., praying for the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SA WYER presented the petition of Fred. C. Bronson and 36 other employes of the knitting works at Mazouranie, Wis., and the petition of Maggie Hughes and 277 other employes of the knitting works at Milwaukee, Wis., praying for the passage of the McKinley tariff bill; which wer~ referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. SHERMAN presented three petitions of citizens of Ohio, praying for the passage of a Sunday-rest bill; which were referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. FARWELL presented a petition of 27 citizens of Illinois, pray· ing for the passage of a Sunday-rest law; whiGb was referred to tha Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. HISCOCK presented a petitionof157 citizensofNew.York, praying for the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. CALL. I present a petition of C. Bevill and a number of other citizens of Sumt.er County, in the State of Florida, stating their belief that the present depressed condition of agriculture can be greatly relieved by a change in the financial system of the Government so as to give the volume of the circulating medium a flexible quality eq_ual to the fluctuation in demand caused by the marketing of the products of agriculture, and praying for relief in that direction by the passage of

{

I .•

, •

.-

,,

r

• 5118 CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-SENATE. MAY 22,

House bill 7163 or Senate bill 2806. I move that the petition be referred tot.he Committee on Finance.

The motion was agreed to. Mr. PLUMB presented a petition of Bluff Alliance, No. 938, of Sum

ner County, Kansas_, praying for certain financial legislation; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

He also presented a petition of John A. Martin Post 93, Department of Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic, of Atchison, Kans., praying for the donation to the State of Kansas of the remainder of the Fort Dodge military reservation for the purpose.sofa soldiers' home; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. PLUMB. I present a petition of the Wage-Workers' Political Alliance of Washington, D. C., praying that Moses Harman, of Valley Falls, Kans., be allowed to publish whateverhepleasesinhishumanita.rian periodical, whlch I move be referred to the Committee on the Judfoiary, in connection with the draught of a bill for his relief, which accompanies the petition.


A bill (H. R. 5050) granting a pension to Dolly Blazer; A bill (H. R. 5098) for the relief of William A. Berge; A bill (H. R. 6153) granting a pension to Elizabeth Bennett; A bill (H. R. 7513) granting a pension to Pauline M. Beach; and A bilJ (H. R. 6211) granting a pension to Joh:a S. Lozier. Mr. BATE, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was

referred the bill (S. 3130) to correct the military record of William Smith, of Tennessee, reported it without amendment, and submitted a report thereon.

Mr. PADDOCK, from the Committee on Pension.R, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2011) granting a pension to Susanna Mitts, reported it without amendment, and submitted a report thereon.

Mr. HIGGINS, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was refened the bill (S. 1195) for therelief of Snowden & Mason, reported it without amendment, and submitted a report thereon.

l\fr. DA. WES presented a petition of the Free Baptist Church and Sunday-school and the Congregational Church and Sunday-school at ""Blackstone, Mass., praying for the passage of a national Sunday-rest law; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. HIGGINS. I am instructed by the Committee on Claims to report an amendment to Senate bill 1187, for the relief of the Washington Iron Works, in substitution of the bill already reported.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The proposed substitute will be printed and placed on the Calendar with the bill. ·

Mr. BLAIR, from the Committee on Education and Labor> to whom was referred the bill (S. 947) to restrict the use and sale of opium in the Distrfot of Columbia and the Territories of the United States, re-

/_

Mr. PADDOCK presented a petition of30 citizens of Verdon, Richardson County, Nebraska, praying for the pas.sage ofanational Sundayrestlaw; which was referred to the Committee on Edu.cation and Labor.

ported it with amendments. • .

BILLS INTRODUCED.

REPORTS OF COMMIITEES. • Mr. DA WES introduced a bill (S. 3902) to amend an act entitled 1\Ir. HALE, from the Committee on the Census, to whom was referred "An act to rep:ulate commerce," approved February 4, 1887; which

the bill (S. 3873) to amend an act entitled HAn act to provide for tak- was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Interstate ing the eleventh and subsequent censuses," approved March 1, 1889, Commerce. · and amended January 23, 1890, in relation to the compensation of su- Mr. BLACKBURN introduced a bill (S. 3903) for the relief of John pervisors and enumerators of census, reported it without amendment. Glore; which wa.sread twice by its title, and referred to the Committee

l\1r. HALE. In the absence of the Senator from New Hampshire on Claims. -[Mr. CHANDLER], the chairman of the Committee on Immigration, I Mr. COLQUITT (by request) introduced a bill (S. 3904) to fix the submit a report concerning the workings of the laws relative to immi- rate of postage on periodical publicatioll8 containing the print or regration from foreign countries into the United States, which I ask may print of books; which was read twice by ita title, and referred to the be printed. Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads.

'l"he VICE-PRESIDENT. The report will be printed under the rule. He also (by request) introduced a bill (S. 3905) .regulating rates of Mr. TELLER, from the Committee on Patent.s, to whom was referred postage on second-class mail-matter at letter-carrier offices; which was

an ame°'dplent intended to be proposed to the legislative, executive, read twice by it.s title, and referred to the Committee on Pos·t-o:ffice.s and judicial appropriation bill, reported it favorably, and moved its and Post-Roads. _ reference to the Committee on Appropriations, and that it be printed; Mr. HOAR introduced a bill (S. 3906) granting a pension to Emma which was agreed to: . J. V. B. Robbins; which was read twice by it.s title, and referred to

Mr. WALTHALL, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom the Committee on Pensions. was referred the bill (S. 3167) authorizing the appointment of Henry Mr. BATE fntroduced a bill (S. 3907) for the relief of Capt. W. M. Haymond to the position of captain i.µ the Army and to place him on Wallace; which was read twice by it.s title, and, with the accompanythe retired-list, reported adverselythereon; and the bill was postponed ing papel"S, referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. iudefinitely. Mr. PETTIGREW introduced a bill (S. 3908) to increase the salaries

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred the bill (S. of the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs 3095) for the relief of Joseph C. Grissom, submitted an adverse report and of the financial clerk in the Indian Office; which was read twice thereon, which was agreed to; and the bill was postponed indefinitely. by it.s title, and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Mr. FAULKNER, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was re- Mr. FARWELL introduced a bill (S. 3909) granting a pension to ferred the bill(~. 151) tor the relief of J. L. Cain and others, reported Mrs. Margaret Wilkins; which was read twice by its title, and, with it with amendments, and submitted a report thereon. the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee. on Pensions.

Mr. MOODY, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom were re- Mr. STOCKBRIDGE introduced a bill (S. 3910) granting a pension ferred the following bills, reported them severally without amend- to John W. Griswold; which was read twice by its title, and referred ment, and submitted reports thereon: to the Committee on Pensions.

A bill (S. 1712) granting a pension to Cynthia A. Gudgell; and Mr. HISCOCK introduced a bill (S. 3911) subjecting oleomargarine A bill (S. 3756) for the relief of William Elmendorf. to the provisions of the Jaws of the several States; which was read twice Mr. MOODY, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom was reby its title, and referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.

ferred the bill (S. 1668) granting a pension to Henry Poling, submit- 1i1r. TELLER introduced a bill (S. 3912) granting a pension to An· ted a adverse report thereon, which waa agreed to; and the bill was drew JJMcWade; which was read twice by its title, and, with the ac-postponed indefinitely. compaig papers, referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Mr. CAMERON, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom Mr. NIEL introduced a bill (S. 3913) to provide for the erection was refetred the bill (S. 3840) to remove the charge of desertion against of a pu 'c building at Charlottesville, Va.; which was read twice by George Fetterman, reported it without amendment, and submitted a its title, and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. report thereon. Mr. PLUMB introduced a bill (S. 3914) granting a pension to Frank

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred the bill (S. A. Puffer; which was read twice by its title, and, with the accompany-3521 )for tli.e reliefofTimothy Hennessey,reported it with amendment.s, ing papers, referred to the Committee on Pensions. · and submitted a report thereon. He also introduced a bill (S. 3915) granting a pension to Lucy A.

He also, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred Nicholson; which was read twice by its title, and, with t~e accompathe bill (S. 200) for the establishment of a navy yard and dry-dock on nying papers, referred to the Committee on Pensions. the Government reservation near .. Ugiers, La., with an appropriation He also introduced a bill (S. 3916) (or the relief of Frederick :Martin; therefor, reported it with amendments. which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Mil-

Mr. DA. VIS, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was it.ary Affairs. , referred the bill (S. 2080) authorizing the restoration of the name of Mr. DOLPH introduced a bill (S. 3917) to adopt regulations for preThomas H. Carpenter, late captain Seventeenth United States Infantry, venting collisions at sea; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the rolls of the Army, and providing that he be placed on the list of to the Committee on Commerce. retired officers, reported it with an amendment, and snbUlitted a report He also introduced a bill (S. 3918) in regard to collisions at sea; which thereon. · was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Com-

.Mr. TURPIE, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom were re- merce. ferred the following bills, reported them severally without amendment, . .!\-Ir. EV ARTS introduced a bill (S. 3919) granting an increa.se of pen-and submitted reports thereon: sion to H. Louiae Gates; which was read twice by itstiile, and referred

A bill (H. R. 7729) granting a pension to Eva T. Blake; to the Committee on Pensions. A bill (H. R. 4190) granting a pension to Mrs. Susannah D. Clark; Mr. PLUMB introdnced a bill (S .. 3920) for the relief of William P. A bill (H. R. 8474) to restorethe name ofBe1inda Lloyd to the pen- I Bu~~aster; which was read twice by its title, and refer.red to the

sion·roll and pay her a. pension; , Committee on Claims.

I

• I

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5119 He also introduced a bill (S. 3921) for the erection of a public build

ing at Newton, Kans.; which was read twice by its title, and referred fu the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

.AMENDMENT TO .APPROPRIATION BILL.

Mr. STEW ART submitted an amendment intended to be proposed py him to the sundry civil appropriation bill; which was referred to the Select Committ;ee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands, and ordered to be i>rinted.

EDWARD T. LATIA,

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. Some weeks ago the bill (S. 575) granting a pension t.o Edward T. Latta was reported adversely by the Committee on Pensions and indefinitely postponed. ,I ask unanimous consent for the reconsideratic~n of the vote by which the bill was indefiuitely postponed.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. Is there objection? The Chair hears none; and the vote to indefinitely postpone is reconsidered.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I move that the bill be recommitted to the Committee on Pensions, together with the papers which I now present.


DISTRICT .APPROPRIATION BILL.

PENSION .APPROPRIATION BILL.

The VICE-PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the action of the House of Representatives concurring. in some and non-concurring in other amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 7160) making appropriations for the payment of invalid and other pensions of the United States for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes, and requesting a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon.

Mr. ALLISON. I move that theSenate insist upon its amendments disagreed to by the House of Representatives and agree to the conference asked for.

The motion was agreed to. By unanimous consent, the Vice-President was authorized to appoint

the conferees on the part of the Senate; and Mr. ALLISON, Mr. DA WES, and Mr. GORMAN were appointed.

NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL.

Mr. HALE. I gave notice yesterday, atthecloseofthesession, that at the completion of the routine morning business to-day I would move to take np the naval appropriation bill. It will not take a great deal of time, I think. I find, however, that the Senalor from Virginia [Mr. DANIEL] had previously given notice of his desire to speak upon the silver bill at this hour, and in deference to his wishes, as he is prepared to go on, I will not make the motion now, but give notirce t at at the close of hi<J remarks I shall ask the Senate to consider the val appropriation bill, hoping that we.shall get it out of the way d ring the day. .

TREASURY NOTES .AND SILVER BULLIOY.

The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill (S. 2350) authorizing the issue of Treasury notes on deposits of silver bullion.

Mr. DANIEL. Mr. Pr~ident, the financial system of the United States is in disa.rray. It comprehends taxation, currency, and debt. Separately and collectively they are out of joint. The currency is insufficient in volume to sustain prices. It isirresponsive to the laws of trade. It is congested in the Treasury, and a hundred millions of it is held to redeem another portion of it, which is legal tender like itself, while $30,000,000 are loaned out without interest t.o bankers.

Our taxation is excessive, a. worse than useless burden, {louring surplus into the Treasury and stimulating extravagance to get it out. Our public debt bas been put in such anomalous relations to the laws that the Government appears on both sides of the sales-counter, in obviously incompatible and contradictory r~lations. On one side of the counter it boosta up the price of bonds far beyond par value; on the other side i~ buys them before maturity at exorbitant raies.

When ever before did seller run up prices of things he had to buy or buy when he was boosting the price? In this regard a mock-auction sale is the model o~ our so-called financial system. To call this "sys-_ tem " is indeed a misnomer. Thera is no more "system" in it than in a game of jack-straws. But there is science in it, the science of putting in a paper or silver jackstraw and p\llling out a gold one.

I

AN "AMERICAN SYSTEM" OF TAXATION AND A BRITISH SYSTEM OF CURRENCY ' AND DEBT.

Our arbitrary tax laws prevent our producers from buying in cheap markets. They do not prevent them from having to sell in those cheap markets their surplus products of wheatt corn, cotton, meat, and other staples. "Be patient in getting poorert" says the high-tax, gold monometallistt "and we will build you a home market." " Well," says the honest producer, "all right; but if we are to have a home market let us make more home money out of the silver God has given us, wherewithal the people can pay their taxes, and give us higher prices." "Oh, no!" says the high-tax monometallist, "that would put us out of gear with the British gold and the German gold and the gold of Europe." "Your tax system," replies the producer, "is built _onnonintercourse with foreign markets and is called the 'American system.' How is it you demand an American system of taxes and a British system of currency? If you will not let me trade more freely and get high prices in foreign markets, why will you not let me make money· freely that will circulate in the home market? "

As long as the high-tax monometa.llist can keep from answering that. question or so befog it as to keep the people from answering it, be will continue in the jumble to pull out the gold jackstraws.

OUR GOLD IS FOR ONE CLASS AND OUR TAXES FOR UOTJIER,

Our public obligations are discharged according to the like science. We owe wages to our hundred thousands of employes; we owe their

stipends to our sailors and soldiers; we owe salaries to our officials and agents, judges, jurorst clerks, men of science, men of skill, men of work; we owe payments to onr contractors and laborers upon public wor~; we owe interest to our bondholders. But stand aside, judge and jury; stand a.side, laborer and contractor; stand aside, sailor and soldier; stand asidet disabled veteran and worthy servant; we have several kinds of currency; in our house are many mansions; silver and greenbacks are good enough for yon; we reserve gold exclusively for our bondholders! True, you got promises to pay when silver was de·· monetize']. But we never thought that that gave you any right to gold, and you never had the audacity to claim it.

But our other creditors, not more deserving, not more needy, they want gold. So please wait for the se,eond table. The gold feast is spread for a classt not for the people, nor their faithful servants who only give brains, and energy, and limb, and life to support the Government. On the hustings and in the platforms, "This is a. Government of the people, for the peoplet and by the people.'' But we are in the Treasury now; there "This is a Government of a class, for a class, and by a class." You do not belong to it. Stand a.side. .And out of the jumble of contradictions the monopolist pulls out the gold jackstraws, and proceeds t-0 deliver a lecture on the beatitudes of public faith and the British gold system.

GIVING TO HIM THAT RATH.

The class to whom we pay gold exclusively are a class who pay no taxes on the very investments that demand this exclusive benefit. Besides this, they are permitted to issue currency to the extent of 90 per cent. and draw interest from two fountains. They are exempt from taxes, and they do not wish to permit those who pay the taxes to pay in anything but gold so that they may be sure of getting gold.

Since August, 1887, we have not only paid interest on these untaxed bonds in gold, but we bought $250,000,000 of bonds before maturity for $293,000,000 of money, paying premiums amounting to $43,000,000 over and above their par.

Thevalueofall the real and personal estatein theStateofNevada is $30,000,000. We have made a present to our bondholders of one State and a good portion of another.

Nor is this all. We are told it will not do to lend farmers any money on their products at any rate of interest. Bat we are taxing our producers to pay gold to those who pay no taxes, to pay debts not due, and to lend them money free, without a dime of interest l

IS THIS TRIBUTE TO CESAR?

Are we doing these things voluntarily or are we forced to do them~ Has some Eastern despot taken possession of the American Republic and are we paying tribute to C:;esar? The Secretary of the Treasury says in his report that this premium, paying to bondbolders is only done as an '' expedient resorted to to restore a part of the surplus to the channels of trade, it being the only means open to the Treas ry for theuse of money." (Report of December, 1889.)

THE CURRENCIES A.RE OUT OF JOINT,

As the so-called financial system is in disarray, so is the cun-ency system, ta.ken by itself, in disarray.

We have four principal different kinds of currency, gold, silver, greenbacks, and national-bank notes, and two brevet kinds-that is, gold and silver certificates.

The greenback is sick. It can not multiply and replenish the earth. Fixed at one figure by law, limited to the arbitrary sum of $346,000,-000, it can not rise.. above or fall below that sum. It is as rigid as a post in the ground. It is frozen in its place. No more, no less can it become.

The national-bank note is sick. It can not obey the com1J1and ofnatnre to multiply and replenish the earth. Resting as on United States bonds. it mast vanish as the bonds are paid. It is vanishing. It is

,

I -

·.

-

5120 CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-SENATE.

a satelJite, a moon of which the bond is sun, anct as the sun is extinguished the moonlight can no longer shine.

SIL VER IS ENSLA. VED AND IS SICK. Silver is sick. The doctor has been at its bedside for nearly twenty

years. No man can take his silver to the Mint and get it coined, not an ounce. The Government buys two millions' worth of it a month. How much that is or will be nobody can tell until the purchase is made. -The more silver we make the cheaper it gets, because the more there is that can not respond to demand and get to be a dollar. Silver dollars can not obey the command o' nature t.o multiply and replenish the earth.

GOLD IS FREE AND IS WELL. The only one of these currencies that the law has not tampered with

is gold. Since the Mint opened in 1792 to the present day gold bas had the privilege of free coinage. It alone can obey the natural laws which make it come and go according to supply and demand. The doctors have given gold no medicine and it is well-strong, healthy, and sound. It can multiply at its will and replenish the earth. SILVER A.ND GOLD THE JIIONEY OF NATURE, THE MONEY OF HISTORY, A.ND THE

MONEY OF THE CONSTITUTION.

brits representative. certificate on paper nor by its change in~ ·tiny pieces can you make it otherwise than too small for the great body of common uses.

2. It is the best moriey by reason of its quantity. There is more silver than there is gold. "The greatest good to the greatest number" is the spirit of. the Republic; and silver can carry the great.est good to the greatest number, because there is more of it that can be turned into moqey.

It is the be..<1tmoney, becausA the people are better acquainted with it and more commonly use it. . It iiJ the money of the farmer, the mechanic, and the storekeeper. It 1s the mone~ of the ~arketwoman, the blacksmith, the carpenter, and the hack-driver. It is the ·money of the laborer. It is the money of the poor man. It is the money of the people.

Especially is it ~he best money for Americans, for America produces one-~ali of the silver of the world and less than a fifth of the gold. And ~fall the :fine talk about protecting home industry and home products is not the merest false pretense, to be whistled down the wind, why should we not stand by our own, by that which is our chief and most valuable possession?

In studying the world as the contemplated home of man, in the di- GOLD uoNoPoLY IS LOCAL. vine economy it would seem as if silver and gold alike were the ap- The contest for gold monopoly is a local contest. Not indeed made pointed agents of Providence to subserve his uses in the office of money· in those localities where the gold mine tempts the enterprise of adventand in studying history it would seem that as soon as human intelli~ ure or engages the miner's honest toil to produce gold and add to the gence awakened to consciousness of its surroundings it recognized this world's wealth. But the locality can be spotted. Go to the place tact and applied it to practical advantage. In the twilight of civiliza- where there ·are great investments which want quick accretion· go int.o tion they appear as the media of exchange of nations emerging from the closet where the usurer weaves his web and files away h~ bonds. barbarism into the cultivated habits of social and commercial life. Go where the coupon-clipper is cutting silver coupons and praying that They have maintained a wonderful equilibrium of relation with each Congress will continue its Midas touch and turn it into gold· there other through a stretch of ages; they are to-day the money of the vast you will:find the gold man prompting his gold advocates whenev~r they majority of the human race; they were the money of our ancestors in can be ~otten to spea~ for him; prompting them, not that he, like the the Old World, whether we trace our origin to Great Britain, France gold-mmer may provide wealth, but that he may turn his lesser wealth Gerniany, Italy, Scandinavia, or Jerusalem; they were the inherited into greater, turn silver into gold by the subtle alchemy of larcenous money of our colonies before we asserted our Independence; they were laws or burglarious interpretations. ordained t.o be our money by those who framed oar Federal Constitu- THE BA.TrLE FOR SILVER IS NOT LOCAL. tion~ they were our money from the foundation of our Mint, in 1792, Well did the Senator from Colorado say that this issue-this silver to the dismissal of silver from the right of coinage, in 1873; and no advocacy-is n_ot local. I~ is.as bI"?a<;l as the :fields of labor; it is as deep sooner was the fact of its surreptitious dismissal discovered by the peo- as t·he foundations of patriotism; 1t 1s as sturdy as the passion of man ple of.the United States than they commenced political warfare for its for liberty, and as pure .as his love of home and family. It matters no restoration. more that ~he metal silver shall come fromCalifornia, Nevada, orColo-

After :five years of contest they succeeded, in 1878, by overriding the rado than it matters that the tea which cheers the fainting invalid ve~ of a. Republican President, in securing the coinage of $2, 000,000 should be plucked from a bush in China. or Japan, or that the fine ether of sdver per m0nth.by the Bland act, amidst voices prophesying panics which rescues life from pain and death should be distilled from the arocatastrophe, and ruin. And now at the end of twelve years more of ma.tic herbs of distant climes. st~le they demand its fnl~ and .perfect rest.oration to free coinage, GOLD AND SILVER THE KING A.ND QUEEN oF HONEY. while they who then proph081ed evil must confess their error as to the These two metals are money companions wedded by nature. These past, but still persist-in prophesying evil for the future with a self- ~e?Us are beautiful, they are portable, they are durable, they are di-con.fidence that maintains its par with their self-interests. VIs1ble; they possess ~ermanent and ubiquitous value; they are readily

Two METAL HONEYS ARE BETTER THAN oNE METAL MONEY. measurable and readily stamped and made cognizable at a glance of This is now almost universally acknowledged. Certainly it is gen- the eye. They are limited in quantity and acquired by labor. Before

erally professed here and :finds no open denial. The experience of the the jury of ~ore centur~e~ ~ban the pyr~mids of Egypt look down upon, world has demonstrated it. The wisdom of the world has accepted it. before the Jury of all c1vil1z.ed and enli~htened races of men the case The framers of our Constitution knew it, and required "gold and sil- of gold and silver has been heard, and with one voice the centuries and ver '' only to be our legal tender. the races answered that to them belonged the royal attribute of money.

The rtaSons are obvious and are twofold: By universal suffrage they were crowned and placed upon the throne First. ~old by reason of its smallness is suitable for large payments and everywhere gold and silver, as by divine right and natural &el~

and unsmtab1e for small ones, and silver by i·eason of its size is more tion, are the king and queen of money. saitablefor small payments. They ton~ue and groove together in com- . EXPERIENCE, THEORY, AND rnoPHECY. mercial uses. They are complements of each other. The one, it is Expenence-true, is like a race horse of :fine breed that goes swiftly, 'the other the Says Dr. Johnson- . . beast of burden that pulls the most behind him. - is the great test or truth and JS perpetually contra.dieting the thMrl'88 of men.

Second. The two together form a mass of money more stable in.value I N~ people have more fully realized this- than those of the United than either one would be alone. If no tea came from China the coffee Sta~during recent periods of their financial history. of Brazil would be more fluctuating in value. If there we~e no corn Many of our most distinguished publicists have predicted disaster in whea.t would have more variations. If wine could not be made fro~ I every step our country has taken to enlarge the monetary facilities of grapes, ~r be~rfrom barley, or brandy from apples, there wo~ld be greater I our people, and permit them a su~ciency ?f currency to sustain ~~e fluctuations m the value of beverages made from other things. Two or vast volumes of debt, taxes, and busmess which they have t.o deal witn. more crops ~f products that subserve like uses steady the price of all of When the greenback p~per dollar ~as issued this class. said ''ruin," them. If silver were our sole money, the discovery of a silver mine but the paper dollar was ISSned and it won the battle agamst the South w:ould jostle and disarrange prices. If gold were our sole money, the aa ~h~ paper of the Romans defeated Carthage and the paper of Great dtscovery of a gold mine would weaken its value and the failure of one Britam conquered Napoleon. would increa.se it. When silver was partially remonetized in 1878 they said ·" ruin."

The larger mass of money made of both metals steadies both. The But it came and has done good service. It is proposed now to restore vehicle on two wheels is steady· the vehicle on one wheel t.opples easily to silver the right of free coinage, to restore it to the place it held in over. True, the two wheels m~t be of the same size to maintain the our currency from 1792t.o1873; and the "bears" of the market again level of freight and passage. Legal tender is the broad deep tire of the grow 1 "ruin." money wheels which reduces the tall and lifts the l~w wheel to the ANTI·SILVER PROPHECIES. same equality of circumference. Twelve years ago, when what is known as the Bland act was before

1F WE ARE TO HA.VE BUT ONE MONEY SILVER IS THE BEST. this body-the act which partially remonetized silver-Senator Wad~ . If we were forced to have but one money silver is the best, because leigb! of New Hampshire, uttered here on the 14th of February, 1878, it can b~ used by the most people for the most purposes. language which was reiterated in various phrases in both Houses of

1. It 18 the best money by reason of its size. There is no more diffi- Congress, and which sounds exactly like the speeches and essays we culty now .in making large payments in silver than in gold, for large are now supplied with against any further resuscitation of our silver payments m both metals are now made in gold and silver certificates. money. He said: You can not, however, so well utilize gold in small payments, nei'tber The passage of this mes.sure will result in driving all the gold from thiscoun• try and giving us the single sta.nda.rd of silver.

..

'. I • ' .

1890. CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-SENATE. 512~

The cheaper metal will drive a.way the dearer. Two hundred millions of gold now in the country would, without this per

nicious agitation, ere now have crossed the frail barrier of 1! per cent" which separated it from pa.per currency and gone into our circulation to restore hope and confidence and give strength and vigor to all business operations.

The success of this measure will drive it to other enlightened and commercial nations, and leave to us the debased nnd bulky money which nearly every progressive nation in Europe has ceased to coin, and which supplies tbe few and degraded wants of the poor and ignorant millions of Russia, China, India, and Mexico.

Even now there come from all parts of the country complsints of the burdensome accumulations of subsidiary silver coin, which refuses to circulate.

THE REFUTATION.

Mark this prophecy and the fulfillment: The act passed. We have coined since then 343,638,001 silver d0l

lars, and every one of them will to-day bay as much gold bullion or as much of anything else as a. gold dollar. It did not drive away either all the gold or any of the gold out of this country. It did not give us the single standard, but it restored to us the double standard of value.

The cheaper metal did not drive away the dearer. Two hundred millions of gold then in the country with the act passed (not without it) crossed the frail barrier of 1~ per cent. which sepa.rated it from paper currency and came into circulation, and brought a stream of foreign gold along with it. Onr gold did not go to "other enlightened nations,'' but they sent us theiis. We had two hundred mill-

· ions of gold then. Gold has more than trebled. We have $689,000,-000 of gold now.

It did not give us a debased and bulky money, but one that circulates more freely than gold. Only 73 per cent. of our gold is in circulation, and 86 per cent. of our silver is at work doing the business of the people; that is, in specie or its silver-certificate representative. Russia and India. have taken away our wheat trade for the benefit of their "poor and ignorant millions." And, what is more, the silver money that was coined, despite the prophets, has served t.o rescue us from financial catastrophe and commercial ruin.

The Secretary of the Treasury now says, in contemplating this result: It is freely admitted that the predictions of many of our wisest financiers as

to when the safe limit of silver coinage would be reached have not been fulfilled, but it is belie¥ed that the principles on which their apprehensions wel'e based are justified by the laws of trade and finance and by the universal experience of mankind. While many favorable causes have co-operated to postpone the evil effects which are sure to follow the excessive use of an oyervalued coin, the danger none the less exists.

Again he says: The silver dollar has been maintained at par with gold, the monetary unit,

mainly by the provisions of law which make it a full legal tender and its representative, the silver certificate, receivable for customs and other dues; but the vacuum created by the retirement of nations.I-bank circulation and the policy of the G9vernment in not forcibly paying out silver, but leaving its acceptance largely to the creditor, have materially aided its free circulation.

Mr. President, is this news from the Secretary of the Treasury? Did not the silver men of this country tell him and tell this people that if· they would make silver the equal o<_gold as money it would maintain its power, legal tender. This is hLS testimony of the result which they predicted. I imagine he has t.old us nothing to prevent us from persisting in a policy of which we predicted the result, and of which to-day we hold up triumphantly the glorious fruits before this people.

KNOWLEDGE AND FREE COINAGE GROW TOGETHER.

What, let. me ask, Mr. President, are the impediments t.o the free coinage of silver? The first impediment, in my opinion, is the want of accurate and enlightened information upon the subject of money. The number of persons in society who study and master the subject of finance is exceedingly small. Even amongst the most intelligent and best educated men information on this subject is, as a rule, very limited, because it is a subject that has to be studied in order to be understood, and few have even the promptings or the opportunities to become thoroughly acquainted with it. Tlrat I Rm correct in this opinion is shown by the fact that just in proportion as the conn try has been enlightened by discussion, the voices in favor of free coinage have multiplied and strengthened. In 1886 there was a debate in both branches of Congress in which scores of speeches were made and widely disseminated. Just in proportion as the masses of the people have learned to understand the question they have become clamorous for :the free coinage of silver.

CERTAIN CLASSES WANT A LIMITED SUPPLY OF MONEY,

Behind the masses of society there is a class of capitalists who have large interests invested in bonds, stocks, mortgages, and private securities. They know their...business. These classes well understand that if any portion of the volume of money be dismissed from service the prices of commodities will fall, the purchasing power of a dollar will increase, and that their investments will rapidly enhance in value, not a::i the result of the accretions of labor, but as the result of the depreciation of what money can buy. The greed of this cla.55 of capitalists to reap where they have not sowed is one great and fixed obstacle t.o the free coinage of silver. England and Germany, great creditor nations, to whom the whole world owes debts computed by the thousands of millions. well understand this doctrine, and hence decry silver. Our

XXI-321

creditor classes of A.merica well underst.ood this, and after the war they demanded the speedy retirement of the greenback. Tbey understood it in 1873; when they obtained in some secret way the demonetization of silver. They understood it in 1878, when they resisted its remone-tization. They understand it now. •

The Spaniards understood this when the bullion of America was carried to Spain as spoils of her conquest and refused to allow i~ to be coined into money because it would lessen the value of money already coined. The Venetians understood this centuries ago when their C!editor class demanded the limitatiqp of the legal function upon one coin in order to elevate the value of ~e other.

SPEAKING FOR A CLASS.

And, Mr. President, that it is understood well in this body, permit me to quote from the speech of the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. DAWES], made in 1878. On December 13, 1878, that Senat.or said in bis speech against the Matthews i·esolution, as reported in the RECORD of December 13, 1878:

I speak, sir, in behalf of the bondholder~ of l\Iassachusetts, and I do not, in so speaking, speak for a handful of men in State street or a platoon of men in '~all street, but I speak for every one man, woman ,and child in three of the whole population of that State, who have 3230,000,000 now invested in her savingab:rnks, and reinvested by those banks in these securities t-0 a very large extent.

LET US STAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Now, Mr. President, if one man, woman, a~d child in three have some one to speak for them exclusively in the United States Senate, somebody ought t.o speak for the other two out of three who are unrepresented in his declaration.

Mr. President, I have not a word t-0 say ·against the bondholder. I believe that national credit is one of the greatest possessions of any nation~ and that it should be guarded with life, limb, and property; but I do not understand n~tional credit to require that I should pay any man anything"that I do not owe him, anal believe that when we have satisfied the demand of our creditor there"is also something due t.o the great mass of the people.

FALSE IMPRESSIONS

are created in order to keep down the movement for the restoration of silver. It is industriously represented by the attorneys and advocates of monometallism- - - -

1. That silver will not freely circulate. 2. That the United States have a mass of cumbrous silver in its vaults

that we can not use h<-re and are anxious to dump upon the European markets.

3. It is also represented that there is an immense accumulation,. of silver in Europe and other nations that will rush down upon us like an Alpine avalanche and suffocate us with silver.

I propose to dissipate these false statements and beliefs. · I shall do it by witnesses which no one here will impeach, by the agents of the Cleveland Adhlinistration on the one side and by the present Secretary of the Treasury on the other. Let us see how they have been created before we remove them.

FALSE IMPRESSIONS OF DANGER FROM THE SILVER AVALANCHE,

The monometallist plays the same game on both sides of the water. He warns Europe against the invasion of American silver. He warns America against an inTasion of European silver. He plays off one against the other. The European and American monometallists carry on a game of "battledore and shuttlecock" with each other, and "the silver avalanche" is the shuttlecock that is knocked to either side of the ocean where it can do the most good-

To fright t.he souls of fearful adversaries.

Mr. Edward Atkinson, of Boston, Mass., an economist of distinction, was sent t.o Europe in 1887 by the Cleveland Administration to "spy out the land 11 and see how it lay with reference t.o "the feasibility of establishing by international arrangement a fixity of ratio between the two precious metals in free coinage." His report was transmitted to Congress by President Cleveland, and from it I read as follows:

The general conviction amon~ the financial men in Europe is that the United States Government is loaded with an excessive quantity of silver dollars which it can not get into circulation. •

'l'hese dollars are coined at a standard which is at variance with the silver money of any other country, to wit: at the ratio of 16 of silver to 1 of gold. It is believed that the financial ofllcers of the United States are convinced that

the product of silver is exces•ive, and that the ratio of silver to gold, i.e., its price as bullion, is liable to fall even lower than it is now; therefore any initiative by the United States is loQked upon as.an attempt to relieve itself OAf an unprofitable stock and to provide a market for the future product of silver.

Any effort of the United States to promote a bimeta.llic treaty and. to restore the free coinage of silver is not, therefore, regarded as a sincere- effort -t-0 promote a better monetary system of which all nations may share the benefit, but rather as being induced by a desire to promote the 15pecialinterestof the United States at the cost of whom it may concern.-Bimetalli&m in Eu1·ope, .Atkinson, page9. '

AN AVALANCHE OF SILVER FRO::ll AlllERICA FE.A.RED IN EUROPE,

Then Mr. Atkinson goes on to say: The dread of a pl'Ospective "aTalanche of silver," a.s it is sometimes called.z

from the continent of North America, especia.lly from the United States, ana that this fear, which ha.s been perhaps the most potent cause of the unwilU1u~ness even to consider the question of bimeta.lllsm, may be wholly reIQ9ved by the further investigation as to the relative vroduction of silver and gold which may ensue.

/

·-

. '

I

/

5122 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. MAY 22,

CESSATION OF COINAGE IN AMERICA FEARED IN EUROPE.

Europe bas been led to believe that we propose cessation of coinage. Mr . .Atkinson says:

Another dread may also have been removed by my efforts in this direction, to wit• that of a sudden change of policy in the United States leading to the cessation' of silver coinage, and also to the possible attempt,to dispose of a considerable part of the presentst-0ckof silver coin.-Bi-lnetallism in Europe, Atkinson,

J>age 5

· OFFICIAL SOURCES OF FALSE Illl'B.ESSIONS.

From what sources have gone forth to Europe the false impre..qgions that silver does not circulate here freely, that we are anxious to dump it over in Europe, and that we contemplate cessation of the coinage of silver? Not by the American Honse of Representatives; not by the American Senate; not by the American people, but by Administrations which ha>e not truly represented the voice of this people; but our . own financial heads and ministers and officers and emissaries have occasioned,and many of them have created and industriously circulated, these false reports. ·

SUCCEEDD<G ADl!U."ISTRATIOXS AGAINST SILVER.

· A great practical impediment to free coinage is that we have never had an Administration in sympathy with the people on this subject or in sympathy with Congress when it was in sympathy with the people.

At the other end of the Avenue the effort has always been to seem to desire and to do not.

We have never had an .Administration in sympathy with silver. Europe saw President Grant veto the bill for more money in 1874, and President Hayes veto the Bland bill in 1878. It also saw Presidentelect Cleveland in 1885, ere he became President, drop into line with the then predominant notions of New York bankers and recommend ''the present suspension of the purchase and coinage of silver" and declare that "a financial crisis under the operation of the (Bland) act of February 28, l 878, is now close at hand;" tbat is, the displacement of our gold and the contraction of our silver currency.

It _was truly said by Mr. Cleveland that these warnings had been uttered in the official reports of every Secretary of the Treasury from 1878 until 1885, and we all know the most distinguished of the Secre-

- taries of the Treasury predicted in 1878 that when we got fifty mill ions of this ~ilver we should be on the e:dreme ed~e of the precipice and must stop ere we fall ovei. We have multiplied that sum seven times and are further from the precipice than ever.

We all know this, that the President-elect only echoed the views that had been promulgated from the Treasury, from the Secretaries, Sherman, Windom, Folger, and McCulloch; and his own cabinet ministers, Manning, and Fairchild, took up the cry where they left off, and an.unbroken front against silver has al ways appeared in the Treasury. Whatever party has been at the bottom there, the Wall street gold theory has al ways been on top. EUROPE INDOCTRINATED TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A GOLD·ST.AKDARD COUNTRY,

Europe has also been indoctrinated with the idea. that this is a goldstandard country. In 1867, when the distinguished Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERMAN] w~ in Paris, where.an international monetary convention was in session, Mr. Ruggles being our delegate-while there the Senator wrote a letter advocating the single gold standard and the reduction of the American gold dollar to the value of the French 5-franc gold piece, and declared if this was done '' France will surely abandon the impossible effort of making two standards of value.' 1

So, Mr. President, while the American people on this side of_ the water and in their halls of legislation are fighting for silver their embassadors and ministers are not only fighting against it, but they are on the other side of the water representing that this is a single goldstandard people and trying to ind nee other nations to adopt the American idea of a single standard.

Not only, therefore, does the Senator from Ohio appear as the eonstant, persistent enemy of silver in the United States, but as a monometa.llist, a single gold-standard advocate, seeking to still further contract the world's money by inducing France to abolish silver.

THE SINGLE GOLD STANDARD HELD OUT AS AN .AMERICAN IDEA.

Mr. Ruggles, our delegate to the convention of 1867, recommended the single gold standard. He said in his report:

The establishment of tb':i single standard exclusively of gold is in truth the cardinal if not the all-important feature of the plan proposed by the conference, relieving the whole subject by a. single stroke of the pen from the perplexity, and indeed the impossibility, of permanently unifying the multiplicity of silver coins scattered through the various na.t.ions of Europe. • • * It is a matter of world~wide congratulation that on this vital point the delegates from the nineteen nations represented in the conferffilce were unanimous, not excepting France it•elf so strongly wedded by the naturaltraditions to a double atandard. On all these questions tl1e interests of monetary unification were materially advanced by the publication at Paris of the concise butadmira.ble Jetter from Hon. JoHN SHERMAN, Sena.tor in Congress from Ohio, a copy of which bas been already communicated to the Department of State, but which for more convenient reference is now transmitted in duolicate, with its French translation. His opin-ions are unmistakably expressed In the following extracts: ·

".A.s the gold fiye-franc piece is now in use by over60,000,000of people of different nationalities and is of convenient form and size, it ma.y well be adopted by other nations M the common "etandard of value, leaving to each nation to regulate t.he division of this unit. in silver, in silver coin or tokens. If this is done, France will surely abandon the impossible etfor~ oI ma.king two standards of value. "' * • Gold coins will answer all the purposes of Eupopean commerce. .A. common gold ata.nlbrd will regulate silver coinage. In England many persons of influence, and different chambers, are earne:itly in favor of the proposed change in the coinage. ·The change is so slight with them that

an enlightened self-interest will soon inauce them to make it, especially if we make the greater change in our coinage. We can easily adjust the reduction with the public creditors in the payment or conversion of their securities, while private creditors might be authorized to recover upon the old standard."

In 1868 the distinguished Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERMAN], having returned from Europe, made a report indorsing tbe views presented by Mr. Ruggles, and declaring-

The single standard of gold is an American idea yielded

Mark the words, Mr. President-yielded to reluctantly by ·France and other countries where silver is the chief standard of value.

In other words, we have got Europe impressed with the idea that she must go to one standard under the impression that the predominating American thought is that way. Now, sir, when Europe is correctly advised that the people of this country demand the free coinage of silver (and they can onlybeadvised of the opinion by the act), may we not suppose that theyt who have been so deferential to the one standard against their will, will come into the double standard which coincides with it? THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM WAS SILVER AND THE REPUBLICAN ADJllTh'I&TRA•

TION IS GOLD.

Silver started out bravely from Chicago l'n the Presidential canvass of 1888, and the nominating convention there declared in their pla.tform:

The Republicsn party is in fa.vorofthe use of both-gold a.nd silver as money, and condemns the policy of the Democratic Administration in its effort to demonetize silver.

Mark the words of the platform. Silver "as money" it calls for; not silver "as bullion" pawned for Treasury tickets, as the Secretary now recommends.

And here is the gold echo of the silver bugle in Secretary Windom's report to the present Congress:

The continued coinage of silver dolla.rs, at a. constantly increa.sing1monthly quota, isa. disturbing element in the otherwise excellent ftna.ncia.lcondition of the country, and a positive hinderance to any international agreement looking to the free coinage of both metals.

If we did not know what history has transpired since the Chicago convention we should have supposed that the men who made that platfrom bad been defeated, for the thing that they denounced reappears. -We know the fact to be that they were triumphant, because the people of this country saw their declaration in favor of silver, 3nd because they knew the truth of their statement that a Democratic Administration had anta~onized it and deserved in a measure the criticism which it received. Now, after the country indorsed your platform and gave you victory in order that you might carry it out, you have a Secretary to bear the market and tell yon the thing you want to do is the only thing that can prevent an international agreement. THE lThJ:TED STATES TP.EASURER STILL HARPING THAT SILVER DOES NOT cm

C..'ULATE.

Now, Ur. President, always from the Treasury of the United States the people have palmed c.ff upon them the misleading statement that silver will not circulate. We have it here from this Treasurer as we have had it from his predecessors; both Democratic and Republican:

The futility-

Wails Treasurer· Huston in his recent report-The futility of all efforts to force the coins into circulation having been demon

strated by former experience, no extraordinary inducements to ta.ke them have i·ecently been held out to the public. The changes in the a.mounts outstanding ha\e been unimportant, but the tendency has been toward a. falling off in the actual circulation. The amounts issued and returned and the expenses of distribution have been about as usual, but in consequence of the shipments necessary for st-0rage the total cost of handling baa recently been heavy. Since the expenditure borne by the Treasury in distributing the dollars to the publiohas ceased to increa.o;e the circulation, and consequently has become a needless ou~ Jay, it might be worth while to consider whether it would not be as well to stop this expense and place these coins. together with the fractional sliver, on tho same be.sis as the other currency with reference to the mode of issue.

To require consignees of silver to bear the cost of transportation might result in a decrease of the circulation, but the cha.n&e could not be 1:reat. On the other hand, the coins would have the a.dva.ntage of being held by the Government strictly on a par with the other currepcy. If to obtain them ttom the Treasury involved cost, they would perhaps not be so readily parted with. Hence the effect upon the circnfa.tion might be exactly the opposite to the one apparently • regarded as certain. A.tall events, the Treasury would etrect an important saving, and the anomalous discrimination against the credit of the silver coinage would be removed without giving the public any cause for complaint.

A most astonishing and marvelous statement that you have got to hold out extraordinary inducements to a people to take money ! The extraordinary inducements are always held out on the other side in orderto get it, and I will venture to say, while I have no particular confidence in my financial ability, that there is not a plain man of common-sense who bas ever held a seat in the United States Senate, who, being in favor of silver and having the administration of that ·Department, could not circulate every dollar in twenty-four hours.

I object to that statement because it is misleading. I would hardly like to say that I thought it was intentionally so, for this is, perhaps, too harsh a judgment; but it is partoftheha.bitualpolicyofthe Treasury Department to put before this people all possible difficulties about silver, and to hold out to them nothing of their resolution and thetr ho-pes.

SILVER CI&CULATES MORE FREELY THAN GOLD.

Will silver. freely circulate? Does it freely circulate? From the

•.

/

,-

1890. CONGRESSION.AL RECORD-SENATE. 5123 beginning of the silver discussion our ears have been belabored and our common sense has been insulted with the cry of the anti-silver men that 1t will not. They say it is too bulky and heavy for pecuniary transac'tions and that it lies like a. drag in our Treasury vaults. The same 'people who have thus cried silver will not circulate have at the eame time, and sometimes in the very same speech, declared that, if we contintie to coin silver, gold will be driven from circulation and silver will be our only currency. Apparentlyunconscions of.the contradiction between these t wo statements, which are the very opposite of ea.ch other, they even yet irritate out understandings by the echoes of cries which take.no cognizance of plain, palpable facts.

Not only does silver circulate freely whenever permitted to do so, but it has persisted in circulating against the most strenuous warfare of organized capital and governmental restrictions.

IT IS GOLD THA.T WILL NOT CIRCULATE.

It is 0et!er qualified to circulate than gold b'ecn.use it can be separated into smaller particles and carried in the pocket, while gold, too small m substance for the mass of the small exchanges which constitute the greater portion of commerce, naturally holds back and gives way to its more nimble and current companion. So little fitted is gold for general circulation that the Direct-0r of the Mint (Mr. Edward 0. Leech), in his recent report, recommends the discontinuance of the three-dollar and of the one-dollar gold pieces and says:

With regard to the three-dollar gold piece, it me.y be said that that denomination of coin serves no useful purpose, a.nd that fts present coinage is limited to a few proof coins sold at a profit by the Mint, to meet the de.mands of numismatic societies and coin collectors. There is no demand for it by the business public.

T.lle sam~ objections a.pply to the one-dollar gold piece, with the additional ones that it is too small for circulation, and that the few pieces issued annually from the Mint are used almost exclusively for the purpose of omament.-Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, pai:e 140.

0, what a fall was there, my countrymen!

Your promisesha.vegonero t11ejunk-shop1 your beautiful gold, which was the only thing that would circulate, is valued, according to your Director of the Mint. only by numismatic societies and is sought for in the old curiosity shops of the country! THI!:R E IS MORE SILVER THAN GOLD NOW IN CIRCULATION AMONGST THE PEOPLE.

There is more silver currency than gold currency now in circulation amongst the people, although there is less silver coin than gold coin in existence ! ·

From the seventeenth annual report of the Director of the M°mt (1889), page 37 (see report of Secretary of the Treasury, page 128), the estimate of the stock of coin in the United.States at the close of the fiscal year, July 1, 1889, is given as follows:

GOLD, In United States Treasury ...................................... ....................... .... $186, 451, 708 In national banks......................................... ............... . ..................... 152, 169, 400 In other banks reported ......... ......................... .......... _......... ...... .... .. 46, 9ll, &53 In private banks and a.mong the people................... ......................... 294, 530, 744

Total .. . . ..... ..... . ... ... .. .. .. .. .... ... ..... .... ..... . •. . ...... ......... ........ . .. .. . .. .. .. 680, 063, 505 SILVER.

In United States Treasury............................. ................................... fll, 458, 901 In national banks ......................... ""'................................................... 23, 734, 459 In other banks reported ............ ... .................. -···· ........ ,..... ...... ......... 2, 118, 516 In private banks and among the people......................................... .. 337, 237, 04.3

Total.. ... ...................... ........................................... .... ......... ...... 420,548, 929

It will thus be seen that while our silver money is about two hundred and sixty millions less than our gold money, there remains in the Treasury about oue hundred and thirty millions less of silver than of gold, and that about 86 per cent. of our silver money is out in circulation while only about 73 per cent. of our gold money is out in circufation. Only some 14 per cent. of all our silver money is in the Treas- · ury and 27 per cent. of our gold is in the Treasury. And yet the very superintendents and custodians make the impression upon the people and upon Europe that this money, the easiest, the most sought for circulation that ever went amongst our people, is a drug upon the market and has to be hauled around be~aing somebody to take it. :NO DANGER OF AN AVALA ~CHE FROM THE SILVER MONEY OF OTHEU COUh""TIUES,

It is plain that in none of those countries where less silver is necessary to make money than here will any silver divest itself of moneyhood to come her~ as in doing so it would be less valuable than where it is now. Will the six hundred millions of silver money in France, the two hundred millions in Germany, the hundred millions in Great Britain, and the thousand millions in India-will this mass of silver money. coined in the ratio of 15! 1io 1 of gold or less, come here t.o become our money, when in doing so it must pay passage and make less money?

