CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SEN.ATE. - Govinfo.gov

1016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SEN.ATE. JANUARY 8,

By !fr. PERKINS: Evidence and papers in support of horse claim of Capt. Joseph A. Cox, of Kansas-to the Committee on War Claims.

Also, evidence and papers in support of pension claim of John Oglesby, of Kansas-to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. ROGERS: Petition of heirs of William H. Jago, of Jackson County, Arkansas, for reference of claims to the Court of Claims under provisions of the Bowman act-to the Committee on War Claims.

By Mr. RUSSELL: Petition to grant a pension to Eunice Sbermanto the Committee on Pensions.

By l\1r. STONE, of Missouri: Petition of James T. Bruce, praying t.liat bis cla.im for property taken by the Army during the late war be referred to the Court of Claims-to the Committee on War Claims.

By l\fr. JOSEPH D. TAYLOR: Petition of Robert Hammond, favoring Senate bill 4505-to the Committeo on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. TURNER, of New York: Petition of Edward 0' Rourke, for removal of the charge of desertion-to the Committee on Military Affairs.

SENATE. TIIURSDAY, January 8, 18!H.

The Senate metat 11 o'clock a. m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. J. G. BUTLER, D. D. The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and approved. Mr. ALLISON. I suggP.St that there is not a quorum of the Senate

present. The VICE PRESIDENT. · The roll will be called. The Secretary called the roll; and the following Senators answered

to their names: Allen, Edmunds, l\Icl\Iillan, Allison, Faulkner, l\Iorrill, Kate, Frye, Pasco, Il ·.' rry, Gibson, Platt, Blodgett, Gorman, Quay, !!11tler, Hale, Reagan, Casey, Hampton, Sanders, 1 'ockrell, Ingalls, Sawyer, Cullom, Kenna, Sherman, Uolph, McConnell, Shoup,

Stewart, Stockbridge, Teller, Turpie, Vest, 'Valthall, Washburn, Wilson of Iowa, 'Volcott.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Thirty-nine Senators have answered to their names. No quorum is present.

Mr. VEST. I wish to state in regard to my absence this morning, wliich applies to several Senators I know of, that we havo been in attendance upon our committee, the Committee on Commerce, and this call of the Senate interrupted us in the transaction of important business. We adjourned the committee with the -understanding that as ~oon as some Senator took the floor on the silver bill we would meet a:.i:ain. That is the result of this 11 o'clock hour of meeting.

Mr. SHERMAN. I move that the Sergeant-at-Arms be directed to notify absentees.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Senator from Ohio moves that the . ' crgeant-at-.A.rms be directed to request the attendance of absent Senators.

Mr. DAVIS, Mr. HAWLEY, and ~Ir. SPOONER entered the Chamber ancl answered to their names.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on the motion made by the Senator from Ohio.

Mr. SHERMAN. I will withdraw the motion. I think there are enough Senators coming in to make a quorum.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The motion is withdrawn. Mr. COKE, Mr. HARRIS, and Mr • .MANDERSON entered the Chamber

n nd answered to their nhmes. The VICE PRESIDENT (at 11 o'clock and 12 minutes a. m. ).

Forty.five Senators have responded to their names. .A quorum is present.

EXECUTn'E cm·DIUNICATIOXS. The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a. communication

from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting, in compliance with n. resolution of December 17, 1890, a list of officers of the Army, Navy, . and Marine Corps, active and on the retired list, whose names are now on the pension rolls as reported by the Commissioner of Pensions; which, with tlie accompanying papers, was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and ordered to be printed.

Ile also laid before the Senate a r.ommunication from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting, in response to a resolution of December 17, 1890, a list of noncommissioned officers and privates of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corp!'!, active and retired list, who are now receiving pensions, as reported by the Commissioner of Pensions; which, with the accompanying papers, was referred to the Committee on Appropri~tions, and ordered to be printed.

PETITIO~S AND 1\IEJIORIALS. Tlie VICE PRESIDENT presented a communication from Andrew

Colve.r, secretary of the Ministerial Union of Philadelphia, Pa., transmitting resolutions of that body urging measures to prevent the opening of theColumbi::m Exposition on Sunday; which wnsreferred to the Select Committee ou the Quadro-Centen:r:iiaJ.