The bullion value here is but 75 cents to the dollar at our ratio and would be about 72 cents at their ratio; hence France would lose a.bout 28 cents on the dollar by sending her silver here to ex.change for our gold, or about $168,000,000 on her entire stock of silver coin which she now carries at par with the gold; India oYer SZi5,000,0001 and other nations in like proportion, making for them combined a total loss m their circulating medium of over half a billion dollars. Does any sane person believe that such a.n exchange would ever be made, and that, too, in the. face of the fact that none of these countries, unless it be France, now have a large enough circulation to meet th€wa.nts of their people? Not a single dollar would be thus exchanged.

Should free coinage restore silver and gold bullion to a parity at our ratio of 16 to 1 they would still lose 3 per cent.. by the exchange, or about; $57,000,000.

These facts would effect.us.Uy bar such an exchange and inundation of silver we hear so much about.

Gold will buy more silver here than in anyothercouQtrrt..and silvi;r will buy more ~Id in any other country than here, unless it be in ro.e~co, where it is a little cheapez than here.-.Report of the minority of the House Oommittee on Coinage, Weights, and Measure&.

Does any sane person believe that such an exchange would ever be made, and that, too, in face of the fact that none of these countries, unless it be France, has now a large enough circulation to meet the wants of their people?

NO DANGER OF AN AVALANCHE FROll T HE ANNUAL PRODUCT OF SILVER.

There is no dang;er of a silver avalanche from the annual product of silver, and .no one has better shown this than the present Secretary of the Treasury. In his report of 1889 he asks the question, "May we not be :flooded with the world's excess of silver?'' And thus answers it:

As to the objection that we may b e flooded with the world's silver, the proposed law itself and the statistics 41 regard to the present product and the uses of silver furnish a. complete reply. Treasury notes would only be issued at the average price of silver in the leading financial centers of Europe and the United States, so that there could be no possible motive for shipping i~ from abroad. Why should any one pay the cost of transporting silver from :Europe to exchange for our Treasury notes at the same price it would. command in gold at home?

Ur. President, in that sentence of the honorable Secretary of the Treasury I behold what is to my mind the key of this whole problem. Why, says he, shall you, who apprehend the silver avalanche, think it possible, if silver in Europe must pay the cost of transportation, to exchange for our Treasury notes at the same price it would command in gold at home?

The Secretary continues: Probably we should receive some of the surplus product of Mexico; but, as

will be presently shown, the amount would not be dangerously large. It would not_ come from South America., because it would command the same price in gold in London that it would in notes in New York, and nearly all the product of South America. goes, in the shape of miscellaneous ores and base bars, to Europe for economical refining.

Now, then, let me intensify the question. If it can not come here, according to the statement of the Secretary of the Treasury, although you have the unlimited use of silver advocated by bis bill, to become money at the same price that it can become there, if you free coin you will cheapen the relative price there by which it may become a dollar, and consequently enhance the impediment which he says is at present enough to keep it out. _.,.

l'lir. President, let us look at the annual product of silver. Qmne ignotmn pro magniftco-an enemy in the woods is al wa~ dangerous because wecan notcountbim,and we fear-him with tenfold the fear we have for him who stands out in the open field. We have apprehended a.silver deluge because of some unknown dam of silver in some unknown country, possessed by somebody unknown, by a vague and mysterious idea which has always been thrown up before us that there was some other stream which would rush in upon us. It is not so. We have here in the report of our present Secretary of the Treasury the statement of the annual product of si_lver and of its annual use. IF WE COTh"'ED THE WORLD'S ANNUAL SILVER PRODUCT UNUSED ELSEWHERE, rr

WOULD NOT MAKE A DOLLAR APIECE FOR. OUR PEOPLE.

The annualproquct of silver the world over is $142,000,000, and by the present coinage laws of nations there are used up in coinage all the $142, 000, 000 except $51, 000, 000. We are consuming now $28, 000, 000 of that $51,000,000. Therefore, if you should open your mints t.o free and unlimited coinage, th~e is an annual product of silver, possibly to become your money, the wide world over, of less than double the amount that you are now coining, the difference between twenty-eight and .fifty-one million dollars, or $23, 000, 000.

NO ACCUMULATED STOCK OF SILVER. IN THE WORLD,

·As it is obvious, then, that the silver money abroad will not come into our money, as it is obvious, also, that there is no annual product of silver which we may fear, there is only one otl~er point of apprehension, an apprehension that there is an accumulated stock of silver, not of annual production, not of present consumption, not money that will all prick up its ears and rush to America as soon as the Mint is opened, but of old teapots, and forks, and ladles, and teaspoons! This is the invasion with which America is threatened. I appeal to the present Secretary of the Treasury to answer that apprehension, and I read from his language. The present Secretary of the Treasury says:

There is, in fact, no known accumulation of silver bullion anywhere in the world. Germany long since disposed of her stock of melted silver coins, partly by sale, partly by recoinage into her own new subsidiary coins, and partly by use in coining for Egypt. Only recently it beeame necessary to purchase sil>er for the E~yptian coinage executed at the mint at Berlin.

NO AVALANCHE POSSIBLE FROM PAST PRODUCTS OF SILVER.

The Secretary continues in bis report: It is plain, then, tha.t there is no danger that the silver product of past, ..,a.rs

will be poured into our mints, unless new steps be ta.ken for demonetization, and for this improbable contingency a.mp le safeguards can be provided.

Nor need there be any serious apprehension that any considerable pa.rt of the stock of silver coin of Europe would be shipped to tH'e United Sta.tesfordeposit for Treasury notes.

There is much less reason for shipping coin to this country than bullion, for while the leading na.tions of Europe have discontinued the coinage of full }egaltender silver pieces. they have provided by law for maintaining their eXlSting stock of silver coins at par.

_,

/


In England, Portugal, and the States of the Scandinavian Union there is no stock of silver coin except subsidiary coins, required for change purposes, the nominal value of whic:i is far in exces3 of the bullion value. Germany bas in circulation about ..,100,000,000 in old silver tha!ers, but ten years have passed since the sales of bullion arising under the anti-silver legislation of 1873 were disc:ontiuued. It is safe to say there is no stock of silver coin in Europe which is not needed for business purposes.

Tile stat~s of the Latin Union and Spain, which bas a similar monetary system, are the only countries in Europe which have any large stock of silver coins, and the commercial necessities of these countries are such that they could not affo1·d, without serious financial distress, to withdraw from circulation ~ilve1· coins which are at par with their gold coins, to deposit them at our mints for payment of the bullion value in notes.

The following table exhibits the stock of gold and silver in European banks at a late date, and the notes issued against them:

Stock of precious metals in European bank8 and bank--notes outstanding. [Compiled from the London Economist.]

Banks. Gold. Silver. Notes in circulation.

Bank of EnglRnd................................ £19, 519, 659 ..................... £25, 204, 740 Bank of France_................................. 51,930,000 £50,247,000 119,837,000 Imperial Bank of Germany*............... 26, 746,000 ll,000,000 55,665,000 Austro-Hungarian Bank ...... ···········~·· 5, 442, 000 16, 005, 000 43, 642, 000 Netherlands Bank................................ 5, 308, 000 5, 984, 000 17, 725, 000 Bank of Spa.in*............. ........................ 4, 000, COO 5, 663, 000 28, 966, 000 National Hank of Belgium*................. 2,600,000 1,306,000 14,168,000 Ban~ of Russia.................................... 30, 049, 000 2, !>19 ,000 95, 142, 000

Total. ........................................... -1-45-,-59-·i-,-65-9-:I--9-3-, 0-9-4-, OOO--i--400--, 34-9-, 7-40

*Gold and silver not divided, but estimated from best authorities, agreeing substantially with the division given by U1e Commercial and Financial Chron-icle and the Financial and Mining Record. .

In view of these facts, there would seem to be no sufficient reason for limit"ng the amount of silver bullion which may be deposited for Treasury note3, and there are strong reasons against such limitation.

SHALL WE IIAVE SILVER AS MONEY OR SILVER IN PAWN AS BULLION?

So, Mr. President, we have come down to this fine point in the silver discussion. There is nothing else to divide. The silver en as represented on this floor and the silver men as represented by the Secretary of the Treasury both say that there is no dan~er of a silver freshet, both say that there is no accumulated stock of silver in the world which we may apprehend, both say that there ought to be no limit to the amount of silver allowed to be used as currency, and theonl:.v differen~e between us, then, is whether that silver which you shall use as currency shall be money or shall be a warehouse product laid up in the Treasury as in a pawnbroker's shop, the ticket of it to be redeemed by whom it may concern and who may desire. We are in favor of silver as money and he is in favor of the pawnbroker or warehouse system.

FREE COINAGE RESTRAINED BY PHYSICAL LilllITATION.

But why, Senators, shal). you refuse to give a vote for free coinage of silver when you have from the head of your financial department assurances that th9re is ''no known accumulation of silver bullion anywhere in the world "and there can be no danger of a silver freshet?

If you will but reflect you will perceive that were such a freshet possible from tbe breaking of silver dams in some unknown country the current would not rise suddenly here.

The capacity of our mints puts a practical limitation upon the coinage of silver. The Secretary of the Treasury tells us that ''the coinage of 5,600,000 silver dollars a month would tax the present mint ol'ganization to its utmost capacity and would practically suspend the coinage of gold." ,,

lt, then, silver and gold alike be coined freely according to the utmost capacity of the United States Government at the present time to do it, we can not pour any silver freshet into this country, whethei: you make free coinage or not.

If silver and gold be coined freely we can not without new mints pour down any silver avalanche. Let it come freely, it will nevertheess come gradually. If we coin all the silver annually produced we

could not coin more than a dollara head for our people, less than 10 cents a month for each.

Our present coinage facilities will not admit mor~. And you must believe that a dollar apiece annually in silver for the American people will upset things and be "chaos come again" before you can conscientiously vote against free coinage.

OUR RATIO OF SILVER TO GOLD IS TOO HIGH.

Another impediment to free coinage is the amount of silver we put in our dollar. The ratio of silver to gold in our metal dollars is, as we all know, 15. 98 proportions of silver (commonly designated as 16) to 1 of gold. The ratio in France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland, which constitute ~he Latin Union, is 15! of silver to 1 of gold; and such is also the ratio in Austria and The Netherlands, while in most countries the ratio is still lower than this. In India it is 15 to 1.

Now, if we would make our ratio the same as that of the Latin Union we would speedily induce it to go to free coinage; and this would create a mouey level and silver would flow freely, accordingto the laws of trade, where most useful.

sm ISAAC NEWTON ON THE OPERATION OF THE RATIO.

Sir Isaac Newton appreciated theoperationofthis principle when he was director of the mint in London. He waa asked why silver went

--

abroad. He answered that France and Germany had a ratio different from that of England, aud said:

It appears by experience, as well a.s by reason, that silver flows from those places where its value is lowest in proportion to gold, as from Spain to all Europe and from all Europe to the East Indies, China, and Japan; and I.hat gold is most plentiful in those places in which its value is highest in proportion to sil~er, as in Spa.in and England. It is the demand for exportation which hath raised the price of exportable

silver about 2d. or 3d. on the ounce above that of silver in coin, and bath thereby created a. temptation to export or melt down the silver coin rather than give 2d. or 3d. more for foreign silver; and the demand for exportation arises from the higher price of silver in other places than England, in proportion to goldlhat is, from the higher prices of gold in England than other places, in proportion to silver, and, therefore, may be diminished by lowering the value of gold n proportion to silver.-Nomisma or Legat Tender, Henr·i <Jernuschi, page 26.

·And then he suggests: If gold in England or silver in East India could be brought down so low as

to bear the same proportion to one another in both places, there would be here no greater demand for silver than for J?Old to be exported to India; and if gold were lowered only so a.s to have the same proportion to the silver money in England which it hath to silver in the rest of Europe, there would be no temptation to export silver rather than gold to any part of Europe. And to compass this last, there seems nothing more requisite than to take offlOd. or 12d. from the guiueaNomum{l or Legal. Te71der, Benri Cernusehi, page 26.

CERNUSCHI ON THE OPERATION OF THE RATIO.

Henri Cernuschi appreciates this principle as well as Sir Isaac Newton, and almost all the writera on :finance go to show that if you are to put the ratio the same in this country or about equal with what it is in others, we would no longer stand upon the mount.ain nor they in the valley; the silver plane would be created and the operation of the laws of trade would preserve a balance between the two metals in each country and between the countries 9f their correspondence. He says (page 27) :

So you see that the voyage of gold or silver is not the result of the changing productiveness of the mines, but that it is dictated by the laws alone. If you establish in India your ratio of -i834 (1 to 16) and introduce in England your ratio of 1792 (1to15}, you will see all the gold of England goine; to India. and all the silver of India going to England. The relative value in the market between gold and silver is the result of a struggle between the laws of the different countTies.

It a treaty was made establishing everywhere the same relative weight between gold and silver coins, with everywhere a uniform charge for the coinage of the two metals, there would be no more reason for exporting the one or the other. The globe is round; if the mint laws are the same in every nation, the exportation of gold or silver leaves no profit, "no more temptations," as was remarked by Sir Isaac Newton.

FAWCETl' ON THE RATIO,

Mr. Fawcett, in his work on Gold and Debt, explains the ratio. He says:

The original establishment by law in Great Britain, France, and the United States that the legal values of gold and silver should be as lof gold to 15t of silver was the result of nearly two hundred years' observation of the following facts, namely: That the intrinsic value of each metal as a. commodity, aside from its uses as currency or money, was continually fluctuating in accordance with the increase or decrease of its production, but that this increase or decrease of production, and consequent increase or decrease of value, was never the same in both metals at the same time. The experience was that when the production of gold had diminished that of ail ver bad either remained stationary or increased, and vice versa. There was no theory to show that this should necessarily be the case, but such was and had been the fa.ct for over two hundred years.

In order to prevent wide fluctuations in the standard of values it was sought to establish a bond between the values of the two metals, so that the diminishing value of the one might be checked by either the stationary or the increasing value of the other. Experience had shown that the average commercial value of silver had been as 15t of silver to 1 of gold, and that, though either one might temporarily change in value, so as to change its relative value, it would certainly come back to it sooner or later if both meta.ls were equally used as money. As previously remarked, the values of both metals are to a very large extent fictit.ious; there is no other use than as money that would warrant more than onefourtb the present values of either gold or sih>er. The depreciation of 29 in the 100 of the value of silver (or the increase of 41 per cent. in the value of gold, whichever one may choose to call it) which took place from October, 11174, to July, 1876, mainly as the result of the demonetization of silver by Germany, proved it.

It was, therefore, to prevent fluctuations in the standard of values that the two metals were, so to speak, ''yoked together " by the legal establishment of their values as permanent at 11* to 1. It was believed, and experience has proven, that if both metals were equally used a.s money this relative valuatiorr was the point from whlch there would be the least departure. During the dis, cussion of this subject in Congress (1875-'76) there seemed t-0 be a disposition on the part of the advocates of the double standard to change the relative legal values of gold and silver by the coina.~e of a. large silver "dollar" as compared with the gold "dollar." But any departure from the standard or 15-t to 1 is the same in principle-only less in degroo-as the complete demonetization ot either of the metals. To meddle once with a rule established by the experience of centuries only makes the necessity of meddling a.gain at some future time.

PROBABLE EFFEC11' OF FREE COINAGE OF SILVER.

The probable effect from conferring the free-coinage right u.Pon sil-ver, will be- ·

1. To multiply the number of American dollars. 2. To enhance the value of the silver bullion that makes a dollar. 3. To maintain the value of gold bullion, but not to increase it. 4. To bring gold and silver bullion nearer together in value, stimu

late business and prices, and to maintain the value, and most probably to increase the value of productions.

5. To give the United States the control of the silver market and to transfer headquarters from London to New York.

6. To attract gold to us instead of expelling it. 7. It will give powerflll stimulant to international agreement and ·

be the forerunner of the universal dollar. That it will multiply the numbe-r of American dollars is obvious.

That it will raise the price of silver bullion is equa~y obvious.

\ ( j ; I • -·

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· SENATE. 5125 SILVER MONEY MAINTAINS ITS PAR WITH GOLD MONEY, AND SILVER FREE

COINAGE WILL PUT SILVER BULLION UP TO OR NEARER IN VALUE TO G OLD BULLION.

Silver money maintains its par with ·gold money where, over the whole world's surface, silver and gold are· admitted alike to become money. Every portion of silver that becomes money becomes instantly the peer of the gold money. The United States have 386,000,000 of silver dollars, every one of which is the value equal of a gold dollar, will pay as much taxes, discharge as much debt, and buy.as much ofanything that man can eat or wear or in any manner use as a. gold dollar. The silver dollar will buy as much gold bullion as a gold dollar, although the silver metal that makes the dollar is worth a quarth less than the gold metal that will make a dollar. Three conspicuous, significant, self-interpreting facts stand forth in this analysis:

1. ThE> silver admitted to moneyhood is the par of gold. 2. No portion of silver is beneath the par of gold save that portion

which is denied the right of money hood. 3. The silver which is denied the right of moneyhood maintains its

value alongside with. the value of those commodities which have fallen in price, and will exchange for just as much now as H w~mld have exchanged for at a time when all silver could have become money like all gold. In short, commodity silver is on the same plane of value as other commodities and money silver on the same plane as money gold.

Whether we say gold has appreciated in value or ilismoneyed silver has declined, the fact is that the gap between silver as a commodity and silver as money closes instantly and just in proportion as the silver commodityis permitted to be coined. The logical conclusion from this simple statem~t of facts is inevitable:

1. That all silver should be readmitted to free coinage. 2. That all silver being so admitted would, like that which has been

admitted, value equally with gold. 3. It is most reasonable to conclude that as soon as there is restora

tion of silver to its ancient plane of money dignity the prices of those productions which went down with its decline will again -rise with its ru:icension. WILL THE GOLD BULLIO~ NECESSARY TO MAKE A DOLLAR BE WORTH; MORE

THAN A DOLLAR?

There is no reason to suppose that the gold bullion necessary to make a dollar will enhance in price and be worth more than the dollar into which it has the privilege of conversion. On the contrary, the right of f~ee coinage conferred on silver bullion will take away from gold bullion its exclusive rij:!;ht of free coinage, and it would seem paradoxical to assume that in curtailing the exclusive free right of any article it would thereby add to its value. The investiture of an article with faculty, privilege, or additional use will undoubtedly add value to it, as it necessarily inoreases the demand for it. But when did it ever happen that divestiture of exclusive faculty, privilege, and exclusive use conferred value? Coffee would be dearer if there were no such thing as tea; wheat would be dearer if there were no such thing as corn, and beef would be dearer if there were no such thing as bacon.

If a law were to be passed to-day that coffee, wheat, and beef might be freely consumed, but tea, ".orn, and bacon should only be consumed to a certain limit.ed extent, would not the free articles go up in the market and the proscribed ones go down? The tea that could not be drunk and the corn and bacon that could not be eaten, what would they be worth? As soon as they were disfranchised the doctors would tell us they did not have intrinsic value.

And all the time the appetites of the people would be the same for both wheat and corn, for both beef and bacon, for both coffee and tea, and if you allowed them to get them they would still consume them

" with the same old-fashioned avidity. FREE COINAGE WILL RAISE THE VALUE OF SILVER.

Is it not reasonable to believe that as soon as all silver bullion has the free right of coinage it will approximate or go to the par of the corresponding amount of gold bullion necessary to make a dollar? As each amount of metal will then haveequal privileges and subservethesame monetary uses, is it not reasonable to suppose that they will then closely approximate or equal each other in value?

PltICES WILL ltISE.

Mr. President, another effect of a free coinage of silver would be to increase the price of products in the markets of the world. It is a fact that gold men oppose silver because they know as a fact that the purchasing power of gold will go down.

MONEY ATTRACTS MONDY.

I believe t.oo that the free•coinage of silver will bring gold to us, not drive it away.

Money attracts money. Riches produce riches. Wealth has no liking for anything as much as itselJ: Everything assimilates with its kind. Money is the most social, self-assimilative, and procreative of all material things. .

AMERICAN AND FRE~CH SILVER ATTRACTED GOLD •

.American silver has drawn gold to us. We had but two hundred millions in gold when we had no silver money in 1878, and it was at a premium of lt per cent. We partially restored silver, and we have to-day between three and four hundred millions of silver and between

six and seven hundred millions of gold, and gold instead of being at a premium has been brought to a parity by putting the silver in circulation. German gold did not draw gold to Germany as anticipated after the Franco-German war. But French silver and gold drew gold to France.

France to-day, with a population of }38, 000, 000, has three times as much silver as we have in proportion to population in actual circulation and twice the amount of gold in actual circulation. It is because prosperity, good prices, and active business attract both silver ancl gold and men wherever the sun shines.

The immigration that :flows into this country from the discontented masses of the Old .World is not a stream of immigration from silvery France, but is theoverflowofthe discontentedfrom the gold /countries, Germany and England ..

RESULT OF 1DEMENETIZATION OF SILVER IN GERMANY. """\

I have a paper here which shows the result in Germany of her demonetization of silver just as the result indicated itself here. Prof: Thorold Rogers says of it:

At a time when the domain of civilization is increasing in every direction and when the need for the corresponding means of exchange has consequently increased, one of the great states of Europe has expelled silver and at the same time adopted gold. She thought herself able to do this, owing to the gold indemnity imposed upon Francehbut she has inflicted the greatest injury ,upon her population and has ruined ~r industries.

THE GRESHAM LAW NOT ABSOLUTE.

1\Ir. President, there is a doctrine of finance announced by Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange of London, that. the cheaper money will drive the dearer money out of circulation, as a man will hold what he values most and part first with what he values least when he can get the same for the lea.st valuable that he can for the most valuable.

:Mr. resident, if this were an absolute law and if it were true that silver was a cheaper money than gold, why has not silver already driven gold away? There is something, then, at fault either in your premise or in your conclusion. Either silver is not a cheaper money than gold or the law that the cheaper will drive away the dearer is not true. • Either your fact is false or your conclusion is erroneous.

RICARDO VS. GRESH~M.

Mr. President, there is another law upon the subject of money that is just as strong as that of Gresham. No one thing in this world is governed by one law. There is a conflict oflaws, and it is in their balance that the world goes on its gait. I put Ricardo now against Gresham and give you Ricardois law:

It is a mistaken theory to suppose that the guineas of 5 pennyweights 8 grains can not circulate with guineas of 5 pennyweights or less. As they might be in such limited quantity that both the one and the other might. actually pass in currency for a value equal to 5pennyweights10 grains, there woyid be no temp· tation to withdraw either from circulation ; there would be no real profit in retaining them.-Rica1·do's reply to Bosanquet, pages 95, 96.

WALKER VS. GRESHAM.

I put Francis A. Walker's exposition of this law also against Gresham's:

This principle is that of two sorts of ~oney circulating toget~r the inferior will drive out and replace the better. 8tated thus without qualification, as it; usually is, the proposition is not true. It is only when the body of money thus composed is in excess that the better part begins to yield place and retire from circulation.

When, however, the aggregate amount of the two or more sorts of money in circulation becomes excessive, that is, greater than th~ community's distributive share of the money of the world, the principle of Gresham's law begins at once to operate, acting through the desire of men to pay their debts or eftect their purchases with the least valuable commodity which will answer the requirements of exchange. By this means the heavier coins are selected for exporta,. tion in payment of debts abroad where only the actual weight of fine metal will determine their power in exchange, or for consumption in the arts, industrial or decorative, at home; where the denomination of the coin is of equally , little account.-.Francis . .A. Walker on Mon ey, pages 194, 195. ·

NO DANGER OF T OO Mtl't:H MONEY .

Mr. President, let us ask ourselves this question, are we going to have !co much mQney in America by reason of the free coinage of silver? I have already shown from the report of the Se~retary of the Trea.sury that it can not exceed the amount of about a dollar a head per year for the whole American population. The fact must be con~ ceded that with the increasing volume of money prices will rise.

When prices are increasing money is seldom hoarded, because there is every temptation to its free use. Money is generally hoarded when prices are declining, because the money-holder says to .himself, "If I wait I c.'tn buy cheaper." On the contrary, he rnshes to invest when prices are rising, because he says to himself, ''If I puy to-day I can sell for more to-morrow." Now, it is acknowledgecr'that as soon aa silver is admitted to free c~age there will be a tendency of prices upward.

ANTICIPATION OF MOnE MONEY STilruLATES PR.Icm!.

The very anticipation of free silver coinage has given a rise to stocks and prices in New York. and an upward tendency everywhere. And, therefore, as prices will rise with free coinage it is natural and logical to assume that money will not be hoarded as kmg as that tendency exists.

.J

•I

. "''

I•

- .

. .

........ I .

5126 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1\L}Y 22,

GOLD WILL NOT .LEA VE WHILE INVESTMENTS HERE TEMPT IT.

Unless by the operation of other causes, gold is not likely.to leave this country when silver isal!!!litted to free coinage. Nor will it ever leave this conn try until it finds a better field of investment elsewhere than it can find here. As long as this country has lands, minerals, stocks and bonds, and otber properties inviting investment at better rates than are offered elsewhere, money will have no tendency to quit our shores for foreign parts. Investors are not turned away from buying our stocks and bonds by the anticipation of more money through free silver coinage. '.rhey look to the maintenance of prices here, and hence they seek our shores. ·

GOLD NOT LIKELY TO GO TO A PRElllIUJU.

Nor is the gold dollar likely to go to a premium over the silver clollar. What condition will exist to drivEri.t to a premium? What use will there be for a gold dollar making it desirable that a man shall part with more than one silver dollar in order to get a gold do1lar? He can pay as much tax with his silver dollar as with a gold dollar. He can discharge as much debt with his silver dollar as with a gold dolJar. He can buy as much of any commodity with his silver dollar as with a gold dollar; and why then shall he give more than a silver dollar in order to get a gold dollar? After he has gotten it it would render him no greater service.

FitEE COINAGE WILL GIVE AMERICA CONTROL OF THE SILVER llIARKET.

Furthermore, .Mr. President, it will give to America control of the silver market of the world. I read now a brief passage from the circular of Henry Clews&Co., bankers, of New York, of April 19 of the pres

. ent year. It shows that as the bankers of this country have come to the study of this question they have come to the free coinage idea of silver. Says Mr. Clews in his circnlar: ~ If the silve1· bill be passed and exports of silver consequently stopped, the tendency will be to transfer control of the silver market to New York. This will certainly be favorable to American interests, for the aim of England is invariably to depress silver in order to cheapen the cost of making the rupee, which, whether composedofsilverboughtat 44d.or 60d.,buysinlndia the same amount of wheat and other products. Consequently the dearer the rupee the Jess grain India is likely to export, and the better the foreign demand for American wheat, which has suffered so much from the competition of India. In this connection it is interesting to note bow widely silver is used in coinage. China with a population of over 400,000,000, and India, with a. population of nearly 300,000,000, use silver as their principal basis of coinage. Of the great powers only Great B1·itain and Germany cling to the single standard, while all the remainder, including the United States, use both silver and gold.-Hmr21 Clews d! Co.'s circular of .April 19. 1890. NO JllONEY WILL LEAVE us PERMANENTLY UNTIL ou&- 111o'NEY VOLUME IS EX

CESSIVE ••

Mr. President, rthink we may see with sufficient clearness to declare that no portion of our money will have a tendency to leave us or part in parity until the whole volume of our currency is in excess of our distributive share of the world's money. The question, therefore, a last· resolves it.self into the twofold inquiry: Will the silvEir free c6inage-give us such excess, and if some of our gold should leave us would it be a disaster greater than running the risk of having too little money? To have too little money is a great misfortune and one very difficult to cure. I have never known, however, of any man or any nation that would not find a way of getting rid of too much. We have endured the risk of having too Ii ttle so long that j nst for the sake of variety, if nothing else, I should like to enter into the peril of having a little too much. I do not perceive that any of th0se gentlemen who have got millions have ever suffered in their own minds much from a sense of being overweighted with too much money or that any nation has ever suffered from having too much money. It is those who suffer who have not got .it, and those who have are the ones who stand in the way of their getting it in order that there may be more value in that which they have got.

MORE MONEY A BOON TO HUMANITY.

The world is no longer a series ofsegregat€d and unsympathetic states. Railroads gave it bones, telegraphs gave it nerves, telephones multiplied its ton~es, water courses and seas navigated by steam-vessels are great aifories of communication, and the newspaper press morning and evening illumines it like a mighty orb shining for all nations. It is now sentient through all its parts; and there is a balancing movement ~hroughout t~e- reallil:' of commerce. What iowers or heightens prices m one place affects prices everywhere. If you would freely coin silver in America you would gladden the heart of humanity by giving to the laborer a larger price for his product. THE llIAINSPTIING OF MONEY IS FREE COINAGE, AND THE BALANCE-WHEEL lS

LEGAL TENDER-THE POWERS OF JllONEY. I

Mr. President, in this discussion about the use of silver in free coinage we must not forge Ii that the mainspring of money is free coinage and that the balance-wheel of money is legal tender.

Money fuUills four offices in society. . F.irst, it purchases commodities; second, it discharges debts; third, it pays taxes; and, fourth it serves as a. scale, denominator, standard. or unit of value. It ha:s a trinity of ~owen;: the con;moclity-buyi.rig, the deb~-discharging, and th~ tax-paymg power; and it subserves the use of price-marking, valueestimating, and account-keeping, which is rather a convenience of mercantile mechanism, a collateral and incidental use, than one of the operativ~ forces of money.

. .;

THE PURCHASING POWER OF MONEY IS DIPERFEOT IN ITSELF.

One of the three powers of money, the purchasing power, is by itself an imperfect, limited, and conditional power. Money conld not bny unless commodity was willing to sell. It takes two to make a bargain, and the money-owner could not become purchaser with his money unless the property-owner wonld voluntarily sell his property. Great, then, as IS the purchasing power of money, that power, if it were the ~mly one t~at money possessed, would leave it helpless and powerless if .~ntagomzed by the property-owners. They could crush the life out of ~t by refusal to sell for money, and then money, without automatic eXIStence or self-assertion of any kind, would hide itself in the mass of untitled properties which come and go without a name. ·

THE DEBT AND TAX PAYING POWERS OF JIIONEY ARE ABSOLUTE.

When money becomes a legal public institution, vested by law with certain faculties, all of its powers become absolute, dominating and exclusive. Even its purchasing power, which before was impe:fect, becomes now self-enforcing; and, while this fact is not at first apparent it becomes so when we analyze the pr<fcesses of the money system: l\Ioney may discharge debt, whether the creditor is willing or not. Money may pay taxes whether the tax-gatherer is willing or not; and nothing else but money can of its own motion do either. If a debt of $10 is due, nothing but $10 can pay it. If $10 of tax is due, nothing but $10 in money can discharge them. No amount of property has absolute right to step in and say, yon shall take me for this debt or this tax. But money speaks to debt or trui; with sovereign voice and abolishes them with sovereign and nnappealable decree.

THE LEGAL-TENDKR POWER CREATES THE SOVEREIGN VALUE.

The absolute debt-paying, tax-discharging prerogativ~ of money ~onstitute what is ~own as its legal-tender capacity. This capacity IS conferred upon it by law and makes it amongst properties what a monarch is amongst men. It is the sovereign value, and all other values are measured by it, because it is the only value which is self-asserth"e, self-enforcing, constant, and independent. HOW THE PURCHASING POWER OF MONEY BECOMES ABSOLUTE AND DICTATORIAL,

It is now evident that by reason of its absolute power to discharge debts and taxes the purchasing power of money is measured, and that that _power now becomes absolute which was before originally imperfect and conditional. With tax upon his land, cattle, or household goods, payable in money, a property-holder must get money to discharge it. With a debt by mortgage or otherwise over his homestead or his field the debtor mu.st get money to pay it. Hence he must sell a portion of his property to get it; or in default the law comes in with sheriff or marshal and sells it for him and mkes the money paid for it to hand over to tax-gatherer or creditor. Hence, property-owners can no longer combirl.e and crush the life out of money. They must sell or be sold out. It no longer takes two to make a bargain. The law has already made a bargain for the property-holder, and it enforces it for the money-holder's right. The money power with two prerogatives has out of them evolved a third, the absol ut-e power to buy, by reason of the power to enforce sale, and this money power dominates, calculates, estimates, or marks down the prices of property, and erects itself into standard of value because it is the only value that every citizen·in society must bow to in order to discharge his obligation. Clothed with such prerogatives as these money sways human fortunes with autocratic powers more sweeping and wider spread than any ever conferred upon or usurped by a .king amongst mortals. It is said that the two upright lines with the '' S" flourish, that constitute the dollar-mark, are rude representations of the pillars of Hercules. Money is the Hercules of vain~.

VALUE IS A RELATION, NOT A QUALITY.

And now, though I repeat an idea which has been put before this body, I again repeat it because it is the necessary.logic of this discussion.

Wha.t we term.. value is not the quality of a thing, but tha.t relation between a person and a thing in which the thing acquires capacity to fulfill a physical or mental want of the person. If man did not exist there wonld be no value in gold and silver, or coal and iron, ·or milk and honey. The gems of ocean would remain undisturbed in unfathomed caves and the rarest flowers would blush unseen. If man did not eX:ist, neither gem nor blossom, nor gold or silver, nor coal or iron, nor milk and honey, would have any value whatsoever. The simplest idea of value is the relation of the thing that can satisfy to the want that creates desire.

QUALITY IS Th""TRINSIO, BUT VALUE IS EXTERNAL.

Men often use the w·ords "intrinsic value" as if value was a quality inherent i~ a thing, as pungency is the quality of pepper, savor of salt, sweetness of sugar, or hardness of steel; but such is not the case. Value is external to the thing desired and external also to the nerson desiring. Pungency would exist in pepper, savor in salt, sweet.Dess in sugar, if never man had trod upon the earth, being absolute properties of those atticles. But their value is whatever the person desiring will do or give in order to get them.

Barbon, who wrote two hundred years ago, understood this when he said:

Value is only the price of things, and that can never be certain. If things have no value in them.selves it. is an opinion and fashion that bringS

them in.to use and gives them value.

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SE;NATE. -' 5127 ·well does Macleod say in his Economics: A single object can not have value, and this unhappy phrase intrinsic value

means so much overdrawn, and the slightest reflection will show that to de~ne value to be something extern.al to a thing and then to be constantly speakmg o! intrinsic value are self-contra.dict-0rv and inconsistent ideas.

Commercial value is a still more complicat~d term. It involves the conception of at least two persons, a thing desired by one and possessed by another, and also what the one desiring is willing ~o do or give to the one possessing in order to get it. Commercial value IS value in exchange, and is the mere estimate of the mind of what should be done or given in exchange for what is desired. XF T HE WORLl> DEMO~--iITIZED GOLDANDSILVERTHREE-FOURTHSOFTHEIR VALUE

. WOULD BE LOST.

Mr. President, it is well estiiiiated by a distinguished writer that if yon were to take a way from silver and from gold their crowning sovereign value to pay debts and taxes, you would" leave the silver and gold of the world with one-fourth of their present value. They would then have only the value of the article a.s used in plate or in ornament. But the money value has added three-fourths to the value of the gold and silver that make money.

This being the case, we are obliged to realize at the end of this discussion that money is a value created by law to serve the people as a medium of exchange and as a solvent of debt and taxes. It is also clear that just in proportion to the volume of that medium which will discharge debt and taxes as the purchasing power of money and of prices of things that money will be.

FA.LL IN THE PRICES QF PRODUCTS.

Mr. President, there has been a fall in th_e values of the products of the soil all over the United States. The bonds, the mortgages, the notes, the debts, the taxes, the obligations, andcontracts to payofevery kind remain at one fixed figs.re. ·

The underpinning, the property which is t.o discharge it, bas parted away from it and has left the roof of debt, the roof of mortgage, tpe roof of obligation at the same height from the ground of solvency, but between the roof and the earth there has been a partition of value so that the property-holder must pay more to discharge his debt than he contemplated in its making.

CAUSES OF DEPRECIATION IN VALUES.

In this we perceive, Mr. President, not only the effect of the like cause on this side of the ocean that we do upon the other, but we perceive the operation of a universal law. The cause of this thing is not doubtful nor questioned. The Secretary of the Treasury shows in his report the reason w by silver has gone down, and there is scarcely a financial writer or economist on either side of the water who does not acknow ledge the fact that the dismissal from circulation of a vast portion of the world's money in the demonetization of silver bas been perhaps the greatest contributing cause to this result.

GREEDY CAPITALISTS WOULD AS SOON DEMONETIZE ONE METAL AS ANOTHER.

It w~s no discontent with silver as a circulating medium which led the world in the train of procedure which produced this consequence. On the contrary, within the present century there has been a movement against gold just as decided and just as assertive as that which exists ~era.inst silver now. In 1848 and 1849, when the gold placers of California and of Australia were multiplying the gold wealth of the world, these results were the almost instantaneous consequence: In the :first place, the money volume of the world was increased; in the second place! the prices were so_ increased that prosperity spread far and wide; and, in the third place, the bondholder, the creditor classes of the world, seeing that gold was becoming_ cheaper, tried to strike it downjust as they try to strike down silver now. Th~y do not care whether you demonetize silver or demonetize gold.

Their object is to have less money, in order that what they have may buy more. If they can get fo that result by killing gold they will kill it. If they can get to that result by killing silv.£r they will kill it. Like Iago in the play the usurer says:

Whether he kill Cassio, Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other, E \·ery way makes my gain.

THE MOVEMENT AGAINST SILVER Is MONARCHICAL il-U THAT FOR SILVER DIDI· OCRATIC.

The movement to demonetize silver and resist its remonetization is a movement dictated by kings, ministers, coartiers, satellites, sycophants, and monopolists. It is the movement of monarchy and of autocracy, whether it be upon the throne hedged in by the divine right of kings, or upon the throne hedged in by syndicates and trusts and rooted in the subtle and despotic power of the almighty dollar. The movement to remonetize silver and to resist its demonetization is a · movement springing from the pure fountain called Republicanism or Democracy, whichever you please to call it, which believes in th~ great doctrine of our Federal Constitution, that to promote the general welfare and not the welfare of a class is fundamental to the institute of government.

Great Britain, a monarchy, in 1816 led off in the demonetization of silver. ·Unable to conquer America with lead and steel, she inaugurated that step while yet smarting with the le..~ons taught her by Decatur on the northern lakes and by Andrew Jackson and" bis Southern braves

at New Orleans; and, stimulated to broader dreams of conquest by just having conquered France at Waterloo, she sought in 1816 to complete the conquest of France just as Germany thought to complete it after Sedan in later years. But each . time France has held up her silver buckler and fenced them off with her silver-hilted sword.

Far-reaching in her prevision of events, Great Britain sought by the wiles of commerce to accomplish what she had failed to do here·by force of arms and bad but partially done abroad, and to-day, as the wheat of her myriad of Indian ryots takes the place of our American product in the Liverpool market, she beholds the triumph of a policy which bas narcotized American brains, corrupted American morals, and impoverished American farmers. While some of our economists amuse ~ ignorant readers by copying English phrases about "the best money," "the fixed and invariable value of gold," and talk scholastically about "intrinsic value," England gathers in her golden harvests, piles up her "cent per cent.," and laughs in her sleeve at on.r ignorance and our folly.

Germany, a monarchy, demonetized silver in 1871, when fresh from conquest, reeking with plunde& and greedy for aggrandizment.

Belgium, Italy, and Greece, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Holland, Ra~ia, ·and Austria~Hungary, all of them monarchies, soon followed in the train of the policy dictated by '' t,he man of blood and iron." Switzerland, a weak republic, was swept into the current of autocracy by the influence of vicinage. France, gifted with scientific knowledge, renowned for her skilled economists, pulsating with republican thought and asoiration, bas clung to silver with tenacity that bas yielded only so far as alien influences have forced upon her a policy of subserviency at war with her experience and with her wIBdom.

NO G-REA.T REPUBLIC EVER WILLINGLY DElIOXETIZED SILVER.

No great republic of the world ha8 ever wittingly or consciously dismissed silver from its service as money. True, the United Stat.es of America did demonetize it-in fact, but not by conscious action-in 1873, and then occurred the most shameful thing that was ever recorded in the history of this nation. I shall make no personal allusions, as they might do injustice, for that dark-lantern proceeding is fully known onlv to those who were in range of the dark lantern that shed its light on some small coterie of plotters.

Then an act was smuggled through Congress-framed not by a member of the body who passed, but by the "fine Italian band" of an outsider who had no legislative responsibility upon him-which dropped the silver dollar out of our circulation._

N<} l'UBLIC CALL FOR DEMONETIZATION IN THE UNITEn STATES.

In all our thirty or forty million people no public meeting or party platform had called for that thing to be done. In neither House of Congress did a single Senator or Representative show by speech his knowledge that it was done.. The President of the United States when he signed the act did it ignorantly.

1\Ir. SHERMAN. The Senator certainly does not wish to misstate a fa.ct?

Mr. DANIEL. No, sir. Mr. SHERMAN. Not only was the dropping of the silver dollar

stated to us by the official report of the Secretary of the Treasury in 1870, communicating his message and sending that· bill to Congress, but in frequent debates both in the Senate and the House the fact that the silver dollar was dropped from the coinage was stated explicitly

·and the reasons given for it. I do not wish to disturb the Senator except to correct him in that 1

important fact. I have already shown to the Senate on one occasion before, by the examination of the original bill, that the Secretary of the Treasury called specific and special attention to the bill as sent to us, that the silver dollar was dropped from the coinage, and in the debate, here in the Senate and in the debate in the other House, especially by Mr. Kelley and Mr. Hooper, specific attention was called to the fact that the bill dropped the silver dolla.r and the reasons were given for it. I do not want to interrupt the Senator now, but I may hereafter at some time refer to it more at length. ~

1\Ir. TELLER. I should like to ask the Sena1ior to give us the date of those debates of which he speaks.

1\Ir. SHERMAN. On the 25th of April, 1870, the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury came here with that bill, and one of the leading items, pointed under a double head, wasthatthesilverdollarwasdropped from our currency. I showed that distinctly on a former oceasion. The Senator from Oregon [Mr. DOLPH] the other day showed that very fact and quoted the remarks made by Mr. Hooper, in which he gave _ the reasons for dropping out the silver dollar, and of Mr. Kelley also. Both of those gentlemen, now dead, in a debate expressly pointed it out. It was t>ointed out here in the Senate, and the dollar that was

·finally put in -the place of the silver dollar-that is, the trade-do'llar of 420 grains-was put there by the unanimous resolutions of the Legislature of California, presented here by the Senator from that State, and upon his motion the dollar of 420 grains, intended for a trade-dollar, was put in the place the former dollar occupied.

Ji.Ir. MORRILL. To supersede the Mexican dollar. Mr. SHERMAN. So as to supersede the Mexican dollar. -I know the Senator from Virginia does ..not wish to mislead npon a

- i

,

-/

....

.·

. ,•

/

5128 . CONGRESSIONAL RECORD--. SENATE. MAY 22,

fact of that kind; and if I do not interrupt him, for I never choose to interrupt a Senator in the midst of a speech, I remember that in a debate between the late Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Beck, whose death we mourn, he made this same statement, that has been made over and over again in the Senate and House, that the silver dollar was surreptitiously dropped from the coinage. I then got the original files and showed the original letter of April 25, 1870, had it read, and showed every stage of that bill. It was printed at least eight or ten times, circulated widely all o>er the country, and sent to everybody who was

·supposed toknowanything about the bill, andattention was especially called to the fact that the silver dollar was dropped from the coinage. The bill was debated in both Houses. The fact was brought out here only the other day by the Senator from Oregon (Mr. DOLPH]. The Senator from Kentucky, with the manly generosity that distinguished him, because, although he was very strong in his opinions, he was always willing to be corrected, at once acknowledged his error; and there are Senators here within the hearing of my voice who probably remember the circumstance.

That dollar was never surreptitiously dro'{)ped. It may have been foolishly done, but it was done after debate. The circrunstances connected with it, the why and the wherefore, were given in both Houses of Congress and stated by the Secretary of the Treasury. I have no objection to any comment being made upon that fact. It may have

"f>een very unwise; I will not interrupt the Senator here to debate that; but the fact is that it was known to every member of Congress. It is true General Grant said he did not know the effect of the measure and many other outsidersltl.id not; but no man could have been present here in the Eenate Chamber as a member or in the other House of Congress and attended to his duties and not have known it.

Mr. HOAR. How mn.ny times was the bill printed? Mr. SHERMAN. It was printed some eight or ten times, perhaps

mo're than that, from the beginning to the enq for three years during two Congresses, from April 25; 1870, to February, 1873, and the fact that that dollar was dropped from that bill was as bold and palpable a. fact as any fact of legislation in the history of our country.

Mr. DANIEL. Mr. President, the Senator from ·Ohio was entirely right to interrupt me, or at least to make his explanation, and he but does me simple justice in saying that be knows I would be glad to allow any explanation of that kind.

Mr. SHERMAN. I supposed the-Senator knew that, but I was greatly surprised when another Senator made the same declaration about the silver dollar being surreptitiously dropped who was present here as a member of the Senate, and I can show over and o\rer again he refers to it here. I knew the Senator did not intend to mislead.

Mr .. DANIEL. But, Mr. President, the fact is very little short of the statement made. So fa1· as this movement to demonetize the silver dollar was concerned, it was a matter unknown to Congress and unknown to the people of the United States when it was Clone. Speaker Blaine did not know it when the act paased. Senator STEWART, of Nevada, representing that great silver comm unity, who was a member of the body, did not know it. The Senator from Texas [Mr. REAGAN], who has always had an eye on silver, did not know it.

Mr. SHER:hrAN. He was not here. Mr. DANIEL. Was he not then a member of the other House? Several SENATORS. No. Mr. ALDRICH. Will the Senator allow me to say that the Senat.or

from Nevada, who a1so bas his eye always upon silver, was here and voted for the bill. 1

Mr. TELLER. · He did not know it. Mr. STEW ART. I did not know it, and I will give the Senator, if

he wants it, the entire discussion. It was not stated in the discussion that there was any intention to leave the dollar out. On the contrary, the very last' thing that was done was an amendment offered by the S0nator from Ohio providing for the inscription on the silver dollar, I will get it in a moment and show it. That was adopted. ·

Mr. SHERUAN. The trade-dollar. Mr.STEWART. No, the silver dollar and the trade-do11ar both. Mr. -SHERMAN. In- the bill as it came to us-I will get the origi-

nal files again and introduce the same evidence I did here before. THE COUNTRY DID NOT KNOW WIL.\.T WAS 80 Q.UIETLY DONE.

Mr. DANIEL. Mr. President, a year after that bill was passed in the American Congress, so silently bad it gone through, General Grant wrote a letter expressing his surprise that silver did not come into market.

Now, sir, I do not desire to convict anybody or any person of doing anything that is surreptitious or improper, but I desire to proclaim the fact, which the American people can not be toooftenremindedof, that one of their money metals was taken out of the currency and they were put upon the single gold standard to make contracts by without being apprised of it, and that the very officers of their Government who did it did it in such a qniet and remarkable manner that the President of the United States did not discover it.

A great many thing pass here that we do notknow; that is, in a critical sense. There are so many bills that no man has the mind and the eye to read them all. But, Mr. President, it is a duty of a. committee when it prop?unds a bill which looks simple on its face, but con-

, .

fains in the body of it a revolution, to let people know that the revolution is on hand in order that they may revolva with it.

FOREIGN INFLUENCES AT WORK HERE AGAINST SILVER.

I take from the Bankers' Magazine of August, 1873, a little extract. It says:

In 1873 silver being demonetized in Germany, England, and Holland, a capital of £100,000 ~$500,000) was raised, and Ernest Seyd, of London, was sent to 1

this country with this fund as the agent of foreign bondholders to effect tht\ same object.

This is from one of the most respectable organs of the money interest of the United States, and it announces the fact that England and Holland furnished a fund of half a million dollars and sent an emissary over to America. to procure a result which was effected in the manner stated. -

Mr. SHERMAN. What date does he fix? Mr. DANIEL. It is the Bankers' Magazine of August, 1873. Mr. SHERMAN. But what was the date fixed when Seyd was sent

here. When was Seyd sent herE:, according to that statement? Mr. DANIEL. There is no statement of that. I have only the

paragraph before me. The Congressional Globe of April 9, 1872, contains the report of

a bill presented to the House by Mr. Hooper, of Massachusetts, the chairman of the Committee on Coinage, in w)lich the following Ian~ guage occurs as coming from Mr. Hooper's own lips, and refers to the act which was passed dropping the silver dollar from our coinage laws, where it had been recognizecl as the unit of value since 1789:

The bill was prepared two years ago and has been submitted to careful and deliberate examination. It has the appro\'al of nearly all the mint experts oft.he country and the sanction of the Secretary of the Treasury. l\Ir. Ernest Seyd, ot London, a distinguished writer, who ha.<:1 2iven great attention to the subject of mints and coinage, aft.er examining the first draught of the bill, furnished many valuable suggestions which have been incorporated in this bill.

While the committee take no credit to themselves for the original preparation of this bill, they have given to it the most careful consideration and have no ' hesitation in unanimously recommending its passage as necessary and expe-d~n~ .

General A. J. Warqer, of Ohio~ who is one Qf the most earnest and able silYer advocates in the United States, told me that after the demonetiza.tion bill was passed he was traveling in Europe and the first information he derived that t.he United States of America, of which he was a dis tin- , guished, well informed, and intelligent citizen, was on the ajngle gold standard was from a banker in London, who informed him there to his great surprise that this act which created the trade-dollar had dropped the-standard dollar from circulation.

But, Mr. President, it is imi:haterial to lhis discussion whether this act was done ignorantly, criminally, or otherwise.

THE MOTIVE OF DE.MONETIZATION IS SELF-AGGRANDIZEMENT.

Whatever opinion men may entertain about the incide~ts of silver demonetization or the character of the actors who have participated in it, one thing is so clear that neither falsehood of declaration, sophistry of argument, nor cunning of rhetoric can disguise the fact that the sole motive promptiE,g the demonetization of silver, whether in Europe or America, is the aggrandizement of the few at the expense of the many.

Every action of intelligent creatures has a.motive; and we are bound to attribute this motive to the silver-demonetization movement from our knowledge of- ,

1. The character of the actors. 2. The effect of the act. 3. And the absence of other motive. Trace this demonetization movement in all its stages from its fount,..

ain head at the British throne in 1816 until it.s poisoned waters oozed. through these Congress Halls in 1873, and never anywhere at any time q.o we :find any impulse given to it save by those who expected to reap a selfish, exclusive, and peculiar benefit from iii.

BEW AB.E OF CONTRACTIONISTS WHO PRETEND TO FEAR CONTRACTION.

No law conceivable to the cunning of cabinets, no regulation known to bureaucracy and red tape, no device of the money-changer, no sophistry coinable in the mind of the paid penman or that can be carried ''trippingly on the tongue" of the rhetorician has been lacking to run silver down and out of its mission as money. And those who either created1or support this policy tell-. now they are afraid they will contract the currency by driving out gold if we shall coin more silver. Let us not be deceived, Mr. President. Whence come these warnings against contraction? From prophets whose prophesies are back numbers, from contractionists whose work has brought down the masses of the people to the feet of the classes and whose dissertations have become srole and obsolete.

The men vyho pot this country in a strait-jacket after the war by suddenly witbdr wing the greenback from circulation; the men who supported and applauded the contraction of our paper currency; the men who approved the contraction of our metal currency by the demonetization of the silver do1lar; the men who are clamoring for the retirement of the $346, 000, 000 of greenback currency which yet remain with us as part of our circulating medium-these are the men-contractionists by creed, contractionists by history, contractionista in interest, contractionists in practice-these are the men who have th~ face to turn their backs on their own notorious and universally recog·

I

) . ./.

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5129 nized public characters, and tell us they are :i.fraid of more silver because it will contract the currency! IF FREE COINAGE WOULD CONTRACT THE CURRENCY, THE GOLD MEN WOULD

FAVOR IT.

Ifitwere true, which I utterly deny, that f; ee silver coinage would contra.et the currency, t.hen these C(>ntractionists would rejoice and be exceeding glad. They would revel in the thought, for the moneyholder would then find a rich harvest in the appreciated value of money and in the depreciated value of property, the bondholder would get an interest of larger purchasing power and the opportunity to aggrandize himself in cheap absorptions of those farms and other properties put in his power by mortgage and debts held over them.

Beware of the professional and practiced contractionist who is afraid of contraeting the currency! They are putting on your uniform, but they are the old enemies of si1ver and abundant money all the same. SELF-AGGRANDIZEMENT TIIE ENGLISH AND THE GERMAN MOTIVE, AND IS NOW

THE AMERICAN MOTIVE TO OSTRACIZE SILVER.

Mr. President, no one doubts that self-aggrandizement was the sole motive that led England to demonetize silver in 1816; and not only was this aggrandizement to be accomplished for herself as a country, at the expense of other nations; it was also to be accomplished by her rich money-holders at the expense of her property-holders. The autocrats of Germany and other European monarchies followed her example as soon as their opportunity offer~d, and here in the United States we have only to look over the face of this country and into the faces of our public men to recognize at a glance that the anti-silver men are those who represent aggregated capital in gold, who wish to push silver out of their way that gold may have monopoly.

'There is a United States bond of which payment is demanded in gold upon a coin contract, there is a national bank holding some of these bonds whose payment is demanded in gold, there is a bank deposit which seeks payment in gold, there is a mortgage waiting payment in gold behinds the pens and tongues of all the writers and speakers who are striving to drive silver to the wall. Point out to me anywhere an anti-silver man and I will point yon to the gold influence that has set his head to thinking gold, his pen to writing gold, and his tongue to speaking gold; and I will further point out the immediate personal benefit of the class to which he belongs, or of which he is the type and spokesman, that he calculates on deriving from pulling silver down.

HOW AGGRA~'DIZEMENT WORKED IN ENGLAND. England demonetized silver in 1816. From 1816 t-0 1823 more than

four-fifths of the land-owners of England lost their estates. • In 1822 the number of land-owners in England was 165, 000. In 1861, according to the census of that year, 30, 000 persons were the owners of thew hole land surface of England; that is, 1 land-owner to every 652 persons. 'l'he matter was still worse in Ireland, where 8,412 of the population of 5, 729, 967 held the ownership of all the lands, while in Scotland it was even more deplorable than in Ireland, 2, 975 persons at that time holding all the lands of that country, which was 1 land-owner to every 1, 030 other persons.

HOW AGGRANDIZEMENT HAS WORKED IN GERMANY. Germany demonetized silver in 1871. Mr. Lavaleye, writing in 1881,

says of the result: At the sitting of the Reichstag, of the 18th .June, 1879, the governor of the im

perial bank Herr Von Decherd, declared, in reply to a question by ex-Minister Delbruck, that the sale of demonetized silver had already involved a loss of 96,500,000 marks ($23,100,000), and that for the sale of the remaining 500,000,000 of marks (SU0,000 000) a rather higher loss must be calculated upon. (A mark is worth 24 cents.) It was then that Prince Bismarck interposed and declared that he would no longer bear the responsibility of such an operation. Germany is a considerable producer of silver, and her present production is worth less by S5,000,000 per annum from the depreciation of silver. Germany owns at least $400,000,000 of investments, whose interest, payable in silver, now yields $2,500,-000 a year less than if that metal was at par.

EFFECT UPON Tai: GERid:AN FAR3IERS. He thus describes the effect upon the German farmers: "This direct loss, impo1<tant as it is, is nothing, howe>er," says Herr Von

Bar, "compared with the indirect loss resul ting from the fall of prices." Himself a large land-=owner, he first speaks of agriculture: "It is cruelly suffering from the reduced value of all produce. The farmers are paying their rents irregularly or not at all; their stock in trade bas often to be distrained to recover arrears of rent: The land-owners are overwhelmed with mortgages. When at last, in order to extricate themselves, they try to sell their estates, they find no purchasers or have to be satisfied with a price one-third below former estimates. 'l'he discouragement is universal. No more agricultural improvements are being effected; employment is, consequently, lacking, and there is great indigence. Hence that increasing emig ration, for which special trains and steamers have to be arranged. It is a veritable exodus. What remedy for so much suffering? The agriculturist, perceiving at length the real cause of the evil, demands the abandonmentofthe gold sland a.rd. * * * The fact is strange, yet certain, that from this immense crisis has sprung that odious and inexplicable return to the intolerance of the Middle Ages, called the' anti-semitic movement, ' theJudenheize (Jew hatred); the Jews,bein~large holders of gold whose power is unduly increased, are regarded by the popula<ie as enriching themselves by the ruin of others. The capitalist, unhurt, even profits by the cheapness of enforced sales."

enormous crop of2,112,892,000 bushels, valued at only $597,918,820. In fact, the corn crop of 1889 exceeded 'that of 1888 by 125,192,000 bushels, and is valued at less money by $79,542, 760.

"The wheat crop of 1888 wa,s 415,868,000 bushels, valued at $385,-248,030, while the wheat crop of 1889 wa3 490,560,000 bushels, valued at only $349, 491, 707. It will be seen that the wheat crop of 1889 was greater than that of 1888 by 74,693,000 bushels and sold for less money by $42, 756,223.

"The oat crop of 1888 was 701,735,000 bushels, valued at $195,424,-240, and that the oat crop for 1889 was 751,575,000 bushels, valued at $171,781,008, or the oat crop was greater in 1889thanin1888 by 49,-780, 000 bushels and is valued for less by $23, 643, 232.

'' ln other words, the farmers have raised of these cereals 249, 664, 000 bushels more in 1889 than in 1888, and the entire crop has sold for $145, 942, 215 less money than last year.''

HOW WEALTH IS ACCUMULATING IN THE HANDS OF THE FEW. Mr. Thomas G. Shearman, writing in 'I'he Forum for September, 1889,

shows where the lost wealth of our producers is going. He says: As lately as 1847 ther~ was but one man in this country who was reputed to

be worth more than fS,000,000; ·and, though some estimated his wealth at $20,-000,000, there is no good reason for believing it to ha.ve been so great. The wealth of Ws lineal descendants is estimat~d at $250,000,000, or over $50,000,000 each. In 1867, in the New York constitutional convention. one of the most prominent delegates stated that he could name thirty men residing in that State whose wealth averaged $15,000,GOO each. The St. Louis Globe recently published a list of seventy-two persons who were worth collectively the whole of our national debt, averaging SJS,000,000 each.I

The wealthiest railroad manager in America in 1865 was worth $40,000,000, but not more. His heir died recently leaving a.n estate of nearly 5200,000.000, and there are. several gentlemen now living who are worth over $100,000,000 each. Within a. short period a. number of quiet, unobtrusive men of no national fame have died in Pennsylvania leaving estates of over $20,000,000 ea~h. Twenty living persons in the oil business are reputed to be as rich. Forty persons could be easily named none of them worth less than $20,000,000 and averaging $10,000-000 each. At the lowest reasonable estimate there must now be more than two hundred and fifty persons in this country whose wealthaveragesover$?...0,000,000 for each.

But let us call the number only two hund1·ed. Income-tax returns in Great Britain and the United States show that, in general, the number of incomes, when arranged in large classes, multiplies by from three to five fold for every reduction in the amount of one-half. For extreme caution, however, we estimate the increase in the number of incomes at a. very much lower rate than this. At this reduced rate the amount of wealth in the hands of persons worth over $500,000 each in the United States would be about as follows: 200 persons at $20, 000, 000 ..............• , •........................•............••........ $4, 000, 000, 000 400 persons at SlO, 000, 000 .................•............................................ " 4, 000, 000, 000 1, 000 persons at $5, 000, 000... ......... .....•.•......• ... ..........•..••......... .....•... 5. 000, 000, 000 2, 000 persons at $2, 500, 000... ... ......... ... ... .. . .•..... ..... ... ... .••............ .....• 5, 000, 000, 000 6, 000 persons at $1, 000, 000... ...... ...... ...... ... ...... .•. .... ... .. ......... ...... .....• 6, 000, 000, 000 15, 000 perso ~ s at $500, 000............................................. ............ ........ 7, 005, 000, 000

Total ...•................................................•.................................. 31, 500, 000, 000

This estimate is very far below the actual truth. Yet, : ven upon this basis, we are confronted with the startling result that25,000 persons now possess more than half of the whole national wealth, real and personal, according to the highest estimate ($6,000,000,000) which any on~ has yet ventured to make of the aggregate amount. Nor is this conclusion at all improbable.

THIS FATAL POLICY MUST BE REVERSED AND THE UNITED STATES MUST LEAD. Mr. President, the fatal policy that bas carried ruin in its track in

the Old World and is bringing ruin to our producers here, which is grinding the many and enriching the few, must be reversed. The first step is in the complete restoration of silver to money hood, and the United States must lead.

Now, Mr. President, .America is the greatest gold and silver producing continent of the world, and the United States is the greatest gold and silver producing nation of the world. And in this fact the band of manifest destiny points out our career of dominion as clearly as' in any of the conditions by which we are surrounded or as in any of the incidents which have marked the evolutions of our history. In the happiest zone of the earth"s climate, with a stretch ofterrit.ory the broadest in expanse of any so eligibly located, with lauds that yield richly to the husbandman's labor and mines that pour forth inexhamit. ibly their wealth of mineral and metal; washed by the two great oceans which set us apart from the ancient peoples of the East and alike from the polished but aristocratic and caste-ridden civilizations of Europe, and yet which afford us the means of free communication~with them all; with rivers flowing inward and pulling the land and its people together as it were by the natural laws of gravitation, and then giving them a common outlet from their center to the seas through the Father of Waters; Aettled by a people who are scions of the greatest race that ever inhabited the earth, and drawing acces.sions from the ipost enterprising and ambitious of all raees, the elements seem by Heaven provided to frame hero the greatest nation of men, they seem, too, here to be better combined, under more favorable circumstances, than any that ever eXISted in the history of any people. When to all these benefactions of Providence it has been discovered that we are more richly endowed with silver and gold than any people that ever existed, does it not seem a shameful and humiliating thing that any should warn us not to help ourselves freely to our own lest we prove too weak to maintain our-

How OUR FARMERS ARE SUFFERING. selves against the commercial prowess of British and German gold? Let these facts tell the tale as to our farmers: When we were but a feeble folk of three millions in number, when ''By taking the corn crop for 1888 we find by this report that there we had but little store of either silver or gold or any precious substance,

was raised in the United States 1,987, 790,000 bushels of corn, valued - when we had neither armies nor navies, and Great Britain burdened at $677,561,580, and by the :report of 1889 we find there was raised the us with taxes and threatened us with subjugation, we did not answer

I , ·.

I

,·

. \

--


that we were too weak to hold our heads up and go our own gait into the broad highways of national independence which Providence opened before us.

What was your tiivial tax. on tea which the men of Boston threw · int-0 the sea compared to your enormous ta.x of $120, 000, 000 which today you are pouring into English treasuries from your snbserviency to English gold? Not producing silver herself and trying to keep silver down in the market, she has held up the value of one coin, has put down the value of another, and, cringing before her commercial policies as if the blood and brains of our fathers had died out in their so!l.S, we build around us a Chinese wall of an American system of taxation to pr vent us from having mterconrse with Great Britain, and yet say we must preserve the gold standard for the sole object of not beccming independent, but that our tribute to her may realize to he~ more money.

:N"ot from the counting-rooms of exchange, not from behind bags of accumulated and usurious gold, came forth the men of the great Revolutionary days to lead us. Not from the narrow circle of dogmatic scholastics did we leam our creeds of politics; nor were the paid experts of calculati,ng usurers the chosen lights to unravel financial prin-ciples. ·

-It was a young aid-de·camp of Washington, an artillery captain fresh from the field, who laid the foundations of our financial system. It was a philosopher of the woods from old Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, who proclaimed your creeds of liberty. It was a printer of Fhiladelphia who became an embassador and bore in bis simple dignity the majesty of a king amid the spangles and stars of court. It was a young Indian fighter fresh from the border who overmatched the best generals of Europe. It was the farmer of Mount Vernon who became our first magistrate without a peer.

Mr. President, just as soon as America stands up upon her own feet . and lets Great Britain know that she will not bow down to her idol of gold, you will see our commercial policy bounding into the ascendant, our prices rise, our poor laboring men and farmers rescue themselves from mortgage and debt, and this nation enter upon the high career of independence which Providence designed in its making. [Applause in the galleries.]

The VICE-PRESIDENT. Order must be preserved in the galleries. Mr. HALE. In accordance with the notice which I gave last night

and this morning, I ask that the unfinished business be temporarily laid aside, not to lose its place, and that the Senate proceed to consider the naval appropriation bill.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. ·Is there objection to the request made by the Senator from Maine? The Chair hears none.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE. A-message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. McPHERSON, its

Clerk, announced that the House had agreed to the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the · amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. 2714) to provide for the purchase of a site and the erection of a. public building thereon at Aurora, in the State of Illinois.

The message also announced that the House bad disagreed to the amendmentB of the Senate to the amendments of the Honse to the bill (S. 1) to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies, agreed to the conference asked by the Senate on the disagreeing votes oftbetwo Houses thereon, and had appointed Mr. E. B. TAYLOR, Mr. STEWART Of Vermont, and Mr. BLAND managers at the conference on the part of the House.

The m~a.e;e further announced that the House bad agreed to some and disagreed to other amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 7619) making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes, asked a conference with the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and had appointed Mr. CUTCHEON, Mr. OsBORNE, and Mr. WHEELER of Alabama managers at the conference on the part of the House.

The message also announced that the House had agreed to some and disagreed to other amendments of the Sen~te to the bill (H. R. 8152) making appropriation for the support of the Military Academy for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, asked a conference wit.h the Senate on the disagreeing votes ·tbereon, and had appointed Mr. SPOONER, Mr. SNIDER, and Mr. RoBERTSON managers at the conference on the part of the House .

The message further announced that the Hoose had passed the following bills; in which it requested the concurrence of tM Senate~

A bill (H. R.10252) to amend an act entitled ''An act to provide for talring the eleventh and subsequent censuses,'' approved March 1, 1889, as amended January 23, 1890; and

"' A bill (H. R. 10390) making-appropriation to supply a deficiency in the appropriation for public printing and binding for the last quarter of the fiscal ye.ar 1890.

ENROLLED BILL SIGNED.

The message also announced that . the Speaker of the House had signed the following enrolled bill: A bill (H. R. 7898) granting to the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad Company a right of way through certain Indillll reservations in Minnesota; and it was thereupon signed by the Vice-President.

-.-

GOYERNMENT LOANS QN REAL ESTATE. Mr. STANFORD. I desire to give notice that to-morrow, after the

naval appropriation bill shall be disposed of, I should like to submit a few remarks explanatory of the bill I introduced the other day, No. 3889, to provide for making loans by the Government and securing the same by liens upon land. I shall probably be absent from the country for several months, and I wish to have the opportunity to make a few remarks explanatory of the bill.

NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL. The Sena\e, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the

bill (H. R.. 8909) maki!lg appropriations for th'e naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes.

The bill was reported from the Committee on Appropriations with amendments.

Mr. HA.LE. I ask that the formal re~ding of the bill be dispensed with and that the amendments of the Committee on Appropriations be considered as they are reached in the reading of the bill.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. That order will be made. The Chief Clerk proceeded to reaA the bill. The first amendment

reported by the Committee on Appropriations was, on page 4, line 2, after the word ''ocean,'' in the heading of the clause, to strike out "and lake, 11 and in the same line, after the word " ocean," to strike out "and lake," so as to make the clause read:

Ocean surveys: For ocean surveys, the publication and ca.re of the results thereof; the purchase of nautical books, charts, and sailing direcMons, prepariuir and engraving on copper plates the Slll'veys of the Mexican coasts, and the publication of a series of charts oil the coasta of Central and South America, 310,000.

The amendment was agreed to. The reading of the bill was continued. The.next amendment was, on

page 5, line 14, in the heading of the clause, after the word '' Coll~e, '' to strike out "and Torpedo School," and in line 16, after the word "'College," to.strike out "and Torpedo School;" so ac:; to read:

Naval War College on Coaster's Ha.rbOrisland: FormalntenanceoftheNaval War College on Coaster's Harbor Island, 810,000; and the Secretary of the Navy hi hereby authoriz.ed to cause the building tor use by the Naval War College and Torpedo School, for the con>1truction of which the sum ot $100,000 was appro· priated in the act of March 2, 1889, to be erected on Coaster's Harbor Island.

The amendment was agreed tO. · The reading of the bill was continued. The next amendment was,

under the heading of "Bureau of Ordnance," on page 6, after line 6, to insert:

For the purchase of armor plates fort he reception of tests of modern project-iles, s;o,ooo. .

The amendment was agreed to. The reading of the bill-was continued. The next amendment was,

on page 6, at the end of line 14, to strike out a semicolon and insert a period.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, in the appropriations for'' naval ordnance

range and proving-ground," to strike out the clause beginning with line 18, on page 6, and ending with line 6, on page 7, as follows:

To enable the Secretary of the Navy to manufacture and experimentally test one improved Ericsson submarine gun and twenty-five projectiles for the same, the sum of $30,000 is hereby appropriated: Pr<Wided, That no pa.rt of this money shall be expended until the owners of the said patents shall agree by contract to give the Government the option within a specified time to contract at such price as shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Navy tor the exclusive right on the part of the Government to manufacture, by contract or otherwise, such submarine guns and projectiles without. t.he payment of any royalty on the same: Pro'Vided., That such submarine gun and projectiles shall prove satisfac· tory on due test, and be approved by the Secretary of the Navy.

And in lien thereof to insert: To enable the Secretary of the Navy to manufacture and experimentally test,

under rules and conditions to be prescribed by him, a submarine gun and pro· jectiles for the same, $30,000; and for testing torpedoes, 520,000; in all, $50,000.

The amendmt:!Ilt was agreed to. The reading of the bill was continued. The next amendment was,

in the heading on page 9, line 10, after the word "Equipment," to strike out "and Recruiting," so as t~ read "Bureau of Equipment;"

The amendment was agreed to. The reading of the bill was continued. The next amendment was,

on page 11, line 10, after the word "N'avy, n to insert "and no royalty shall be paid for the use of said machine;" so as to make the clause read:

Electric weldipg machine: For installing an electric welding machine in the Boston navy-yard, 512,000: Pro'Vided, That the party supplying the said machine and apparatus shall guaranty that it will opera.te satisfa.otorily in the welding of steel links for cha.in cables of the various sizes up to 2! inches in diameter, and no payment shall be made until tests shall have been made to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Navy, and no royalty shall be paid for the use of said machine.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 11, after the word '' Equipment,''

at the end of line 12, to strike out "and Recruiting;" so as to read: Civil establishment, Bureau of Equipment: Navy-yard, Portsmouth, N. H.:

For one clerk, at Sl,200; one clerk at Sl,000; etc.

The amendment was agreed to. The reading of the bill was continued. The next amendment was, on

page 12, line9, toincreasethetotalamountof aypropriationsfor "Civil estab1ishment, Bureau of°Equipment," from $17,825 to $19,025.

The amendment was agreed. to. '

I

;

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 6131 -1890. ' -

The next amendment was, on page 12, line 13, after the word ''Equip- mittee on Appropriations who bas this bill in charge what is meant by ment," to strike ont"and Recruiting," and in line 18; after the word striking out the amount there, "$54,172.54" and inserting '' $53,"Equipment," to strikeout "and Recruiting, unforeseen'-' and insert 986.04." That is in the clause making an appropriation for "naval "unforeseen;" so as to make the clause read: station, Key West, Fla."

Contingent, Bureau of Equipment: For freight and transportation of equip- Mr. GORM.Al.~. That is the total amount of the appropriations for ment and navigation stores, packing-boxes and materials, printing, advertis- that and the preceding clauses under the head of ''Civil establishment, ing, telegraphing, books and models; posooge on letters sent abroad; ferriag~; Bureau of Yards and Docks." ice, lighterRge of ashes, and emergencies arising under cognizance of the Bu- l reau of Equipment, unforeseen and impossible to classify, Sl0,000. Mr. CALL. I beg pardon. It seems to me this is very improper y

The amendment was agreed to. phrased. It reads: The next amendment was, on page 13, line 14, after the word "pack- Naval Elation, Key West, Fla.: For one messenger at $600; in all, $53,986.04.

ing-boxes," to strike out the comma and insert a semicolon. l\Ir. GORMAN. That is the total footing for the various paragraphs. The amendment was agreed to. Mr. CALL. It should have been differently paragraphed; that is all. The reading of the bill was continued to line 16, on page 13. The amendment was agreed to. Mr. HALE. Mr. President, the clauses from line 17 to line..24, on The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Chair calls the attention of the Sen-

page 13, and from line 25, on page 13, to line 3, on page 14, may be ator from l\Iaine to line 7 on page 22, where the word "commutated" passed for the present by arrangement that I have with the Senators is used, and on line 8, in the same clause, the word "commuted" is from Massachusetts who desire to be heard upon it. used. Does he desire to substitute the word "commuted" for the

The VICE-PRESIDENT. Those amendments will be passed o!er word "commutated'' in line 7? for the present. Mr. HALE. The word in line 7 should be "commuted." I move

The Chief Clerk resumed the read.in()' of the bilJ, beginning at Une that amendment. 41 on page 14. ,.., . . I The ame~dment w~ agreed to. . .

The next amendment of the Committee on Appropnations was, on Thereadmgofthebill wasresumed~ndcon~mued tol~ne6onpage27. page 14, line 9, before the word "thousand," to insert "and twenty- Mr. HALE. The two paragraphs m relation to the improvement of five·" so as to make the clause read: the plant at the navy-yard at Port.smouth, N. H., and the navy-yard N~vy-yard, Brooklyn, N. Y.: For extending ra.ilr~ad system and necessary at Boston, lt1ass., may go over with the others for the present.

rolling stock, S5,000; for completing approaches to timber dry-dock,$25,000; for The VICE-PRESIDENT. They will be pas.sed over. repair.ing coIJ:dock:, improv<".ment of W?itn~y Basin, rebuilding sea-wall, and The reading of the bill was resumed. The next amendment of the dredgmg, $125,000; for relaymg water-pipes m the yard, $l5,ooo. Committee on Appropriations was, on page 29; line 9, to reduce the

The amendment was agreed to. total amount of the appropriations for "Civil establishment Bureau Thenextamendm~ntwas, ~m page 14, line 10, after the word "yard," of Construction and Repair," from $19,973.50 to $19,972.50.'

to strike out the period and msert a comma. The amendment was agreed to. The amendment was agreed to. . " The next amendment was, on page 29, in line 18, to strike out'' three The next amendment was, on page 15, hne 8, after the word dol- hundred and seventy-ii ve" and insert" four hundred·" so as to make

Iars," to insert" for conn~cting new pumps with old dry-dock, $15,- the clause read: ' 000;" sons to make the clause read: Na~y-ya.rd, Norfolk, Va.: For completing railroad system. $5,000; for com

pleting water system, $5,000; for completing approaches t.o timber dry-dock, $10,000; for extending machine-shop (for steam-engineering), $5,000; for connectingnew pumps with old dry-dock, $15,000.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 15, line 20, after the word "dol

lars,'' to insert ''for completing rnpairs to sectional dry-dock, $15,000; ;, so as to make the clause read:

Navy-yard, Mare Island, California: For bridge across sectional dock basin, $2,000; for boat landings, $3,000; for building wagon-road towards cemetery and magazine, $5,000; for replanking wharves, $5,000; for completing electric-light plant, $30,000; for moving ferry slip back, straightening sea-wall, and dredging, J2(),000; for completing repairs to sectional dry-d ck, 15,000.

Steam machinery: For completion, repairs, plans, and drawings, and preservation of machinery and boilers of naval vessels, including cost of new boilers, preservation of and small repairs to machinery and boilers in vessels in ordinary, receiving and t.raining vessels, repair and care of machinery of yardtugs and launches, 3100,000.

The amendment was -agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 29, line 23, before the word "thou

sand," to strike out "twenty-five" and insert "forty;" so as to read: For purchase, handling, and preservation of all materials and stores, purchase,

fitting, repair, and preservation of machinery and tools in navy-yards and stations, and running yard engines, $240,000.

The amendment ~as agreed to. The next amendment was, on pa.1Le 30, line 3, to increase the total

amouutofthe appropriations for "Bureau of Steam Engineering" from The amenqment was agreed to. . $610,000 to $650,000. The next amendment was, on page 15, after line 21, to insert: The amendment was agreed to. Launchin_g ways an!1 granite slips at _New Yor~ an~ Norfo_lk: n!1-vy-yards: The reading of the bill was continued to the end of line 15,on page 30.

For extendmg launchmg ways and makmg alterations rn gramte slips, $13,000. ]'}fr. HALE. The next amendment, to strike 011t the clause "for The amendment was agreed to. improvement of machinery plant navy-yard Boston" may be passed The next. amend~ent was, on .page 16, at the end ofline 20, to strike over for the present. ' ' '

out the penod and rnsert a semicolon. I The VICE-PRESIDENT. The amendment will be passed-over. The amendment was agreed to. . . . The reading of the bill was resumed at lfue 22, on page 30. The next.amend~e~was, on_page 17, at the end of lme 2, to stnke The next amendment of the Committee on Appropriation$ was, on

out the per10d and msert a semicolon. page 31, line 1, before the word ''thousand,'' to strike out '':fifty '' The amendment was agreed to. and insert "one hundred·" so as to make the clause read· The next. amend~ent was, on .page 17, at the end of line 15, to strike Improvement of machine;y plant, navy-yard. Brooklyn, N. Y.: For extra.

out the penod and msert a semicolon. tools required to put the yard in condition for building and repairing modern The amendment was agreed to. marine machinery ~itb economy and dispatch, including travelipg crane in The next amendment was, on page 17, at the end of line 17, to strike foundry and new boiler--shop, $100,000.

out the period and inse1·t a semicolon · The amendment was agreed to. The amendment was a:reed to. · The next amendment W'lS, on page 31, line 8, after the word "tools," The next amendment ;as, on page 12, at the end ofline 21, to strike to strike oat "forty thousand" and insert "sixty thousand one hnn-

oa.t the period and insert a semicolon. dred and seventy;" so as to make the clause read: The amendment was agreed to. • Improvement of machinery plant, navy-yard, Mare Island, California: For Tbe next amendment was, on pa!!e 17,line 25,to strike out the :period extra tools required to put the yard in condition for building and repairing

•J modern marine machinery with economy and didpatch, including improve-and insert a semicolon. men ts in boiler-making plant and improved machine tools, '60,170.

The amendment was agreed to. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment wtts, on page 18, at the end of line 7, to strike The next amendment wm~, in the appropriation for the Naval Acad-

out the period and inser.t a semicolon. emy, on page 34, line 1, after the date "1882," to strike out "two thon-The amendment was aO'reed to. sand five hundred" and insert "five thousand;" so as to make the The next amendment was, on page 18, at the end of line 10, to strike clause read:

out the ~eriod and insert a semico!on. For special course of study and training of naval cadets as authorized by act The amendment was agreed to. of Congress approved August 5, 1882, $5,000. The next amendmentwas,on page 18, at the end of line 10, tostrike The amendment was agreed to. •

out the period and insert a semicolon. The next amendment was, in the appropriation for the Na.val Acad-The amendment was agreed to. emy, on page 35, after line 5, to insert: The next amendment was, on page 18, at the end of line 19, to strike For the purchase of land to open King George's street to the Government

out the period and insert a semicolon. property and expense ofopening said street, $3,500. The amendment was agreed to. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 18, line :21, to reduce the total The next amendment was, on page 36, line 8, before the word ''thou-

amount of the appropriations for "Civil establishment, Bureau of Yards sand," to strike out "thirty-three" and insert "thirty-nine;" sQ as and Docks," from $54,172.54 to $53,986.04. to read:

Mr. CALL. I should be glad to hear from the member of the Com- Total for Naval Academy,$239,017.4-5.

... -.

-

('

. \

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. MAY 22,

The amendment was agreed t.o. The next amendment was, on page 43, line 8, after the word "thouThe next amendment was, under the head of "Marine Corps," page sand," t.o strike out "and eighty-three dollars and sixty-nine " and

36, line 11, after the word "Corps," to strike out "Paymaster's De- insert " ve hundred and sixty-three dollars and fifty-one;" so as to partm en t; " so as t.o i·ea d: read:

Pay Marine Corps: For pay of officers on the active-list., etc. Tot for Marine Corps, $938,563.51. T e amendment was agreed t.o.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 36, at the end of line 23, t.o strike

out the semicolon ana insert a period. The amendment was agreed to. • The next amendment was, on page 37, at the end of line 5, to strike

out the semicolon· and in ert a period. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 37, at the end of line 10, t.o strike

out the semicolon and insert a period. · The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 37, at the end of line 14, to strike

out the semicolon and insert a period. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 37, at the end of line 16, to strike

out the semicolon and insert a period. The amendment was agreed t.o. The next amendment was, on page 371 at the end of line 19, t.o strike

out the semicoloq. and insert a period. The amendment was agreed t.o. The next amendment was, on page 38, at the end of line 2, to 'Strike

out the period and insert a semicolon. The amendment was agreed t.o. The next amendment was, on page 38, at the end of line 7, to strike

out the period and insert a semicolon. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 38, at the end of line 12, to strike

out the period and insert a semicolon. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 38, at the end of line 16, to strike

out the period and insert a semicolon. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 38, line 17, after the word "quar

termaster," to strike out "Washington, District of Columbia." and insert ''San Francisco, C:ltlifornia,'' and in line 19, aft,er the word ''all,'' to insert "for pay of civil force;" so as to read:

In the office of the assistant quartermaster, San Francisco, Cal.: One clerk at 81,400; in all, for pay of civil force, $17,493.35.

T e next amendment was, on page 43, after line 10, to insert: APPROPRIATIONS FOB. SUPPLIES.

For expenses of airanging, classifying, consolidating, and cataloguing sup. plies for the Navy, herein provided for and now on hand, $10,000 i and all SUI>plies purchased with moneys appropriated by this act shall be aeemed to be purchased for tb.e Navy, and not for any bureau thereof, and these supplies, together with all supplies now on hand, shall be arranged, classifted, consolidated, and catalogued,·and issued for consumption or use, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, without regard to the bureau for which they were purchnsed.

The amendment was agreed to. The reading of the bill was continued to the beginning of the clause

in line 22, "for increase of the Navy." M:r. COCKRELL. Mr. President, at the proper time, or at a time

which will suit the convenience of the Senator in charge of this bill, I desire to move to strike this clause out.

Ji.fr. HALE. That amendment will be in order when the reading of the bill is concluded.

Mr. COCKRELL. And the amendments of the committee have been acted upon?

Mr. HALE. Yes. The reading of the bill was resumed. The next amendment of the Committee on Appropriations was, in

the appropriations for "increase of the Navy," on page 44, line 8, after the word "one," to strike out" armored" and insert "protected;" so as to read:

One protected cruiSJP" of about 7,300 tons displacement, at o. cost, exclusive or armament, not to exceed $2,750,000, to have a maximum speed of not less than 20knots.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 44, line 12, after the word ''knots,"

to insert: . One swift torpedo-cruiser of about 750 to,ns displacement, at a. cost, exclusive of armament, not to exceed $350,000, to have a maximum speed of not less than 23 knots; and one torpedo-boat, at a cost not to exceed $125,000.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 47, line 1, a.fter the words ''five

million," to insert "four hundred and seventy-five thousand;" so as to read:

The amendment was agreed t.o. Construction and steam machinery: Towards the construction and compleThe next amendment was, on page 38, line 22, before the word " hun· ti on of the new vessels heretofore and herein authorized by Congress, with their

dred," to strike out "Six" and insert "six,·'' so as to read: 1 engines,boilers,and machinery,andforthepaymentofpreniiumsforincreased speed or horse-power under contracts now eristing and to be made under this

Total for pay of Marine Corps, $687,471.79. and other acts for increase of the Navy, $5,475,000.

The amendment was agreed to. The amendment was agreed to. I The next amendment was, onpage38, line24, after the word ''Corps,'' The next amendment was, on page47, line3, after , e word ''Navy,''

to strike out "Quartermaster's Department;" so as to read: to strike out ''seven million six hundred and fo -five" and insert Provisions, Marine Corps: Eor one thousand one hundred non-commis- "eight million one hundred and twenty;" so to make the clause

sioned officers, musicians, and privates, and commutation of rations to eleven read: enlisted men detailed as clerks and messengers, also for payment of board of en-~isted men for recruiting parties, said payment for board not to exceed $2,500, Total for increase of the Navy, 88,120,000. $67,000, etc.

1 The amendment was agreed to. .

The amendment was agreed t.o. Mr. HALE. The reading of the bill bein ncluded, we can now The next amendment was, on page 40, at the end of line 4, to strike go back to page 13, the amendment bej?:inning on line 25 of that page

out the semicolon and insert a '{leriod. and ending with line 3 on page 14, which the SenatorsfromMassachu· The amendment was agreed to. setts desire to be heard upon. That is, the first amendment in relation

line 23 to line 25, inclusive, as follows: Mr. DAWES. I hope that that amendment will not be adopted. The next amendment was, on page 40, to strike out the clause from I to the Boston navy-yard.

For rent of building used for manufacture of clothing, storing supplies, and The VICE-PR~IDENT, The amendment has not been read to the office of assistant quartermaster, Philadelphia, Pa., 31,300. Senate.

And in lieu thereof to insert: Mr. HALE. It is the amendment beginning in line 25, on page 13, For rent of buildings used for manufacture of clothing, storing- supplies, and and ending with line 3, on page 14.

for offices of assistant quartermasters, Philadelphia, Pa., and San Francisco, The VICE-PRESIDENT. · The amendment will be stated. Cal., Sl,780. - The CHIEF CLERK. It is proposed to strike ont the clau!!e begin·

The amendment was agreed to. ning in line 25, on page 13, and ending with line 3, on P3c,"'0 14, as fol· The next amendment wa.s, on page 41, at the end of line 15, to strike lows:

out the period and insert a semicolon. The amendment was agreed t.o. The next amendment was, in tb e appropriations for '' Hire of quarters,

Marine Corps," on page 41, line 17, after the words ~'messengers in," to strike out "CQ.mmandants' " and insert "commandant's;" in line 18, after the word "commandant's," to strike out adjutants' " and insert "adjutant;" in line 20, after the word "assistant," to strike out "q'!lartermaster's" and inser~ "quar~masters';" and in ~e 21, aitE:r the words "Pennsylvania, and," to strike out "Washington, D. C." and insert "San Francisco, Cal.;" so as to make the clause read:

For hire of quarters for seven enlisted men employed as clerks and messengers in commandant's, adjutant and inspector's, paymaster's, and quartermaster's offices, Washington, D. C., and assistant quartermasters' offices, Philadelphia, Pa., and San Francisco, Cal., at ~l per munth each, Sl,764.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 41, at the end of line 23, to strike

out the period and insert a. semicolon. The amendment was agreed to.

, I .

Navy-yard; Boston, Mass.: For new boiler and pumping machinery, taking down and resetting the end of granite dry dock, and putting in the necessary backing and drainage, $50,000.

l\Ir. DAWES. The clause proposed to be stricken out is an appropriation ''for new boiler and pumping machinery, taking down and resetting the end of granite dry-dock, and putting in the necessa:zy backing and drainage, $50, 000. ''

I am quite sure if the committee understood the situation there they wonld not have recommended the striking out of that appropriation. That dry-dock is the largest dock in the country, a granite structure. It is 355 feet in length, which is precisely the length of the largest ship in \he British navy. There is no other dock of that size in this country. It cost an immense sum of money. It has been in excellent repair up to recently, when, from some defect in the drainage, the water has washed out the foundation at one corner and left it in such a way that the question simply is whether the whole cost of that dry· dock shall be thrown away or this sum of money appropriated to re· store it.

. -,

<' .-

,.

•

. I

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5133 It is independent of the question whether the Boston navy-yard shall

ultimately be one of those yards in which large ships are to be built. It is only a question of the preservation of that vast property. It is a wanton waste, it seems to me, not to appropriate the sum necessary to put that dry-dock back into its original condition. It will be necessary for the repair of ships hereafter, whatever may be ultimate!~ done in the matter of the construction of large ships. '

Mr. CAMERON. And for merchant ships. Mr. DA WES. And, as the Senator from Pennsylvania says, mer

chant ships as well-all ships. 1 believe it is the only available, certainly the only dock of that size in the country anywhere. Ihopethe committee will not insist upon the amendment to abandon that whole expenditlll'e of more than a million of dollars there because the committee do not think it wise to expend $50,000 to restore it. It seems to me that we might just as well let this Capitol go down if one of the corners of the structure should become necessary at some time to be replaced.

Mr. HOAR. I should like to be permitted to make a statement in addition to that made by my colleague. My colleague has already pointed out that this is not a question of any new or enlarged appropriation. It is a question of allowing the Government property to perish. Now, without any possible disparagement to any other part of the country, I suppose it will be agreed that the skilled labor which can be drawn upon in Boston for any sudden emergency in our naval history, the threat of a war, for repairing, constructing, or eqnipping ships, or doing work which would be required under such circumstances, is unsurpassed in this country. 'l'he skill, the inventive faculty, the numbers of the workmen, are unequaled, unless I should except Philadelphia (I should not undertake to claim any superiority there); but the immediate vicinity of these works is the very home and headquarters.-0fthe inventive faculty in this country. It seems to me it would be most wasteful to allow them to perish for want of this small pittance which is required to keep them ali"re.

Mr. HALE. l\Ir. President, these two amend men ts, on pages 13 and 14, were reserved by me, because at the time they were reached the Senators from Massachusetts were engaged in other duties.of the Senate. It is proper to say that they do not cover the items that w,ill be found later on in the bill, where more contronrsy will arise, which involve the reopening of the yards that ha\'e already been closed; and I doubt if any Senator would make any great opposition or any opposition whatever.to the two items upon page 13, which were reserved. But I do not oppose the su~estion of the ~enators from M:assach~etts.

Mr. ALLISON. Mr. President, I do not know that I object especially to disagreeing to the amendment beginning on line 25 on page 13 and ending on line 3 on page 14. I have no doubt that this dry-dock at the Boston navy-yard is of great value and that it ought to be preserved and maintained. We had no special information in the Committee on Appropriations as to what portion of this sum would be required either to replace the boilers or to make the necessary repairs for the dry-dock. Therefore the committee, in the absence of detailed information, thought best to 1ecomm.end the strikingout of this clause, and if afterwards it app~!l that it ought to go in they would con-sent to it. ~

I, however, differ wit · Senator having charge of the bill as r0J3pects the first amendment. at, as it seems to me, is of a rather different class. That is a provision for the restoration of certain buildings at the Kittery navy-yard which were burned down last year, and those buildings are worthless. It seems to me that we ought not to rebuild these workshops until we know where the navy-yards are to be on the Atlantic coast and bow many of them we shall have. Therefore, I should prefer to have a separate vote upon these two items.

Mr. BLAIR. If the Senator Mks for a separate vote, I want to say in regard to the first one that there has been upwards of ~6,000,000 expended at the Portsmouth navy-yard, audit has been constantly in use from the beginning and is at the pre.sent time. It has in recent years, since the entire closing of the yard at Boston, been thought necessary for the good of the Navy that the Portsmouth yard should be kept open for purp03es of repair, and there is at the present time one of the important vessels of the Navy at that yard in process of repair. The yard is constantly made use of for that purpose, and, while being thus used, this unfortunate fire occurred, which destroyed some of the tools and some of the facilities for labor, dismantling the yard partially, but leaving the great mass of the previous expenditure and the facilities of the yard still in existence. Now, the question really presented to the Senate by this first proposition has all the reasons in its support wlri.ch have been urged by both the Senators from Massachusetts with so much force. Not lio make this slight expenditure is immediately to render the entire yard and its property practically valueless, and it is at present of great service to the country in actual use.

That does not touch the question of additional expenditure for the purpose of completing that yard any more than the Boston or the Pennsylvania yard for the repair and the construction of iron ships. It is only a question whether an immense plant, which has been in use almost from the foundation of the Government, from the year 1800, where many of the very best vessels of the Navy have been constructe~, a

harbor to which Paul Jones sailed, and all through_the history o{ the country has been considered as important as any navy-yard whatevef, shall be abandoned. It is the only harbor on the Northeast coa...t which is free from foe in the winter, and really the point where in the future the necessities of this country will put the great Northeast naval station of the United States. The question really is whether that yard shall now be utterly extinguished, and th.ese five or six millions of investment be rendered entirely worthless, rather than to replace these shops that were burned down and the tools that were in them.

I do not want to raise any question of the relative importance of these various points on the coast. I have nothing to say against the Boston yard or its rehabilitation, or that near Philadelphia. That is another and a larger question. But if that is to be raised I want these suggestions in regard to the relative importance of Portsmouth not to be lost sight of, and if there is to be any public property preserved by a slight expenditure, as in the case of the dock at Boston, the reasons will certainly apply with great, if not greater, force to this investment at Portsmouth. •

There is a city that was developed by this naval station. There the mechanics are located with their families for life. They are a different order of mechanics from what you find, as a rule, around the great yards of the country. They are citizens there, with their property and their families, and they are the bone aml sinew of . the place, and the constructors of the Navy will tell you that the best wooden ships that have ever been built in the country.have been built at the Portsmouth navy-yard. The present constructor of the Navy went there to build ships in competition with private contractors of the country, a.ud they did better work and did it at a cheaper rate than the contractors were able to make and sell to the country, and the records of the Department show that:

Mr. President, I think that in the mere matter of ordinary economy, for the same reason that a man would mend his clothes,. these two clauses certainly should be retained in the biJl. But I do not think there is force in the suggestion which proposes that one of these clauses be adopt€d and the other rejected. I do not think tbe main question, which may be agitated further on, arises here in reference to either of these, and I hope the Senator who made the suggestion wil I not press it.

Mr. ALLISON. I should like to ask the Senator from New Hampshire what use it is proposed to make of the two shops that are to be rebuilt at the Portsmouth nn.vy-yard. .,,

Mr. BLAIR.. Why, the same use thatalwayshasbcen made of them: use in the repair of ships. There are many wooden vessels counected wi th the Navy, and they are being sent there from t ime to time fo r repairs. There is one there now, and when_ that is gone I have reason to think that others will be sent there. I conversed with the Secretary of the Navy frequently before the fire occurred, and he considered that that was one of the yards which could be most profi tably employe l for the purposes of repair and to be kept up as a naval station for tbe convenience of the Navy in the northeast of the country.

Mr. ALLISON. As I understand it, j11is yard at Portsmouth can only be utilized pradically for the repair of wooden ships. Tl1ey are rapidly passing away, and probably it is unprofitable to put money on them at this time. They also, I believe, at this navy-yard build small boats of wood and have done so.

Mr. BLAIR. rrhe Constitution is there now, and they built her. Mr. ALLISON. Here is a question of rebuilding two large shops

that were burned down and replacing them with new machinery. It is certainly not a wise thing to enter upon that expenditure unless we are to continue this Portsmouth navy-yard. It is not the business of the Committee on Appropriations to settle the great question between the three or four or five rival places on the North Atlantic seaboard as to where the Government will have a naval stat!on. '.fhat we prefer to relegate to the Committee on Naval Affairs, who in the nature of things must be more familiar and in more close association and connecrion with all matters pertaining to the Navy, and that was what the Committee on Appropriations desired to do. We desired to leave tb i:> matter in abeyance until it was settled whether this navy-ya.rd wa..~ to be at Portsmouth or at Boston or at Brooklyn or at League Island or at New London or elsewhere. Certainly there is no necessity for fh·e or six navy-yards within two or three hundred miles of each other on the Atlantic seaboard.