Ile also presented the petition of Samuel Gompers, president of tho .American Federation of Labor, praying for the passage of the international copyright bill; which was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. BERRY presented the memorial of J. M. Bohrer, of Little Rock, Ark., and 1G farmers, ci~izens of Arkansas, remonstrating against tho passage of the Conger compound-larcl bill; which was ordered to lie on th~ table.

Mr. REAGAN presented· a memorial of citizens of Sherman, Tex. (accompanied by the circular letter of Marshall, Field & Co., of Chicago, Ill.), remonstrating against the passage of any bankruptcy law; which was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. CULLOM presented a memorial of 115 merchants and business men of Springfield, Ill., and a memorial of 122 manufacturers and workingmen of Springfield, Ill.: remonstrating against the passage of the Conger lnrd bill and praying for the passage of t.he Paddock purefood bill; which were ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. FRYE presented the following petitionspraying for the passage of the pure-lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Petition of D. C. Saunders and 26 other citizens of Hancock County, Maine;

Petition of L. C. Herrick and 25 other citizens of Poland, Me.; Petition of E. G. Young and 29 other citizens of Bethel, Me.; and Petition of P. W. Torrey and 37 other citizens of Oxford County,

Maine. M:r. FRYE presented the following petitions praying for the passage

of the pure-food bill; which were ordered to lie on the table: Petitions of D. C. Saunders and 26 other citizens of Hancock County,

Maine; and Petition of F. Cole and 20 other citizens of Winterport, Me. Mr. SHERMAN presented a petition of the Vessel-Owner.a' Asso

ciation of Cleveland, Ohio, and others interested in commerce on the lakes, praying for the passage of the bill to transfer the revenue marine to the Navy Department; which was ordered to lie on the table.

He also presented the following petitions, praying for the passage of House bill 11568, known as the pure-lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Petition of J. Halesburg and 29 other citizens of Clark, Ohio; Petition of L. S. Ellis and 20 other citizens of Lognnsville, Ohio;

and Petition of F. S. Connell and 23 other citizens of Edgerton, Ohio. ?tfr. QUAY presented a memorial of the Grocers and Importers' Ex

change of Philadelphia, Pa., and a memorial of the Hetail Grocers' Association of Philadelphia, Pa., remonstrating against the passa,\:!:e ot the Conger lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. CASEY presented the following petitions, praying for the passage of the Conger lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Petition of Willis Chase and 8 other citizens of Spink County, South Dakotn;

Hesolutions of Mellette Farmers' Alliance, No. 213, South Dakota; Petition of L. Von Wald and 14 other citizens of Potter County,

South Dakota; Petition of J. B. Mann and 14 other citizens of Potter County, South

Dakota; · Petition of W. L. Elliott and 40 other citizens of Brown County,

South Dakota; Resolutions of Gem Alliance, No. 155, Brown County, South Da

kota; Petition of William Camp and 16 other citizens of Brown County,

South Dakota; Resolutions of Raymond Alliance, No. 195, of Clark County, South

Dakota; Petition of R. A. Rounseville and 19 other citizens of Kingsbury,

S. Da.k.; also, of Thomas O'Hara, secretary Civil Alliance, No. 553; Petition of N. C. Carlson and 10 other citizens of Brookings, S. Dak.;

and Petition of M. Breck and 9 other citizens of Brookings, S. Dak. Mr. WILSON, of Iowa, presented the following petitions praying for

the passage of the Conger lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Resolutions of the Iowa State Grange; Resolutions of Old O'Brien Farmers' Alliance, of O'Brien County,

Iowa; Petition of250 citizens of Fremont and Page Counties, Iowa; and Petition of 13 citizens of O'Brien County, Iowa. Mr. WILSON, of Iowa, also presented the petition of 14 citizens of

O'Brien County, Iowa., praying for the passage of the antioption bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture nnd Forestry.

Mr. HALE presented a petition of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, praying for the passage of Senate bill 432!>, providing.for a more thorough investigation by the Census Office of tho electrical industries; which was referred to the Committee on tho Census.