Mr. BLAIR. I am obliged to the Senator for this statement of his views. I think he outlines very properly the sphere within which his committee should act. It is not for them to take advantage of the mere accident which destroyed a portion of this work to allow the balance to be destroyed. I can well see why they should not undertake to settle this great qnestion]ying infuturo, and which can not be disposed of upon this appropriation bill, and probably will not be disposed of during this Congress, for it is a great question t-0 be discu~ed, and undoubtedly it may be for many Congresses to come, whether the immense investment at these different navy-yards is to be utterly abandoned and lost forever to the country, or whether it is to be made available, as iii can be made available, as suitable stations for our shipping and places where slightrepairs, orilnportantrepairsforthatmatter, maybe carried on for the preservation of a part or the wl1ole of the Navy. The Com-

. ,_,,

. \

' I

,.

/

·.

5134 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-- SENATE. MAY 22,

mittee on Appropriations should not foreclose or undertake to foreclose that great question by refusing an appropriation to make gO<?d an ordinary accident such as is liable to occnrat any yard. That is just what ha.s occurred at Portsmouth, and that is what bas occurred by lapse of time in the decay of the dry-dock at Boston.

There was an immense in vestment at Portsmouth. It will cost $50,-000 at each place to make good the decay and to make good the loss, ~otbisg_reatquestionof thefutnre maybe dett.rmined upon fair ground. Here are these yards, here is this public properey, which has been preserved as a man would shingle bis house from time to time, and by and by we can determine whether to reproduce the whole or abandon the whole in some future time; but the Committee on Appropriations should not place the country at a disadvantage, should not place these various localities at a; disadvantage by refusing this trifling appropriation, in order to keep this property which we have in suit.able repair for the time being, and then, so far as there is any judgment upon this great question as to what yard is to be the yard of the future, we have the .sanction of the Navy Department by· its conduct thus far in absolutely closing the · Boston and Pennsylvania. yards, or substantially closing them, by keeping the Portsmouth yard open for the purpose of such repairs as are now required by the Navy and as inevitably must be required by the Navy for years to come.

But all I ask, all any o:ne asks, I suppose, of the Committee on Ap. propriations is that they just take care of existing property, not undertake by destroying the usefulness of $5,000,000 when only $50,000 has been burned np, ,not undertaking in that way, outside of their jurisdiction, outside of their own appropriate action as a Committee on Appropriations, merely for the running appropriations of the Government, not, I say, in that way to undertake to influence the main question as against any particular yard. I think the Senator's expressions in reference to that point are very judicious and wise, and I hope that both the appropriations may be retained.

Mr. HALE. Mr. President, neither of th~e amendments, the one relating to the navy-yard at Portsmouth, N. H., northeonerelatingto the Bostou navy-yard, raises the question which will come up fater on certain reserved amendments of retaining these yards for the purpose of building and repairing iron ships. That will be a question raising a grave contr:>versy, ·but that question is not involved in either of these amendments.

Both these amendments are in the nature of preservation for present. admitted, acknowledged, and undisputed uses. Boston is used as an equipment yard. The dry-dock there is a valuable possession, needing. to be used, as it has been and will be, and the Portsmouth yard has been maintained, and never closed and never shut off from important work in repairing ships and in the building also offurniture for ships. The best boats for all theNavyin the country are builtat Portsmouth, and they are as much needed as the sails ofa ship, or the guns of a war ship, or the steerage appliances, or anything that goes to make up the actual needs of a ship.

When this building was burned down the place where all these things were done and being done was destroyed, not only the place where repairs of ships were made, but where the boats were built, and the whole wol'lc hangs interrupted now. Therefore, I shoulcl say with great earnestness that if the Boston appropriation is yielded, as I think it should bp, this appropriation for Portsmouth should also be yielded. The two go together, pari passu. They do not involve the graver question of reopening the yards generally, but are to pre13erve them for actual needa and uses.

Since the bill was reported I have examined into the condition of the yard at Portsmouth, as to what purposes the building that was destroyed by fire bas been used, and I find (which the-committee did not know when it reported to strike it out) that no other building there can be used for the purposes for which this building has been used. The building of the boats and other furniture for ships, that needs to go on at all times, starting out and equipping these ships, was done there, and it needs now this new structure which can be built ch~ply. It is not an elaborate structure. Itis somewhat large, butnotfinished with any detail, and ca.n be done for this amount, anj;l the work ought to be commenced at once.

So I hope most earnestly that if the appropriation for Boston iS granted, as it should be, I "think, no question will be raised about Portsmon th, for, of the two, Portsmouth, I think, is the most important.

Mr. GIIlSON. I should like to ask the Senator whether vessels of commerce may be repaired in those yards.

1\Ir. HALE. That raises an interesting question. I may state here now that'the building of dry-docks in different parts of the country is an enterprise in which the Navy Department through its present head takes a deep interest and believes in, as other heads of the Department heretofore. That does not raise the question of building or opening a new navy-yard.

l\Ir. DA WES. It raises the question whether we shall preserve this dock. -

Mr. HALE. I am sp~king now about the general question of drydocks. The question of building or maintaining a dry-dock at a given place does not raise the question necessarily of either reopening or keeping open or building a new navy-yard. A navy-yard is an expen-

,.,

-.

sive establishment. It is vast and extensive; it requires milliohs of .dollars. Under the present management and under the present conduct of navies, our own and others, many of the uses of navy-yards have passed away. But the dry-dock is what in any military establishment, in a republic at least, ought to be an accessory to the business of the country.

If you build a dry-dock, as we have done in Philadelphia and in New York and as it is projected in one or two other places, or as is now maintained in New York, it is the place where tpe great merchant ships ot the country or of the world doing business here will go when it is nQt occupied by the Gonrnment, as it will be but little of the time used by the Government for repairs. The New York drydock, built at an expense of ~550,000, I think, will take into it the largest ocean liner for repairs. The dry-dock at Port Royal will do the same. The dry-dock at New Orleans will do the same. That is one great feature about the dry-docks.

Mr. BLAIR. The Senator means the dry-dock that is to be built at fort Royal, and for which an appropriation was made.

Mr. HALE. If there was one there already, I meant to say. Mr. BLAIR. There was a bill passed for a dry-dock there which is

to require an expenditure of $675,000. Mr. BUTLER.,. Oh, no; $500,000. Mr. BLAIR. It was limited, then? The original bill provided for

an approp,riation of $675, 000 . l\Ir. HALE. These dry-docks can be used for the business of the

country as the navy-yard proper can not be. That is a merit in the amendment now before the Senate in reference to the dock in · Boston. That is the answer I am trying to give to the inquiry of the Senator from Louisiana. A dry-dock is of great service to the merchant marine of the country as well as to the Navy. It is always considered to be open, under such regulations as t.be Secretary of the Navy makes, for the commercial vessels of the country.

Mr. BUTLER. That question is not involved in this amendment? Mr. HALE. No; it is only for the question that the Senator from

Louisiana asked me that I give that answer. Mr. ALLISON. Understanding that the Senator from New Hamp

shire and other Senators who ha.ve spoken agree that the matter of rehabilitating these navy-yards with a view to new and untried work is not to be objected to1 I withdraw any further objection to these two amendments, ai~ far as I am concerned.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the amendment of the committee. ·

Mr. BLAIR. Before taking the vote I want to make simply one suggestion that perhaps ought to be of a little force in regard to the Portsmouth yard. Portsmouth is a city of some twelve or fifteen thousand people and the occupation of its people is very largely connected with the yard. The fire operates with great hardship upon working people who are permanently located there. They bad reason of course to suppose that a temporary mishap of that kind would be repaired and their occupation continued until by some reasonable notice such as might be anticipated of the permanent or probable closing of the yard, so that they could go elsewhere. It is equivalent among other things to turning a large ·number of worthy people out of employment . . hlr. GORMAN. Mr. PresideJ!t, believing a.s I do that unless the amendment reported by the committee in the case of ~he Portsmouth yard is adopted we are practically entering upon a. new scbeme to increase the navy-yards, I shall . be compelled to vote for that amendment to strike out the appropriation.

I admit that there is a wide distinction between that appropriation ancl the one for the repair of the dry-dock at Boston and I am rather inclined to think, indeed I know it to be a fact, that the committee in striking out that provision ha.a not the full information which we have since obtained. That appropriation is for the preservation of a work of great importance and of great cost, important not only to the Navy, but to the commerce of the country. But the provision of $50,000 for the reconstruction of two buildings at the Portsmouth navy-yard, two shops that were used dming their time for repair, for the building of machinery and the construction of small boats, means, if it means anything whatever, that we are entering upon the scheme to re-e.-,tablish that yard as a yard of construction.

If this appropriation of $30,000 is made, you will he of necessity compelled to appropriate an additional $50,000 for the tools and machinery by which the shops can be run; and then it follows as a matter of course th&t, having the new shops and the new machinery, yon must follow it with an appropriation for the mechanics and others to be employed in it; and then you muat fish up from the seas some of the old hulks that have gone out of use and which ought to be at the bottom and send them to Portsmouth yard for repair.

l'ifr. President, I regret in the interest of the Navy, I regret in the interest of the country, that the local desire for the continuance of a yard at Boston, and at Portsmouth, and at other points (but I name these two because they come before up specially in this bill) shall be brought in again in the consideration of appropriations for the Navy and its enlargement. For twenty years we passed, through the consideration of tp,is ;watter when the Navy w~ kicked around as a political foot-bail. It became a stench in the nostrils of all the people of

_,,.

, '

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5135 the country. Appropriations were denied for the construction of ships mainly because we had ten or eleven navy-yards in the country that were used for purposes other than those for which they were intended. . Hundreds of millions were expended without a first-class ship being produced. The abuses were charged on every hand. They were finally recognized by each of the great political parties in power.

We came to 1882, when the appropriationcommitteesofboth bodies inserted a provision in the appropriation act calling a halt, recognizing that the time had come when this abuse must stop; the whole character of the ships had been changed; that the old wooden vessels were gone, never to return, and that we must enter upon a scheme of building a Navy of iron and of steel Both parties patriotically determined to check the extravagances and abuses by closing up many of -the yards.

By the provisions of the act of 1882 the Secretary of the Navy, then a gentleman belonging to a party different from mine, appointed a board consisting of two nava.l officers and one civilian. They made a most exhaustive report, saying, among other things, that the revolution in the construction of vessels was so complete that a large number of these yards were absolutely useless. They recommended practically, as I understand it, that only two, Brooklyn and Norfolk, should be used for the construction of vessels, and the practical closing of all the other yards except for minor purposes. ·

Mr. HALE. The Senator--Tho VICE-PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Maryland yield to

the Senator from Maine? Mr. GORMAN. Certainly. Mr. HALE. The Senator will let me correct him there. The Ports

mouth navy-yard was not recommended to be closed and was not closed under that order.

l\fr. BLAIR. And those shops had been in use ever since. Mr. GO RM.AN. I said the closing of the yards for construction pur

poses, except in t.he matter of one or two wooden ships which were sent up there. The fact is that the Portsmouth navy-yard, outside of the small boats and paraphernalia of that sort, has been used as a harbor for the ships that had been in the Southern waters where fever broke out among our men, and all that sort of thing, but practica.Uy it has been closed.

Mr. HALE. I will ask the Senator if he does not think that is a very important it.em?

Mr. GORMAN. Yes; and I do not propose to close the navy-yards for such purposes. I would keep it precisely as it is kept now, and the appropriation, as the Sena.tor from Maine is perfectly well aware, is sufficient to keep that yard going precisely as it is to-day.

Mr. H.ALE. No, it is not without this building-clearly not. Mr. GORMAN. They have not the two buildings, 45 and -46, that

were burned down in January last, but I think I shall show in a mo~ meat that they have a sufficient number remaining, more than enough for every purpose for which the yard is now used.

Mr. BLAIR. They were in use constantly. They were lJeing actually used last fall wherr I was there. They were a neces....«ary part wherewith to do that which J>.a.d been done continuously up to the time of the fire. ·

Mr. GOR1\1AN. Now, we shall see. I understand perfectly that the Navy Department recommends it. We received from the Treasury Department, dated March 13, 18904 a recommendation for an appropriation for a building suitable for wood-working machinery, and a shipfitter's shop, which should be erected at Portsmouth in place of the one that was destroyed by fire. This is found in Executive Document No. 276, "Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting an estima~ from the Secretary of the Navy for reconstruction of build- . ings and machinery destroyed by :fire at the navy-yard, Portsmouth, N.H."

As I was saying, the board appointed by the Secretary of the Navy in 1882, taking this whole matter under consideration with a view to designate the yards best suited for the construction of the new Navy and for its repair, reported on Portsmouth navy-yard among; others, and I quote their own language. It is found in Executive Document No. 55, first session Forty-eighth Congress. They say:

Bat the g-reat and radical changes in the art of naval warfare, brought about of late years by the introduction of armored ships, high·powered guns, and torpedoes, have modified in no small degree our system of permanent defenses and, ns a direct consequence, materially affected the value of our navy-yards'. What was a. very good site for a. navy-yard in the wooden age of ship-building is not necessarily a good site in the steel age.

Then they say of Portsmouth--Mr. BLAIR. They do not say it is necessarily a bad place, do .they? Mr. GORMAN. They sa.y of Portsmouth:

The condition of its plant for the building and repairing of wooden ships is excellent. It. bas little or no" valueior other purposes in case the yard should be discontinued." There is no "demand for the yard for mercantile or other purposes," and it is therefore in no danger from the encroachments of commerce.

In that navy-yard there were prior to January last twenty-three bnildings for officers' quarters, sixty-three other buildings used for repairs and shops of every description and for the accommodation of the general officers of the yard, and four ordnance-shops, ma.king ninety buildings all told. There have been two of them destroyed by :fire

since. Now, with the small amount of wo'rk that must go ~here ~der any circumstances, it will be the most remarkable thing if some of the eighty-odd buildings that are still standing can not be utilized for the building of boats and the repair of two or three wooden ships .

Mr. BLAIR. If the Senator were familiar with the locality he would know that this enµmerationof buildings is not a statement that the buildings are all of the same size and of equal importance. Many of them would pass merely for tolerable shanties, and forty of them could have been burned readily without injuring the plant as much as the burning of a single section of one of the houses in which the work was being dol!'e. Those that were destroyed were an important and essential pa.rt of the working plant of the yard. There ought to be no inference drawn that this enumeration of buildings has any relation to the value of those which were destroyed.

Mr. HALE. Most of the buildings which make the great number are of no account whatever. They are small, but they are reckoned in the enumeration of buildings although they could not be utilized for any purpose. Every little thing makes a building.

Mr. GORMAN. I am rather astonished at the statements of the Senator from New Hampshire and the Senator from Maine. One would suppose that the buildings of the navy-yard at Portsmouth were practically wiped out, and yet the estimate for the repair and reconstruction of these two buildings is $50, 000, and all the balance my friend from Maine and my friend from New Hampshire think amount to nothing. _

l\I.r. BLAIR. The Senator will notice that the great cost of the hammer is in the head of it, and not in the handle, yet the hammer is of no consequence without a handle. The buildings were burned down in which work was being performed. They are indispensable to the performance of work at that place. The cost of their being replaced will be 'tery slight comparatively as compared with tb,e great investment of some $6,000,000, as I remember it, which has been put into that yard, the fitting and the equipping.

Mr. GORMAN. The Senator seems to think that the loss of $50,-000 has absolutely destroyed his yatd, and that nothing is left in which vou could build a few small row-boats and the balance of the outfi.ttmgs for the few small vessels of wooden construction in the Navy. The fact is that the cost of these buildings in the navy-yard and the value oftbem as placed by the Navy Department is $1,158,335. Of course it includes the two buildings that have just been destroyed by fire, so you have there in that yard $1,100,000 worth of buildings. If the yard is continued in operation as it bas been since 1882, it would be a. most remarkable thing that of all these buildings that cost $1,100,QOO and are still standing none can be utilized.

The fact is, Jliir. President, that the officers of the Department naturally and the local interest, and I appreciate that, would like to have this yard restored to precisely the condition it was before the :fire took place. If my honorable friend from New Hampshire was entirely frank, as he always is when he makes a statement, he would tell the Senate that it means precisely what is intended, placing this yard in condition so that it may be reopened and run as a navy-yard for repair and construction.

Mr. President, after the passage of the a-ct of 1882, the Secretary of the Navy, recognizing that Congress would not appropriate any amount for the construction of a new Navy until a change was made in the management of the navy-yards and themillionsthatwere beingsquandered in them were withdrawn, issued an order to close the navy-yards at Portsmouth and Boston that practically . closed them. I say he closed them because nearly all the work was suspended at Portsmouth and at Boston. That was done by a Secretary of the Navy from the State of my honorable friend from New Hampshire, with all the local prejudices in favor of it. With a perfect knowledge of all the aftairs connected with the Navy, he found it himself necessary to close the yard at Portsmouth in the interest of economy and of good government, and in his order dated June 23, 1883, he said:

At Portsmouth, repairs of wooden vessels may contimte for the present.

In the concluding paragraph he makes this remarkable statement, for his party had been in power for twenty years, and he knew that it would be used by his political opponents, as it was. He said to his officers in this order, which is dated June 23, 1883:

The statistics referred to show an enormous daily expenditure on the 16th day of November, 1882, namely: For657 foremen, clerks, and employes, other than ordinary mechanics and workingmen, $2,179.72-

That is for the 16th day of November, 1882-and for 3,805 other employes, $9,139.65, making 4,462 total employes, at a daily compensation of $11,319.37, or n.t the rate of over $3,000,000 a year-

Mr. BLAIR. At what yards? Mr. GORMAN. This is in all the yards in the country then open

when the only work in progress on ships of war at all the yards was repairing the Omaha, Shenandoah, Trenton, Ossipee, Mohica.n, and Alert. This enormous expenditure for such feeble results is inconsistent with fa.ithful administration, and the Department stands pleclged that all unnecessary work shall be discontinued and a.ll employes not needed dismissed.

Signed by Mr. CHANDLER, then Secretary of the Navy. Mr. BLAIR. Will the Senator allow me to interrupt him a moment? Mr. GORMAN. Certainly.

- .~

/

. _,.

I .

,·

/

I

,-

5136 - CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. MAY 22,

Mr. BLAIR. Now, that faithful, hone t;. Secretary of the Navy is in favor, strongly in favor, of this appropriation .

.Mr. GORAIAN. That only shows, Mr. President, with what facility our friends from New England change front.

Mr. BLAIR. No--Mr. GOH.MAN. He was then the head of a great department of this

Government, charged with a. duty. He was compelled to take the responsibility. He was well aware that Congress would not longer appropriate money to be squandered in the yards. His action in this case was commended by everybody .

.l\Ir. BLAIR. But will the Senator permit me to say that at that very time, when be discharged this great duty to the country as a whole, as a part of that duty he kept open the Portsmouth navy-yard for the purposes of repairs, and it has been continued ever since, through his administration, through several administrations which intervened between Secretary CHANDLER and the present, all the same, with increased appropriations and facilities, and the present recommendation is simply to repair a portion of those facilities which were so utilized by the Democracy of sacred memory?

Ur. GORMAN. I am n!lt aware that the Democracy had much use of the Navy for a great many years. ·

Mr. BLAIR. Oh, it bad. . Mr. GORMAN. When it bad foll control of the affairs of the coun

try it bad a na.vy which was the boast of every American and a commerce on the sea. which delighted the heart of every patriot.

l\fr. BLAIR. The best of it was built and sailed from Portsmouth. Mr. GORMAN. I do not care to bring politics into this discussion. Mr. BLAIR. There was the Constitution, there was the Alabama

dc.:;troyed by a~encies from Portsmouth, and John Paul Jones. It is the historic center of the American Navy. There are some memories in that direction that may be stirred in reference to Portsmouth, if we have got to discuss this business.

Mr. GORMAN. Yes; and I will give another phase of it, which I lin.ve no doubt stirs our friends up and spurs them on. If, glancing over this report in Executive Docttment No. 55, the fact is disclosed that the total cost of maintaining the yard at Portsmouth from 1867 to 1882 was $~1 966,466, and all for the repairing of wooden ships and II13nufacturing fue small paraphernalia, we can understand what local pressure there is, what great desire there is on the part of those who were Jiving near Portsmouth that this work should all go on again.

But we are engageq, Mr. President, in building a navy. You have a liberal bill before you now providing for three great battle-ships and a cruiser and other small vessels of war, a bill that, in the aggregate, amounts to millions of dollars.

These great appropriations to build ships for the Navy, and to build them upon a plan which bas been agreed to by the Chandler administration and by the Whitney administration of the Navy Department of maintaining three of the great yards of the country where construction could go on, where we coulc\ have our officers and mechanics employed hy the Government compete with the great ship-yards of the land. We are aU of us proud of the result of that policy. Six yea1-s ago it was not deemed possible to construct a great vessel of war at any of the private yards of the country and it was practically impossible. Yet today by pursuing it yon have that grand establishment on the Pacific, the Union Iron Works. You have a. half-dozen on the Delaware. You have them in New York; in Philadelphia. You have themin the city of Baltimore and at Wilmington. So now for a great seven or eight thousand ton ship there are five or six yards that can compete for its constrnction; and at the same time you have at Norfolk and at Brooklyn our own officers, educated by the Government, and the skilled mechanics, who have been gathered together, competing with these men in private enterprise, constructing two or three of the1:1e great war vessels.

Now, shall we enter upon a scheme (for this is only the beginning, but it is the beginning) of consolidating all of these works in the navyyards and having again within the next few years the affairs of the navy-yard discussed merely from the political standpoint? Shall it be so arranged bythe legislation whichyonare beginning on the Portsmouth navy-yard that from now until the Presidential election it will be a struggle with the party in power to so order it that all of these millions that are being appropriat.ed shall be expended under Government officials? When you do, you bring it back into the political arena, which every American who is p1·oud of his country will regret, and you will stop this enterprise, which is not only fruitful in producing a navy unequaled in the world, for I think it can be said with truth that. the cruiserswhichare being built are unequaled. to-day, and I have no doubt that the battle-ships provided for in this bill will be equal to any that float upon the seas.

For one, sir, I desire to avoid it. I desire to see the line marked out six years ago pursued, and to open all these great private establishment<> and those that are to come and let them build these vessels of war. I would keep our yards intact. I would not sell the yard at Portsmouth; I would keep it for what it has done and for the possible use that may arise hereafter. I would not stint the appropriation that is necessary to keep it going to-day and for the next year, but I enter my earnest protest in the interest of the country against opening the yard for construction or increasing its facilities.

~Ir. HA. WLEY. Mr. President, I think the Senator from Maryland is fighting a windmill, if he will a.How me to say so-the creatur0'3 of his own imagination pa.rely. I do not know any person who desires to restore the old-fashioned navy-yard, to put five thousand men at Portsmouth, to keep all these navy-yards in condition to build full-fl.edged, full-power ships. Nobody thinks of that at all.

The Governmentis pursuing precisely the right policy as to building ships. It is encouraging private yards to invest in a great plant and employ the skillful workmen necessary for building our biggest and best ships. It is encouraQ'.ing private parties to build great guns for as, or the essential parts of them, to invest millions of dollars in them; but at the same time it is wisely, quite wisely, preparing or putting some of its own yards into condition so that they also can build some of the great ships; that we may not be left helpless; and that we may have some power within our own hands of competing with private parties in case they may be exorbitant and unjust.

Now, we shall have three or four navy-yards capable of building the best of the modern ships, but on no accountwhateverwould I abandon any (perhaps I do not think of one now that I would abandon) of the old yards; but I would not think of putting plants of a.million tothree million dollars in them for the purpose of building great steel ships. ' There are some other uses besides building ships.

The Governments that have most to do with us, that have the most experience, that have acquired wisdom, say that where yon. can build ships by contract it is best not to try to repair them by contract, because tbe repairs are an exceedingly uncertain element1 and if you have good shops and skillful men it is far better to put the ship in the dock in a navy-yard of your own anywhere; that where the repairs may be $100, $500, or $5,000, it is more economical, it is wiser on the whole.

But there is another question to be considered. We have no foreign possessions as European Governments have. We have no islands, no great coaling stations where we keep supplies and protect them by h~avy forts. Oar ships must have places of rendezvous. They must be able to run home for a short time and re.fit in some matter; it may be a small one, but it may be an essential one. Now, if you drop the Boston and the Port.smonth navy-yards for all these purposes, a ship of the Navy would be obliged to run .around Cape Cod and through Long Island Sound, or around Long Island, to get down to the New York yard for a matter of repair that would not cost $15 perhaps. You would not have the supplies and the workmen in any private yard on the New England coast; and we must have places where our men can in twelve, twentyfour, or thirty-six hours run in and get repairs.

Now, what will there be at Portsmouth? I think shops enough to conduct a considerable portion of the ordinary refitting and repairs of a steel ship. The mechanics, the ofilce~of the Navy, can easily make 1l proper estimate of what that should. be. So there should be also at Boston. It would be supreme folly not to keep that magnificent dock in order. ··

Mr. HOAR. I obtained from the Secretary of the Navy a stat.ement of the history of the Charlestown navy-yard, giving all the dimensions of the dock and of the buildings the,re, the number of ships that have been built, the amount of work that has been done in different years. It occupies some fonrt.een pages of ordinary letter-sheet, drawn up by Commodore McCann, the commandant of the yard. If there be no objection I should like to have it printecl in the RECORD, to go with this debate, without reading.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. It will be so ordered, if there is no objection.

There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

UNITED STAT~ NAVY-YARD, BOSTON, Commandant's Ojftce, Febrttary 5, 1890.

Sm: I have tbe honor to acknowledge the receipt of a communication from Senator HOAR, dated the 11th ultimo, with the Department's indorsement, dated the Hth ultimo, requesting me to answer certain inquiries as to the ship-building facilities of the Boston IU\vy-ya.rd and the comparative a.dvanta&"es of this and the other navy-yards of the country for the construction of modem vessels of war. "

In compliance with the Department's instructionJ, I respectfully submit the following answers to the inquiries appended to the Seitator's letter.

First. "What has been the number of men employed in the navy-yard dnring the several years since 1858 and up to the time of the closing of the yard?"

The greatest number of men employed in any one month in the several years specified is as follows: .

Year.

1858 ........................... ......... ,. .. . 1859 ........................ .... .... . ........ . 1860 ...•.............. ......... .. ..... .. .. .. l 1861. ................ .... . ... .. .... .... . ..... . 1 1862 ............... ... .... . ... .... ........ ... . j

m:::::::::::::::::::::::::·:::::·:::::::::::I 1865 ............. . ..... . ... .... . .. .. ... .. .. . 1868 ............... ......... ..... · ·· ·· ·· ·· 1867 ............ ..... .. .... ........ ...... ... . 1868 ..................... · ··· ·· ·· ··· ·· ... .. . 1869 .............................. ........... . 1870 ................................ ......... .

/ •

Number of men.

1,603 1,420 1,001 3,261 3,700 3,532 4,955 4,821 1,175 2,099 1,627 2 582 2:103

Year.

187l oooooOOUoo .... HtMOOOOOHUOOO .. O .. O

1872 ..................................... .

1m ::::::::::·::::.::·.~::::::::::::::::::: 1875 ..................................... . 1876 ..................................... .

ffi~ :::::::::::::::::::·:::.::::::::::::::: 1879 ................................... . 1880 ........... ............... ........... . 1881 ............... ...................... . 1882 ..................................... . 1883 ..................................... .

Number of men.

. '

--1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5137

Second. "Give the number and names of vessels constructed and repaired in navy-yard since 1853."

List of vessels built at the United States navy-yard, Boston, Mass., from lS.'58 to 1886, inclusive.

flame. Launched.

Hartford ............................................................................ Nov. 22, 1858 Narragansett ...................................................................... Feb. lo, lS.59

ii°:~~a.~~~~: :::::::::::::::·::::::::::::::::·.::::::::::::::::-.:::::::::::::::::::::: I~~~.~: i~~i Maratanza. ......................................................................... Nov. 26, 1861 Canandaigua............. .. ...................................................... Mar. 26, 1862 Genesee .............................................................................. Apr. 2, 1862 Tioga ................................................................. ~ ................ Apr. 18, 1862 Tallapoosa. ......................................................................... Feb. 17, 1863 Pequot ................. ................... ........ .................................... June 4, 1863 Winooski ........................................................................... July 30, 1863 Saco .................................................................................... Aug.28,1863 Monadnock ......... ............................................................... ..;M:ar. 23, 1864 A .mmonoosuc or Iowa ....................................................... July 21, 1864 Guerriere .............................................. .'. ...... ... ... ...... .. . .. .... Sept. 9, 1865 MRnitou or Worcester ........................................................ Aug.20, 18'56 Na.ntasket ................. ......................................................... Aug.15,1867 Alaska. .. ...... ...... .... . ... ... ...... ...... .. ................ ... ........... .. ....... Oct.. 31, 1868 Intrepid, torpedo-boat ................. .............. . ........................ 1.Iar. o, 1874 ~ndalia........... . ........ ......... ...... ................. ................ ......... Oct. 23, 1874 VESSELS NEARLY BUILT, BUT CONDEMNED AND BROKEN UP.

Tonnage.

2,odo 566 695

1,240 786 950 803 819 6<)() 593 974 1>93

1,091 3,200 2, 200 2, 000

523 1,122

438 981

Connecticut ....................................................................... Jan. '.?, 1864 2, 869 Oregon............................................................................... Apr. l~.1864 2, 127 Pennsylvania..... ........... ................................................... . 1865 2, 490

The following is a list Qf vessels repaired at this ya.rd from 1858 to !890, inclusive:

I.Ast of "Vessels repaired at the United States navy-yard, Boston, Mass., from 1885 to 1890.

Ame;iCA., Ella and Anna, Malvern, Sunflower, .Ascutney, Florida, Macedonia, Sassacus, Ammonoosuc, Fearnot, Minnesota, Severn, Algona, Flag, Mississippi, Swatara, Alaska, Frolic, Marble bead, Saratoga, Albatross, Fortune, Ma.ratanza, Suwannee, Agamenticus, Fort Donelson, l\:larion, St. Mary's, Ashuelot, Franklin, Nighlingdle, Sacramento, Acacia, Guerriere, Nantasket, Seminole, Azalia., Gettysburg, Ni~ara., Shenandoah, Aroostook, Genesee, Narragansett, Sabine, Alabama, Gemsbok, Nausett, Saco, Aries, Gem of Sea, New London, Shawnee, Adams, Galena, National Guard, Supply, Alert, Housatonic, Nantucket, Sea Foam, Alliance, Huptsville, Niphon, Stettin, .Atlanta, Harvest Moon, Nahant, Squando, Bienville, Hartford, Nipsic, Sun cook, Boxer, Huron, Nina, Santiago de Cuba, Bat, Hendrick Hudson, Ohio, Susquehanna, Brooklyn, Haslet, Osceoln., St. Lawrence, Bainbridge, Henry Janes, Orvetta, San Jacinto, Britannia, Howqua, ·Ossipee, Sagamore, Bible, Iuka, Oregon, Ta.Uapoosa, Benicia, Iosco, Onward, Ticonderoga, Blue Light, Ino, 0. H. Lee, Tacony, Boston, Iron Age, Palos, Tahoma, Courier, Intrepid, Puritan, Trefoil, Canandaigua, Iowa, Penguin, • Tuscarora, Cambridge, IUinois, Port Royal, Tioga, Cherokee, Juniata, Potomac, Terror, Circassian, Jamestown, Powhatan Tennessee, Congress, John Griffiths, Para, Tristram Shandy, California., Kearsarge, Paul Jones, Vanderbilt, Constellation, Kennebec, Phlox, Vincennes, Chippewa., Kensington, Phillips, Vandalia, Colorado, Katahdin, Preble, Vermont, Chimo, King Fisher, Penobscot, Victory, Casco, Kineo, Pequot, Vandalia, Connecticut, Kewaydin, Pocahontas, Wachuset.t,· Canonicus, Levant, Pompanoosuc, Wyoming, Cornubia, I~eyden, Perry, Wassuc, Cumberland, Little .Ada, Plymouth, Winoda., Curlew, Montgomery, Portsmouth, Winnipec, Chociwa, l'i·lercedit.a., Queen, W. G. Anderson, Cohassett, Mayflower, Quinsaga.mond, Wilderness, C"-icago, Mattapoisett, Rhode Island, Wando, Dacotah, Manitou, Richmond, Wab11.Sh, Dictator, Massachusett.q, Republic, Winooski, Dolphin, Miantonomoh, Release, 'Vorcestor, / Dunbarton, Monticello, Relief, Water Witch, Don, Miles Standish, Roanoke, 'Veslern World, Enterpl'ise, l\II~kina.w, Resaca, Young Rover, Essex, Midnight, Robert E._Lee, Yorktown, E. B. Hale, Mohican, R. R. Cuyler, Yantic, Ethan Allen, Mahaska, Restless, Yucca., Emma, Massasoit, South Carolina, Young Republic. Ella, Monadnock, Santee,

Total-231 vessels.

Th~rc are v~ssels ~n the above list which have been repaired at this yard several ~1mes, which will add to t?e number about 163, ma.king a total of 394.

'l'h1rd. "What a.re the special advnntages of this yard in comparison with other navy-yards for the construction of vessels?"

A satisfactory answer can not be given to this inquiry for want of a kbowledg:e of the relative 11:dya.ntages of this and the other navy-yards. The fa.ct upon which to base an op1n1on as to the extent of water front and harbor facilities and advantages of other navy-yards for the construction of vessels can not be found in this office, but it was supposed could be obtained from the Bureau of Yards and Docks.

Fourth. "What is the capacity of the dry-dock for the construction of mollern ~ssels, does it need to be enlarged? If so, what are the facilities for so doing?"

XXI--322

·.

The following are the dimensions of the dry-dock: Feet.

Extreme length'tlf coping ................................................................................ 373 Length to end of floor .................. ................................................................... 348 Breadth at gate................................................................. ... ............................ 60 Breadth at floor.,............................................. .................................................. 80 Depth over blocks at mean hlgh water ...... ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... .. .................. 23

This is the longest stone dock on the Atlantic coast, and, would add incidentally, will admit vessels larger than the Chicago, bnt in view of the coast-defense vessels and battle-ships proposed, requiring ·a. draught of 24.o feet and 70 feet beam, to enlarge the stone dock would be more expensive than to build a new one; besides two docks would be needed in the event of war or while reconstructing the Navy.

The pumps of the dry-llock are of small capacity and antique type, and the boilers old a.nd worn and should be replaced.

Fifth. "What advantage has this ya.rd o\'erthe other navy-yards of the country in respect to its water front and harbor facilities?"

The information in respect to the water front and harbor facilities of the.other navy-yards required to answer this question is not found in the records of this station.

Sixth. " What are the facilities for obtaining skilled mechanics at short noti ce?"

The BosLon yard is located at the center of a. large laboring population and 1:~!i~~fply of skilled mechanics and laborers of all classes is practically ua-

Seventh. "Describe the different workshops at the yard and their capacily to furnish the work required for modern vessels?"

In the construction department of this yard there are the following buildings: N o. 16. Small frame plating-shop, used as such in building the United States

steam·ship Intrepid; contains one set bending rolls, 14 inches by 12 feet, new; four upright drills, one set of shears, one angle-iron punch, one planer, 16 feet long; one flange-turning machine.

No. 22. Granite pattern-shop; contains few 'fOOd and metal working tools. No. 24, Granite; rigging loft on third floor, lower floor formerly used for

working timber; could now be used for fitting plates, et!.:. No.28. Brick plumber-shop. No. 36. GrRnite ship-joiner shop. No.40. Brick forge-shop, containing heating furnaces and two stea•n ham

mers with striking weight of 11 tons and 2,000 pounds, respectively. All anchors for the Navy are now made here.

No. 66. Frame bending mill for timber; never col'.I)pleted; always useless. No. 67. Frame steam saw-mill. -. No. 77. Granite; 450 feet long. Upper floor is mold loft, lower floor store

rooms for metal. · Nos. 63, 64, 71>, 76 are timber-sheds with granite piers and slate roofs.

Nos. 68, 71, 73 a.re ship-houses where large ships have been built. There a.re three other building-ways, two as shown on plan near ship-houses and one in torpedo-shed or ship·house No. 92, at southern end of yard, near dry-dock.

In addition to the a.bove-meutioned, connected with the construction of ships or their engines, there are Nos. 5, ~. 34, 3~, and 39, used as store-houses, etc.; the third story of No.33 is used for sail and canvas work; a part ofNo.39 is used for the manufacture of !!hips' galleys, and a part of the lower floor of No. 38 is used as a naval rrison. Nos. o and 39 a.re of brick, and the others of granite.

Buildings 081 60, 62, and 79 are used for the manufactµre of all the wire, hemp, and manila rope used in the Navy, and storage for the necessary supplies for the same.

STEAM ENGL~EERING DEPARTMENT •

Building No. 42. The ma.in machine-shop is fitted with the principal tools, as planers, lathes,

slotters, cranes, etc., requisite for manufacturing the largest class of marine work, and, with the exception of the leveling up of the stone floor and railway tracks, and relining some of the tool foundations, it is ready for use now.

In theerectingshoparftplaced the tools ofmediumsize. These have been kept in good condition, and, with the exception of a.few tools, estimated to cost a.bout 89,000, this shop is ready for use. The floor was originally of wood and 'would require to be replaced with a concrete foundation to a depth of 12 inches, with hard pine stripping and floor.

The upper floor contains a number of small planers, drills, lathes, etc. · This shop has been depleted by transfers and most of the remaining tools are of old pattern, but all efficient and ready for use. This shop would require to have added to it some eighteen tools costing about$14,000.

The tool-rooms and brass-finishing shops are in good condition and orller, and a cost ofSS,000 would put them in first-class working condition.

The engine driving these shops is of old pattern~ economy would suggest an improved type, but it can do the work as well to-oay as the day it was put in. The general shafting, pulleys, and hangers are in fair condition, but new belt· ingwould be needed.

The boilers are simply worn out and not worth repairs, and to replace them with modern and improved boilers would cost about $7,000 and $2,000 for new pumps, fittings, etc. _

In the foundry the smalle1:,£upoln. is in·good order, and with a. new lining it is ready for use . .. The blowers and the engines and shafts need onlyoverha.uling; the larger cupola can be removed and a smaller cupola of a capacity of 2 tons per hour put in its place. This can be done in.the yard. New smoke-stacks would be needed for the cupola. The air furnaces are ready for use and the whole shop fairly equipped for work. The cranes are not in good order, l:;iut with new conical rollers can be efficiently used; properly they should be lowered from 10to12 feet, as their height makes them unsteady for quick use. This.would cost about $3,000 for the whole foundry.

The brass foundry is all ready, the crucible furnaces are good, the overhead traveling crane requires lining up to make it efficient; cost about $750.

'£be pattern shop requires only a few modern wood-working tools to replace those removed and $3.000 will put it in better shape than it ever was before.

The shop formerly used as a blacksmith shop has b'een occupied by the chainshop of the Equipment and Recruiting. It wa.s originally used both by Construction and Steam Engineering, and there is sufficient space still unused by which any engineerin&" smithwork could be done.

In the boiler shop, of E"maller tools for ordinary repair work there is a. sufficiency, but modern boilers require improved and heavy tools. This means new rolls, shears, punches, drills, and edge planers, all suited to work on It-inch plate, or heavier. There would also be required a small steam-hammer. The cost of putting this shop in firs~class condition would be about 830,000.

'rhe facilities of this yard for doing engine work was illustrated years ago, when the engines and boilers of several of our ships were entirely constructed. here, and the estimates above submitted are made with a view of manufacturing nnd erecting the most powerful machinery for the largest class of vessels of war.

Many of the t-001.s required for ship and engine buii<ling ha\'e been taken from this yard to fit out the other navy-yards.

With the exception of those mentioned in building No. 16 and joiner work, there are no tools at this ya.rd adapted for steel-ship-building, but a plant for building modern vessels sufficient for work on an extensive scale can be set up at moderate cosf.

/

I

..

·.

_ ..

-·. :

... '·

--5138 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. M~y 22,

Eighth. "Would the pay of skilled mechanics be the same, greater, or less than at other naval stations of the country?"

The pay of skilled mechanics averages about the same at all the navy-yards and stations, except at Mare Island, California, where the pay has always been greater.

Ninth. "In what manner was the yard closed as a construction yard, whether by act of Congress or by Executive order?" •

By order of the Secretary of the Navy, dated .June 23, 1883, under the provisions of the act of August 5, 1882, which act provides that the work: s!iould be continued at the ropewalk; but under an order of the Secretary of the Navy, dated December 18, 1886, it was kept open for equipment work of the Navy, including the manufacture of steel and hemp cordage, sail and can>as work, an· ohor, chain, and galley shops. ·

Tenth. "Give any further information that you may have concerning the general advantages of this ya.rd."

The Boston yard is the center of a large laboring population, and the supply of skilled and unskilled labor is practically unlimited. The city is also the center of almost every class of manufacturing industry entering into theconstruotion, equipment, and supply of shipping. The commerce of this port and to a certain extetlt the location of a Government plant here have stimulated these industries. It will be observed by the appended tables (answer to inquiry No. I) that more than a quarter ·of a c'entury ago nearly five thousand {4~955) men were employed at one time in this navy-yard, and as all the surrounaing cities -have largely increased in population, commerce, and manufactures, there would be no apprehension of a want of labor at a.ny time. The eight ra.ilror.ds terminating in the city provide ample transportation for material and supplies of every na.ture, besides that afforded by water.

There is no plant at this ya.rd especially adapted to building steel ships, but the large timber sheds450by60 feet (of stone piers and slate roofs) could be utilized for plating-buildings and blacksmith shops, and there a.re in the. imme· di ate vicinity of the building-slips, a mold loft and heavy forge shops, and if, as would seem natural, the site of the present middle ship-house should be selected for the new dry-dock, they would be convenient for it.

TbUB would all the appliances for building battle-ships and cruisers and dock· ing and repair of large ships be conveniently concentrated at the northern end of the yard, whilst there is a building-slip, dry-dock, and shops convenient for the building and.repair of the smaHer ones at the southern end.

The wet-basin south of the large machine-shop (building No. 42) could be readily converted into a receiving basin for the cruisers and others needing re-pairs to boilers and engines. .

The three wharves at the northern end of the yard are worthless and should be rebuilt, with a 150-ton pair of shears at the end of one of them.

The large shear wharf west of the dry-dock, authorized by Congress, was completed last year, and the wharf east of the dry-dock is in a generally good condition.

The water front will need dredging, but as it is principally soft mud the dredging would not cost more than a.bout 25 to 28 cent!! per culillc yard.

The wharfage at the yard could be increased about 800 feet by filling in timber dock (No.87 on plan) at northern end of yard.

'l'Lie Charlestown navy-yard has an area.of f!f1 acres and a water front of about 4,000 feet. It is situated at the head of Boston Harbor, at the confluence of the Mystic and Charles Rivers, and is approached from sea by a narrow and somewhat tortuous passage, this latter feature rendering it susceptible of easy defense by fortifications on land and naval forces against attack by water from the barboL·, but unfortunately the yard, in common with the cities of Boston and Chelsea-, can be approached bya hostilefleetonabroad sound withinadista.nce of 6 nautical miles.

While it may be somewhat foreign to the subject under consideration, I beg leave to venture the opinion that even with the extensive fortifications at \Vin· throp Head, Grover's Cliff, and Nahant Head, the naval station and neighborin~-cities could not be fully proteeted against the attack by armored vessels unles<i we also possessed coast-defense vessels and battle-ships, numerous and powerful enough to forbid the enemy occupying that position. This, however, is equally true of the other unprotected naval stations and cities on the Atlantic seaboard.

The letter of Senator HoAB is herewith returned. Very respectfully,

Hon. B. F. TRACY, Secretary of the Nar;y, Washington, D. C.

W. P. McCANN, Commodore, Commandant.

Mr. McPHERSON. Mr. President, I desire t-0 say a. few words only upon this subject. It seems to me as though the Congress of the United States should assert itself sometime and somewhere with respect to the continuance of the naval establishments located along the Atlantic coast. As the _ Senator from Maryland bas truly said, in 1882, and even prior to that, the Secretaries of the Navy instituted an inquiry through boards of officers of the Navy as to the propriety of doing away with certain of the naval establishments upon the coast. The recommendation of _those officers was to the effect that but three navyyards should be maintained upon the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf, and one upon the Pacific. From that time to this, as I understand it, not a dollar of appropriation has been made for the Boston, Portsmon tb, New London, or the Pensacola navy-yard.

Mr. BLAIR. I do not know that the Senator means to make so ' broad a statement.

Mr. McPHERSON. I mean for the purpose of increasing the capacity. What I mean by improvement is to makl:l a permanent improvement, and acostlyoneinconnection with those yards, the recommendation and intention being to abandon them, instead.

Mr. BLA.IR. The Portsmouth yard has not been enlarg~d, bnt it bas been kept in use. It has been preserved and used for the construction of boats and equipment of every description for distribution to all parts of the country where it may be wanted, for the building and repairing of wooden ships or vessels of a. smaller class, such as will be needed as tenders and accompaniments in the way of transportation and all that. Even for an iron and steel navy the Portsmouth yard has been kept open.

JUr. McPHERSON. We understand all that. Ur. BLAIR. It has been kept in running order and has been doing

as m nch good most of the time as it did prior to the rec<>Jilmenda.tion of these naval officers, who concluded to shut up the whole .country except three favorite yards.

Mr. McPHERSON. But the same work that has been done at the Portsmouth yard might have been done at two or three other yards where the appliances could just as easily be furnished, and they have been furnished.

In short, what is the necessity for maintaining the three navy-yards of Boston, Portsmouth, and New London? Common sense will teach any Senator or any citizen of this country that it is nothing but a waste of money, an extravagant and foolish expenditure of money. Look at Great Britain, France, and Germany, with their immense naval establishments, and each of these conn tries has but a single plant, where they concentrate all their work.

Mr. BLAIR. The Senator must remember that France is not nearly so large as some of the States of the Union.

Mr. McPHERSON. Very true; but the distance is onlya few hundred miles between these different naval establishments, costing as they have in the past millions of dollars. I want to know if it is the purpose of this Congress to continue to expend millions of dollars, with no benefit to the Government and the people to the extent of one single cent. No, sir; all those yards should be at once abandoned for Government purposes and should be sold out to private ship corporations for the purpose of build~g ships. They can be used for that purpose, with all the applianet:s which the Government bas placed there. Let the money which the Gove:nment appropriates to them year after year be given to the great plants where it is the intention to build great, strong ship-yards for the building of iron ships.

The very expenditure that is asked for now by the Senator from New Hampshire, in like manner is asked for by Boston; it is asked for the League Island navy-yard, at Philadelphia. I want to know.with what propriety or with what judgment it is asked. We have been waiting since 1882 for Congress to take some action upon the recommendation in.the,report of the Secretary of the Navy that these yards should be abandoned. We have refused to appropriate money, but now it is proposed to renew the old process and spend a few hundred thousand dollars. more upon these navy-yards in order that it may be necessary to spend a few hundred thousands more next year, and so on. If that is wise policy, then continue ib.

While upon my feet, Mr. President, I want to say another word with respect to the present administration of the Navy and its present scheme and plan. Since this Administration came into power the present Secretary of the Navy bas called to his aid an advisory board, and called a policy board-net the officers of the Navy, who were qualified by long experience and ability, proven ability, to speak in these matters, but a board of naval officers of whom the highest in rank was a commodore, ruil.ning down to the youngest, the most inexperienced officer in the Navy, in the construction department. They proposed to the Government and to the Congress of the United States to start a new naval establishment, tbe cost of which in the aggregate will exceed $280, 000, 000, run::::iing over a period of several years, the most extravagant and foolish scheme that was ever heard of by any nation or any people since the world began. It was proposed to depart from the long-time policy of this Government with respect to its naval increase.

Under the Administration of President Arthur, when we began the building of a new Navy, which was continued under the Administration of President Cleveland, the plan was made and carried into effect that we should build cruisers that could prey upon an enemy's commerce and could carcy the American :flag into foreign ports. In addition to that the proposition was to build a certain number of coastdefense vessels, for which the people of this country have been crying and begging for years. Our whole coast from Maine to Florida and around the Gulf and taking in the Pacific coast, if you please, is today entirely undefended. A third-class ship of any power on earth could enter unharmed any port on the Atlantic seabo_ard so far as any resistance on our part is concerned.

But the policy pursued under the Arthur Administration is not to be continued. That policy was to build or complete the old turreted monitors that had been for years lying idle in the ship-yards, and that was done upon the recommendation of such officers as Commodore Shufeld t and others of high grade in the naval service, officers of the largest experience and the greatest ability. The policy was the same under the Administration of President Cleveland, when Mr. Whitney was Secretary of the Navy. He did not recommend the building of useless battle-ships. He proposed that we should build cruisers and harbordefense vessels, and three of the latter were ordered built under Mr. Whitney's administration. It was thought that with the fbetest cruisers upon the high seas and the most invincible agents to stand guard at our ports, therein the true naval policy of the Republic would find culmination and gain the highest honor.

Bui now it is proposed to enter upon the greatest scheme of mad ex-• travagance that I ever witnessed. Two hundred and ninety million dollars, so say the policy board, shall be expended upon a naval establishment, covering a period of some twelve or fourteen years ! And how do you propos'e to expend it ? You propose to take $170, 000, 000 or $180,000,000 of that sum to build-what? Not cruisers, not coastdefonse vessels for the purpose of protecting our defenseless cities and towns on the Atlantic seaboard, for the_ protection of the property of

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5139 the country, but to build immense battle-ships. Yon require your ships to be built in American ship-yards, of American material, and by ,American labor, but you discard the American plan of ship propooed by Mr. Ericsson, and in lieu of that you build the broadside iron-clad of England. You propose to build a 1Ship such as the three ships that this bill carries, which can scarcely enter a seaport upon the Atlantic coast at mean tide.

Mr. HALE. The ships provided for in the bill as it came to the Senate from the Honse of Representatives can enter more than forty of the leading harbors of the country on the two coasts.

Mr. BLA.IR. And get out again after going in. Mr. McPHERSON. Wha.tare thedraughtsoftheseships, ma.yiask? Mr. HALE. Twenty-four feet. I have a list here of the harbors of

the country taken accurately, with specific soundings, showing their depth. If I do not interrupt the Senator, I should like to put in the list.

Mr. McPHERSON. I should prefer to have the Senator put thatin after I get through. I will speak but a moment longer.

I rely for my information upon the report of the Board on Fortifications or other Defenses, made in 1886, in which they give a. statement of the depth of water in all the principal seaports of the Atlantic seaboard. .A.t Portland, Me., the depth of water at mean low tide is given at 21 feet, while the proposed ship is to draw 25 feet. Boston Harbor is given at 21feet; theship draws 25 feet. Newport isl9 feet; Bristol, 21 feet; Providence, 20 feet; New York, 23 feet. The principal seaport in the United Sta,t~ has only 23 feet at mean low tide.

Mr. BLA.IR. What is the depth given at Portsmouth? Mr. HAWLEY. The Senator omits New London, with but 30 feet. Mr. BLAIR. And Portsmouth with about 60 feet. Mr. McPHERSON. I will come to New London. New London is

given at 21 feet. Mr. HAWLEY. The Great Eastern went in there. :Mr. HALE. What is the Senator reading from? Mr. McPHERSO;N. I am reading from the "Report of the Board on

.Fortifications or other Defenses appointed by the President of the United States under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1885," appointed by the Secretary of War in the year 1886. We know that but little has been done with any of these harbors since that time to increase the depth of water. The depths given in this report are .from actual surveys.

Now., we go down to New York and we .find 23 feet of water. So if your battle-ship should be found outside of the port of New York and in conflict with an enemy stronger than herself, she could not run into . the port except on high tide.

Mr. BLA.IR. Will the Senator read the depth of water at Portsmouth?

Mr. McPHERSON. I was coming to that. Mr. BLAIR. That is the only place you could get that ship into.

I think the depth is 60 feet. and it never freezes. Mr. McPHERSON. At PhiladeJphia. we have a denthot 20 feet; at

Baltimore, 24, the one port where it might squeeze in; Charleston, 14 feet; Port Royal, 21 feet; Pensacola, 19 feet; New Orleans, 26 feet, the only one we have yet amon~ all these ports where a vessel drawing 25 feet co·uld get inside the port at low water. San Francisco, Cal., has 33 feet, and that is the only port on the Pacific seaboard that the vessel could enter at low water.

Now, Mr. President, this is a. magnificent scheme, as I say. This i<I a proposition to spend money without stint or limit. ·

Mr. HALE. What scheme is the Senator speakinj? of now? Mr. McPHERSON. I am speaking of the general scheme and plan

which was before the Naval Committee, a part of which you have incorporated in the pending bill.

J\Ir. !{ALE. Has the Na val Committee adopted or in any way sanctioned or fathered any such scheme as that?

Mr. McPHERSON. I was not criticising the committee. I was speaking of the Navy Department. I may say, however, that the Na.val Committee decided upon an investment in this great policy scheme for the first year.

Mr. HALE. Has the Secretary of the Navy in anyway committed himself to that laudable and ambitious scheme known as the policy board scheme? Not in the least.

Mr. McPHERSON. The policy board was a creation of the Secretary of the Navy.

Mr. HALE. But its scheme was never approved by him. Mr. McPHERSON. If the Senator will permit me, I will tell the

story. The Secretary of the Navy approved so much of the policy board's report as provided for building a sufficient number of battleships in accordance with their report which would amount to nearly $120, 000, 000.

The Secretary of the Navy also indorsed areportmade by the Naval Committee of the Senate against my protest, providing for laying down eight of these so-called battle-ships, the cost of which, so say the Policy Board, would be about $5,900,000 each. It was proposed in that bill which the committee reported to build eight battle-ships, and the moment you lay their keels .down you. have either appropriated the

-

money or pledged it for their completion. The cost of completio~ of those eight ships would have been nearly $50,000,000. I now see that the ships proposed in this bill are also called coast-defense battle-ships, but as described they represent the battle-ship of -limited endurance, as proposed by the policy board, and instead of being harbor defense vessels, they can not even get into our own harbors, and could never enter an enemy's ports unless supported by a :fighting force :itronger than themselves.

Mr. BLAIR. If the Senator will allow me, I will state that there are 36 feet on the bar at Portsmouth, and it never freezes. It is the only port from·New York, or rather from Norfolk, to Old England that does not freeze up.

Mr. McPHERSON. Now, Ur. President, here is a. class of ships which this country has no use for whatever, which the country can not use with any profit or credit to itself. Here is a ship built after the model of the English ships, with an immense broadside, carrying an iron mine upon her ribs, sailing upon the ocean at the rate of 14 or 15 knots an hour. The extreme speed which these vessels were supposed to reach under forced draught was about 17 knots an hour, and the mean speed, or the ocean speed, was about 15 knots per hoar. Instead of building the Ericsson ship, which was intended as a ship for war rather than for carrying naval officers around the world on a cruise of evolution, or convolution, or whateverit may be; instead of defending our ports and harbors, as could have been done and ca.n be done with the American monitor, which you can build at a cost of two million or two and a half million dollars, and any one of which is equal today to your three ba ttle-sb i ps costing twelve or fifteen million doll a.rs; instead of pursuing the policy which the people of the country have demanded, which the interests of the country demand, to wit, the protection of our ports as the thing to be first considered, it is now proposed to fill your navy-yards and private ship-yards with a structure called a battle-ship, which the Secretary of the Navy tells us will take us five years to build, while the very yard in which it mast be built may be destroyed by a foreign gunboat.

I will confess, sir, that countries having colonies like Great Britain and France would have some need for that particular kind of ship, but we do not need it arid can not use it at all. Their vessels mast go on long cruises, must carry a large number of men and a great deal of freight. They sometimes must have a large force of men in order to keep in subjection their own colonies. Some comfort must be bad on board these ships for these men. But a fighting ship, built for no purpose in the world but to protect our rivers and harbors, need never go out of port except it be to attaek :.n enemy.

No, sir; the true policy of this Republic is found in this: Build your cruising ships and send them around the world to show the people of the world that there is an American nation, and in case of war t-0 prey upon the enemy's commerce. Then let us build formidable fortresses to protect our seacoast, in the shape of the Ericsson monitor, ships which are absolutely invincible to shot and shel! and which would destroy an enemy or your proposed battle-ships as fru:;t as they came before them. ·

I was told last summer by a distingushed naval. . officer in Great Britain, speaking of a vessel of our Puritan type, which represents, I suppose, to-day, the best structure of monitor thus far completed, but yet nothing compared with what the more improved modern monitor would be, "Why," said he, "yonr Puritan could enter any English port against the combined force ot two of the most powwfnl ironclads in the English navy. 7' Two of those ships can be built for what you propose to pay for a single battle ship. Therefore it is that I say this system is wasteful. If you want to take the money out of the pockem of the tax-payers of this country and scatter it broadcast upon the ocean to the extent of millions and millions of dollars, theri go on and do it. You have the power on that side of the Chamber, and the responsibility is also yours. But it can not be done without my protest, and the tax-payer if he can not prevent it is entitled at least to know how and to what extent bis money is squandered.

Mr. ALLISON. I should like to ask the Senator from Maine if it is his expectation to conclude the bill to-night.

Mr. HALE. I see plainly that is not possible. I did hope-Mr. DA WES. Can we not take a vote on these two amendments? Mr. HALE. I was going to say that I did hope we wonld reach a

vote to-night on these two amendments. If that can be done I should be glad to see it done, lmt the discussion J;ias wandered off into other sul:Jjects-matter that are found in other parts of the bill: and if that is to be continued we may as well adjourn now as to wait and discuss those questions prematurely.

Mr. DA WES. I think we might take a vote on these two amend-ments. The first amendment--

Mr. GORMAN. I do not think it possible. Mr. COCKRELL. We can not get a vote thls evening, _ Mr.- GORMAN. It-will be impossible to get a vote on these amend-

ments without further disctL...~ion. Mr. HALE. I can not hear what the Senator from Maryland says. Mr. GORMAN. I say it is not possible to get a vote on these two

amendments without further discussion.

, .

I

•I

. /

.:

I •

I

.-·

•

I•

5140 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE, MAY 22,

Mr. ALLISON. Then I hope the Senator from Maine will give way to a motion to adjourn.

~fr. SA WYER. I hope we shall have a short executive session. Mr. HALE. I will not move to adjourn, but if it is desired to have

an executive session I will move to proceed to the consideration of executive business.

Mr. ALLISON. The Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. SPOONER] appeals to me to yield t-0 him .•

Mr. SPOONER. I ask the Senator from Maine to vield to me for a moment. v

Mr. HALE. Certainly.

PUBLIC BUILDING IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA..

Mr. SPOONER. While I was absent from the Chamber and from the city, sometime during la.st week, the Senator from Iowa [Mr. WILSON] moved, and I think the motion was adopted, a request to the President to return to the Senate the bill (S. 90:~) for the erection of a public building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The bill I think has been re-

- turned and is on the table. I ask the unanimous consent of the Senate that the bill may be taken up at this time.

TheVICE-PRESIDENT. Isthereobjection? TheChairhearsnone. The title of the bill will be stated. ·

The SECRETARY. A bill (S. 903) for the erection of a public building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mr. SPOONER. I ask unanimous consent that the vote by which the Renate adopted the conference report may be reconsidered.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. Is there objection to the request made by the Senator from Wisconsin? The Chair hears none, and it is so ordered.

Mr. SPOONER. Mr. President, at the request of both Senators from Iowa, who regard it as advisable that the bill should be further amended I ask the Senate to refuse to adopt the conference report. '

Mr. ALLISON. Reconsider the report. Mr. SPOONER. The vote adopting the report having been recon

sidered, the question, as I understand it, is now on accepting the conference report.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the conference report.

Mr. SPOONER. I ask that the report be not agreed to. The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Senator from Wisconsin moves that

.the Senate disagree to the conference report. Mr. DAW~. The Senator will get at it a great deal quicker by

having the report recommitted to his own committee. Mr. SPOONER. I understand the rule to be that, a conference com

mittee having reported, the conference committee is junctus officio· it is out of exisrence. '

Mr. DA WES. Nothing can be clearer than that if the report is recommitfied then it will be in the power of the Senator's own committee.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The question is on concurring in the re-port of the committee of conference. .

The report was non-concurred in. ' The VICE-PRE:3IDENT. If the Senato1· from Wisconsin will ask

for a farther conference, that will accomplish the object he has in view. Mr. SPOONER. I move that the Senate request a further confer

ence with the House of Representatives. The motion was agreed to. By unanimous consent, the Vice-President was authorized to appoint

the conferees on the part of the Senate; and Mr. MORRILL, Mr. SPOONER and Mr. PASCO were appointed. '

MILITARY ACADEMY APPROPRIATION BILL.

Mr. ALLISON. I ask the Senator from Maine [Mr. HALE] to yield to me one moment while I ask the Chair ~ lay be.fore the Senate two appropriation bills.

Mr. HALE. I yield for that purpose. Mr. ALLISON. I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the appro

priation bills which are on the table. The VICE-PRESIDENT laid beforetheSenafiethe action of the House

of Representatives on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 8152) making appropriations for the support of the Military Academy · for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and asking for a conference iwith the Senateon the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon.

Mr. ALLISON. I move that the Senatei~i~t upon its amendments to that bill disagreed to by the House of Representatives and agree to the conference asked for by the House of Representatives.


the conferees on the part of the Senate; and Mr. -ALLISON, Mr. FAR· WELL, and Mr. CALL were appointed.

ARMY APPROPRIATION DILL. The VICE-PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the action of the

House of Representatives on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 7619) making appropriations for the support of the Army for the :fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes, and ask-

ing for a conference with the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon.

Mr. ALLISON. I move that- the Senate insist upon its amendments to the bill and agree to the conference asked for by the House of Rep-resentatives. •


the conferees on the part of the Senate; and Mr. ALLISON, Mr. PLUMB, and Mr. GoRMAN were appointed.

NAVAL APPROPRIATION :BILL. The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the considera

tion of the bill (H. R. 8909) µiaking appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes.

Mr. CALL. I ask the permission of the Senator from Maine to offer an amendment to the pending bill; which I ask may be printed, and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The amendment will be received, printed, and referred to the Committeee on Appropriations, in the absence of objection.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

Mr. HALE. Now, I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to the consid· eration of executive business. After six minutes spent in executive session the doors were reopened, and (at 5 o'clock and 50 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Friday, May 23, 1890, at 12 o'clock m.

NOMINATIONS.

Executive nominations received by the Senate the 22d day of May, 1890. POSTMASTERS.

Harvey H. Hopkins, to be postmaster at Nashua, in the county of Chickasaw and State of Iowa, in the place of J. M. Gilliland, whose com mission expires May 25, 1890.

John L. Whitley, to be postmaster at Osage, in the county of Mitchell and State of Iowa, in the place of Sumner B. Chase, whose commission expired May 14, 1890 .

J oho T. Congdon, to be postmaster at Sedgwick, in the connty of Harvey and State of Kansas, in the place of John Wright, whose commission expired February 19, 1890.

Richard W. Evans, to be postmaster at Dodge City, in the county of Ford and State of Kansas, in the place of Rush E. Deardoff, resigned.

WilliamJ. Puett, to be postmaster at Newt-0n, in the county of Harvey and State of Kansas, in the place of Joseph B. Fugate, whose com· mission expires May 25, 1890.

Mrs. Mary H. Wright, to be postmaster at Hopkinsville, in the county of Christian and State of Kentucky, in the place of Josiah B. McKenzie, whose commission expires June 21, 1890.

James Bracken, to be postmaster at Webster, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, in the place of John J. Love, re-moved. '

Nelson J. Davis, to be postmaster at Berrien Springs, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, in the place of William Dest.er, removed.

James H. Kidd, to be postmaster at Ionia, in the county of Ionia and State of Michigan, in the "place of Angelo E. Tower, whose commission expires June 16, 1890.

Henry C. King, to be postmaster at Oscoda, in the county of Iosco and Stare of Michigan, in place of Russell B. Emmons, removed.

Mathew K. Mister, to be postmaster at Grenada, in the county of Grenada and State of Mississippi, in the place of R. N. Hall, whose commission expires June 16, 1890.

Little J. Scurlock, to be postmaster at Water Valley, in the county of Yalobusha and State of .Mississippi, in the pla.ce of l\f, D. L. Martin, removed.

Levi C. Albertson, to be postmaster at Atlantic City, in the county of .Atlantic and State of New Jersey, in the place of Willard Wright, whose commission expired April 14, 1890.

Bradford G. Greene, to be postmaster at Oxford, in the county of Chenango and State of New York, in the place of Frederick P. Newkirk, whose commission expired April 16, 1890.

John R. Roberts, to be postmaster ·at Slatington, in the county of Lehigh and Stare of Pennsylvania, in the place of Daniel Lutz, whose commission expires June 18, 1890.

Robert Dott, to be postmaster at Alexandria, in the county of Hanson and State of South Dakota, in the place of Charles W. McCrone, removed. ·

Thomas H. P1·ince, to be postmaster at Gallatin, in the county of Sumner and Stare of Tennessee, in the place of Miss Ella Lewis, removed.

Jam es A. Smith, to be postmaster at El Paso, in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, in the plaee of Mrs. Fannie D. Porter, whose commission expires June 24, 1890.

.:

-. 1890. CONGRESSIONAL4'RECORD-HOUSE. '5141

CONFIRMATIONS.

Executive nominations confirmed by the Senate May 21, 1890.

RECEIVERS OF PUBLIO l\IONEYS. David E. Bomgardner, of Orleans, Nebr., to be receiver of public

moneys at McCook, Nebr. Anson S. Baldwin, of Lexington, Nebr., to be receiver of public

moneys at North Platte, Nebr.

REGISTERS OF THE LAND OFFICE. John I. Nesbitt, of North Platte, Nebr., to be register of the land

office at North Platte, Nebr. William T. Riley, of Hailey, Idaho, to be register of the land office

at Hailey, Idaho.

Executive nomination confirmed by tlte Senate May 22, 1890. INDIAN AGENT.

John H. Waugh, of Jamestown, N. Dak., to be agent for the Indians of the Devil's Lake agency, in North Dakota.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THURSDAY, May 22, 1890.

The House met at 12 o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain,. Rev. W. H. MILBURN, D. D.

The Journal of the proceedings of yest~rday was read. The SPEAKER. Without objection the Journal will be considered

as approved. Mr. ROGERS. One moment, Mr. Speaker. Looking over the state

ment of the vo~n the RECORD, I notice that it does not there appear that the Speaker voted for the McKinley bill. It occurs to me, inasmuch as the Clerk, in reading the Journal, has omitted the recapitulation of the names, that if that was an error in the RECORD and has been carried into the Journal also, the latter should be corrected before it is approved.

Mr. DUNNELL rose. The SPEAKER. Has the gentleman from Arkansas finished? Mr. ROGERS. I believe I do not care to occupy the floor any longer,

except to say that I regret very much, if the Speaker did not vote for that bill, that his following was so small.

The SPEAKER. The Chair is happy to learn that the gentleman does not desire longer to occupy the floor. The gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. DUNNELL] is recognized.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I desire to correct the Journal. I wish to call the attention of the Speaker to the fact that the Journal reports that the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. GROSVENOR], the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole yesterday, reported, and w~ directed hy the committee to report, the tariff bill with a favorable recommendation. The committee had no such vote, made no such order. The matter was called to the attention of the Speaker yesterday by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. SPRINGER], and I suppose the Journal ought to show that the bill was reported to the House in accordance with the order of the House, and notin accordance with the vote of the O>mmittee of the Whole.

The SPEAKER. The Chair is informed that the words of w hick the gentleman speaks are not in the Journal. ·

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. I beg the Speaker's pardon, they are in the Journal as the Clerk read it; at least I so understood the reading. I may bE} mistaken, but I was listening to the Journal as it was read, and I understood it to state that the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole reported that he was directed by that committee to report the bill with sundry amendments to the House.

The SPEAKER (after examining the Journal). The gentleman is correct, and the correction will be made.

THE CENSUS. Mr. DUNNELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to report

back from the Committee on the Census with two amendments the bill (H. R. 10252) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for taking the eleventh and subsequent censuses,'' and to ha.ve the bill put upon it.a passage. After the bill is read I will make a single statement.

The bill wa.s read, as follows: Be it enacted, etc., That any supervisor or enumerator of census who shall re·

ceive any bonus, fee, or any other consideration of any character whatsoever in connection with his duties as supervisor or enumerator, in addition to his compensation authorized by the act of March 1, 1889, as amended by the act of January 23, 1890, or any person or persons, municipality, or corporation who shall pay or attempt to pay any such bonus, fee, or other consideration to any supervisor or enumerator of census shall be deemed guilty of a. misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not exceediqg $5,000 and be imprisoned not exceeding two years.

' The amendments recommended by the committee were-read, as fol-ows:

At the end of line 13, after the word" dollars," add the words" nor less than ~.000." At the end of line 14, after the word "years," add "nor less than six months." . ·

\ .-

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. DUNNRLL] asks unanimous consent for the present consideration of this bill.

Mr. BUCHANAN, of New Jersey. I notice that the committee amendments recommend the fixing of a minimum punishment. · Ha.s it not been the experience of the gentleman [Mr. DUNNELL] that placing minimum punishment in an act very often defeats conviction?

Mr. DUNNELL. Probably so; but then the minimum1:mnishment here is of such size and character that I think there will be no difficulty. This biil results from the action of certain cities which have raised money to help out the supervisors, and a circular bas been sent to the supervisors and enumelators, which I will put into the RECORD, showing the necessity of an act of this kind in order that the ceJlSUB shall be taken honorably, fairly, and accurately.

Theicircular referred to by Mr. DUNNELL is _as follows: [Importaht order. Eleventh census of the United '%ates.]

DEP ARTME"NT OF THE INTERIOR, CE.NSUS OFFICE, • WashingtonyD. C., May 10, 1890.

To the Stiper'Visors of Census: It has been brought to the attention of the Superintendent of Census that the

city councils and boards of trade of certain Western cities have appropriated smns of money to aid their census supervisors in the enumeration of population. While it may be urged by some that such a proceeding is legitimate and merely intended to help the Government to obtain a. fair and full enumeration, I am compelled to look upon it as an almost irresistable temptation to fraud and as consequently endangering an honest count of the people. If tolerated by this office it would have a tendency o bring the whole census into disreput-e.

You are therefore positively instructed·not to receive any such compensa,tion yourself, nor countenance for one instant the payment of any snm of money whatever, by municipalities, corporations, associations, or persons, to enumerators. Any supervisor of census who is not content with the remuneration allowed by law (wJ:iich is double the amount pa.id in 1880J should at once resign. The Eleventh Census must and shall be above suspicion. To tolerate any action on the part of municipalities, associations, organizations, or individuals, no matter how powerful they may be, which has for its purpose the debauching or which would even throw the slightest taint upon the truthfulness of the returns would, in my opinion, be nothing short of a crime against the people of the United States.

This whole matter, toget,her with the facts in the possession of this office, has been laid before the honorable Secretary of the Interior, and the action of tho Superintendent of Census in placing every legitimafe obstacle at his command in the way of the distribution of local funds for this purpose meets with the Secretary's' approval.

Very respectfully, ROBERT P. PORTER,

Supet-inlendent of Ce11sus.

Mr. BUCHANAN, of New Jersey. I entirely sympathize with the object of the bill, but I think the minimum punishment is a mistake. (Cries of "Vote! " " Vote ! "]

The amendments recommended by tht committee were agreed to. The bill as amended wa.s ordered to be engrossed and read a third

time; and being engrosSed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

l\'Ir. DUNNELL moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to. reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed t-0. MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A messagefrom theSenate, byMr. McCooK, its Secretary, announced that the Senate bad agreed to the amendments of the House to the bill (S. 1207) granting a pension to Lydia K. White, a volunteer army nurse.

The message also announced that the Senate insisted upon its amendments numbered 9, 10, and 12, to the bill (H. R. 7160) making appropriations for the payment of invalid and other pensions of the Uni\ed States for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes, disagreed to by the House, agreed to the conference asked bf the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and had appointed Mr. ALLISON, Mr. DAWES, and Mr. GORMAN as conferees on the part of the Senate. -

The message further announced that the Senate bad agreed to the reports of committees of conference on the bills (H. R. 8463) granting a. pension to John Carter and (H. R. 448) for the ·erection of a public building at Lynn, Mass.

The message further announced that the Senate insisted on its amendments to the bill (H. R. 3711) making appropriations to provide for the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia. for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, al,ld for other purposes, agreed to the request for a conference, and had appointed M:r. PLnMB, Mr. DA WES, and Mr. COCKRELL as conferees on the part of the Senate.

The message further announced that the Senate had passed a bill (S. 3045) for the relief of Caroline M. McDougal, widow of the late RearAdmiral David McDougal, United States Navy; in which the -concurrence of the House was requested.

The message further annowiced that the Senate had pas.3ed the following resolution:

Resolved by the Senate (lhe House of Representatives concurring), That there be printed 15,000 additional copies of the report of the Committee on InterstatEr Commerce, being Senl'.te Report No. 847, Fifty-first Congres, first session, in relation to the transportation interests of the United States an i Canada., of which ~ 5,000 copies shall be tor the use of the Senate and 10,000 copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and that there be printed 6,000 additional copies of the testimony accompanymg the said report, of which 2,000 copies shall be for the use of the Sena.teand 4,000 copies for the use of the House of Represeuta.tives.

•

.· -

J

~-'

_,

,.

< • •

·.

·.

-·

5142 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. MAY 22, , PUBLIC BUILDING, AURORA, ILL.

Mr. MILLIKEN. Mr. Speaker, I desire to present a conference report. _

The report was read, as follows: The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on

the amendment of the House to the bill (S. 2714) for the erection ot a public building a.t Aurora, in the state~Of Illinois, having met, after full and free conference ha.ve agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:

That the Senate recede from its disagreement and agree to the amendment of the House.

S. L. MTLLIKEN, P. S. POST, THOMAS .J. CLUNIE,

Managers on the part of the Home. JOHN C. SPOONER, .TUSTIN S. MORRILL, G. G. VEST,

Managers on the part of the Senate.

The statement accompanying the report is as follows: The effect of the report is to leave the bill as it passed the House.

The report of the coI)'.lmittee of conference was adopted.

AR::\IY APPROPRIATION BILL.

_ .Mr. CUTCHEO...J. Mr. Speaker, I am directed by the Committee on Military Affairs to report back the bill H. R. 7619, being an act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891.

APPROVAL OF THE JO URN AL.

The SPEAKER. One moment. The Chair is informed that the J onrnal has not been technically approved by the House. 'The Chair understands that there is no objection to its approval.

There was no objection, and it was so ordered.

ARMY APPROPRIATION BILL.

Mr. CUTCHEON. I.am directed by the committee to reportthe bill back with certain amendments and with a recommendation in regard to the same.

Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, I · ask the gentlemMl to yield to me a moment for the consideration of a resolution which I desire to present on behalf of the Committee on Commerce.

The SPEAKER. The Chair understands that this is a report of the Committee on Military Affairs recommending concurrence or non-concurrence in be various amendments, and will not take long.

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrence in some and nonconcturence in others.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. We do not hear the gentleman's statement.

Mr. CUTCHEON. If the Clerk will read the amendments. I will move on behalf of the committee concurrence or non-concurrence as each-amendment is read.

The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 1: On page 5, in line 19, strike out the words "a'nd Inspector-

General's Departments" and insert "DeI1artment."

Mr. CUTCHEON. I move non-concurrence. The amendment wa.s non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 2: On page5, in line21, strike out "four" and insert "three."

Mr. HOLMAN. What is the effect of this amendment? Mr. CUTCHEON. This relates to the mileage of officers while trav

eling. The Senate struck out 4 cents a mile, which is the allowance under existing law, and inserted 3 cents. We desire the amendment non-concurred in that the matter .may go to the conference and be folly considered.

The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: .Amendment No. 3: On page 6, after line 3, insert: "For adaitional· pay to officer commanding military prison at Fort Leaven-

worth, Kans., $.500."

Mr. CUTCHEON. The committee recommend non-concurrence. The amendmeut was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 4: On page 6, strike out lines 10 to 12, inclusive, the words struck out being:

"For pay of eleven clerks for inspectors-general, at $1,200, 13,300."

Mr. CUTCHEON. This strikes out the provision for the eleven clerks which were allowed by the House for the Inspector-Goneral's Department. We recommend non-concurrence.

The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 5: On page 6, in" line 15, strike out the ~-rds "seventy-six thou and four hundred and ninety-three dollars and seven7f4hree cents" and insert" seTenty thousand dollars."

Mr. CUTCHEON. This is an amendment :makmg the grl)Ss amount conform to the previous amendments. We recotnmend ton-concurrence.

The amendment was non-concurred in.

The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 6: Onpage6, inline25, strikeout''four 11 and insert" three."

Mr. CUTCHEON. Thisisanothermileageamendment. We recom-mend non-concurrence.

The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment.No. 7: On page7, inline7,strike out "four" and insert "three."

Mr. CUTCHEON. This is an amendment of the same character. We recommend non-coucurrence.

The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 8: On page 7, in line 17, strike out" $61,019.52" and insert

" $42,325. 79." Mr. CUTCHEON. This is simply a change of the aggregate appro

priation made necessary by previous amendments. We recommend non-concurrence.


Amendment No. 9: On page 9, in line 6, strike out" from and at" and insert "and from."

Mr. CUTCHEON. The committee recommend non-concurrence in this amendment. It relates t.o commutations for rations. The bill as passed by t~ Honse provided for rations or commutation for rations for "enlisted men selected to contest for places or prizes in the department, division, and army rifle competitions while traveling to, from, and at places of contest." rrhe Senate strikes out the words "from and at " and inserts the words " and from," the effect of which is to omit commutation for rations at the places of contest. It is the opinion of officers that this may occasion some difficulty; and we desire the matter to go into conference. _Hence we recommend non-concurrence.

The amendment was non•concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

.. ~~~ndment N:o. 10: On page 9, in line 9, strike out "twenty" and insert

Mr. CUTCHEON. This is merely a change in the footing. I move non-concurrence.


Amendment No.11: On page 10, in lines 5 and 6, strike out the words "hereafter there shall be included nnder" and insert "thereafter there may be ex· pended from."

!1r. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrence. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

AmendmentNo.12. On page 10, in line 6, after the word" the," insert the words •·amounts required fox: the."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrenre in this amendment. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: -

Amendment No. 13: On page 10, in line 7, strike out" also" and insert "for."

Mr. CUTCHEON. The committee recommend concurrence. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No.14: On page 10, in line 9, after the word "schools," insert the word "for." ·

!1r. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrence in this amendment. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 15: On page 10, in line 10, after the wordS'"mess-ha.lls" in-sert the words" and for."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrence. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 16 : On page 11, in line 8, after the word •'pursuit," insert "but no money hereby appropriated shall be used for the apprehension or delivery of deserters who deserted prior to the lst da.y of January, 1885."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 17: On page 13, after the word "depots," in line 1, strike out the words "for transportation of signal officers or parties and their equipments, instrumenta, stores, and supplies, when ordered by proper authority for purely military purposes only."


Amendment No.18: On page 1-i,after "posts," irrline 10,strikeout I.he words "for drill-halls and gymnasiums at Colimbus Barracks, Jefferson Barracks, Fort l\Iyer, and David's Island, for gun-sheds at military posts, and for gymnasium furniture."


Ame-::dment No.19: On page 15, after the word "men," in line 9, insert "Pro'Vided, That no alcoholic liquors, beer, or wine shall be sold or supplied to the enlisted men in any canteen or in any room or building at any garrison or military post."

- ·-

-(. ·.

1890. CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-HOUSE. 5143 Mr. CUTCHEON. The committee recommend non-concurrence in

this amendment and also in amendments 20, 21, and 22. The SPEAKER. Without objection these several amendments will

be non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 23: On page lG, after the word "equipage," in line 18, insert

"incl uding band instruments."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend non-concurrence. · The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: A.mendmen t No. 24.: On page 17, after the word "employed," in line 25, insert

"for periods of not less than ten days."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 25: On page 17, in line 26, strike out the word" any" and

insert "and."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrence. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment No. 26: O~ page 18, line 3, strike out the words "clerk-hire."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: ,.,. Amendment No. 27: On page 18, in line 14, strike out the words "and of the

Army generally." l

l'ifr. CUTCHEON. We recommend non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in. · The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 28: On page 18, nfter the word "practice," in line 27·, insert

"and implements for mechanical maneuvers."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend concurrence. The amendment was concurred in. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment No. 29: On page 20, sh'ike out, in lines 16to18, inclusive, the fol-

fuwing: . "For fo r mountain guns, carriages, limbers, accessories, and ammunition

therefor, $l4.950." .


Amendment No. 30: On page 21 strike out lines 19 to 'l:l, and on page 22strike out lines 1 and 2, the clause struck out being as follows:

"Provided, That from signal stores herein appropriated for the.Chief Signal Officer, on proper application in writing by the adjutant-general of any State, may sell to such State tor use of its militia, at contract prices, such signal equipments and stores, field-glasses, telescopes, heliographs, and other apparatus as may be necessary for instruction in military signaling; the money received therefor, which shall revert to the appropriation for the current year in which the sale may be made, must be duly accounted for as other public money, and may be used in the purchase oflikE? articles to 1·eplace those so sold."

Mr. CUTCHEON. We recommend non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in. The following amendments, in whicp. the committee recommended

concurrence, were. read and concurred in: Amendment No. 31: On page 22, after the word "depart'illents.'r in line 8,

strike out " $2,000." Amendment No.32: On page 22, after the word "utensils," in line 11, insert.

"$2,000." Mr. CUTCHEON. I am directed by the Committee on Military Af

fairs to move that a conference be requested with the Senate on the amendments non-concurred in by the House.

The motion was agreed to. The SPEAKER announced as conferees on the part of the · House

Mr. CUTCHEON, Mr. OSBORNE, and Mr. WHEELER of Alabama. DEFICIENCY PRINTING APPROPRIATION.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Iowa.' Mr. Speaker, I am Q.irected by the Committee on Appropriations to report a bill (H. R.10390) making an appropriation to supply a deficiency in the appropriation for public printing and binding for the last quarter of the fiscal year 1890. T~ bill was read a first and second time. Mr. HENDERSON, of Iowa. As this will take but a few moments

to consider, I will ask unanimous consent of the House to consider it at this time.

The SPEAKER. The bill will be read, subjact to the right of objection.

The bill is as follows: Be it enacted, tlc., That to supply a. deficiency in the appropriation for the

public.printing, for the pu?lic. binding, and for paper f?r the public printing, including the cost of prmtmg the debates and proceedings of Congress in the CONGRE.SSIONAL·RECORD, and for lithographing, mapping,a.nd engraving for both Houses of Congress, including the salaries or compensation of all necessary clerks or employes for labor {by the day, piece, or contract), and for all the necessary materials which may be needed in the prosecution of the work during the last quarter of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, the sum of ~90 000 is hereby appropriated out of a.ny money in the •.rrea.sury not otherwise a

1ppro

priated1 and not exceeding $70,000 of the sum appropriated for the fiscal ~ear 1890, to enable the Public Printer to comply with the law granting thirty clR.ys

- annual leave to the employes of the Government Printing Office, and to pay the pro rata leaves of absence to such employee who resign or are discharged, may be used together with the aforesaid sum of $90,000 for the objects nerein

..

mentioned: Pro1>ided, That from the appropriation hereby made printing and binding may be done as follows: ·

For the Treasury Department, not exceeding $25,000. For the State Department, not exceeding $5,000. For the Department of Justice, not exceeding $2,000. For the supreme court of the District of Columbia., not exceeding $500.

The SPEAKER. Is there• objection to the present consideration of the bill?

There being no objection, the bill was considered, ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Iowa, moved to reconsiderthe vote by whichthe bill was passed; and also moved that the ~otion to reconsider be laid on the table. •

The latter motion was agreed to. REPRINT OF HEARINGS BEFORE THE 001\IMITEEE ON COMMERCE.

Mr. ,RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I am directed by the Committee on Printing to report back the following re.solution and recommend its adoption.

The SPEAKER. The resolutioti will be read. The C1erk read as follows:

Whereas the supply of copies of the hearing held before the Committee on Commerce, April 25, 1890, in relation to Senate bill 2792, to make the Lake Borgne outlet and .improve the low-water channel of the Lower Mississippi River. has been exhausted; and

Whereas, in accordance with an agreement found in the CONGRESSIONAL REoORD of May 4, 1890, this question will be discussed by the House when the river and harbor bijl is taken up for consideration ; and

Whereas the testimony taken at said bearing should be placed in the hands of the members of the House of Representatives at once; and

Whereas the subject is of national importance and of especial interest to scientists, civil engineers, merchants, planters, river-men, pilots, and the whole press of the country: Therefore,

Resolved by t he House of Representatives, That 10,000 copies of said endence and ·hearing be printed for the use of the House.

The report is as follows: The· committee on Printing have considered the House resolution to print

10,000 additional copies of the hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce on Senate bill 2792, to make the Lake Borgne outlet and improve the lowwater channel of the Lower i\!ississippi River, and have direct-ed me to report the same with the ~commendation that it do pass.

The estimated cost of the same is ~.A3.60.

The resolution was considered and adopted. Mr. RICHARDSON moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolu

tion was adopted; and also moved that the motion to reconsider b11 laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to. MILITARY ACADEMY APPROPRIATI0:8" BILL.

Mr. SPOONER. Mr. Speaker, I am directed by the Committee on Appropriations to report back the bill (H. R. 8152) making appropriations for the support of the Military Academy for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, with Senate amendments thereto, and ask immediate action upon them.

The RPEAKER. The amendments will be read. The Clerk read as follows: AmendmentNo.l: Page4 of the printed bill, line 8, strike out "thirteen" and

insert "twenty."

Mr. SPOONER. The committee recommend non-concurrence, and I make that motion.

The motion was agreed to. The next amendment was read, as follows:

Same page, line 25, before the word "i·ubber," insert "and;" also, in the same line, same page, strike out the words "and so forth."

Mr. SPOONER. The committee recommend concurrence in both of these amendments.

The motion was agreed to. The next amendment was read, as follows:

On page 5 strike out lines 13, 14, and 15.

1\fr. SPOONER. The committee recommend non-concurrence. Mr. DUNNELL. I think the gentleman from Rhode Island should

inform the House of the nature of these amendments. · Mr. SPOONER. The amendments in which concurrence. has been

thus far recommended are merelyverbalamendments. In the amendments now under consideration the Senate recommend the ' striking out of the provision for two clerks to the quartermaster and adjutant, inserted by the House. '

The amendment was non-concurred in. The next amendment was read, as follows:

On page 8, line 21, st1'ik.e'Out the semicolon and insert a period.

The amendment was concurred in. The next amendment was read, as follows:

.And provided further, Thnt the enlisted men known as the artillery detach· ment at ·west Point shall be mustered out of service as artillerymen and immediately re-enlisted as army service men in the Quartermaster's Department, continuing to perform the same duties and to have the same pay, allowances, rights, aud privileges, and subject to the rules, regulations, and laws in the same manne1· as if their service ha.d been continuous in the artillery, and their said service shall be considered and declared to be continuous in the Army.

Mr. SPOONER. The committeP. recomme:qd non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in.

·.

...

·.

I

,,. .. -- - . ~--.

l J:

T

. .,,.

. ? I

(

; . " -·· I -

, /

5144 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. MAY 22,

The next amendment was read, as follows: On page 14, lines 3 and 4, strike out the words "upon the approval of this

act." Tlle amendment Wal'! concurred in. Amendment No. 9 was read, as follows: \

Page 15, lincs 1 and 2, insert: "For necessary changes required in the plumb-ing of the cadet hospital, &'2,500.

The amendment was non-concurred in. Amendments Nos. 10, 11, 12, and 13 were concurred in. Amendment No. 14.was read, as follows:

Strike out the following words: "For one practice-room for the l\I~itary Academ~ band, to be immediately available upon the approval of this act, $3,030."

Mr. SPOONER. The co mittee recommend non-concurrence. The amendment was non-concurred in. Amendment No. 15 was concurred in. Amendment No. 16 was read, as follows: Strike out" For the construction of a hospital for enlisted men, $30,000."

The amendment was non-concurred in. Amendments Nos. 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 were concurred in . Amendment No. 22 was read, as follows: In line 17, page 16, of the printed bill strike out "or rental for ninety-nine

years." The amendment was non-concurred in. Amendment No. 23 was concurred in. Mr. SPOONER. I now move that a conference be asked with the

Senate upon the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the remaining amendments. ·

The motion was agreed to. The SPEAKER announced the appointment of Mr. SPOONER, Mr.

SNIDER, and Mr. ROBERTSON as conferees on the part of the House. BUSINESS OF COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE.

Mr. BAKER. I desire, on behalf and by direction of the Committee on Commerce, to offer for consideration the resolution which I send to the Clerk's desk.

The SPEAKER. The resolution will be read, after which the Chair will ask for consent.

'}.'he Clerk read aa follows: Resolved, That Thursday evening of this week and Tuesday eyening of next

week, from 8 o'clock to 11 o'clock p. m., be devoted to the consideration in the House of bills reported with favorable recommendations by the Committee on Commerce, to the consideration whereof no objection shall be made; that a.t 5 o'clock p. m. on each of said d:i.ys the House will take a. recess until 8 o'clock p. m. for the purpose aforesaid.

Mr. BURROWS; Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that the hour to which the House is to sit is pretty late, 11 o'clock at night, and !think the resolution had better go to the Committee on Rules, as several committees desire to be heard. That is my judgment.

Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman willallowmearemark, I will state that the Committee on Commerce have reported quite a number of light-house bills, bills for the creation of life-saving stations, and ports of entry; and the sundry civil bill bas been held up for con· sideration.

Mr. BURROWS. What bills are referred to? Mr. BAKER. To light-house bills, bills for life-saving stations, and

ports of entry. Mr. BLANCHARD. Does it apply to bridge bills? Mr. BURROWS. Is the resolution limited to that? Mr. BAKER. It relates to only such bills us may not be objected

to. Any member can o~ject to any bill and stop consideration of it·. Mr. BLANCHARD. Does it include hridge bills? Mr. BAKER. 1t inclnaes bridge bills. Mr. BURROWS. I think it had better go to the Committee on

Rules. Several MmIBERS. Let the resolution be again reported. The resolution was again reported. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the consideration of the reso·

lution? Mr. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman· from New York says that

these bills belong to a certain class. Why not confine the resolution to that class? If it includes all bills that may be reported no man knows what bill will ha considered.

Mr. BAKER. I will say to my friend that only such bills will be considered as shall not be objected to. No amendment of the interstate-commerce law has been reported.

Mr. ADAMS. I understand th&.t the gentleman says that no other bills will be considered except Jight-hoase bills, bills for life-saving stations, and bills of the other class of which he spoke.

Mr. B~ER. There will be no others, because no others have been reported.

Mr. HOLMAN. I think the class of bills to be considered should be specifically stated in the resolution.

Mr. BAKER. They are only the bills that have been reported and are on the Calendar relating to light-hoaRes, life-saving service, ports of entry, and bridge bills-and Illil:rine-hospital bilJs.

Mr. McMJLLIN. Marine-hospital bills, did the gentleman say?

J

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I call for the regular order. Mr. MCMILLIN. I shall object to the resolution in its present form;

It provides for a change of the rules and permits consideration of these bills in the Honse instead of in Committee of the Whole.

Mr. BAKER. I do not care about considering them in the House. Let them be considered in Committee of the Whole. ...

Mr. McIDLLIN. I think the resolution bad bet'ter go to the Cammi ttee on Rules.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Tennessee objects. Mr. BAKER. Then I will state to gentlemen that they can get up

their bills when they have an opportunity, but I have no objection tO them being considered in Committee of the Whole.

Mr. McMILLIN. If the gentleman will confine it to bills making no appropriations I have no objection.

Mr. BAKER. These bills will make a charge on the Treasttry, because they are light-house bills and bills for life-saving stations.

Mr. MCMILLIN. The gentleman can make an exception of those bills that do not make a charge on the Treasury.

Mr. BAKER. Those that have been reported make no approriation. Mr. McMILLIN. We all know that we can not obtain a sufficient

attendance of members at a night session for th.e consideration of bills carrying appropriations.

Mr. CANNON. I call for the regular order. :Mr. McMILLIN. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my objection. The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Tennessee withdraws his ob

jection. Is there further objection? !\fr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the gentleman

from New York whether his request will include bills reported before next Tuesday night to build .bridges to which there is no objection?

Mr. BAKER. Certainly. Mr. RICHARDSON. I understand the resolution to confine it to

bills "already on the Calendar." Mr. BAKER. It confines it to bills reported with a favorable rec

ommendation at the time. Ur. RICHARDSON. If you make it" then on the Calendar," I

have no objection. Mr. BAKER. I have _no obje~tion to making it "then on the Cal

endar." Mr. HOLMAN. I object to that part which provides for the consid

eration of bills makinj?; appropriations. I do not object to bills creating ports of entry being considered.

Mr. BA.KER. I do not care how vou make the resolution. · It is for the Hoose to determine. ~

Mr. HOLMAN. I withdraw my objection. Several ME...1\ffiERS. Objection is withdrawn. The SPEAKER. The Chair h~ not heard the gentleman from In

diana. withdraw his objection. Mr. WASHINGTON. I heard the gentleman withdraw his objec-

tion. -Mr. HOLMAN. I withdraw my objection. Mr. CANNON. And I ca.11 for the regular or~r, as I have done now

three times. The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Illinois calls for the regular

order. ORDER OF BUSINESS.

l\Ir. HENDERSON, of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House resolve itself into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the the bill (H. R. 9486) ma.king appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes.

The motion was agreed to. The House accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole

House O!'.l the state of the Union, Mr. BURROWS in the chair.

RIVER AND HARBOR BILL.

The CHAIRMAN. The Honse is in Committee of the Whole for the purpose of con·idering the bill the title of which the Clerk will reacl.

The Clerk read as follows: A bill (H. R. M86) making appropriation for the construction, repair, and pres

ervation of certain public works on rivers and harbors. and for other purposes.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I ask unanimous consent that the first reading of the bill be dispensed with.

Mr. KERR, of Iowa. I object. 'The Dlerk proceeded to read the bill. Mr. KERR, of Iowa (interrupting the reading). l\Ir.- Chairman, sev

eral gentlemen interested in this bill think it better that the rule requiring it to be read in full at this stage should be suspended, and, in compliance with their wish, I withdraw my objection.

There being no furthe.r objection, the first reading of the bill was dispensed with.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, it is not my purpose at this time to enter into any general discussion of this bill or of any of its provisions. I desire simply to say ,to the House, as has been stated in the report made by the committee, that this bill appropriates the sum of $20,932,445 for the various projects, rivers, harbors, and so

f.

I

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 5145 forth included in it. Of this sum, $1,000,000 ba.s already been appropriated by a special resolution of the House~ which, of course, will reduce the aggregate appropriation in the bill to $19,932,445 when the amendment shall be made which the committee proposes.

I desire to say further that this bill has been prepared by the Committee on Rivers and Harbors after several months of unremitting labor, during which we have given, not only to members• of the House and Senators who desired to be beard before the committee, but to delegationsfromall parts of the country, a mostpatienthearing. While the object of the committee has been to deal fairly and justly by the various improvements which are provided for in this biU, I feel deeply sensible that we have not in all cases been able, perhaps, to do equal and exact justice. Yet the bill is as nearlyper:fect, possibly, as any fifteen members can make it, and I submit it to the Honse with the confident belief that the money here recommended to be appropriated fo:n the improvement of the rivers and harbors of this conn try will be well appropriated and will be well expended in the interest of the people.

Iknow, Mr. Chairman, that there are many persons, as conscientious as men can be, who are opposed to any appropriations for rivers and harbors or who are opposed toappropriationsforwhat manyarepleased to call the smaller rivers, or the more unimportant rivers, or the smaller or more unimportant harbors of the country. I, however, myself say here without any hesitation that I think the reports and the facts as they have been made to appear before the Committee on Rivers and Harbors demonstrate beyond question that the money which is expended in the improvement of many of the smaller riVers of the country is the best-expended money and the most fruitful in its results. There is a great deal of talk about the improvements of 11 creeks.'' Upon that point I desire to say that, so fa;r as the improvement of creeks is concerned, the "creeks" which are contained in this bill are generally mere arms or inlets of rivers or of the sea.

In the West, I believe, we do not cal) any of tho e navigab!e.waters ''creeks,'' but some of these so-called creeks provided for in this bill are very wide and have a channel two or three hundred feet in width and 10 or 12 feet in depth; being better in all respects for the purposes of navigation than many of our larger rivers, better.than even the Mississippi itself, especially the Upper Mississippi. . I have heard the Chief of Engineers, not only the present one, but other gentlemen occupying that position and having charge of the rivers and harbors of the country and their improvement, say from time to time that they bad originally a prejudice against the improvement of these smaller streams until they came to a practical knowledge of the benefits derived from such improvements.

Mr. Chairman, I believe there is no money that goes out of the Treasury which is spent so much in the interest of the people of this country as that which is expended in the improvement of our rivers and harbors. There is not an obstruction in a navigable river, nor an impediment to the entrance of a harbor, but what is a tax upon the commerce of this country; and every dollar expended in removing such obstructions and such impediments and in accommodating the rapidly increasing commerce of our country is money expended in behalf of the people; and if this Government is constituted for any wise purpose whatever it seems to me it is constituted for the purpose of looking after the interests of the people. We may erect magnificent public buildings in our towns and in our cities; we are adding to the public buildings of this Capital city year by year at a cost of millions of dollars. I do not object to this; but at the same time I repeat that there is no money paid out of the Treasury of the United ·States the expenditure of which is so much in the interest of the people as tha~ which accommodates and facilitates the commerce of the country, which makes navigation safe and easy, which removes obstructions and impediments to it, and there is nothing which so builds up and promotes the prosperity of the whole country as the expenditure of such money.

I reserve the balance of my time, :ind I now yield to my colleague on the committee [Mr. CATCHINGS].

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. Before the gentleman yields the floor I would like to call his attention to sections 4 and 5 of this bill, which seem to me to go beyond the power of the committee. They undertake to give the Secretary of Warauthorityto require that bridges heretofore constructed shall be taken down or that alterations shall be made in them according to such plans as he may design or approve, and section 5 makes a failure to take down such bridges or to make such alterations, after certain notice, a criminal offense, punishable by a large fine, not exceeding $10, 000, and imprisonment not exceeding two years. Now, is it not beyond the power of this committee under our rules to report such legislation? And is it a right thing to do to require that bridges heretofore built, built probably under legal authority, shall be removed or taken down merely upon the order of the Secretary of War, and to make that order binding upon the courts, so that the question as to the reasonableness of the order, or as to the fact whether such bridges or such a bridge is an obstruction, or whether the alteration required to be made is a proper alteration is to be settled by the executive department of the Government alone?

I wish to call the attention of the gentleman and of his committee to this matter at the beginning, because I slo not know whether this part of the bill will ever be reached for consideration in the Committ.ee

,

of the Whole. I would be glad to know whether the c0mmittee are not willing to make some amendment which would give to parties interested the right to have these matters adjudicated in a court. I con~ cede that it is useless to spend money to make streams navigable and then permit navigation to be obstructed by bridges, but I think that those who have put up bridges, probably at very great expense, where such bridges may be absolutely necessary, as in connection with turnpikes for the accommodation of the people of a locality, should not be puni<ihed criminally for refusal to take down such a bridge, which may not really be an obstruction, but may be through some sort of influence condemned by the Secretary ot War. I wish to call the attention of the chairman of the committee to the question whether some amendment might not be agreed up6n. allowing the parties interested in such cases to have the action of the Secretary of War traversed in a Federal court.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. In reply to the inquiry of the gentleman from Kentucky, I will say that there has been a great deal of trouble in regard to bridges over the navigable waters of different States, many of them being an almost absolute obstruction to the nav· igation of such rivers. Heretofore, as gentlemen will remember, a simple fine has been imposed in cases of such obstructions; and it is reported to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors that in many cases railroad companies will absolutely prefer to pay the fine from year to year and continue the obstruction rather than make the necessary improvements which would not obstruct navigation.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. I cordially agree in the' propriety of the reform which is sought by these provisions; but I think the penalties are entirely too severe. For instance, the Kentucky · River passes through my district for many miles, and over that river \here ha\"e been constructed three or four turnpike bridges, which would probably come within the purview of these provisions. There are also, either in my district or in the adjoining district, two or three railroad bridges to which these provisions might. also apply. In the city of Frankfort is a bridge owned by the municipality-I think now by the county of Frankfort-which, on account of the peculiar way in which the lands lie on both sides, can not be elevated without the de· struction of the entire structure. Now it is useless, I admit, to spend· large sums of money upon the improvement ot our rivers while allowing bridges to remain as obstructions. I am not in favor of such a policy. I want to compromise the matter between those who desire to use t_he rivers and those who·want to use the bridges. All that ought to be asked, I think, on either side is that the parties have the right to go into a Federal court and have the question settled by some legitimate legal proceeding, so that the persons owning the bridges may not be punished criminally because of an executive order issued by the Secretary of War, to induce which a great many influences may operate.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I will say to the gentleman from Kentucky that this section will of course be open to amendment when

·it is reached. I will now yield for a moment to the gentleman from· Louisiana [Mr. BLANCHARD]. -

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. I would not call the attention of my friend to this matter ~ow but for t.be fact that, according to the experience we have had, it sometimes happens that sections of a bill are not reached for consideration in the Committee of the Whole.

Mr. CATCHINGS. I think we might take u.p this matter at a later stage of our proceedings.

.Mr. BLANCHARD. Perhaps there had better be an explanation now.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiiana.

Mr. BLANCHARD. Mr. Chairman, I will state to the gentleman from Kentucky that this proposed legislation is not new except in one particular. The last river and harbor bill, which became a law two years ago, contained these provisions in regard to bridges, with th~ exception that, as then passed, they contained no penal clause.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. That bill, if I remember correctly, became a law under a suspension of the rules. I intended then to try to have this section amended, butithere was no opportunity; and upon the passage of the bill there was presented to me the dilemma of either voting for the bill with that provision or taking the risk of defeating the bill. Therefore I call attention to this matter now.

Mr. BLANCHARD. While it is true that the river and harbor bill of August, 1888, was passed in this House under a suspension of the rules, it did not pass under a suspension of the rules in the Senate.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. But I am not a member ot the Senate.

Mr. BLANCHARD. These two clauses relating to bridges obstructing navigable water ways of the United States ran the gantlet of two committees in the last Congress, one in the Senate and one in the House, and also passed the Senate, where full consideration was given to the bill.

The fact that there are bridges obstructing navigable water ways of the United States has given much trouble to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors for years past. The committee has been called upon to make appropriations for streams thus obstructed. In all the reports made to Congress in recent years on the subject of river and harbor im-

J.

)

l .: . .

! ........ -

_ __.1.--

-.

., ..

5146 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. I f

/' MAY 22, -

provement attention has been called to the necessity of legislation to remedy this evil. Many of these bridges were constructed without any authority of law whether by Congress or by State Legislatures. It was to obviate this trouble that legislation on this subject was enacted in the river and harbor bill years ago; and the sections in the present bill to which the gentleman from Kentucky refers are merely the existing law amended and re-enacted.

The bill of two years ago did not go as tar in thls direction as the present bill does. It was then enacted that the Secretary of War, when his attention was called to the fact that a navigable water way of the United States is obstructed by a bridge, should give notice to the owner or corporation controlling the same to so alter the bridge as to render navigation under or through it safe and easy, and to fix a reasonable time in which such alteration should be made. It provided also that if the alteration was not madewithin the time so prescribed by the Secretary of War the district attorney of the United States in whose district the structure was located should bring suit in the name of the United States in the circuit court of the United States to recover a fine, limited to a certain sum per month, from the owner or corporation owning or controlling the bridge.

Under this law a number ofsuchmotices were given for the removal or alteration of bridges obstructing the navigable water ways of the United States, and in some instances these notices were disregarded by the owners of the bridges. Snits were instituted, but the parties defendant obstructed the trial of the causes, delays ensued, and the results were not satisfactory. And so, in conversation with the Chief of Engineers, who appeared before the River and Harbor Committee, it was thought advisable by him, and concurred in by the committee, to reenact and amend the sections of the law relating to this subject, so as to provide a penalty for failure to obey the law instead of the mere imposition of a fine. The present bill, therefore, amends and re-enaci! the corresponding sections in the last river and harbor act, so as to make it a penal offense for the owner or owners of bridges obstructing navigable water ways to decline or refuse or neglect to so alter their bridges as to render navigation through and under the same free and easy.

Now, what does section 4 of the present bill do? It simply prescribes that where the Secretary of War has information that a navigable water way of the United States is obstructed by a bridge of an insufficient height, width of span, or otherwise, or where there is difficulty in passing the draw-span or draw-opening of such bridge by rafts, steam-boats, or other water craft, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War to give notice to the person or corporation owning or controlling such bridge to so alter the same-not to remove it absolutely, but to so alter the bridge as to render navigation through or under ·it free and easy; and in giving such notice he shall prescribe a reasonable time in which any such modification, change, or alteration of the structure sha11 take place.

There is no hardship in that. Here is a bridge, we will say, obstructing the free navigation of the Kentucky River, a bridge which was erected without authority of law. It was erected across a navigable water way of the UnitedStates pursuant to plans notsubmitted to the Secretary of War or approved by him. It may not even have a drawspan in it for the passage of boats. The Secretary of War inform·s the owner of the bridge that it is, under this act, an obstruction to a navigable water way, demands its alteration pursuant to the act, and prescribes a time, six months or a year, or whatever time he may deem a reasonable and sufficient time, in which to make the alteration. There is no hardship whatever in that.

Ji[r. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. If my friend from Louisiana will allow me to interrupt him just there. I do not wish to take up the time of the gentleman from Mississippi, who is entitled to the floor, but it may be a very great hardship--

The CHAJRMAN. Does the gentleman from Louisiana yield? Mr. BLANCHARD. I yield for a question. . Mr. CATCHINGS. I hope the gentleman from Kentucky will not

insist on the debate going on at thls time. It bad beett arranged by the Committee on Rivers and Harbors that I should take the floor, following the gentleman .from Illinois, and I yielded t-0 my friend from Louisiana. because I thought my friend from Kentucky wanted to ask a question. But we are going off into a line of discussion that was not contemplated at the time.

l\Ir. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. I beg the gentleman's pardon. I will not press the matter further; but I simply wanted to call the attention--

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Louisiana has the floor. Ur. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. The gentleman yielded to me

to ask a question. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair did not know that the gentleman from

Kentucky bad addressed the Chair. l\Ir. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. I do not know that I did, Mr.

Chairman, but if I did not I now address the Chair, and state that I bacl permission of the gentleman from Louisiana to ask a question.

I simply wanted to say that after what the gentleman from Mississippi has said I will not now press the matter, and think it can be expfained hereafter. I. simply wanted to call the attention of the gent.le-

man representing the River and Harbor Committee to the subject with a view that some arrangement should be made that would be a compromise of conflicting interests.

Mr. BLANCHARD. I will say to my friend from Kentucky that when the bridge sections of the bill are reached in their regular order I will be glad to have him submit such amendments as he may deem necessary, andt we will then further discuss the subject. I will not pursue the matter further at this time.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair understands the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. CATCHINGS] is recognized in the time of the gentleman from Illinois.

liir. CATCHINGS. Mr. Chairman, I am recognized in my own right. I did not understand the observatiQn of the Chair. · The CHAIRMAN. The Chair will recognize the gentleman in his

own right. Mr. CATCHINGS. Mr. Chairman, in view of the sensational ac

counts which have been published in many of the newspapers of the country with reference to the recent floods in the Mississippi Valley and of the coming to the front of a variety of exploded ancient fallacies with reference to the proper method for improving the river, I think it would not be amiss if I should present to the committee a careful review of the general situation, including some allusion to the work that has been done and some description of the theories upon which the Government engineers are proceeding.

Since the creation of the Mississippi River Commission, in 1879, the Government has been engaged in the effort to definitely solve the problem involved in obtaining such control of the Mississippi River that its energies, which, unrestrained, expend themselves largely in working ruin and desolation along its borders and which by their excesses sap and destroy its vital forces, may be brought into subjection and compelled to subserve the great and constantly enlarging commercial interests of the nation.

Though the problem presented is extremely interesting, whether reviewed from a scientific standpoint or with regard to the far-reaching benefits to a great portion of the American people, which must surely result from its successful solutidn, it must be admitted by the impartial and candid observer that it has never, received at the hands of Congress the consideration that it deserves.

An inspection of the debates which it has from time to time provoked will demonstrate that the task of presenting and urging its claims to governmental consideration has been imposed almost entirely upon those of us who dwell along the southern borders of the river, and such appropriations as have been made for its improvement do not seem to have been prompted so much by recognition of the national character of the work, and consequently of the duty of the United States to undertake it, as by sympathy for us in our never-ceasing struggle with its angry floods and a charitable disposition to aid us by small annual donations from the public funds.

We are grateful beyond expre8sion for the assistance thus extended, and still more for the kindly and generous impulses which have prompted it; but appropriations made in this limited fashion, while they have been highly beneficial and have accomplished much, are so inadequate to effect speedily the object designed to be attained that they minimize public attention to the problem, if, indeed, they do not create actual prejudice against serious and earnest efforts to finally and definitely solve it.

Discussion hitherto has been largely confined to consideration of the effect which the rectification and control of the river might have upon the fortunes of those who dwell in its lower valley by securing to them immunity froth the blighting embrace of the angry waters which periodically, with unrestrained fury, rush savagely down to the sea.

With some, the fact that this immunity from disaster might result has been regarded as proof that the work is but local in scope and effect, while with others, I (ear, this fact has been accepted as furnishing a conclusive reason why it should not be undertaken by the General Government at all.

If nothing more than the protection of the MiSsissippi Valley from desolating floods should be achieved, so large a community would be relieved and the wealth of the country would be so vastly augmented that the very magnitude of the result effected would suffice to divest it of all local characteristics and stamp it as a work of the highest national concern.

The Mississippi Delta alone extends across 8! degrees of latitude, stretching from 29° to 38° 30' north, being about 600 miles long and averaging about 60 in width.

It embraces about 40,000 square miles, of which at least 36,000, or 23,000,000 of acres, can be reclaimed and placed in cultivation.

A moderate estimate would give at least 6,000,000 acres of sugar lands, 15,000,000 of cotton lands, and 2,000,000 of corn lands.

These lands are more fertile than those of the valley of the Nile, which by the richne~ of its soil was the granary of the East and became the seat of ancient civilization and the heart of one of the mightiestsystemsofgovernmenttheworld hasever known. Thevalueofthese lands when reclaimed from overflow would easily reach $30 per acre, or a total of $690,000,000. But stupendous as would be the result of this reclamation of the lowlands of the Mississippi Valley, it by no

1890. I I CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 5147 :µieans furnishes the sole standard by which to measure the benefits to _ the American people which would come hand in hand with the restraint, control, and discipline of this mightiest of navigable rivers.

Let us see if it can not be demonstrated that the project is of such broad and extensive consequence as to demand the thoughtful attention and conscientious consideration of all the representatives of the people; that its successful execution would ameliorate the condition and contribute largely to the welfare of the vast population now dwelling and which will yet come to dwell between the two great mountain ranges of the continent; and that the cheapened transportation and augmented facilities for interchanging the products of our soil, the fabrics of our manufactories, and all articles of commerce which would surely follow it, would repay the nation many times more than its c;iost would possibly be, besides gladdening the hearts and lightening the burdens of millions of its citizem1.

Let us see if the discussion can not be lifted from the narrow limits which have confined it and placed upon so broad a plane that every gentleman present must find in it for himself, his constituents, and the country at large a deep and vital interest; and in the effort to do th.Is I invoke the patient attention and earnest co-operation of all.

TheMissis.sippianditsnavigable tributaries constitute a system which embraces not less than 14,000 miles of water way. They intersect, and when suitably improved will furnish facilities for transportation t.o, almost every part of the great agricultural region which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to -the Lakes, and from the Alleghany t.o the Rocky Mountains, comprising an area of about 3,000,000square miles, which is about two-thirds of the whole area of the United St3tes.

The Mississippi Basin proper contains 1,257,545 square miles, according to Walker's St.atistical Atlas, but Foster, in his work on the valley, estimates the area drained and benefited by this great waterway system to be 2, 000, 000.

When this valley, as in accordance with a• just popular demand it must soon be, is connected by way of the Illinois River with the great lakes at Chicago, the value of the Mississippi as a highway of commerce will be so multiplied as to be absolutely beyond computation.

Speaking of this connection, Mr. Ignatius Donnelly, at the waterways convention, held at Superior, Wis., in August, 1889, said:

Now, my friends, you can see it is inevitable that in the process of time a great ship-canal will yet be constructed that will unite these two n~vigable sys~ms, connecting by water the greatest lake system in the world and the great;. est river valley in the world.

My friends, that Mississippi Valley could, I believe, contain and amply support all the civilized people that now dwell on the face of the earth. It reaches practically from the Rocky Mountains to the Alleghanies; scarcely a foot of it but is or could be made capable of sUBta.ining populous human life. A mighty region, such as the world presents on no other continent.

Mr. Donnelly does not overstate the possibilities. No man can foresee the density of the population which will be, in time to come, gathered in this great valley, or overestimate the advantages which would :flow from placing them in direct water communication with the cities and thriving communities along the shores of the Great Lakes.

The multiplication of routes of transportation, the greater profits from all agricultural and industrial pursuits, the growth of centers of population which would follow this connection of the lakes and the Mississippi River would add untold millions to the wealth of the country.

It is the part of wisdom to prepare this river for the mighty work which the ner.r future is cert.ain to impose upon it, and every consideration, whether utilitarian or sentimental, demands for it broad and generous treatment.

Even in its present unimproved condition, and competing, as it does, with the elaborate railway systems which penetrate and intersect its valley and often follow its actual borders, the river is the vehicle for the transportation of a prodigious quantity of merchandise and agricultural products.

In 1886 the Western farmers sbipped by it, via the city of New Orleans, 743,439 bushels of grain, and in 1887 3,973, 737, there being in · a single year au increase of 3,230,298 bushels. Stated in tons, this makes in 1886 302, 870 and in 1887 396, 060.

From January 1 to July 1, 1887, it carried by barges of package freight 35,597 tons and of bulk freight 203,873 tons.

By steamboats during the same period it carried of package freight 73,525 tons, making a total of 312,995 tons.

I have no figures since 1887, and none at all showing the amount of up-freight, though it was undoubtedly very large.

Indeed, a very significant fact in connection with the commerce upon the river is the marvelous growth of shipments designed for various points in the Mississippi Valley from New York and the East by the Atlantic Ocean t.o New Orleans and thence up the river by barges and steam-boa ts.

The cause which has promoted thiE wonderful increase of business, which year by year is rapidly progressing, is to be found in the immensely cheaper rates of transportation, resulting from the permanent establishment of barge lines, due to the great improvement of the river already effected, and the general belief and expectation that it will be carried forward until all the delays and dangers of navigation have been substantially removed.

As to the matter of cheapness, I can best illustrate its ad vantages and utility by giving the compautive rates by rail and river for the trans-

portation of grain in the year 1887, which are the latest at my com-mand. . ,

In that year the rate per 100 pounds by rail from St. Louis to New York was 32i\ cents. • By river via New Orleans it was by steam-boats 18} cents and by barges only 6 cents. By steam-boat the river route gave a saving in the cost of transportation to the seaboard of 14 cents per 100 pounds, and by barge, of 26/0 cents. But the saving to West. em farmers by this cheapening of the cost of carriage can not be measured by the quantity of grain actually transported upon the Mi~ippi River, for it brought down rates and produced a corresponding saving upon every bushel of grain which went to the seaboard b~ rail, also.

The correctness of this proposition is very emphatically affirmed by Mr. Frank Gaiennie, president of the St. Louis Merchants' ~change, who said:

The improvement of the Mississippi and the consequent increase of trade to the seaboard by th.e reduction of rates by the river route, compelled the trunk lines to meet the river rate.

The value of this reduced rate to the farmers in wheatalone, from 1881to1885, ~!~e,.the rou~e to New York and New Orleans, wnson theaverage6 cents per

At the estimate of the Agricultural Department for 188.5, which was 3'>/,112,-000 bushels, a saving ox 6 cents on that amount of gra.in means $21.~66,720 more money in the hands of the farmers, to say nothing of the benefits to all other kinds of business.

That the ag,ricultural industries of the Western States are in a depressed and unsatisfactory condition is a fact so patent that all concede it. Quacks, demagogues, political charlatans, and dreamers of dreams have pushed to the front with theories and so-called panaceas innumerable for the removal and prevention of this industrial distress; and many sensible and well meaning men in sneer desperatiDn have given sanction in greater or less degree to some of these vagaries which ar13 pressed upon us for legislative adoption.

No doubt, a wise, just, and equitable revision and adjustment of the tariff, whereby the necessaries of life would be cheapened, coupled with the enlargement of the currency J>y free coinage of silver, so that it shall be commensurate with the growth of the population and business of the country, would greatly lighten the burdens of tbe Western farmer; and it may be that still other legislative steps might be taken which would lessen his toil and possibly augment his gains.

But the diseasewhichis gnawing athisvitalsandsapping his strength can only be modified by general sanitary measures such as these; to eradicate it and restore him to strength and vigor and health more heroic treatment is required. Competition with foreign grain and consequent lowering of prices have done more to bring the Western farmer to his present distressed condition than all other causes combined. The value of the grain which he sells abroad is the standard by which he sells in the home market, for the price of his surplus fixes the price of his whole crop.

The price of grain bas gone down just in proportion as the quantity of grain from the Baltic, the Indies, and from Russia has increased. When that was small, the American farmer was master of the situation and received good prices, but within the pa.st few years it has increa5ed enormously. Vast sums are being annually expended in the construe-

,. tion of railways and canals in order that these countries may have easier and cheaper access to European markets, and it is certain, therefore, that the American grain-grower will meet still keener and tiercer competition as the years go by.

We have the most fertile soil and grow larger crops and grain of a much superior quality, but the cost of layipg it down in European markets is so great that we are placed at great disadvantage in the struggle for supremacy with Russian and Indian grain.

This cost is so excessive that in many sections of the West surplus corn is burned for fuel and no effort is made to market it all, for it will not bear the cost of transportation. This is the burden which weighs most heavily upon the Western farmer, and cheap transportation is all that will save him.

In the effort t.o obtain this a great demand has been made in many sections of the West for a deep-water harbor at Galveston, and we have complied with this demand by a bill now on the Calendar, which will doubtless become a law, by which we make the needed appropriation to that end. That will doubtless furnish relief to some localities, but if we. will improve the Mississippi River so that it can be safely navigated by deeply laden vessels at all seasons of the year, we will pro. vide for the great West the cheapest and most expeditious transportation route on the face of the globe.

Realizing the truth of this statement, the Legislature of Minnesota in !885 presen!;ed a memorial to Congress urging its improvement, from which I quo~e:

These results already attained justify the belief that the well directed plans of the engineers in charge can secure such a depth of water as will allow wheat to be transported from the Falls of St. Anthony t-0 the Belize and put on board ships to be conveyed to Europe, and fl.our to our South American and Mexican . neighbors, at freight charges not to e xceed one-third those now paid to reach ..__ the markets. Wheat at Scents per bushel (freight) on board ship at the Belize means $6,400,000 per year saved to Minnesota on her present production.

What the Legislature of Minnesota said may be repeated as to all the Western States; and that the price.named as the probable cost of carriage upon the river when thoroughly improved and subjected to control is not extravagantly low is proven by the rates I have already

I •

/

. ' -

.... _

I\

~·

1.

I

5148 - CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-HOUSE. - MAY 22,

given at which grain bas been shipped and is now being shipped from -st. Tumis to the Gulf. •

In view of all these facts, it is perfectly manifest that the people of the Western States are really more deeply concerned than all others in this great river, and it has been a source of perpetual wonderment to me that they have not risen up as one man and demanded for i~ such liberal and generous treatment as its gigantiC national importance entitles it to receive. And that the coal producers of the Western and Middle Stat.es are largely concerned in the river is made perfectly clear by the following st,atement taken from a publication in 1~79:

The tow·boa.t Josh Willia.ms is on her way to New Orleans with a. tow of thirty-two barges containing 600,000 bushels (76 pounds to the bashel) of coal, exclusive of her own fuel, being the large.st tow ever taken to New Orleans or anywhere else in the world. Her freight bill, at 3 cents per bushel, amounts to $18,000. It would take eighteen hundred cars of 333 bushels to the car (which is an overload for a ca1·) to transport this amount of coal. At,$10 per ton, or$100 per car, which would be a fair price for the distance by rail, the freight bill would amount to $180,000, or $162,000 more by rail t.han river. The tow will be taken from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in fourteen or fifteen days. It would require-one hundred trains of eighteen cars to the train to transport this one tow of 600,000 bushels of coal, and· even if they made th' usual speed of fast trains it would take one whole summer to put it through by raiL

Although I have shown that, even in its present condition, a prodigious commerce is carried on upon the river, yet gentlemen who have not investigated the subject will be, I am sure, amazed at the sum total of it.s value.

This can best be appreciated by comparing it with that which passed through the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, a commercial gateway upon the Great Lakes whose greatness and importance we all boastfully proclaim. The convention which as8embled at Superior, Wis .• in August, 1889, to devise measures to insure the speedy completion of the new lock in process of construction, estimated the value of shipments through the canal in 1889 to be $83, 732, 527.15.

The value of shipments upon the Mississippi Rivex to and from the port.of New Orleans alone in the year 1887, was $98,591,781, or $14,-859, 254. 85 in excess of that passing through the Sault Ste. Marie Canal in 1889.

It is a very moderate estimate to say that the total commerce upon the river was as much as $225,000,000. Indeed, a very much higher estimate is placed by Capt. J. W. Bryant, for many years t.he river statistician of the New Orleans Times-Democrat, who is a practical steamboat man and thoroughly familiar with the subject.

But this is a bagatelle to what the business of the river will be when the thousands in the valley shall become millions, when the hamlets shall become cities, and when oar trade with South American countries shall have been develo~ed as it must very soon be.

Enough has been said to show to what an extentthi_s river is a :tactor in solving the problem of transportation, which is the most perplexing which confronts the people of the West, and that to them it is of far greater consequence than to the comparatively small population of the lower valley.

I therefore trust that the Representatives of those people will investigate this question, participate in its discussion, interest theiP.selves in its solution, and unite with us in lifting it from the circumscribed place in public estimation to which it has been heretofore unfortu-

1nately confined, and pntting it upon a broad and lofty plane, commensurate with its national character and magnitude.

Let us now see what necessity there is for improvement of the river, what the plan adopted by the Mississippi River Commission is, and what difficulties are to be evercome.

To one who only knows it as the greatest navigable river in the world, it would naturally seem that there would be an abundance of water for purposes of navigation at all seasons of the year; but such unfortunately is not the case.

The difficulty does not arise from a lack of water, but from the unevenness with which it is distributed along the channel.

In describing this difficulty, in a speech delivered by me on the floor of this House on January 22, 1897, I said: If the river could be emptied and its bed exposed t-0 view we would see an

endless succession of deep depressions and large sand hills. When the channel is filled these depressioni:i constitute the pools, or deep water, and these sand hills the formidable bars, which in many places seriously. obstruct navigation. Fortunately most of these bars are so deeply submerged that heavily laden boats pass over them Without difficulty, even during the stage of lowest water. But others approach within 5 or 6 feet of the surface at this period and prevent the navigation of the river, except by the smallest craft, to the great cost and detriment of commeree. Nor does this low stage of water pass away quickly. The report of Hon. E. 0. Stannard, of October 30 1873, to the Senate Committee on Transportation,estimates that for along period ofyt;'ars there were an average of fifty-two days when the least depth of water was 6 feet and sixtynine days when it was less than 10 feet.

The number of bars below Cairo which obstruct navigation in this way is about forty. They are usually located in groups, which cover from 20 to 40 miles, and the part of the river occupied by these groups is called a. "reach." Th~re are six of these reaches in the lower river, known as 'he New l\la.drid, Plum Point, Memphis, Helena, Choctaw, and Lake Providence reaches.

'l'o increase the depth on these bars which lie across the pathway of the river is the improvement which Congress has undertaken to accomplish through the agency of the 1\-lis~issippi River Commission. And this involves, of course, such treatment, regulation, and eontrol of the river as shall give permanence to the improvement when effected.

This brief statement of the ch:tracter of the obstructions which need to be removed will suffice for the purposes of this discussion.

.. . •

Much has been learned within the past few years i·egarding the phenomena and physical characteristics of the Mississippi River.

It has long been customary with many to think and speak of it as a great mystery, as erratic and whimsical, pursuing dark and devious methods, uncontrolled by laws or principles, and entirely without the grasp of human comprehension.

All illusions of this sort have been utterly dispelled by the continuous and scientific observations which have been made by the commission and placed of record so that all who may wish to investigate the subject can give ·to it careful and intelligent study.

Reali~ing at the outset that a thorough acq uaintancewith the history of the river was necessarv to enable them to conduct the work of improvement with safety a.Ild intelligence, they have caused to be made a perfect topographical, hydrographical, hydrometrical, and geological · survey.

By this means it has been absolutely demonstrated that the river is free from mystery; thatit is governed bythesamelawspreciselywhich control all other sedimentary streams; that for every supposed erratic movement there is a readily ascertainable cause; that all of its phenomena are produced by natural laws of universal application; that the only differences between it and other rivers are accounted for by its greater magnitude; and that the same theories and principles which have been successfully applied to smaller streams will prove effective ~pon it, if made use of on a scale corresponding to its gigantic proportions.

Having ascertained by numerous borings that the old idea which had theretofore prevailed in some quarters, that the bed of the river is of hard blue clay and a permanent, fixed soil which antedates the formation of thealluvion ofthe valley, is utterly without foundation, and that the material of the river's bed is the same as that of its banks, both having been, during the countless ages, brought down and deposited through similar processes by the river itself, an impregnable basis was laid upon which to erect an intelligent, logical, and scientific plan of improvement.

When t is discovery was made as to the character of the river's bed, the question of improvement became simply one of the mechanical application of well understood principles of hydraulic engineering.

Since the material of which the bed is formed has been brought down and deposited there by the force of the river it.self, it is perfectly plain that this same force, exerted under suitable conditions, is capable of removing the material so deposited, and carrying it further along.

This material was undoubtedly at one time swept along by the current: and was only deposited in the bed df the river when the current became unable by 19ss of strength to transport it further. ·

The next step in the investigation was to ascertain the causes of this depletion of the strength of the river, whereby it became incapacitated for discharging its natural duty to carry its sediment out to thesea.

It was observed that the river is deep wherever it is narrow and that it is shallow wherever it is wide.

If we bear in mind the character of the material of the bed and that the waters of the river are forever laden with sediment, we will have no difficulty whatever in understanding why this is invariably so.

The current of a river is produced by the fall of the water from a higher level to a lower one.

The principal resistance to the flo.w of the water comes from the friction which it encounters in passing along its bed.

An acceleration of the flow will be caused either by a diminution of this friction or by increasing the slope or inclination of the fall.

This motion of the water being the sole power which enables it to transport its sediment, it inevitably follows that this seaiment, which is heavier than the water, will fall tO the bottom the moment this motion ceases and, further, that just in proportion as this flow is retarded is the power of the river curtailed.

If this motion be augmented the power to transport sediment becomes greater, if it be decreased this power becomes lessened, and the river instantly drops enough of its sediment to make its burden conform to its diminished vigor.

Since the chief resistance to the flow of a river is caused by the friction encountered in passing over it.s bed, it follows that if this friction be increased by the enlargement of the surface of contact between the water and the bed along which it flows greater resistance is offered and a correspoDding retardation of the current produced.

In accordance with this law, which applies to all sediment:i.ry streams, it is found that in wide places, where the frictional resistance is consequently greatest, the resulting interruption of the flow has deprived the river of its power to hold in suspension its proper charge of sediment; and that, being forced to unburden itself, sand-bars have been created in such places, to the great annoyance and injury of commerce.

It was obvious that if the lost vigor of the river in thj3Se wide sections could be restored by accelerating its velocity it would take up and carry off the deposits constituting these obstructions; and since there were no means by which the declivity of the fall of the water could be permanently increased, it was also obvious that the required acceleration could only be obtained by curtailing the resistance to the current through diminution of the frictional contact between the water and its bed .

' \

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 5149 It was noted that where the width of the river does not exceed 3,500

feet there is ample channel depth, but that where its width is greater than this there is more or less insufficiency of depth.

This made it evident that the power of the river was not sufficient to overcome greater frictionalresistance than that offered by3,500 feetof contact with the bed, and it was therefore determined that these wide and shoal places should be reduced to that width.

The object to be attained being thus clearly indicated by simple and natural laws, the only question to be settled was as to the mechanical devices by which it could be effected or, in other words! by what means the river could be made to mount the stool of repentance, confess its sins, undo the mischief it had wrought, and give bond for i behavior in the future. •

The simple but effective plan has been adopted of compelling the river itself to build up the walls needed to imprison its forces, by interposing obstacles of only sufficient obstructive power to cause it to deposit at the desired spot a portion of the mud, sand, or silt with which its waters are forever laden. This is accomplished by driving piles in rows across the chute or channel to be clos'Cd and along the space intended to be filled up. These are interwoven with poles and brush, or mattresses of brush are laid against them. This forms a permeable dam, which does not hinder the flow of water entirely yet sufficiently retards it to cause a rapid dep~ition of its sediment.

Being constrained by embankments built up in this manner to pursue a confined and narrow channel, frictional resistance is diminished, velocity is increased, a portion of the soil deposited in the bed is taken up and carried off, and a deeper channel results.

This is exactly what has been done at Plum Point Reach, about 80 miles above Memphis, and Lake Providence Reach, about the same distance above Vicksburg.

By the application of these simple and easily understood natural laws, through this mechanical device, these reaches, covering about 80 miles of the worst portions of the river between St. Louis and New Orleans, in which there were often not more than 4~ feet of water, have been so regulated and deepened that they have at all seasons a least depth of more than 13 feet, and are more easily navip:ated than almost any section of the river.

Mr . .ADAMS. Is the work on these two reaches completed? Mr. CATCHINGS. The work upon Plum Point has been nearly

completed. Mr. LANSING. Was this work done by the water or was it partly

done by machinery? Mr. CATCHINGS. It was done entirely by the water. Mr. HOLMAN. On which reach is the work completed? :Mr. CATCHINGS. On Plum Point, where only a few 1 finishing

touches remain to be given. To secure permanence for the works of improvement thus described,

the caving banks in their vicinity and in a few exceptional places are designed to be fixed and protected from erosion by what is called revetment. This consists in grading the banks by means of hydraulic graders to a suitable slope and then covering them witfi mattresses of willows woven and fastened together by wire ropes, which are held in place by riprap of rock.

. The river flows in a succession of curves or bends, the caving of its banks always taking place on the concave side and the bar buildin~ on the other.

At certain points this caving progresses until there is formed a great neck of land, rounded like a horseshoe. Sometimes the distance across the heel of the horseshoe is very sbght, while that around will be many miles. Occasionally the caving continues until the river breaks through the narrow part and abandons the channel around the point. Then begins abnormal caving_ of the banks for many miles above and below the cut-off, caused by the rapid shifting of the angle.s, at which thereafter the current impinges upon them, th us disturbing the regimen of the river for many years and possibly destroying channel work already done.

It is proposed to prevent the river from making such cut-offs by protecting the banks from erosion at points where they are threatened.

This revetment work, it will be observed, is wholly conservative, and only made use of to preserve conditions already existing or which may be purposely created during the process of improvement .. In connection with and as auxiliary to the work described, the commission regard the confinement of the floods by means of embankments ot earth, called levees, thrown up in more or less proximity to its natural banks, as a very valuable means of effecting the rectification and improvement of the river.

Let us see if, by laws and principles as simple and easy of cou::.prelrnnsion as tllose already discussed, it can not be demonstrated that this restraint of the flood waters will exert a highly beneficial effect upon the genera.I regimen of the river and place it in a better condition for the purposes of navigation. In :flood-time its waters are much more heavily charged with sediment than during its lower stages. It is true that at times in certain localities it has been ascertained bv measurements that there is as much and occasionally more sediment in the low-water season than during floods, but this results from local influences, such as the peculiar contour of the ·bed and sides or the exceptional chara.cter of the soil at these places.

Taking the river in its entirety, aside from actual measurements, we have ocular proof of the proposition. ,

Naturally, the portion of water near the bed is more heavily cbarge<l with sediment than that near the surface; indeed, very much of the silt carried down is not held in suspension at all, bu tis actually rolled along the bottoms. /

In crossing the bars, which lie between the deep pools, the bottom flow is so retarded that the sediment which is rolled along the bed can not be carried over and is heaped upon them, while much of that in suspension is precipitated for the same reason.

In this manner these bars are really traps to catch and detain the silt, which, without them, would be borne out to the Gulf. It is the building up of the shoal places, by this method, that bas given currency to the notion that the bed of the river rises as its surface rises, and that the effect of confining th~ water by levees would be to cause an elevation of the bed.

There-is nothing in the history of the Mississippi or any other river to justify such a notion.

If any doubt exists in the mind of any gentleman as to the truth of this statement, it will be removed by a study of the following table, which gives the height of the floods at Nat.chez, Miss., beginning with 'he year 1815, and so arranged as to be readily appreciated:

Table of flood heights.

\ Year.

1862 ........................... _ ........... . 1859 ........................................ . 1815 . ....................................... . 1821 ........................................ . 1823 ........................................ . 1828.: ...................................... . 1844 ........................................ . 1858 ........................................ . 1848 ........................................ . 1882 ....................................... .. 1884 ........................................ . 1824 ........................................ . 1850 ........................................ . 1867 ........................................ . 1844 ....................................... . 1847 ....................................... .. 1849 ........................................ . 1836 ... ............ ......................... . 1811 ........................................ . 1840 ........................................ . 1851 ............... ........... .............. . 1809 ........................................ . 18L9 ........................................ . 1825 ..................... - ................. . 1810 ...................................... : .. 1843 ........................................ . 182l .................................. _ •••. 1890 ........................................ . 1830 ........................................ . 1814 ..... ................................... . 1822 ................................ ........ . 1826 ..... ····•····••··•••••······••··•·•···· 1883 ....................................... .. 1842 ............................... ........ .

Height.

Feet. 50.3 49.4 48.6 48.4 48.4 48.9 48.3 48.2 48.0 47. 75 47.40 47.9 47.9 47.9 47.8 47.8 47.5 47.3 47.1 47.1 47.1 47.0 46.9 46.9 46.8 46.8 46.e 46.6 46.4 46.3 46.3 46.3 46.2 46.2

Year.

1817 ...................................... . 1832 .................................... .. 1869 .••.•••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••.• 1816 ...................................... . 1874 ..... ................................. .. 1841: .............. - ...................... . 1837 ...................................... . 1846 ..................................... .. 1850 ........................... ........... . 1818 ...................................... . 1845 .................. .................... . 1852 ...................................... . 1812 ..................................... .. 1887 ...................................... . 1820 .•••••••.••••••...•...•...•.....••..... 1838 ...................................... . 1835 .•••••.•••...••..•.•...••••••••........ 1827 ...................................... . 1853 ...................................... . 1870 ..................................... . 1883 ..................................... .. 1885 ....................................... . 1838 ...................................... . 1834-.................................... .. 1875 ..................................... . 1829 ..................................... . 1881 •..•..••••••••• : ...................... . 1887 ...................................... . 1873 ............................ , •• w••••• 1872 ..................................... . 1878 ...................................... . 1839 .......................... ••··••·••·•· 1879 ...................................... . 1855 ...................................... .

I Height. ......

Feet. 46.1 46.1 46.l 46.0 45.60 45.8 45.3 45.3 45.3 45.1 45.l 45.1 45.0 44.20 44.9 44.7 44.6 44.S. 44.3 44.3 44 .. 00 42.60 42.8 42.6 41.85 4L.l 40.80 40.70 40.15 39.85 39.20 37.5 36.60 36.3

It was not until about 1834 that levees began to be constructed above Red River, and those below that· point. were of very limited capacity.

Mr. ADAMS. In giving these statistics I suppose that they are taken from a certain bench-mark?

Mr. CATCHINGS. Yes, sir. Mr. ADAMS. How is that located? Mr. CATCHINGS. I can not state how the bench-m1U'ks w~re origi

nally located, lfatwe have at Natchez, Miss., the most complete record of gauge-readings of any part of the river. Since the Mississippi River Commission has been in operation the system has been extended and perfected.

Mr. ADAMS. Have the observations demonstrated that the bottom of the river is at the same position as it was before in relation to the bench? -

Mr. CATCHINGS. Absolutely; according to the.bench-mark. Mr. BOATNER. Is it not a fact that from Baton Rouge to New

Orleans levees have been maintained for over one hundred years, and that after having those levees tor those one hundred years no filling up of the river is noticed?

Mr. CATCHINGS. Oh, yes; that is true. The finest navigable river on the face of the earth is from the mouth of the Red River to the Gulf. It is narrow and deep, and there has never been a bar.

Mr. LANSING. Is it proposed that this work shall go on on the Eads system ?

Mr. CATCHINGS. It involves very largely the principle on which the Eads jetties are constructed. It is to confine the flood and add to the scouring power of the river, thereby removing the debris from the bed of the river. .

Mr. HILL. Do I understand you to say that by this system of con.fining the water the head of water is not raised above?

.,

·-

..J. 5150 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. MAY 22,

Mr. CATCHINGS. No, sir; I do not mean to say that. Of course while the floods are coming down the valley H rises somewhat.

Mr. HILL . . Ana that makes it necessary ro increase th_e height of the levees?

Mr. CATCffiNGS. Yes, sir; but I will undertake ro demonstrate to my friend, before I finish, very interesting facts in reference to the very slight increase in height of the embankment (for levees are but artificial embankments) that will enable the river ro more than double its discharge between two points. It would naturally be supposed that it would require an enormous structure to do so; but I will show that it can be accomplished by very small levees.

These tables I have given show that almost without exception the highest floods occurred when there were no levees at all or when at best they covered but a small part of the river.

It is to be hoped that proof so cogent and unanswerable as this will eliminate forever from the discussion of this question the foolish notion ~hat levee-building will be accompanied by an elevation of the bed.

It is desirable that bar-building shall be stopped, and that those bars already formed shall be removed or their surfaces lowered, not only because the! obstruct navigation, but because they accelerate caving, and thus disturb the equilibrium of the river. By raising the bed, they obstruct the flow and elevate the surface of the water above them; this steepens the slope, and, as the current sweeps with accelerated velocity into the bend below, rapid caving of the banks occurs

·adding that much more sediment to the already overburdened river'. Conversely, if these bars can be removed less frictional resistance is

encountered, a more uniform velocity is attained, caving of banks is diminished, a lowering of the surface is effected, and comparative stability given to the regimen of the river. The difficulty can only be met by giving to the river such additional silt-bearing power as it needs to cna.ble it to carry off the increased burden imposed upon it by the fi.oods, and by this is meant augmented velocity. There is no difference whatever in principle between the confinement of the water in it.s low stages at Plum Point and Lake Providence by means of dikes and it.s restraint by means of levees in times of floods.

In both cases the velocity is accelerated by virtue of the well established law that the ratio of frictional resistance becomes less as the volume of water is increased.

Hence, if we confine the floods by levees additional velocity is undoubtedly acquired; and this will be attended by the scouring out of shoal places as was the increased velocity obtained by the confinement o.f the water :i.t Plum Point and Lake Providence. While the levees on the river have never been perfectly maintained, we are not without confirmation of the proposition under discussion.

Capt. T. P. Leathers, an old navigator of the lower river, who now figures as an advocate of outlets and argues that levees cause the bed of the river to rise, testified some years ago before a committee of Congress. upon t~is subject. I quote the following from his testimony as published with the report of the Mississippi River Commission for 1881:

I came on the river in 1836. The river was very low that year. The ave1·age depth of the water on the shoalest bars from the mouth of the Ohio to the mouth of the Arkansas, a distance of about450 miles, wa.sabout4 feet. From the mouth of the Arkansas to the mouth of the Yazoo, about 225 miles there was about 5 feet. From that to the mouth of Red River, about the same distance the average depth on the shoaled bars was 7 feet. Below Red River levees 'had been built, I do not know how long, but thence to the Gulf there was deep water.

Then levees began to be built above Red River, in the parishes of Concordia Tensas, Madison., and Carroll, the result of which was that in 1857 a period of twenty-one years, while the river was 20 inches lower in its bank~ there was n?t less than 8-} feet of water on the shoalest bars in the formerly un'Ieveed distrwt between the Red and Arkansas Rivers, showing an increased depth of 4 feet scoured ont by the current created by the concentration of the water.

I am convinced from my observations that if the levees were rebuilt and kept up on ~he lowlands the concentration of volume and consequent accelerated current would. soon '!'as~ out a channel large and ~eep enough fo1· any purposes of commercial nav1gat1on. I am thoroughly satisfied that in the last ten years the frequent b_re~k~ iJ:?- the levees and crevasses, dispersing the water over the co~ntry and d1mm1shmg the current, have caused the river to begin to shoal aga1L. It always shoals near these breaks, evidently in consequence ~iit!!:.la.ckened current and natural deposit of sediment on the bottom which

I am confident that the only way of deepening the channel and getting reliable !lavigation is to concentrate the current, and if the great river accommo--date~ itself by scouring out the bottom there will be no necessity for higher ba~riers at the top, and the levees will become more solid and reliable because relteved in a measure from.the great pressure to which they are subjected.

1\fr. ADAMS. When was that given? Mr. CATCHINGS. In 1881. That was given before he took the

position that the building of levees raised the bottom. Mr. ADAMS. Then there is a direct conflict between his position

then and the position which be now takes? · . Mr. CATCHINGS. O~ absolutely. Red River throughout its en

tire course below Shreveport rans through alluvial soil similar in all r~pects to that of t?e Mississi_Ppi As to the effect of le~ees upon that river, Capt . .J. A. Aiken, president oftbe New Orleans and Red River Tmnsport.ation Company, also stated before the same committee:

Re!'! River from _S~eveport, La., to its mouth, distance about 500 miles, was prev10us to the building of levees along its banks a shoal stream having a rise an~ full of 8 to 12 feet, overflowing its banks during every high water and inun~ting the countr.y for miles on either side. As the c;iountry became settled the planters built levees to protect their lands from the annual overflows.

At nJ>~ut _the year 1860 these levees, from Loggy Bayou to Alexandria, distance 225 miles, had beeome connected and continuous, presenting an unbroken

!ine on each bank. It was soon found that the concentration of the water and rncreas~d current caused by the levees was washing out and lowerin"" the bed of th~ r1ve1', and .the effect bas been so great that along this section of the river the rlSe and fall is now as much as 25 to 30 feet, and the lands have not been in· undated for y~rs. There are levees standing to-day 4 feet high above their base that the highest floods have not touched for years. Since the war the levees have been extended above Loggy Bayou toRobin.son's.distanceaboutl2miles and the same deepening or lowering of the river bed has been the result. '

·There are :oiany persons to-day living who know the truth of this statement, and there can be no question that if the Mississippi was securely leveed the same deepening of the shoal places and general improvement of navigation would result.

Mr. HILL. Does the investigation show that along any of these stretches or reaches where the water is shallow there are rock beds.

Mr. CATCHINGS. No, sir; there is no rock in the bod. The bed of the Mississippi River has been ascertaived, by actual borin1?S made ~de: the direction of the Mississippi River Commission, to be

0

allnvial . soil, Just the same as the banks. There is no doubt that at one time ~he whole of the Mi~issippi River bed was covered by the Gulf of Mexico, a~d that the nver bas gradually pushed it out, making a great, magmficent expanse of fertile soil. The bed is of preciselv the same character of soil as that which forms the banks. "'

~o? ": t~e upper portion <?f the La Fourche, a. bayou heading in the • MISSISSipp1, at DonaldsonvillA, and running through alluvial soil wh~re .levees have been _mainta~ed _for years the depth is unimpaired, whlle m the lower portion, which is not leveed the bed is seriously obstructed by sediment. - ' -

Notwithstanding thesta~ment {which seems ro have been first pro- · mulgated by a French engmeer named De Prony) to the contrary it iB well ':8tablished that the confinement of the floods of the Po has deepened its channel. Lombardini, the great Italian engineer has demon-strated this beyond controversy. '

The same result by the same means has been attained on the Rhine the Rhone, and the Vistula. '

The river Thames was leveed for the purpose of reclaiming lands for agricultural purposes, and incidentally the channel was greatly deepened.

M. Bournicea.u, a great French authority, thus states the effect of that work: _

1;inal~y, the r~ver Thames, considered in 1767 and 1802, gives a more complete fie.d ofmstruct1on for the observer. We have said that the shores of this river were lined by reclaimed lands -and that their reclamation had reduced the space theretofore covered by the titles. These conquests must have increased each year from 1767to1802,-0.nd t.he Thames must have been more and more reduced in width.

Thus comparing the observations obtained in li67 with those of 1802 we find t!1at the channel-way has ~ensibly increased in depth during thi!'I interval of time, and that re~ches which had a. depth of 12 feet in 1767 had 18 feet in 1802, And further the differen('e of level between London and Sheerness, which in 1766 was somewhat more than 3 feet, was found in excess of 4 feetinl802. This com· parison of t\'\'.O different conditions of a stream,:being made in the same river no one could argue a difference of weight of sediments. We can, therefore' safely conclude that the succes.sive reductions in width, due to the reclamation~ of land along the shores, are not only the causeoftheincreasedchannel depth of the Thames, but also the difference of level at London. •

Now, if such important improvements in navigation have followed the reduction in widths and other regularizations accidentally, for the benefit of agriculture, what could not be expected of systematic works under the guidance of learned English engineers? The sand-bar at Woolwich, and others of the same kind, would certainly vanish without the use of dredges.

Professor Henry l'tiitche11, late _a member of the commission, says that the levees on the Delaware River have caused a de·epening of the channel. It is thus/seen that we are not without abundant experience to justify the assertj.on that the confinement of floods must inevitably produce a scouring and consequent depression of the bed. This proposition can be maintained by a different method of reasoning; that is to say, by showing that where .the floods are unrestrained great and constant deterioration of the channel results.

The average fall of the river is about one-thlrd of a. foot to the mile; while' the banks slope away from the river 4 to 10 feet to the mile. When the water escapes it is apparent that this great slope from the banks will draw it away from the channel with immense velocity. By this means the surface slope and along with it the direction of the thread of the stream, is turned, involving loss of continuity of motion and reduction of velocity. This in turn causes a. rapid deposition of silt, which augments the size of existing baxs and creates new ones. At Malone's Landing, Riverton, Bolivar, and Mound Landing crevasses occurred during the flood of 1882. Surveys made before and after they Occurred showed that they had produced an average .filling up of the entire channel space of 13 per ~nt.

A similal' filling np occurred be low the great Bonnet Carre crevasse when it wrurmade in 1850, and again in 1874 .

Mr. ADAMS. _... Admitting that outlets all along the course of the river might interfere with its velocity, does it follow th:i.t an outlet at the lower end would restrain or diminish the outflow of the river above?

Mr. CATCHINGS. I am very glad to have the question asked, because I would be pleased to have my friend from Illinois listen to what I shall say upon that subject further along. But the rule is universal that wherever you permit the water to escape, whet.her it be through a creva.Sse (by which we river people mean a break in the levees) or whetherit be through what is called an "outlet," which is.really noth·

.-

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 5151 ing but a crevasse, except that the water going through the outlet never returns again, the result is pr~cisely the same.

Mr. ADAMS. That is, it diminishes the flow below, but not above. Mr. CATCHINGS. Itdiminishes it below and also above, as can be

demonstrated by a singular process of reasoning. That is an outlet I will say to my friend. What is ca\Jed the Bon

net Carre crevasse is really an outlet, or was when it was open, because the water which passed through it reached the Gulf of Mexico by an entire]y different route.

Mr. PRICE. It is closed now. Mr. CATCHINGS. Yes, it is closed now. Mr. PRICE. But it was open eleven years. Mr. CATCHINGS. Oh, yes. The Bell crevasse caused a shoaling be

low it. The crevasse known as Cubit's Gap, which is still partly open, has

caused a diminution of depth to the extent of one-fourth. Below the "Jump," an outlet made about forty-eight years ago, there is a bar upon which the United States Light-House Board has had a buoy placed to warn navigators. Crevasses occurred in 1874 below Red River at Morganza and Bonnet Carre, which were still open when the great flood of 1882 came. .

This flood discharged past Red River Landing 1,595,000 cubic feet per second, and before reaching New Orleans lost through the crevasses named 674,000 cubic feet of water per second; so that only 921,000 cubic feet per second passed New Orleans. .

Notwithstanding this great loss through these crevasses, the gauge read 15 at New Orleans, or wit.bin about 1 foot of the highest known record. In the eight years from 1874to1882 all relief afforded by these outlets had been Jost by the filling up of the river below (as was shown by actual survey), which filling undoubtedly resulted from loss of velocity consequent upon diminution of volume; and these crevasses, it must be remembered, were real outlets, for not a drop of water passing through them ever returned to the river.

On the ot!_ier hand, where these crevasses have been closed, the shoals caused by them have invm'iably been removed. Humphreys and Abbot doubted whether the shoal place found by them below Bonnet Carre in 1851 had been caused by the crevasse in the preceding year, basing their doubt upon the absence of knowledge as to the condition of the river prior fo the crevasse and upon the belief that the bed at that point was of a hard clay which had always existed. The closure of the crevasse, however, removed this shoal, and it is now known tba t the whole bed of the river is alluvial soil and easily eroded by the current.

But there is another cause, and one more extensive perhaps in effect, why overflows produce a. deterioriation of the channel. It has been observed° by the engineers and by navigators that they gren.tly retard the current, and this necessarily impairs the capacity .of the river to carry off its sediment; for, as I ha>e already shown, reduced velocity always produces increased deposition of silt. I will let Col. C. R. Suter explain this phenomenon in his own language:

They-

Meaning certaill diagrams prepared by him-show that from low water up to high water there is a gradual increase in the 1-apidity of transmi3sion of the crest of floods until a. cert.a.in limit is reached, varying in different localities, which corresponds, as nearly as I can find out, very neaTly with the point where the larger outlets begin to draw oft water from the rh-er. .At that point the rate of progress begins to show a tendency to slow up. As the river rises the outlet discharge becomes larger and the<'urve shows a. further slackening. Then, when the top of the bank is reached or when a general overflow begins, there is an abrupt change,_ and from that on I find that as the river rises there is constantly increasing retardation.

The motion in extreme cases becomes Yery slight indeed. To give an illustration in figures, I will say that prior to the great flood of last yea.r-

Meaning that of 1882-in November there was a sharp and sudden rise which came out of the Ohio Its elevation was just about the crest of the banks, about 40feet at Oairo; it was

. jClSt about within its ban.ks all the way down the river. The crest was perfectly well defined. and sharp and well marked, so as to be traced from gauge to gauge without difficulty. That1lood pMsed from Cairo to New Orleans injost ten days. The next rise was much higher and produced overflow. I do not now remember the precise figures, but it was slower in its rate of transmission to New Orleans, and so on with each succeeding rise until finally the crest of the highest rise of all was over one hundred days in traveling that distance.

Mr. ADAMS. But the crevasses were above. Mr. CATCHINGS. This was not the case of a crevasse; it was a

case of general overflow. Mr. AD.A.MS. I call the gentleman's attention to the fact that my

question was whether the crevasse diminishes the flow of water above the crevasse. That is the mystery, if there is a mystery in the matter.

Mr. CA.TCIDNGS. It will do that, as I shall demonstrate further along. But I am now inviting the attention of the House to this phenomenon-for it is phenomenal to one who is not familiar with the subject, as it was to me until I made a study of it. I had always supposed that the fl.ow of the river was greater in time of flood than at any other time; but that is not true. It is so up to the point where the water escapes over the bank, but at that point there is not only a retardation of the flow of the water which gets outside of the bank, but also of that which is confined within the channel. Colonel Suter proceeds with the explanation of this. He says:

* * * Th~ sequence of that is just here. If you have water in any channel

' I

like that of a. river, flowing off at the lower end as fast as it is supplied at the upper end, you will have no rise of the surface a.t all. If the channel is obstructed, you will have more or less rise depending upon the extent of the obstruction. The explanation of this is that when the river is within its banks, even in those portions where it.s condition is the worst, you have n. channel which is certainly better for purposes of discharge than when it extends more or less a.cross the whole valley and a large pa.rt of the section is obstructed by trees, bushes, and the thousand and one things which influence the flow of the water under these conditions. That being the case, you must have retardation.

It is impossible to expect anything else. The conditions a.re pr~cisely the same, though varying in degree, as they are between a. wide and shallow section, where the relative proportion of resistance of frictional surface to area. is greatest, and what it is in the case ofa narrow and deep section, where the relation of area to frictional resistance is a. minimum. \Vhen yon have an o\•erflow of the valley this frictional resistance is largely increased, both absolut.ely and in its relation to the increased area. The area. is not proportionately increased, and consequently you must have retardation of the water.

It will be observed from this statement that the question of velocity under all circumstances is governed by the percentage of frictional resistance to the volume of water, and that the effect is precisely tbe same whether this percentage is enlarged by spreading the water over the whole -yalley, as in case of overflows, or by widening the bed of the river, as at Plum Point and Lake Providence; and the loss of velocity thus produced must under all circumstances disabfe the river and compel it t-0 unload a portion of its burden of sediment.

The argument in this connection naturally involves consideration of the proposition put forward by some, notably J9hn Cowdon and Capt. T. P. Leathers, neither of whom is an engineer, that overflows may be prevented by constructing outlets which will carry off the surplus water. It is proposed to inaugurate this plan by cutting a canal 1 mile wide from the Mississippi River to Lake Borgne, at a point about 20 miles below N cw Orleans, which shall be capable of discharging 500,000 cubic feet of water per second.

Others are suggested in case this fails to effect the necessary abatement of floods, but they are of such minor importance that it is not deemed necessarv in this discussion to make further mention of them. There is a glamour of inevitableness about this plan which makes it captivating to one who has not studied the history and laws of sedimentary streams.

We know that if we have a barrel full of water it can be made to hold not a drop more, but that. if we bore a bole in its side we can then pour into it just as much water as escapes through the hole, without causing it to run over its rim; but this- principle bas no reference to a sedimentary stream.

A sedimentary river will not endur~ a larger bed than is needed to carry off its volume. If the volume of the Mississippi could be permanently reduced one-half the bed would verysoon be corre.<~pondingly diminished; so, if it should be permanently increased one-half, the bed would very soon become correspondingly enlarged.

This is strikingly illusbrated by Tone's Bayou, leading out of Red River, about 20 miles below Shreveport. It was formerly a very insignificant outlet, but by clearing it of obstructions, so as to permit an easy fl.ow, its sectional area has increased to 5,600 square feet. ' In other words, it has conformed its bed to the increased volume of water Doured into it. - At the same time Red River, below this bayou, has been reduced to an area of 3,500 square feet, being a loss in depth -of 15 feet and of width 300 feet.

In other words, Red River has conformed it.s bed to the decreased volume of water left in it. I have already shown that the sectional area of the Mississippi River was largely diminished by the great outflow of water through the Morganza and Bonnet Carre crevasses between 1874 and 1882. Since a sedimentary river conforms its bed to the volume of wat-er passing down it, no permanent reduction of floods can result from an outlet, for the loss of water is soon equaled by a reduction of the capacity"of the bed, and the floods rise as high as ever.

It was for this reason that the floods at New Orleans in 1882 were as high as ever, notwithstanding that for eight years a quantity of water ~reater than that proposed to be taken ·out at Lake Borgne had been escaping through the Bonnet Carre and Morganza crevasses. The underlying principle is the law heretofore stated, which must be kept steadily in mind, that when you diminish a volume of water you increase the percentage of frictional resistance, reduce its velocity, curtail its silt-bearing power, and compel itto let fall apart of its load of sediment.

Even ~he slightest retardation of the flow will induce a deposit. "Screens of wire with meshes 1 foot square, placed acrossshoaJsin tho Missouri River, have sufficed to retar.d the current enough to cause de; posits 16 feet deep to be formed during one flood."

For the reasons heretofore given, an outlet at Lake Borgne woulu cause a shoaling oftheriverbelowit, impairingits navigability, and as this progressed, in order to pass over it, the river would be compelled to steepen its slope by rising up above it, and eventually floods would become higher and more disastrous than ever.

It is claimed that a diversion of 500,000 cubic feet per second into Lake Borgne would lower the flood surface 15 feet as high up as Cairo. No more preposterous pretension was ever advanced. Waiving considera· tion of the ephemeral character of the relief which it would aff<;>rd, it can be demonstrated that it would only be appreciable within very circumscribed limits.

On April 13, 1874, the Bonnet Carre crevasse occurred. By the 16th

I.

- \ ~

. l

,_

/

, ·.

5152 CONGRESSION~ RECORD-HOUSE: MA_y 22,

of the month Morganza, Point Monoir, Hickey, and . a number of smaller crevasses occurred, and a.11 were below Red River. •

These together discharged more wat~ than it is proposed to send into Lake Borgne. The gauge at Natchez, only ai)lout 150 miles north of them, shows that, notwithstandin_g the tremendous outflow through them, the river continued to rise steadily until it reached its maximum, on the 20th of April, and at Vicksburg, farther north, it continued to rise until May 2. The Nita crevasse, which occurred during the present flood, carried off over 400,000 cubic feet of water per second, fonr-fifths as much as it is proposed to tum into Lake Borgne, yet the effect of this outflow was to lower the river but 1 foot at New Orleans, 60 miles below, and was not appreciable at l?laquemine, 40 miles above.

This was undoubtedly because the current was so retarded by this crevasse that the water above was not so rapidly moved along, and was, in a manner, banked up or piled up so that even a few miles above there was no lowering of the flood height whatever.

Mr. AD.AMS. At what point on the river was that? Mr. C4,TCHINGS. At Nita, about 40 miles above New Orleans,

verYj near Lake Borgne. Now, here was"311 absolute demonstration of the inefficiency of an

outlet--Mr. ADAMS. Hardly; because the flow may have been such as to

cause a rise after the crevasse occurred. Mr. CATCHINGS. Yes; but this case is such a demonstration of

the inefficiency of an outlet that it seems almost providentia1. We have a striking exemplification of the old adage that ''it is is an

ill wind that blows no good," for while this Nita crevasse by its enormous discharge worked terrible ruin and havoc upon a large area of the valley, it is an absolutely unanswerable demonstration of the absurdity of the claims propounded by the advocates of tho Lake Borgne outlet.

If a discharge of 400,000 cubic feet per second through the outlet at Nita did not lower the flood at all 40 miles above it;, how can an outlet which would discharge 500,000 cubic feet per second at Lake BoFgne lower the river at Cairo, 1,000 miles above it? It is hoped that the outleterswill not all speak at once. Volume, as affectine velocity by reducing the percentage of frictional resistance, and velocity, as affectinp; or regulating the discharge of its waters by a river, are factors of such controlling importance in this discussion that I will illustrate their effect by the following excerpt from the report of Capt. James B. Eads, made in 1881, while a member of the commission:

Some idea.of the immense increase in the capacity of the river t-0 discharge its floods, as a result of this reduction of friction and increase of slope, may be inferred from a few facts I have tabulated from the exact measurements of Humpareys and Abbot during the floods of 1851 and 1858. They are excerpted from .Appendix D of their report. These measurements were made at two places on ' the river nearly 1,000 miles apart, and when the floods were confined within the leve-ee.

First.-At Columbus, 20 miles below Oafro.

Date.

June 15, 1858............................................................... 40. l 1, 349, 400 8.19 June 28, 1858 ................................................................ __ as_._0_

1 __ . 1_,_156_, 9_60_1

1 __ 1._22_

Difference....................................... .................. 2.1 192, 440 . 97

Becond.-At Columbus.

June 15,1858 ...... .. ...... ................................... :........ ...... 40.1 1,349,400 8.19 June 1, 1858 ............................................................... , . 33. 3 841, 487 5. 62

Difference ................................................... .. .... 6. 8 507, 913 2. 57

Third.-At Carrollton, near New Orleans.

February 24, 1851........... ................... .......... ........ ....... 11. 8 894, 491 5. 04 March 17, 1851..................... ....................................... 14. 8 l, 152, 504 6. 22

Difference......................................................... 3. 0 258, 013 1. 18

Fourth.-.At Can·ollton. . February 21, 1851...... .............. ............... ...... ............... 10. l 766, 497 4. 41 l\Iarch 8, 1851............................. ................. . ........... .... 14.1 1, 068, 464 5. 81

Difference ................. ....................................... 4. 0 301. 967 1. 40

Fiflh.-At Carrollton.

March 19, 1851................. .. .... .. ................................... 14. 9 l, 149, 398 6.19 August 25, 1851. ....... ................. ................................... 8.1 572, 388 3. 38

Difference............. .. ................... .. ..................... 6. 8 577, 010 2.18

We see by the first table that when the river at Columbus was 83 feet above lowwater mark an additionalriseofonly2,lfeetwassufficientto increase the mean current nearly 1 foot per second and that the discharge was one-sixth greater. The depth ofriver at the time was a.bout 96feet. Therefore 'his 16 per cent·. fa-

./

crease of discharge was attained with the addition of only one-fortieth part of its depth. _ ,,,.

The second table shows that & decrease o( 6.8 feet in the height of the river at this place resulted in a loss of more than 2l feet per second in the current a.ncl a. diminution of 508,000 cubic feet per second in the discharge. If we suppos& the banks of the river to have been 90 feet above the bottom of the channel, this table proves that, with levees only 7 feet high upon them, they would retain a sufficiently increased volume to add 60 per cent. to the discharge of the river, and over 45 per cent. to the velocity of the current.

The third table shows that a.t Co.rrollton, near New Orleans, f'n increase of 3 feet in the height of the river added nearly 30 per cent. to the a.mount which was discharged (almost doubling the percentage of increase shown with a. rise of2.l feet a.t Columbus), while the cu1-rent wa.s accelerated at the same time more than 20 per cent.

The fourth table shows that at 4 feet greater height of the river it discharged 40 per cent. more water and that its current was increased 82 per cent.

The fift,h table shows that with a. ditrerence of only 6.8 feet the discharge of the r iver at Carrollton wa11 more than double. The river here at the lowest stage was 115 feet deep. Hence there was an increase of only on&seventeenth pa.rt of its total depth required to produce this astonishing difference in the dis· charge of the river. The velocity was at the same time increasetl 85 per cent.

These tables are the result of actual observatiotr'l>.nd careful measurements. They represent stubborn facts, without any theorizing, and they show how absurd are some of the statements maue as to the effect of outlets in lowering the floods of the river. For instance, the fifth table shows that when the river (March 19, 1851) was nearly up to the highest water mark known at Carrollton, it would have required an outlet larger than the Mississippi itself to lower it 6.8 feet. Such outlet would have had to discharge 577,000cubio feet per second, while the wliole river could only discharge 572,000 feet when its surface was 6.8 feet lower . .

This enormous quantity of water (577,000 cubic feet per second} would cover a square mile 1 foot deep in about forty-eight seconds. In twenty-four hours it woutd·cover l,SUO miles to the same depth, and in less than a fortnlgh~ it would put an average depth of 3 feet over an area as large ae the entire State of New Jersey. To lower the river only 2 feet at Carrollton when in flood would require an outlet as big as RP.d River. This is because such lose of volume lowers the slope and increases the frictional resistance In the main stream below the outlet, and this causes it to flow more slowly, and thus prevents that great reduction in its height which the thoughtless would expect .

From these tables it is evident that the lowering of the river immediately at the Nita crevasse must have caused a great reduction of velocity, and that the discharge above was correspondingly diminished, whereby the water became piled or banked up inst.ead of passing rapid) y off as before.

It also is demonstrated by them that to lower the river at Carrollton, which is just above New Orleans, as is proposed, an outlet having a greater discharge than the river itself would be required.

While we have these tables in mind I will digress from outlets for a moment to direct attention to the proof they afford of the entire feasibility of carrying off the floods lJy means of levees. In view of the fact that the valley will average 60 miles in width, and that when allowed to escape the water will practically cover it all to an average depth of 3 or 4 feet, I confess that to one who bas not given thought to the subject it woulP, seem impossible to confine so vast a body of water between embankments not more than 5,000 feet apart. But a very simple explanation is needed to remove all doubts upon this point.

Referring again to the fifth table given by Captain Eads, we see that with an addition of but 6.8 feet to the height of the flood the amount of water passing Carrollton was more than doubled. I do not mean by this statement to say that in a given second of time there was more than double the quantity of water accumulated at Carrollton by this addition to its height. Of course, if the water in the river had been stationary and 6.8 feet had heen added to it the quantity would not have been more than doubled. But the addition increased the velocity from 3.38feet per second to 6.19 feet per second, and as a result of this 577,010 more cubic feet of water passed Carrollton in a second of time tha~ before the addition: of 6. 8 feet of water had been made to its height.

Again, in 1882, with a gauge-reading at Carrollton of 14. 95, less than 1,000,000 cubic feet of water per second was passing, while during the present flood, when on March 14 the river had risen nearly a foot more, standing 15. 90 on the gauge, the discharge was 1, 313, 000 cubic feet per second, making an increased discharge of 43 per cent., caused by a rise of but 7 per cent. on the gauge.

I think no gentleman who willstudy these figures and measurements will have any difficulty in understanding how easy it is to so increase the discharge of the river by confining it.s waters that it will carry oft safely and rapidly to the Gulf even the greatest floods.

Recurring now to the matter of outlets, it can readily be shown that no outlet into Lake Borgne could be permanently maintained.

[Here the hammer fell.] On motion of Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois, by unanimous consent,

Mr. CATCHINGS was permitt.ed to resume and conclude his remarks without limit of time, as follows:

Mr. CATCHINGS. .A.bout 3 miles above the Head of the Passes, -' about twenty-seven years ago, a crevasse occurred which is known as Cubit's Gap. It was caused bya small canal between the river and the Gulf, used by fishermen. The distance between the two was less than 1 000 feet and the difference in the surface height of the river and that ofthe Gulf was a little over 3 feet. The fall was at fu'st about 15 feet per mile, and in a few years the crevasse was over 2,000 feet wide and 100 feet deep where the bank had formerly stood.

As soon as the water passed through, its velocity was gradually checked and the sediment was deposited in a fan-shaped area of 20 or 30 square miles. Islands and shoals were bniltup, which subdivided the

I

/

J -

'T

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· ~OUSE. I 5153

volume into innumerable bayous and small channels, none of them having a greater depth than 5 or 6 feet; and each overflow builds up the islands and diminishestheseoutlets more and more; in a.few years, by this process, the gap will be entirely closed.

Fifty years ago another crevasse, called the "Jump," occurred 21 miles above the Head of the Passes. A similar filling up resulted, forming an immense subdelta, upon which there are now large foresta and rice plantations. .

Innumerable bayous permeate this subdelta formation, no one having at its mouth more than 2 feet of depth. There are well de.fined traces of similar outlets, long since closed up, at Bayon Terre au Bceuf, within 3 miles of the proposed Lake Borgne outlet, and at Kennerville, just above New Orleans, through Bayous Metairie and Gentilly.

Such would undoubtedly be the fate of an outlet, should one be made, at Lake Borgne. The lake is small and shallow, having a depth of from 5 to 10 feet, and the immense amount of sediment. carried by the flood waters of the Mississippi would soon fill it up, doing immense damage to surrounding property and the fishing industries on the .Mississippi Sound. In a few yea.rs the outlet would consist only of a few shallow and tortuous bayous, and eventually it would be a thing of the past.

In the mean time, however, while utterly failing to effect any reduction of the flood height, it would have caused extensive shoaling of the river channel below it, thus inflicting disaster and obstructing navigation, without making the slightest compensation therefor.

If any gentleman desires further evidence of the effect which this proposed outlet would produce, I invite his attention to the charts of ·the lower river, just published by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, upon which he will see de.finitely marked not only the shoaling of the river below the "Jump" and Cubit's Gap (the two outlets before referred to), but the immense deposits by which the river has practically closed them up.

The outlet method of treating sedimentary streams has been, I may say, unanimously condemned by all engineers of note in this country. Among others, in addition to the present and former members of the Mississippi River Commission, I may name from the Army Corps of Engineers, Humphreys-and Abbot, General H. G. Wright, General J. G. Barnard, General John G. Parke, General A. A. Humphreys, General Z. B. Tower, General H. L. Abbot, Col. W. E. Merrill, Capt. J. H. Willard, Capt. W. Young, Capt. D. C. Kingman, and Capt. Smith S. Leech; and, from civil life, Prof es.sor Herschel, Maj. William Starling, Maj. H.B. Richardson, Maj. T. G. Dabney, Maj. George M. Helm, H. S. Douglas, Arthur Hider, H. Bolivar Thompson, H. St. L. Coppee, .John Smythe, Henry Goodrich, John Ewens, and H. M. Marshall, all of whom are distinguished in their profession and have given careful thought to the subject. •

This method of dealing with floods in sedimentary streams was long ago considered, experimented with, and rejected by the most eminent hydrauiic engineers in Europe.

Outlets were tried and abandoned as utterly pernicious and mischievous upon the Rhine, the Panaro, the Po, the Arno, the Celone, and the Adige. Those who desire to pursue further the precedents upon this subject may profitably consult the writings of Frisi, Genette, Father Castelli, Eustace Manfredi, Cornelius Meyer, and other celebrated European authorities.

We have the right to protest against the resurrection and application to this great river of an ancient and exploded fallacy.

We are not unreasonable when we demand that nothing shall be done which does not meet the approval of the learned and scientific men whose business is to investigate its phenomena; and we do most earnestly object to turning this noble stream over to be experimented with and wrecked and ruined by ignorant theorists and irresponsible tinkerers. ,,-:

We beg that you will not suffer the locks of this giant to be touched by the fatal band of Delilah.

I will close the consideration of the outlet theory by remarking somewhat upon the delusion which seems quite prevalent, that in closing up outlets and con.fining the water in a single channel we are flying in the face of nature.

On the contrary, we simply aid nature, which, left to its own resources, would eventually do the same thing. A moment's reflection will demonstrate the correctness of this assertion.

The alluvial basin begins at a point a few miles above the mouth of the~hio, where the Mississippi River cuts through a spur of the Ozark Mountains, and Hs whole area at one time was covered by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. ·

The sediment brought down by the river gradually took the place of these waters, and through its own deposits the river pursues a tortuous path to the Gulf.

By natural processes it not only has driven back by its deposits the waters of the Gulf, but ·cut itself off, except m times of flood, from this great expanse of land which it has built up. As its water escaped over the banks the heavier portions of solid matter contained in it settled almost directly on the banks, while the lighter particles were carried back into the interior. In this way the river banks were constantly

XXI-323

'

built up higher than the land farther back, and lateral channels were gradually closed up.

Lake Borgne, into which an outlet is proposed, was at one time, like all the balance of this basin, covered by a single body of sea-water, but, before it had become filled by deposits and entirely obliterated, the Mississippi Riv-er, in the manne,r indicated, bad built up its banks so as to cut off connection with it. If we should now undertake to establish communication between it and this lake we would be attempting to enforce upon the river that which it once had and deliberately, when left to its own processes, refused to maintain.

In closing outlets, in narrowing the wide places to make them of uniform width with the greater portion of the channel, and in raising artificially the banks, we are therefore acting in aid and not in contravention of the natural tendencies of the river. Altogether aside from the beneficial effect which the confinement of floods by means oflevees would have upon the low-water navigation of the river, it is the duty of the Government to restrain them.

The enormous nd constantly increasing commerce of the river to which I have heretofore adverted is pradically suspended during floods, and this commerce so interrupted is almost wholly of interstate character. The light-houses along its banks, which have been established and are maintained by the Government to aid and facilitate the navigation of the river, are largely swept away by tbe floods. There are no places at which boats can land to transact their business or to obtain relief in case of accident or disaster.

Along with these difficulties which so seriously interfere with river traffi c, the perils of navigation are so largely augmented that rather than risk the danger to life and property,.steam-boats, at immense loss to their owners, are withdrawn from trade during the existence of the floods. To meet the growing necessities of interstate commerce railroads have been constructed within the past few years which penetrate and traverse the Valley of the Mississippi in all directions. They are engaged almost entirely in commerce of interstate character. •

During the present floods five of these great trunk lines have been so considerably submerged that over large sections of them operations were entirely suspended.

The postal service has been wholly abandoned in many plac~, and where carried on it was done at great additional cost and subject to serious and harmful delays, which have greatly hampered and embarrassed the business of the country.

Leaving entirely out of consideration the navigable character of the river and the business carried on upon it, the injury to its postal service and to this enormous railway interstate commerce is of such magnitude as to command public attention and make it the high and imperative duty of the nation to prevent its recurrence in the future.

Having now shown that the floods can be restrained by means oflevees, and that they can not be by any other means, and that the interests involved and i:he beneficial results to be achieved are of such character as to demand governmental aid, it is but proper that the cost should be shown to be within the value of the benefits to be realized.

I wish at this point to correct an impression which seems to prevail that the levees along the river have been chiefly constructed by the Government. There are now 1,100 miles of levees, and the Government has expended only $3, 018, 601. 50. This statement will suffice to show how insignificant a part of the burden has peen assumed by the nation. Since 1866 the State and levee districts of Louisiana have expended $15,255,327.13; since 1882 the ~issippi levee districts have expended $3,098,745.74; and Arkansas has expended $340,417.

This does not take into account the extensive levee work done many years ago, of which a very large part in a more or less available state survived the neglect and ravages of the war period.

It will thus be seen that no people in the world have taxed themselves to such an enormous degree as have these inhabitants of the valley. And notwithstanding the perpetual and gigantic struggle, they have steadily gone forward felling the forests, opening up lands for cultivation, building up villages and cities; and by their rotton and sugar and other products they have added enormously to the wealth of the nation. Nor have they failed to make substantial progress in their efforts to shut out the floods of the mighty river.

In 1882 the total number of crevasses in the levees was 284, aggregating 56.09 miles in width; in 188-3 the number of crevasses was 224, with an aggregate width of 34.l miles; in 1884 the crevasses numbered 204, aggregatingl0.64miles in width. ·

These crevasses resulted. in a general overflow. of the Mississippi Delta.

In the present flood, which in height exceeded and in duration equaled any of which we have record, the total number of crevasses in the whole 1, 100 miles of levees, was but 23, aggregating but 4l miles in width; and, notwithstanding the sensational accounts to the contrary, fully 80 per cent. of the alluvial basin has enjoyed absolute immunity from the floods.

Without these levees the entire basin, excepting possibly a few high ridges of very limited area, would be absolutely uni_Jlhabitable. On May 1 of this year, a convention was held at Vicksburg, compose!l of delegates from the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Mis-

.-

I·,·

'.,,

· ;

I

~·

I

... -

·~ . 5154 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. MAY 22,

souri, Kentucky, Illinois, and Tennessee, which was the equal in ~ntelligence, ability, wealth, courage, and lofty purpose of any which ever assembled in this country.

Among these delegates the sentiment was universal that floods could be prevented by levees and by lev~es only. . .

This sentiment wa.s concurred m by a splendid corps of -engmeers present and participating in -the proceedings, and by the-~i.s.sippi and Ohio River Pilots' Society, which, in the interest of nav:igation a.Ione, it emphatically affirmed, by a series of resolutions, presented by it without suggestion or solicitation.

There is absolutely but one opinion among those interested in the river and having practical knowledge of itB history and characteristics.

This convention and the engineers attending it estimated that $10,-000 000 from the Federal Treasury, added to what the States and the lev~e districts would contribute, would be sufficient to build levees of such dimensions and strength as are needed to forever control an<!, re· strain the floods.

What an insignificant sum compared to the enorlllOus benefits to be attained!

The investment of that sum would give you an improved river, which for purposes of commerce is without a rival on the face of the globe; it would enable the farmers of the West to annually save such portion of their earnings as would in a. fow years make hard times a chai>ter of ancient history; it would relie-ve from disastrous interruption the great overland interstate commerce; it would give safety to the postal service· it·would reclaim an empire richer than any for which the nations of Europe have so freely poured out their blood and treasure; and last, but not least, it would bring joy and peace and content and plenty to millions of American citizeDB.

\Vnat other nation is there upon the face of the earth' that would not without hesitation, expend one hundred times this sum if needed to ~btain such a magnificent and glittering prize? We have by our levees built almost entirely with our own means, given the facilities for th~• development of an enormous c.ommerce which without the,m c6ald not have existed; we have made possibl~ the wide extension of the postal service; we have added untold millions to the national wealth; we have built ~p markets for the transaction of business with all the States of the Union.

The work needed to effect the perfect accomplishment of the end we are seeking to reach and its permanent maintenance can not be success· fully done unless the nation .aoes it.

The States are forbidden by the Constitution from making coxµpactB and agreements among themselves. What they do, therefore, can not be done in a. perfect, systematic, and scientific manner.

Unless placed under one supreme control levees can not be scientifically located and constructed.

If there be any one thing more national than all others, it is this great and noole stream, no matter from what standpoint we contempla~ it. I earnestly invoke the generosity and patriotism of all the Amencan people in its behalf. r [Prolonged applause.] .

1r. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I yield two minutes to the gentle· man from Iowa. [Mr. HAYES].

(Mr. HA.YES addressed the committee. See Append.ix.]

The CHAIRl\iAN. Is there objection to the request -0f the gentleman f1·om Iowa. to extend his remarks in the RECORD? The Chair hears none.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I yield five minutes to the gentle. man from Alabama [Mr. WHEELER].

.Afr. WHEELER, of .Alabama said: Mr. CHAIRMAN: I fully concur with all the gentleman fr9JD: Louisi

an'a. [.Mr. BLANCHA.RD] bas said regarding the advisability of lib~ral appropriations for the navigable rivers and the harbors of the Umted States.

I can not enter into a full discussion of this important subject, but I desire to call the attentioo. of the House to probably the most impor· tant project now undergoing improvement under the supervision of and the expense of the Government. .

Thegentlemanfrom Louisiana (Mr. IlLANC.HARD] and thegentleman from Mississippi (.Mr. CATCHINGS] have alluded to the shifting bars .and changing bottoms of the great Mississippi. They have explained the difficulties which a.rise from the frequent changes of the channel of the great Father of Waters. ·

On this work (the Mississippi River) the Government ha-sspent $40,· 000,000 in ten years, and no American will question the proprietj of the expenditure.

In nearly all the great works now progressing engineering questions have arisen, some great engineers advocating one plan and others equally eminent insisting upon plans almost diametrically opposite.

In the Tennessee RiTer improvement there are no such difficultie&. The sides of that stream are as unchangeable as the everlasting hills.

There are no shifting bottoms and no bars to be found in one locality one year, in another locality the next.

The obstrnct1ons in that river the removal of which is now demand· ing attention are the rock reefs at Colbert and Bee Tree Shoals. Every dolla_r spent in that character of improvement is a certaj.n and good in·

-

vestment, giving a positive return, and the work will be permanent and for all time. In 1887 General Duane, then the Chief of Engineers of the .Annv visited this work. His report, dated October 22, 1887, in reference tO the importance of improving the Tennessee River at Colbert Shoals, says (report, page 231):

The funds now available and amount asked for can be profitably expended. in completing the work of opening the canal and in improving the channel at Bridgeport and Guntersville Bars, and at other po~nts, esp~c1iill:Y at Colbert Shoals, which is i;irgently ~ecom!llended by ~he eng~eer officer m c~arge .as worthy of immediate consideration and action, owrng to the necessity of its improvement in connection with the early opening of Muscle Shoals Canal.

Last year his successor, General Thomas L. Casey, the present chief of the corps, went over the improvement, and moie than concurred in the views of his predecessor. In his report for 1889 (page 243), he says:

The plans for the radical improvement of the Colbert Shoals and Bee Tree Shoals by locks and dams have been submitted, and the ne~ssHy of the work in connection with the opening of the Muscle Shoals Canal is urgently reeom· mended.

Years ago this river was improved by the State of Alabama, but no work of importance was done by the· United States Government until 1879.

I invite tbe attention of the House to the mammoth map which I have had opened.,in front of the Speaker's desk. It illustrates the work which has been .Qone on Muscle Shoals, which was the principal ob· struction. Commencing about 12 miles below Decatur, Ala., the plan adopted to secure sufficient water required excavations throngh solid flint rock, which formed an impassable reef in the bed of the rhrer. This involved the blasting and removal of over 1,000,000 cubic feet of the hardest rock. Four miles below the initial point of the work a rock wall, 2! miles in length, was built to confine the water between the wall and the southern shore. A canal 1t miles long, with two locks, was then constructed, which carried the work to a point whence, with but little additional labor, navigation could be secured for a dis· tance of 7! miles. Here the main canal, 14! miles long, begins. The fall of the river within this distance of14! miles is 84! feet. At some points the fall is -very great, being as much as 18 feet in a single mile, and for short distances the fall is at the rate of 40 feet to the mile.

.Altogether there are eleven loeks, 60 feet wide and 300 feet in length, between the gates. They vary in lift from 5 feet to 12 feet, and a.re all of the most superior workmanship and will last while the rock of whicll they are built -shall endure.

To aid members of the House to fullv realize how detrimental these shoals are to the interests of the citizens affected by this obstruction, I would like to ask how long the people would tolerate an impediment to the navigation of the Hudson 40 miles above New York or in ~e vicinity -0f Philadelphia in the Delaware?

Yet, so wonderful has been, and will be, the development of the Tenness~e Valley that, with 5 feet of water, unobstructed, from Chattanooga to the Ohio River, it is as certain as any future e-vent can be that within a few years the tonnage transported on the Tennessee River will approximate, if it does not equal, the large aggregate now carried over either of those great highways of trade.

When the present work of improving this great water way was in· angumted, the products which it was expected, would seek this avenue to find a market were presumed to be confined to cott-0n and cereals. In the last few years, however, the industries of the localitiesdesigned to be immediately benefited have undergone a most surprising transformation. During the last ten years iron and coal mines have been opened, and great manufacturing cities of 60,uoo inhabitants are now seen, where at the beginning of that period there-were only broad fields, of yellow corn or continuous rows of the South's great :fleecy staple .

The only remaining impediments to commerce on this river are what are calJ ed the Colbert and Bee Tree shoals.

These obstructions are rock reefs, whicb in low water cause an en· tire stoppage of navigation.

Three years ago this part of the riverwaa surveyed, and an estimate submitted showing that about $1,000,000 ould accomplish all that was necessary to make navigation satisfactciry and permanent during all the months of the year.

The officer in charge, Colonel Barlow, in referring to this work, in bis report, printed in the appendix to the report of the Chief Engineer, Duane, for .1887, page 1747, says:

Without a corresponding improvement ·a.t Colbert and Bee Tree Shoo.ls the costry canal and locks around the !\lwcle Shoals will be comparatively useless during a large share of the yeo.r.

Above Colbert Shoals Iarire iron manufacturing interests have been re~ntly developed, which demand water transportation for their products, and this having been provided by natuTe in an almost perfect condition there is needed but a comparatively small improvement to ma.ke it entirely satisfactory.

The force of this st.atementwill be realized upon consideration of the fact tJiat from the Muscle Shoals t-0 the month of the river the distance is 255 miles, a.nd with the exception of the obstructions oft'ered by. Colbert and Bee Tree Shoals the impediments to navigation are of an insi~niftcant cha~r; iJl f&ct, the river is navigable to the foot of these shoals throughout ihe entire year. The propriety, the~fore, of a. n ad. equate improvem~nt here!.~ ~nnect the lower sect.ion of the nver, some 235 miles in length, wi!h the (uu miles above, seems manifest.

Colone1Da:r1<>w, in bis report for 1888, is quite as emphatic, and in bis la.st rei><>rt, which is found on p.ag~ 1829 of the report <>f the Chief Engineer, General Casey, for 1889, he says:

An improved river from Knoxville to Paducah will make the commerce of

' ..

\ (

·,

/

·, " I I' '·

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 5_155 the T.ennessee to take rank among the foremost of the many tributaries of the Mississippi. The following extract from the report of last year applies in an increased degree to the conditions at this time, which predict a prospective commerce of vast magnitude, in coal and iron especially, to an extent by which this river may i·igbtfully claim to be one of the main commercial arteries of our vast and intima tely connected system of navigable Southern and Western waters.

Tho prospective advantages to navigation a.swell a.s present benefits to the community by continuing the improvement to completion, not alone of the Muscle Shoals a nd the Colbert Sho~ls, but of the entire stream below Chattanooga, is held to be by the inhabitants of the Tennessee Valley well-nigh incalcuJa.ble.

The whole region is rapidly developing as one of the richest in coal and in iron a nd other mineral deposits, and all that seems necessary to the further development of these unquestioned resources is cheap transportation and an open river to 1.he commercial centers of the Mississippi Valley.

It will be seen that General Casey, General Duane, and Colonel Barlow show how important it is to hasten the completion of this improvement , and this was emphasized by General Casey a few weeks since when called before the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

In i·eply to inquiries from members of the committee be said he regarded this work as one of the most important now being conducted by the Government. •

During the last four months this work was examined by a board of engineers CQnsisting of Col. J. W. Barlow, Maj . .Alexander MacKenzie, and Maj. Henry M. Adams, and it was after their report had been received that General Casey expressed himself so decidedly to the committee.

I am confident that two appropriations of $500,000 each will complete the work better and more effectually than three appropriations of $400, 000 each.

A letter on file from the president of the board says: We ought to ~ve the whole line covered with men during the working season,

which is unfortunately short. This can not be effectively done unless at least a half million is ap

propriated by this bill. The boards of trade and chambers of commerce of Chattanoo~a,

Knox ville, Decatur, Florence, Sheffield, Evansville, and, I believe, Paducah have petitioned Congress on the subject, urging the most liberal appropriation possible. With all these facts I appeal to Congress to amend the paragraph relating to the Tennessee River, so as to give this important improvement $500,000 for the next fiscal year. It would be economy to the Government and it would also save one year in time, which would be of incalculable benefit to the industries in that great and growing section of our country. Iron mines are being opened; furnaces are being erected; mannfactories of various kinds are being established. The tonnage on the Tennessee River is be~ming immense. And, to use the language of the report of the Government engineers, ''the whole region is rapidly developing as one of the richest in coal.and iron and other mineral deposits, and all that seems necessary to the further development of these unquestioned resources is cheap transportation and an open river," and we appeal to this body to give this work an appropriation commensurate with its great importance.

[Here the hammer fell.]

[Mr. BLANCHARD withholds his remarks for revision. See Appendi .]

.Mr. KERR, of Iowa. Mr. Chairman, in the last Congress I opposed the river and harbor bill and I feel very much inclined to take the same position now. And yet I do not disagree with the position which has been taken by the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. BLANCH.A.RD] and by the other gentlemen who have advocated this bill, in regard to the power of Congress. I was glad to hear the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. BLANCHARD] concede that under the section of the Constitution, which I will presently quote, Congress had ample power on this subject. Section8 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States provides that-

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pA.y the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.

The gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. BLANCHA.RD] conceded the power of Congress under that provision of the Constitution. I had understood it to be an article of Democratic faith that this grant of power conferred only the right to raise money to pay for expenditures that were warranted or authorized by subsequent sections in the grants of power enumerated in the Constitution.

Mr. BLANCHARD. I so stated. Mr. KERR> of Iowa. The gentleman did not so state in his remarks

to-day; at least I did not so understand him. But the gentleman claims that this power exists by virtue of the police power of the General Government. I would like to know where he finds the police powerofthe General Government, except by implication, except with regard to the Territories and the District of Columbia.

However, the gentlemen has conceded the existence of the power, and I will say in this connection, with regard to this Committee on Rivers and Harbors, that I do not think it is very different from what it was in the last qongress, except that in the mutations of politics it has been inverted; so that we have still to follow the same lead in regard to this river and harbor bill that we had to follow in the last Congress. I then criticised its method of pr~nting this bill for our

(

consideration. Here is a little report of two pages, covering four hundred and fifty appriations, and authorizing the beginning of one hundred and eight new surveys which, if completed1 may call for one hundred and eight additional appropriations in the next Congress; and I protest against this method of disposing at every annual session of Congress of about $21,000,000 of the public money. I believe, as the gentleman from Louisiana says, that the provision of the Constitution which I have quoted does confer power upon Congress to raise money for the purpose of carrying on and providing for the general wel- , fare, butthere is no power to authorize four hundred and fifty different appropriations of public money for objects nine-tenths of which have only a local interest.

Mr. GROSVENOR. Will the gentleman. point out in the bill nine out of ten items that have only a local interest.

Mr. KERR, of Iowa. I would not have time to c1o that in ten minutes.

Mr. GROSVENOR. I will,ask that your time be extended. Will you point out one that is only of local interest?

Mr. KERR, of Iowa. I looked carefully through the bill last session, as it was considered iwm by itiem, and found a great number.

Mr. GROSVENOR. Will you point out one. Mr. KERR, of Iowa. Well, Urbana Creek; what general inte~t

bas that? Mr. GROSVENOR. What do you say about it? You have the

affirmative. Mr. KERR, of Iowa. Oh, no; you have the affirmative. Mr. WILLIAMS, of Ohio. Neither one knows where it is. [Laugh

ter.] Mr. BOWDEN. If the gentleman from Iowa will permit me, I will

answer his question. Urbana Creek is in Virginia. Mr. KERR, oflowa. Yes; and a great many others of these places

for which appropriations are made are in Virginia, and they are only of local importance; outside of the locality no one knows anything about them.

Mr. BOWDEN. Urbana Creek is not merely of local interest. It is a creek-yon would call it a river in your country, but we call it a creek-which is of considerable importance to commerce, and I do not believe there is a more meritorious appropriation in the bill.

~fr. KERR, of Iowa. Mr. Chairman, I shall have all my time consumed if I do not object to these interruptions. Here is ''Currant River." Here is "Buttermilk Channel." Here is "Gowanus Bay"--

Mr. GROSVENOR. How much commerce does the gentleman thiµk there is in Gowanus Bay?

Mr. KERR, of Iowa. That is what I want to know, and. it is be~use I want such information about that and other places that I call the attention of the committee to the fact that here is a bill involving four hundred and fifty different items, only four of which are explained or referred to in t.he report. If we ask for an appropriation for a public building we have to submit to Congress the reasons why that appropriation should be made. If any other measure of importance is presented to the_ House, the committoo ill charge isauthorized and required to investigate the matter and to present to Congress the reasons why the appropriation should be made; but here is a bill carrying $21,000,000, yet there are only four or five items contained in it that are referred to in the report.

I say th~t is not sound policy .. I say that if a river and harbor bill is to be passed at all involving four hundred and fifty items, it is the duty of this Congress to require the Committee on Rivers and Harbors to present in their report the facts covering every item in the bill, in order that we may know whether there are goodreasons for the pas.sage of these appropriations and may determine the matter according to our judgment. This system of asking appropriations leaves nothing to the judgment of Congress. We have to accept the report of the committee as the gospel truth and be governed by their judgment, with very little opportunity for investigation. I know that gentlemen said in the last Congress. in reply to this objection, that we could find this information in the recommendations of the army officers. And how are their reports made up? An ·engineer interested in the perpetuation of his place, desiring to retain it forever, will always be inclined f<> make a favorable report; it is submitted to Congress through the War Department, and we have to go through a large volume in order to determine whether there is anything in that report warranting the recommendation, and have only the ex parte statement of the officers in charge. The com~ mittee itself is not governed by the report of the engineers; it does not allow more than half of the a.Ppropriations recommended by them. The recommendations of the engineers are not followed even by the com-mittee. .

If the bill bad reference to the improvement of the Mississippi River alone or to the lliinois and Michigan Canal, the case would be different. The chairman of this committee-and I will say there is no man in Congress whose opinion or repol1t I would follow with greater pleasure or confidence, and I think that is the feeling of gentlemen on both sides of the House-tells us this bill is all right; but the chairman of the committee owes it to Congress and the committee owes it to Congress to present in their report the facts in reference to every item of

, ' .

~.

·.

\

- 5150 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. MAY 22,

the bill, in order that we may determine upon that report whether the appropriatioll..J)hould be made or not. To call attention to this matter was my principal object in making these few remarks.

I hope the day will come in the history of this Goverrtment when, if a river and harbor bill is to be passed, it will be passed with the intelligent approval of Congress in regad t.o every item contained in the bill and upon a report embracing full and specific facts in regard to every item. There has been a good deal of discussion in regard to the interstate commerce of t he country as carried on on railroads, as affected by this bill. If these immense sums that are expended on rivers and harbors, many of them of only local interest, were expended for S1Jme great national highway, which would have equal constitutional authority, we might secure cheaper transportation for the products of the West to the Eastand tbeseaboard, and then the interior would receive a fairer share of this large annual appropriation.

[Here the hammer fell.] · 1\lr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I yield five minutes to the gentle

man from Ohio [Mr. GROSVENOR]. Mr. GROSVENOR. Mr. Chairman, I will not spend the time of

the committee at this late hour in discussing this bill at any length; but I want to point out the fact that there is within the reach of every member a complete and official statement from the Chief of Engineers (and I have one Yolume of his report in my hand) giving every item of information that any man can want in regard to every appropriation in this bill. The gentleman from Iowa [Mr. KERR] bas been exceedingly unfortunate in his selection of the places to assail. Gowanus Bay is a part, and one of the most important parts, of New York Harbor. For certain purposes very essential and indispensable to the commerce of the whole country, Gowanus Bayis more important than any other part of New York Harbor. It is the resting-place, the harbor of refuge of nearly all the vessels.engaged in the commerce of the upper Hudson River and coming down the Hudson and into the East River and of the vessels plying the harbor of New York.

The reports show that 89 per cent. of the tonnage of 1$"" ew York Harbor goes through Gowanus Bay. Yet the gentleman points this out as one of the places in the bill which is of merely local importance. And all the facts in relation to this and other matters embraced in the bill have been within rea<!h of the honoral)le gentleman and of every other member ever since the report of the Chief of Engineers was submitted.

Mr. BUCH.A.NAN, of New Jersey. And in the report of last year. Mr. CL.A."RKE, of Alabama. If all the reports of the engineers had

been attached to the report of the committee, it would have been simply a duplication of nearly 3,000 pages of printed matter.

Mr. BUCH.A.NAN, of New Jersey. And the information is accessible now to everybody.

Mr. GROSVENOR. Yes; it is accessible now. Every member of this House can have it before him to-morrow and on each subsequent day of the consideration of this bill to verify for himself whether or not these appropriations are ma.tters of merely local importance. I d~ny tbat there is one such in this bil1.

Mr. KERR, of Iowa. Do yon think it proper for us to pass here a bill involving $21,000,000, with four hundred and fifty items, without a single specification in the report _in reference to the necessity of the various appropriations?

Mr. GROSVENOR. I do; and I am trying to explain the reason. Upon the river and harbor bill we have more specific information in regard to the various items than upon any other bill coming -before Congress. Take the sundry civil bill. When that comes before us we have no printed information presented t.o us as to the necessity for passing one in a thousand of the items.

If we want information as to the items in that and kindred bills we must go to work and search through the reports of the different Departments. But in regard to the various items in this bill the case is different. Take, for instance, the item in regard t.o Gowanus Bay. If you turn to the index of the Report of the Chief of Engineers you are at once referred to everything relating to this improvement. So with every other item in this bill. It would be a work of supererogation to reprint in our report the information as to the necessity of the work in each particular case, when the highest officer of the Engineer Department of the Government has already furnished us with that very information.

(Here the hammer fell] Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I now ask unanimous consent that

all i?eneral debate on this bill be considered as closed in five minutes. The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection? Mr. BOATNER. I object. ... Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. Then I move that the committee

rise. Mr. ROGERS. I trust that the chairman of the committee [Mr.

HENDERSON, of Illinois] will hear the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. BOATNER] a moment. .

J'iI.r. BOATNER. I wish to say to the chairman of this committee that there are involved in this bill questions of immense importance to the distiict I have the honor to represent. By the course that matters have taken here to-day I have been deprived of the opportunity t.o say a single word in defense or promotion of the interest.a I 1·epresent.

My diStinguishedcolleague [Mr. BLANCHA.RD] has occupied two ho~ and a half. · I do not desire more than twenty-five or thirty minutes. I think that, representing as I do in part a State having so extensive a river front, I ougM in common justice to be heard for the brief time I suggest.

Mr. BL.A.NCH.A.RD. I hope my colleague [Mr. BOATNER] will be granted an opportunity to be heard.

Mr. GROSVENOR. Does the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. BOATNER] wish to oppose the bill?

Mr. BOATNER. No, sir. Mr. GROSVENOR. Does the gentleman wish to speak in favor of

the items of the bill which relate to his district? 1\I.r. BOATNER. I wish to speak in favor of the proposition that

not only bas this Government the constitutional power, but that it is its duty, t.o take charge of the levee system and appropriate money for the purpose of building up such a system. I do not want to occupy more than twenty-five or thirty minutes.

Mr. GROSVENOR. The gentleman will have an opportunity, whe:q. we reach the items in the bill for consideration, to discuss them under the five-minute rule.

Mr. BOATNER. That will not be sufficient. . Mr. SPRINGER. Let me make this suggestion, that the gentleman

from Louisiana be permitted to speak such time as be may desire this afternoon, and that the committee then rise and the general debate be considered as closed, so that when the committee next resumes its ses· sion we can proceed with the bill under the five-minute rule.

Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. I have no objection, only that my friend from Oregon [Mr. HERMANN] desired a few minutes.

Mr. SPRINGER. Of course he can have five minutes.under the rule. Mr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. Then I will make that suggestion,

Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair will state the question to the commit

tee. The gentleman from IHinois asks unanimous consent that, a~r the gentleman from Lonisiana. shall have concluded bis remarks this afternoon, the general debate be considered as closed.

Mr. BLANCH.A.RD. That is, with the understanding that my col-league [Mr. BoA.T~ER] is to be allowed to speak this afternoon.

The CHAIRMAN. That is the suggestion. Is there objection? There was no objection, and it was so ordered. Mr. BOATNER. Mr. Chairman, I regret very much to be placed

in the position of having to press the committee for time to speak this evening, because I know you must be much wearied with this prolonged debate. The matter, however, is of such importance to the people of the district which I have the honor to represent that I must ask the committee to indnlge me while I endeavor to impress upon them the ideas and principles which I think properly control the consideration of this great subject before closing general debate on the bill.

My distinguished colleague [Mr. BLANCHARD] has argued to the committee that Congress hastheconstitntional power and authorityto make such appropriations of the public moneys as may be necessary for the purpose of constructing and maintaining levees adequate and sufficient to control the flood waters of the Mississippi River, citingvarious articles of the Constitution in support of this position. I do not. think, Mr. Chairman, it wa.s necessary for my colleague to go any further than section 8 of the first article of the Constitution.

Before proceeding to argue this question, however, I desire to state now that I sball offer, when the section is reached, the following amendment on page 54 of the bill, namely, strike out from the word "commi::sion," in line 6, down to and inclusive of the word " channel," in the thirteenth line, being the followin~ provisos:

Pr01,'1.ded, That no portion ot this appropriation shall be expended to repa\r or build levees for the purpo~e of reclaiming lands or preventing injury to la.ads or private property by overflows: Provided, however, That the commission is au. thorized to repair and build levees, if in their judgment it should be done, as part of their plans to afford ease and safety t-0 the navigation and commerce of the river and to deepen the channel. •

So that it will read: Whichsum-

Two millions of dollars-shall be expended under the dfrection of the Secretary of War in accordance with the plans, speclfica.tioiis, and recommendations of the Mississippi River Commission. ·

Now, itrhas been practically conceded by the friends of the Mississippi River an the time that Congress did not have the power or that even if it had tbe power it could not rightly exercise itin the appropriation of the public money for the levees of the river per se, and that they could only be built when their construction was manifestly an adjunct to the navigation of the river or would assist in the improvement of the channel. I desire to urge upon the committee that this was then, and is now, in my judgment, an erroneous construction of the Constitution; and that it is not only within the power of this Congress, but that it is its duty to take exclusive charge and control of the entire subject, which is strictly national in its character and which by its nature is beyond the control of the States.

It is unnecessary, Mr. Chairman, to discuss the practicability of confining the·'river to its channel. That is conceded. The fact th~t the river can be controlled and kept within its channel by levees has been

'.

/

I

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-IJOU:SE. ·5157 demonstrated beyond question. There have. been levees on the Lower I dition to the want of means w~ are also · met with the difficulties of Mississippi Hiver for one hundred years, and up to 1862 ·crernsses be- limited jurisdiction. The peopleot Mississippi may say," Your levees

·1ow the mouth of the Red River were of the rarest character. When are throwing the water upon our side," and many of the more ignothey occurred at all they inflicted but slight· damage, because they rant settlers believe it. The people of .Arkansas say, "You are damwere speedily closed, but if this were not so it would be an insult to ming the water back upon us;" and proceed to cut an important and the intelligence of this age to doubt its ability to build dikes sufficient expensive work constructed in the State of Arkansas with money in strength to hold 15 or 20 feet of water. largely contributed from Louisiana, from the effects of which fully

The States of Lonisia.na and Mis<>issippi bad long prior to the war one-half of three parishes in my district are overfl._owed. These, sir, inau~urated and were maintaining a complete and perfect system of are some of the difficulties with which we have to contend, and they levees; and when itis stated that Louisiana and Mississippi have ex- justify us in asking that the Government shall come to our relief and pended in all only $15, 000, 000 in. levee construction permit me to say take this burden from our shoulders. that such a statement is misleading, in that it only relates to expend- At the commencement of the late war ther~ was not a breach in the itures since the close of the war for repairs, and does not include the levees trom the forts as far up the river as levees have ever been conoriginal cost of construction, which was very much larger, reaching in structed. They were large enough and strong enough to serve the pur· the State of Louisiana alone at least fifty millions. poses for which they were constructed, and had stood for ten years,

Four parishes in my own State spent not less than $15,000,000 in the protecting us from overflow. These levees were built entirely at our construction of levees extending from the mouth of the Red River to expense. They had deepened the channel of the river, bad improved the Arkansas line, and the expenditure made since the war has been navigation, and been of benefit to the entire country. Now, when we only in repair of the breaks occurring during and since then and in re- are prostrated by the enormous expenditure of money r~quired in their storing levees which have caved into the river. I wish to call atten- reconstruction, repair, and maintenance, have we not the right to ask tion specially to this fact. the Government to relieve us of the burden of further maintaining a

After the general overflow of 1850 the State and parochial authori- work which it must be admitted affects the welfare and prosperity of ' ties, appreciating the importance, magnitude, and necessities of the oc· so large a portion of our common country? The sum required is not casion, prosecuted with renewed vigor the work of extending and large when you come to consider the importance of the subject .. strengthening these levees. Levee districts were formed, special powers The lands which are to be restored, and which would be thoroughly of taxation to provide the means and powers of regulation were granted and completely_ protected from overflow, are greater in area than the them, and the result was immunity from the floods. State of Indiana. The lands in my district alone which would be pro·

From 1850 to 1862 there was not a single general overflow, and the tected from overflow are greater in area than the State of New Jertestimony of Captain Leathers, read by Mr. BLANCH.ARD, shows that sey, Delaware, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. There is an equal area the depth of the channel above the Red River was greatly increased in the State f Mississi pi and a larger one in the southwestern part after the extension of these levees beyond that point. The 8tates of of Louisiana. . Louisiana and Mississippi have thus demonstrated the fact that with It is estimated that a thorough protection of these lands from over-a. proper system oflevees the floods can be restrained, the banks prop- fl.ow will add $250,000,000 annually to the wealth of this country. erly protected, and the channel improved. Is it not then indefensible, niggardly, parsimonious to refuse suffi-

But it is argued by some members of this body, and I regret to say cient appropriations to carry out the plans of protection and improvesome of them are Democrats, that while the object is most worthy and meut, or to hamper tl,lem with a restriction which greatly embarrasses commands their earnest sympathy they doubt our authority under the the work and denies the responsibility of the Government. Constitution to appropriate money for the construction of levees per se, Now, Mr. Chairman, I want to say one single word with reference to and fear that; in so far as these levees are necessary to protect the lands this outlet question. There is one thing w hicb gentlemen who ad voin- the valley from overflow they are local institutions for the bene- cate the outlet system seem to have entirely overlooked; it is not re~ fit of private individuals, which should not be constructed at the ex- ferred to by either o,ne of the distinguished gentlemen who addressed pense of the General Government. the committee at length on this subject; it is the decline in the land

I sav that if that argument is correct Congress has been going on as it recedes from the river. Opposite mouth of Lake Providence the ever since the foundation of the Governruent enacting unconstitutional bank of Bayou MAcon is 10 feet lower than that of the Mississippi, comlegislation. I will a3k the gentlemen who entertain these views, if ing down to Delta opposite Vicksburg, the fall to the Tensas Swamp is the general-welfare clause of section 8 does not authorize the Govern- 15 feet; at Vidalia, opposite Natchez, the fall to Tensas is 12 feet. Thus ment to expend the revenue raised by taxation in works of national it is apparent that the outlet system means the abandonment of the back importance, where 'they find authority for the appropriation for the country to annual overflow. Philadelphia Exposition; where did they get authority for making an We do not want any of it. We do not want to be made the victims appropriation for the cotton exposition at New Orleans; I ask where of the idle theories of gentlemen who advocate something they do not do they get authority for our late appropriation to the world's fair to know. anything about and who would drown us in the effort to prove be held at Chicago. I ask where they ge~authority to donate one-six- what, if they would believe the evidence of their senses, they would teenth of the public land for public schools; where did they get author- know is not true. With respect to the only real outlet of the Missisity to donate land scrip for the different agricultural colleges; where sippi River, the Atchafalaya, I... want to call the attention of gentlemen did they get authority for the immense donations of public lands which who are advocating that system to the fact that that outlet itself would have been made to railway corporations? have closed up several years ago but for the enormous expenditure of

I say, Mr. Chairman, upon the principle that these appropriations money which the Government bas made to keep it open. The existwere for the promotion of the public welfare; that the whole people of ence of that outlet has caused Old River to fill up. One prong of Old the United States are intere~ted in the exposition which is to be held River has filled up entirely, and the other prong can be kept open only at Chicago; that the exposition at Philadelphia was one of national by dredging and the most expensive works. If this Government had character and importance; that for the benefit of the rising generation let it alone, the Mississippi would have divorced itself from the Atchathe public welfare was promoted by setting aside the sixteenth sections falayaand would have closed that outlet four or five years ago. for public schools and the endowment of agricultural colleges--I say, Now, in conclusion I will call attention to another fact which it upon the ground that these are promotions of the welfare of all the seems to me is of very great importance in this connection, and that is people of the United States, these acts were not only in the line of the I that the Mississippi has, by its own action, shut up every outlet above provision of the Constitution which authorizes Congress to dispose of the mouth of Red River. If gentlemen will, look at the map they w.ill its revenue to promote the public welfare, but were just and proper find that the Bayou Bartholomew, the Bayou Breuf, and the Bayous exercises of that power. Macon and Tensas all formerly had outlets into the Mississippi River,

Now we are confronted with this question: The people of Louisiana, but every one of them has been closed up by the action of the river of Arkansas, and of Mississippi have for years and years carried upon itself. Formerly the Atchafalaya was not connected with the Missistbeir shoulders the burdenofaworkofnational importancefrom which sippi River, but was a mere continuation of Red River. they demand relief under the mistaken idea that the protection of the The Mississippi formed a counection with the Red River by one of country from overflow" must be purely incidental." Congress has doled those "caves" which threw it into the Red, and by that means the out a small portion of the funds necessary to build even those levees Atchafalaya became connected with the Mississippi, and the Red, which the engineers thought would aid navigation and commerce. The abandoning its old channel, fl.owed down the Mississippi. Now, if the bulk of the cost has been raised by ruinous and burdensome taxation. Mississippi had been let alone it would have closed that outlet by Shall this system continue, and this magnificent valley be condemned forming a bar entirely across the mouth of Red River, which would to the ruinous and torturing uncertainty which so far as possible has have sent all the waters of Red and Bla-ck down the Atchafalaya.1 paralyzed the energies of its inhabitants and retarded its growth and where it formerly ran, and there would now be a high bank where the

· prosperity, or will Congress, appreciating the magnitude of the inter- Red empties into the Mississippi. _ ests at stake, "promote the general welfare" by building and main- I desire particularly to impress upon the gentlemen of this commit,. taining these levees? . tee the immense importance of this subject to the people of the valley.

I earnestly hope that the latter will be answered in the affirmative. Upon the same line of principle on which this Government promotes the .As has been said, the drainage of one-half of the nation passes through public welfare by making donations to public schools, upon the same this great river and the floods come down upon us with almost resist; principle upon which it has given t-0 every State in the Union all of less force. We are unable to meet them with local taxation. In ad- the lands in its respective limits subject t-0 overflow, the proce~ds t.o

. ,

,

I


be used for levees and drainage, upon the same principle that the public domain has been set aside for pre-emption, giving 160 acres of land to every head of a family who would go and claim it, we demand that it shall promote the public welfare of five or six millions of its citiz.ens and of the whole people of the United Stat.es by improving the navigation of this great river and at the same time protecting the lands upon its borders which are inundated by its overflow. [Ap-plause.] ·

lfr. HENDERSON, of Illinois. Mr. ChaiJ:man, I move that the com.mittee do now rise.

The CHAIRMAN. It is understood that all general debate upon this bill is now closed.

The motion of Mr. HENDERSO~, of Illinois, was agreed to. The committee accordin~y rose; and the Speaker having resumed

the chair, Mr. BURROWS, from the Committee of the Whole, reported that they had had under consideration the bill (H. R. 8486) makin~ appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of certain .Public works on rivers and harbors, and had come to no resolution thereon.

.1\fr. HENDERSON, of .Illinois. .I move that the Honse ao DOW adjourn.

PRINTING THE TA.RIFF BILL.

Mr. LA. FOLLETTE. Will the gentleman withhold that motion a moment while I ask unanimous consent that 5,000 copies of the tariff bill as it passed the House be -printed? A conference with members of the Committee of Ways and Means and other gentlemE?n upon the floor seems to show that that is desirable and I make the request for unanimous consent.

Mt. COLEMAN. How many copies is it calculated that each member-shall have?

Mr. LA FOLLETTE. They will be distributed fairly among mem-bers. -

l\Ir. COLEMAN. Are the 5,000 to be distributeq __ mnong members? Mr. LAFOLLETT.E. Yes. The SPEAKER. Is th-ere objection to the Teqnest of the gentleman

from Wisconsin ? There was no -objection, and it WM so ordered.

ENROLLlID BILLS SIGNED.

Mr .. TOWNSEND, of Pennsylvania, _ from -the Committee on Enrolled;Bills, reported that they had examined and found truly enrolled bills of the following titles; when the Speaker signed ·the same:

.A bill (S. 1306) for the erection of a public building at Rudso11, N. Y.; and

A 'bill (S. 1207) .granting a pension to L:ydm K. White, a '\'olunteer army nttrs.e.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted -as follows: To Mr. BROSIUS, indefinitely. To .Mr. WATSON, for -eight days. 3.'o Mr. REILLY, until Tuesday next. · To Mr. BUCHANAN, ofViirginia, for six da:ys from May 23, on ac-

1mnnt of important business. The motion of Mr. HE:t-.T.D1mSON1 of '.Illinois, was agreed to; and the

Bouse accordingly (at -S otclock and 20 minutes p. m.) adjourned.

EXECUTIVE AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.

.Under clause .2 of Rule XXIV, the following communication was ta.ken from the Speaker's table and referred as follows:

GREEN A.ND BAR'.RltN RIVERS.

Letter from the Acting Secretary of War, mclosing copy of an act recommended for passage by-the Chief of Engineers as applicable to the Green and Barren Rivers-to"the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

.RESOL UTiqNS. Under clanse 3 of Rnle XXII, the following "resolution was intro

·duced and referred n.s follows: By Mr. McADOO: Whereas complaint is being made by citizens of the alleged inquisitorial char

acter of the questions proposed to be a.skcd by the census enumerators, which questions a.re declared to be incompa.t.ible with the rights of freemen and an unwarranted and unconstitutional exercise of ,power by the Feder.al Government: Therefore,

tBe it resolved, That the Committee on 'the Eleventh Census be, 11.nd they are he-reby, directed to make inquiry into the questions proposed to be asked of citizens by the Census Bureau, or its agents, and to report by bill or otherwise, looking, if found-necessary, to the proper restriction of the same;

to the Select Committee on the Eleventh Censns.

REPO.kTS OF COMJ.\HTTEES. Under clause 2 of Rule ·xrn, ':reports f committees ,were delivered

to the Clerk and disposed of as follows: '.µr. DING LEY, from the Committee on MercbantMarine and Fish

aies, -re_:ported with ame;idmeltt the bill of the Honse_(H. R. 10104) to

I ;

/

amend the laws relating-to shipping commis.9ioners-to the House Cal-endar. . •

Mr. ATKINSON, of Pennsylvania, from the Committee on the DistrictofColumbia, reported favorably the bill of the House (H. R.10193) providing for the assessment and collection of water-main taxes-to the House Calendar.

Mr. ELLIS, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, reported favorably the bill of the House (H. R. 7795) for the relief of certain property-owners in the city of Washington, D. C.-to the House Calendar .

Mr. HEMPHILL, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, reported \vith amendment the bill of the House (H. R. 9747) to provide a permanent system of highways in that part of the District of Columbia lying outside of cities-to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. -

Mr. DOLLIVER, from the Committee on War Claims, reported with amendment the bill of the House (H. R 9319) granting relief to J. K . Botsford, of Wheeling, W. Va., for damagesdonetopropertybyUnited States troops during the late war-to the Committee of the Whole House.

Mr. HITT, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, to which was refeued a :Jetter from the Secretary of the Treasury (H. R. Ex. Doc. 366), · transmitting a communication from the Secretary of State with accompanying papers in relation to a bill to credit George H. Owen, late United Sta.tea consul at Messina, with~ certain sum expended byhim for clerk-hue, etc., b_y authority of the State Department, but not heretofore allowed in his accounts, reported a bill (H. R~ 10394) for the relief of Geqrge H. Owen; which was read twice, and referred to the Committee of the Whole House.

Mr. DE LANO, from the Committee on Pensions, repor~ed with amendment the bill of the House (H. R. 8890) granting an increase of pension to Lewis Solomon, a private in Company A, First Indiana Infantry, Mexican war service-to the Committee of the Whole Honse.

Mr. MILLIKEN, from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, reportedfavorablythejointresolutionof the House(H. Res. 98) providing for the greater security of the public buildings in the District of Columbia ~d their contents from destruction or damage by fire-to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

Mr. HEUPHILL, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, reported with amendment tha bill of the House (H. R. 9795) to provide for further and additional pur{>Oses for which corporations may be formed within the District of Columbia-to the House Calendar .

BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS. Under clause 3 of Rule XXIl, bills of the following titles were intro

duced, severally read twice, and referred as follows: By Mr. LEWIS: A bill (H. R 10389) to repeal the law creating the

sinkin~.fnnd-to jibe Committee on Ways and Means. By Mr. GEAR: A bill (H. R. 10391) 'to amend an act entitled "An

act to regulate commerce," approved 'February 4, 1887-to the Committee on Commerce.

By Mr. SMITH, of Arizona: A bill (R. 1t 10392) to in.crease the compensation of jurors and wilinesses in the United States courts in the Territory of Arizona-to the Committee on the Ja.diciary.

By Mr. WILKINSON: A bill (H. R. 10393) for the establishment of a dry-dock on the Government reservation near Algiers, La., with an appropriation therefor-to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

By Mr. SANFORD: A bill (H. R. 10395) subjecting oleomargarine to the provisions of the laws of__the sevel"al States-to the Committee on Agriculture. ·

By Mr. QUINN: A bill (R R. 10433) to amend chapter 92, laws of 1883, approved March 3, 1883, and further amended by chapter 325 of the laws of 1885, approved March 3, 1885, in relation to fixing the rate of letter postage in cities with a population of 100,000 or over-to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roads.

CH.ANGE OF REFERENCE •

Under clause 2 of Rule XXII, the following change of reference was made:

.A bill (S. 3635) granting a pension to George Blum-Committee on Invalid Pensions disch~ged, and referred to the Committee on Pensions.

PR!V ATE BILLS, ETC. Under clause 1 of Rule XXII, private bills of the following titles

were presented and referred as indicated below: By l\Ir. J A.SON B. BROWN: A bill (H. R. 10396) for the relief of

Francis Woodward-to the Committee on Military Affairs. By Mr. CAINE: .A. bill (H. R. 10397) for the relief of Nathan Kim

ball, l>Ostmaster at Ogden, Utah-to the Committee on Claims. By Mr. CANDLER, of Massachusetts: A bill (H. R. 10398) for the

relief of Mary A. Blaisdell-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. Also, a bill (H . .R.10399) granting a pension to Edward N. Pomeroy

io the Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. CLUNIE: A biTI (H . .R.10400) for the elief of Dr. Georg

Fischer-to the Committee on Claims.

•

-- ,,,, ;.

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 5159 By Mr.COVERT: Abill(H. R.10401) for the relief of J. H. Merrill- Also, petition of employes in knitting mill, asking for a vigorous

to the Committee on Claims. support for the McKinley bill-to the Committee on Ways and Means. Also, a bill (H. R. 10402) for the relief of J. H. Merrill-to the Com- By Mr. BLANCHARD: Petition of citizens of Winn Parish, Louisi-

mittee on Claims. ana, asking passage of Butterworth bill t.o prevent dealings in options By Mr. DE LANO: A bill (H. R. 10403) increasing the pension of and futures-to the Committee on Agriculture.

Richard Russell-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. BLOUNT: Petition of farmers of Jones County, Georgia, in By Mr. EV ANS: .A bill (H. R. 10404) granting a pension to William favor of Senate bill 2716, for improving Galveston Harbor-to the Com- .

H. Bean, late major of the Sixth Tennessee Mounted Infantry-t-0 the mittee on Rivers and Harbors. Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. BOOTHMAN: Resolutions of Antwerp .Alliance, No. 64, in

.Also, a bill (H. R. 10405) granting a pension to Joseph Merchant, favor of the Butterworth bill-to the Committee on Agriculture. late of Company K, Tenth Ohio Cavalry, and Company I, Sixteenth By Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky: Petition of 25 citizerui of United States Infantry-to the Committee on Invalid, Pensions. Washington, D. C., for a national Sunday-rest law-to the Committee

.Also, a bill (H. R. 10406) for the relief of J. M. Slaughter, of Cleve- on Labor. land, Tenn.-to the Committee on War Claims. .A1so, petition of P. P. Johnston, H. C. Payne, and 185 citizens of

.Also, a bill (H. R. 10407) gra.nting a pension to David H. Walker, Lexington and county of Fayette, Kentucky, for the free coinage of late of Company D, Second Tennessee Infantry-to the Committee on silver-to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. Invalid Pensions. By Mr. BREWER: Petition of citizens of Michi~an, in favor of

Also, a bill (H. R. 10408) for the relief of Robert N. White-to the I Conger lard bill-to the Committee on Agriculture. Committee on War Claims. By Mr. BROSIUS: Petition of employes of knitting miJ.l, of Man-

By :Mr. FLOWER: A bill (H. R.10409) granting an increase of pen- heim, Pa., for passage of the McKinley bill-to the Committee on sion to Louis Erb-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. Ways and Means.

By Mr. FUNSTON: A bill (H. R. 10410) granting a pension to Eliz- By Mr. BROWER: Petition of E . .A. Hammer and 9 others, citizens abeth M. Chambers-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. of Guilford County, North Carolina, for passage of Senate bill 2716,

By Mr. GIFFORD: .A bill (H. R.10411) granting a pension to Seth providing for improvement of Galveston Harbor-to the Commilteeon . J. Crowhurst-t-0 the Committee on Invalid Pensions. Rivers and Harbors.

.Also, a bill (H. R. 10412) granting a pension t.o David Dewey-to the Also, petition of A. M. Veazey and 15 others, citizens of Granville Committee on Invalid Pensions. County, North Carolina, for the same improvement-to the Committee

By Mr. HEARD: A bill (H. R.10413) for the relief of Mrs. Elizabeth on Rivers and Harbors. Sparks-to the Committee on Pensions. .Also, petition of R. F. Knott and 60 others, of Gra?ville County,

By Mr. HITT: .A bill (H. R. 10414) in relation to the pay of Rear- North Carolina, asking passage of House bill 7162or Senate bill 2806-Admiral 0. S. Glisson, retired-t.o the Committee on Naval Affairs. to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. LACEY: .A bill (H. R. 10415) granting a pension to Moses Also, petition of John E. Fant :ind 25 others, of Fo1'Syth County, L. Bunnell-to the Committee on Invalid Pensioni:J. North Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and

By Mr. McCLELLAN: .A bill (H. l:t 10416) granting a p«:insion to Means. . Samuel Emmet-t.o the Committee on Invalid Pensions. .Also, petition of F. N. Pfall and 23 others, of Forsyth County, Nurth

By Mr. MUDD (by request): .A bill (H. R. 10417) for the relief of Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means. William Henry Hayden-to the Committee on Claims. .Also, petition of S. D. Clayton and 85 others, of Person County, North

By Mr. OSBORNE: A bill (H. R. 10418) to increase the pension of Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means. Thomas A. Rowley, lat;e brigadier-general United States VolunteeTS, to .Also, petition of George .A. Rogers and 27 others, of Person County, $50 per month-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. North Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and

By Mr. PAYNE: A bill (H. R.10419) granting a pension to Hannah Means. , . . Coyle-to the Committee on Pensions. . .Also, petition of E. A. Hammer and 19 others, of Guilford County, -,By Mr. PEEL (by request): A bill (H. R.10420) for the relief of North Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Robert F. Thompson-to the Committee on Claims. Means.

By Mr. RUSK: A bill (H. R. 10421) granting arrears of pension t.o .Also, petition of J.:. D. Pleasants and 20 others, of Granville Count-y, Nathan G. Gurney-to the Committee on Pensions. . North Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and

.Also, a. bill (H. R. 10422) for the relief of Walter Sorrell-to the Com- Means. mittee on Claims. Aloo, petition of W. A. Blalock and 54 others, of Person County,

By Mr. RUSSELL: .A bill (H. R.10423) granting a pension to Ed- North Carolina, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and mund Backers-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. Means. ·

By Mr. SHIVELY: .A bill (H. R.10424) for the relief of Capt. John By Mr. THOMAS ~f. BHOW~E: Petition of 96 citizens of Indiana, Taylor-to the Committee on Military .Affairs. for the perpetuation of thP. national-banking system-to the Committee ,

By Mr. SMITH, of Arizona: .A bill (H. R. 10425) for the reliefof J. on Banking and Currency. ·' A .• Mellon, of Yuma County, Arizona-to the Committee on Claims. By Mr. BUNN: Petition of the Bond Hill Alliance, Durham County,

.By Mr. SWENEY: A bill (H. R. 10426) granting increase of pension favoring passage of Senate bill 2716-to the Committee on Rivers and to Abraham Forry-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. Harbors.

By Mr. TAYLOR, of Tennessee: A bill (H. R.10427) granting a pen- By Mr. CANDLER, of Georgia: Petition of citizens of Gwinnett sion to Ruth CoUier, ofTennessee-tothe CommitteeonlnvalidPensions. County, Georgia, for the passage of Senate bill 2716-to the Committee • By Mr .. THOMAS: .A bill (H. R. 10428) granting a pension to Tru- on Rivers and Harbors. · man P. Page-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. . Also, petition of S. J. Stancil and 11 others, of Chel'Okee County,

By Mr. WHEELER, of .Alabama: .A bill (H. R. 10429) for the relief Georgia, in favor of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and of Uriah Bryant-t-0 the Committee on Pensions. Means •

.Also, a bill (H. R.10430) for the relief of George Richardson-to the Also, petition of-H. R. Howard and 28 others, of Jackson County, Committee on Invalid Pensions. Georgia, in favor of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and

By Mr. WICKHAM: A bill (H. R. 10431) granting an honorable dis- Means. charge to John McFarland-to the Committee on Military Affairs. .Also, petition of citizens of Habersham County, Georgia, in favor of "

By :fl.Ir. YODER: .A bill (H. R. 10432) granting a pension to Nancy Senate bill 2716-to the Comm~e on Rivers and Harbors. /

Shotwell-to tl1e Committee on Invalid Pensions. Also, petition of citizens of Jackson County, Georgia, in favor of a

PETITIONS, ETC. Under clause 1 of Rule XXII, the following petitions and papers

were laid on the Clerk's desk, and referred as follows: By Mr. BARNES, of Georgia: Petition of Cedar Alliance, No. 110,

WasEington County, Georgia, for improvement of Galveston Harborto the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of W. H. Bennett and others, citizens of Lincoln County, Georgia, for the same purpose-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petiti9n of others, citizens of the same county and State, for the same purpose-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. BERGEN: Petition of citizens of Bridgeboro~h, N. J., for a law forbidding needless Sunday work and traffic-to the Committee on Labor.

By Mr. BINGHAM: Petition of 229 persons in Pennsylvania for a. national Sunday-rest law-to the Committee on Labor.

bill to improve Galveston Harbor-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

.Also, petition of T. Pickett and others, of Cherokee County, Georgia, for improvement of Galveston Harbor-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of citizens of Chero}ree County, Georgia, for appropriation for Galveston Harbor-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

.Also, petition of citizens of Banks County, Georgia, for the passage of Senate bill 2716-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. CANDLER, of Massachusetts: Petition for Sunday-rest law from the Baptist and Congregational churches of Blackstone, Mass.t.o the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. CHIPMAN: Many petit-!ons in favor of Sunday rest-to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. COBB: Petition of James M. Taylor and 20 others, citizens of Macon County, .Alabama, asking pas.sage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. COMSTOCK· Petition of Duluth Board of Trade, protesting

I ..

'·

i

.,

'·

' .

'


against passage of Hoase bill defining options-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By l\Ir. CONGER: Petition of Peter Dickoph and 40 others, of Story County, Iowa, in favor of House bill 7162....:..to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. COVERT: Papers in claim of John B. Merrill-to the Committee ou Claims.

By l\Ir. CRAIG: Memorial of Post No. 281, Grand Army of the Republic, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, favoring dependent and service pension bills-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

Also, memorial of PostN o. 399, Grand Army of the Republic, Cowansburgh, Westmoreland CoUllty, Pennsylvania, in favor of dependent pension and service-pension bills-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. CHAIN: Petition of W. H. Roberson and 39 others, from Brazoria County, Texas, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. CRISP: Petition of R. Patton and 24 others, from Schley County, Georgia, n.sking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of D. L. Rickley and 24 others, from Dooley County, Georgia, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of W. F. Herring and others, citizens of Irwin County, Georgia, urging the passage of bill for deep-water harbor at Galvestonto the Committee on Hivers and Harbors.

Also~ petition of J. W. Smith and others, citizens of Ma-con County, Georgia, for the same subject-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. DOCKERY: Petition of J. l\I. Harrell and 41 others, from Clay County, Missouri, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee ou Ways and Means.

By Mr. DORSEY: Petition of J. G. Barrow and others, prote.sting against the passage of the compound-lard bill-to the Committee on Agriculture.

By Mr. ENLOE: Pefiltion on ~laim of Louisa Neal, of Shelby County, Tennessee-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Jame.s Bain, of Madison County, Tennessee-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Stephen W. Malone, of Tipton County, Tennessee-to the Committee on War Claims. ·

Also, petition on claim of Margaret Bogan, of Shelby County, Tennessee-to the Committee on WarClaims.

By Mr. EWART: Petition of S. D. Green and other citizens of Rutherford County, North Carolina, for passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. FEATHERSTON: Petition on claim of William F. G. Howard, of St. Francis County, Arkansas-to the Committee on War Claims . .

By Mr. FLOWER: Petltion of ~ilas Davis, of Chaumont, N. Y., asking Congress to pay him for a cargo of stone lost on Lake Ontario-to the Committee on Claims.

By Mr. -GREENHALGE: Petition of J. H. Kidder, William H. Jaquith, Byron Truell, and others, for the perpetuation of the nationalbanking system-to the Committee on Banking and Currency.

By Mr. GROSVENOR: Petitions from Woman's Christian Temperance Union and other associations in Ohio, for a national Sunday-rest law-to the Committee on Labor.

By Mr. HANSBROUGH: Petition of c~tizens of North Dakota, for a change in the :finllllcial system of the Government-to the Committee on Banking and Currency.

By Mr. HARE: PetitionofJ. W. Cainand32others,fromOlayCounty, Texas, for passage of House bill 838-to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. ·

Also, petition of F. J. Ettis and 32 others, from Grayson County, Texas, for passage of House bill 7162-to the Comw.ittee on Ways and !leans. _

Also, petition of R. P. O'Brien and 32 others, from Clay County, Texas, for passage of House bill 838-to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures.

By Mr. HARMER: Memorial of the employes of J. H. A,. Klander & Co., of Philadelphia, Pa., in favor of the passage of the McKinley tariff bill-to the Committee on Wavs and Means.

Also, memorial of the employes of Muchling & Johnson, of Philade1phia, Pa., for the same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

A1so, memorial of the employes of Germantown Knitting MilJs, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. HAYES: Petition of the MilitaryOrderofthe~oyal Legion of the Unit.ed States, State of Iowa, for the rapid publication of the official records of the rebellion-to the Committee on Printing.

Hy Mr. HEMPHILL: PetitionofHon. James R. Magilland 20others, citizens of Kershaw County, Soutn Carolina, in favor of an appropria.tion for Galveston Harbol'-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors. ,

By Mr. HENDERSON, of Iowa: Paper from Angus Sinclair, esq., editor of the National Car and Locomotive Builder, urging legislation

.--

to provide for an inspector of railroads and railroad accidents-to the Committee on Railways and Canals.

Also, paper from T. S. Bailey, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: in behalf of Honse bill 3328-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

Also, paper from~ M. Marion, Manchester, Iowa, protesting aj?;ainst the passage of the Morrill bill-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

Also, resolution of the Bremer County Woman's Christian Temperance Association, favoring amendment to the interstate-commerce bill in the interest of temperance-to the Committee on Commerce.

Also, re.solution of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of tne United States, Des Moines, Iowa, urging the speedy publication of the official records of the rebellion-to the Committee on Appropriations.

Also, resolution of the Dubuque Baptist Association, of Dubuque, Iowa, praying for an amendment to the interstate-commerce law-to the Committee on Commerce.

By Mr. HITT: Memorial and resolution of the Loyal Legion of the United States, favoring rapid publication of official records of war of tlie rebellion-to the Committee on Printing.

By Mr. KERR, of Pennsylvania: Petition of officers and members of William Slouffer Post, Grand Army of the Republic, No. 665, Burnside, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, asking for service pension and protesting against the Morrill bill-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. LACEY: Petition of citizens of Jasper County, Iowa, asking the passage of special act for relief of Susan A. Dean-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

Also, evidence, etc., in special pension case of Moses L. Bunnell-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By 1\Ir. LANHAM: Petition of J. E. Easthornand 25others,of Callahan County, Texas, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. LEE: Petition ofcitizensofVirginia, forsubtreasu:rybill-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of other citizens of the same State, for -the same purpose-to the Committee on W&.ys and Means.

Also, petition of Robert H. Tyler and 76 others, citizens of Prince William Comity, Virginia, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of Mrs. William Francis, widow, for reference of her claim to Court of Claims-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of Robert Green, l>f Culpeper County, Virginia, for reference of his claim to the Court of Claims-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of Willis Long, of Fauquier County, Virginia, for same relief-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of Mr. Waters, of Prince William County, Virginia, for same relief-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of James L. Lowery, of Stafford County, Virginia, for same relief-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of John R. Hornbaker, of Prince William County, Virginia, for same relief-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Robert Barttry, of Orange County, Virginia-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Miss Sarah A. Freeman, of Culpeper County, Virginia-to the Committee on War Claims. ,

Also, petition on claim of Sarah A. Beckham, of Virgini&--to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Francis F. Curtis, of Fauquier County, Virginia-to the Committee on War Claims.

By Mr. LESTER, of Virginia: Petition of citizens of Franklin County, Virginia, for Galveston Harbor improvement-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. McCLAMMY: Petition of T. L. Pugh and 164 others, of Sampson County, North Carolina, in favor of Honse bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition '>f T. T. Smith and 88 others, of Wayne County, North Carolina, in favor of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of W. J. J;Iam and 81 others, of Wayne County, North Carolina, in favor of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of J. B. Huske and 22 others, of Cumberland · County, North Carolina, in favor of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of John A. Williams, of Wayne County, North Carolina, for reference oi his claim to the Court of Claims-to the Committee on War Claims.

By Mr. McCREARY: Petition of Captain King Post, No. 105, Grand Army of the Republic, asking that the soldiers of Hall's Gap Battalion be placed on the same footine; in regard to pension rights as other Federal soldiers-to the Committee on Pensions.

By Mr. McRAE: Petition on claim of Jame.s C. Green, of Phillips County, Arkansas-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, papers in case of David Robbins-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of U. B. Story and 64 others, of Hempstead County,

.-

1890. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 5161 Arkansas, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of B. D. Gleghorn and 16 others, from Hempstead County, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of James Wake and 87 others, citizens of Hempstead County, Arkansas, in favor of the Galveston Harbor improvement-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of R. S. Syfert and 34 others, citizens of Howard County, Arkansas, asking for a deep-water harbor at Galveston, Tex.to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. MAISH: Petition of citizens of Newville, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, praying for the enactment of laws to perpetuate the national-banking system-to the Committee on Banking and Currency.

By Mr. MILLIKEN: Petition of J. S. Hobbs and others, for an international copyright law-to the Committee on Printing.

By Mr. MORROW: Petition of Post-Office Clerks' Association of San Francisco, Cal., praying for relief-to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roads.

By Mr. O'NEILL, of Pennsylvania: Petition of female operatives employed in knitting-mills, favoring the enactment of the McKinley tariff bill-to the Committee on Ways and Mea.ns.

By Mr. OSBORNE: Petition of Hon. J. F. Slagle and others, citizens of Pittsburgh, Pa., praying that the pension of General Thomas A. Rowley be increased to $50 per month-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. PAYNE: Petition of Hannah Coyle, for pension-to the Com-mittee on Pensions. ·

By Mr. PAYNTER: Petition of Lawrence Victor, for increase of pension-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. PENINGTON: Petition in favor of pure food, by H. C. Lewis and 16 others, from Sussex County, Delaware-to the Committee on Agriculture. ·

By Mr. REYBURN: Petition in favor of passage of the McKinley bill-to the Committee on Ways and Means. - By Mr. RICHARDSON: Petition of Farmers and Laborers' Union, Rutherford County, Tennessee, against passage of compound lard billto the Committee on Agriculture.

By Mr. ROBERTSON: Petition on claim of Samuel K. Johnson, of Rapides Parish, Louisiana-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of John Macbins, for reference of claim to the Court of Claims-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Mrs. Susan A. Biggs, of Madison Parish, Louisiana-to the Committee on War Claims.

By l\!r. ROCKWELL: Petitions of citizens of Massachusetts, for the passage of an international copyright bill-to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of citizens of the same State, for a perpetuation of th•e national-banking system-to the Committee on Banking and Currency.

By Mr. RUSK: Petition of Robert C. Davidson, mayor of Baltimore, Md., asking to refer claim of said city for use and repairs of La. Fayette Square to Court of Claims under so-called Bowman act-to the Committee on War Claims.

By Mr. SAYERS: Petition of J. W. Buthill and 97 others, from Bastrop County, Texas, asking passage of House bill 7162-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of J. W. Kingel and 17 others, of Medina County, Texas, for same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. SCULL: Memorial of Grange No. 878, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, praying for the enactment of law for freecoinae:e of silver-to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. -

By Mr. SENEY: Memorial of Kansas City Commercial Club, re· specting reciprocal treaty with Mexico-to the Committee on Foreign Affau~ I

By Mr. SKINNER: Petition of J.,J. Purvis and 37 others, citizens of Hertford County, North Carolina, for passaj?e of Senate bill 2716-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. SMITH, of Arizona: Petition of many citizens of Arizona, praying for increase of compensation of jurors and witnesses in Federal courts in Arizona-to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. SPRINGER: Petition of citizens of Illinois, favoring House bill 5353-to the Committee on Agriculture.

By Mr. STEWART, of Georgia: Petition of Mrs. E. B. D.Vaugban, of Covington County, Georgia, for reference of her claim to Court of Claims-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition of Mattie A. D. Vaughan, of .Jonesborough, Ga., for the same relief-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, petition on claim of Horatio· Woodward, of Grimes County, Texas-to the Committee on War Claims.

By Mr. STONE, of Kentucky: Petition ofS. T. Jones and 34others, from Kentucky, for passage of the subtreasury bill-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, a petition from W. H. Calvert and 25 others, from Marshall County, Kentucky, for the same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of C. D. Holt and 87 others, from Ca.lloway County, Kentucky, for the same measure-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, memorial of citizens of Marshall County, Kentucky, praying passage of bill for deep-water harbor at Galveston, Tex.-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of J. A. ·Werson and 69 others, of Graves County, Kentucky, asking passage of Hou·se bill 838-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Ry Mr. STUMP: Petition of W. T. Wharburton and othel'S,. for per.: petuation of national-banking system-to the Committee on Banking and Currency. _

By Mr. SWENEY: Resolutions of the Commandery of the Loyal Legion, of the State of Iowa, requesting Congress to provide for the further publication of records of the rebellion-to the Committee on Printing.

By Mr. TURNER, of Georgia: Petition of A. P. Smith and 27 others, citizens of Worth County, Georgia, for the passage of House bill 7162 or Senate bill 2806-to the Committee on Ways and Means. .

Also, resolution of Red Oak Alliance, against the Conger lard billto the Committee on Agriculture.

Also, petition of W. R. Brown and other members of Rural Alliance, of Decatur County, Georgia, in favorof thebillappropriatin~$6,200,-000 for the improvement of the Galveston Harbor-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of M. S. Cheshire and 17 others, citizens of Colquitt County, Georgia, in favor of same measure-to the Committee on Riv-ers and Harbors. · ,,,....

Also, petition of A. J. Turtty and 18 others, citizens of Colquitt County, Georgia, in favor of same measure-to.the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of T. E. Young and 36 others, of Brooks County, · Georgia, in favor of the same subject-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of J. R. Maxwell and 12 others, citizens of Decatur County, Georgia, in favor of the same subject-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

Also, petition of David Champion and 16 others, citizens of Worth County, Georgia, in favor of the same subject-to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By :Ur.VANDEVER: Petition of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Encinitos, Cal., for Sunday-rest law-to the Cofil.Dlittee on Labor. •

Dy Mr. WALLACE, ofNewYork: Petition oflsabella J. Ramsdell, for arrears of pension-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. W ASIDNGTON: Resolution of Farmers and Laborers' Union, Robertson County, Tennessee, for passage of subtreasury bill-to the Committee. on Ways and Means.

By Mr. WHEE]jER, of Alabama: Petition of Farmers' Alliance, for passage of subtreasury bill-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, letter of Col. J. M. Wilson, relative to Bell telephOne at West Point-to the Committee on Military Affairs. ' -

By Mr. WHITWG: Petition of JohnH. Smith and 186 others, resi- -dents of Michigan, in favor of Sunday-rest law-to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. WICKHAM: Petitions of 203 citizens of Ohio, asking for a national Sunday-rest law-to the Committee on Labor.

By Mr. WILKINSON: Petition of C. Kohn and 116 others, praying for the passage of laws for the perpetuation of the national-banking system-to the Committee on Banking and Currency.

By Mr. WILLIAMS, of Illinois: Petition sign~d by citizens of Hamilton County, Illinois, favoring passage of House bill 7162 or Senate bill 2806-to the Committee on Ways and Means.

SENATE. FRIDAY, May 2~, 1890.

Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. J. G. BUTLER, D. D. The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and approved.

HOUSE BILLS REFERRED.

The bill (H. R. 10252) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for taking the eleventh and subsequent censuses," approved March 1, 1889, and amended January 23, 1890, was read twice by its title, and ordered to lie on the table. -

The bill (H. R. 10390) maldng an appropriation to supply a deficiency -in the appropriation for public printing and binding for the last quarter .... of the fiscal year 1890 was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

Mr. CAiIERON presented the petition of P. Long and 72 other operatives in the knitting-mill at Manheim, Pa., the petition of Charles E. McKaig and 113 other operatives in the knitting-mill at 195 Huntington street, Philadelphia, Pa., and the petition of Harriet Gardiner and 74 other knitting-mill operatives at Philadelphia, Pa., praying for the passage of the McKinley tariff bill; which were referred to the Committee on Finance.

/

·- . CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. - Govinfo.gov

Documents

Transcript of ·- . CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. - Govinfo.gov