:Mr. VEST presented the memorial of U. Taylor, L. L. Wri~bt, and others, citizens of Missouri, remonstrating against the passage of the Conger lard bill; which was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. BUTLER presented a memorial of Farmers' Alliance, No. 440, of

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1017 Greenville, S. C., remonstrating against the passage of the Conger lard bill and favoring the passage of what is known .as the Paddock pure-food bill; which was ordered to lie on the table. ~

Mr. TURPIE presented the following petitions and resolutions, praying for the passage of the Conger lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Petition of T. B. Morgan and 39 other citizens of Madison County, Indiana;

Petition of J. W. Chapson and 86 other citizens of Wells County, Indiana;

Resolutions of Recovery Grange, No. 482; Dillman Lodge, Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association; Pleasant Hill Lodge, No. 2639, and Centre Lodge, No. 2660, of Warren County, Indiana;

Petition of R. M. Collian and 21 other citizens of Tipton County, Indiana;

Petition of S. W. Bolyara and 24 other citizens of Monroeville, Allen County, Indiana;

Petition of 0. P. Selby and 19 other citizens of Washington, Pike County, Indiana;

Petition of Wilson Clark and 22 other citizens of Allen County, Indiana; . ·

Petition of Thomas E. Craig and 22 other citizens of Allen County, Indiana;

Resolutions of the Oak Grove Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, No. 303, of Indiana;

Petition of James Lomax and 28 other citizens of Orange County, Indiana;

Petition of J. W. Kinsey and 15 other citizens of Whitley County, Indiana;

Petition of Fred Neller and 14 other citizens of Whitley County, In-diana;

Also, resolutions of Farmers' Alliance, No. 42, Indiana; and Resolutions of Aboit Farmers' Alliance, Fort Wayne, Ind. Mr. TU RP IE presented the petition of Frederick Harris and 23 other

citizens of Tipton County, Indiana, prayin:t for the speedy passage of the Conger lard bill; which was ordered to lie on the table.

He also presented a petition of the members of Lovett Lodge, No. 3247, of the Farmers' l\IutualBenefit Association, of Jennings County, Indiana, 70 farmers, signed by John H. Trapp, president, and J.M. l\Iorin, secretary, and a petition of Lovett Lodge of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, No. 3247, of Jennings County, Indiana, with a membership of70 farmers, signe~ by JohnH. Trapp, president, and J. l\I. Morin, secretary, praying for the speedy passage of the Conger lard bill; which were ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. SA WYER presented n. petition of the Board of the Chamber

Mr. FAULKNER, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the bill (II. R. 10735) granting a pension to Harriet J. Yarbrough, reporteditwithoutamendment, andsubmittedareportthereon.

l\Ir. SA WYER, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom were referred the following bills, reported them severally without amendment, and submitted reports thereon:

A bill (S. 4639) granting a pension to Louisa A. Starkweather; and A bill (S. 4655) to increase the pension of Mrs. ElizabethR. Gordon,

widow of Maj. George A. Gordon, Fifth Cavalry. Mr. QUAY, from the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, sub

mitted a report to accompany the bill (S. 4.017) for relief of Nathan Kimball, postmaster at Ogden, Utah, heretofore reported by him.

Mr. COKE. I am directed by the Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred the bill (S. 4378) to promote the construction of a safe deep-water harbor on the coast of Texas, to report it with a recommendation that it be indefinitely postponed, and I am directed by the same committee to report, with an amendment, favorably a Honse bill on the same subject, being the bill (H. R. 8341) to promote the construction of a safe deep-water harbor on the coast of Texas.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. GrnsoN in the chair). The Senate bill reported by the Senator from Texas will be postponed indefinitely in the absence of objection.

Mr. COKE. Mr. President, I am directed by the Committee on Commerce to ask unanimous consent, as the bill which I have reported i'3 a matter of some importance and there is but a small amendment proposed to it by the committee, that it be considered at once and passed. I make that request.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the present con-sideration of the bill?

Mr. COCKRELL. Let the bill be read for information. The PRESIDING OFFICER The bill will be read. The Chief Clerk read the bill (H. R.. 8341) to promote the construc

tion of a safe deep-water harbor on the const of Texas. Mr. INGALLS. I should like to have the opportunity oflooking at

that bill. It is a matter of some consequence to the commerce of the portion of the country where I live. I understand the bill has been but this moment reported. It ought to be examined. . Mr. COKE. I was directed by the Committee on Commerce to ask

for the present consideration of the bill. Mr. INGALLS. I am familiar with the terms ofthe bill forwhich

this is a substitute, but I prefer to examine the House bill . . The PRESIDING OFFICEH. Objection being made, the bill will

be pl:i.:::ed on the Calenclar.

BILLS INTRODUCED.

of Commerce of l\Iilwaukee, Wis., praying Congress to appropriate l\Ir. FRYE introduced a bill (S. 4800) granting an increase of penmoney to builcl a new revenue cutter to take the place of the .Andrew sion to Nathaniel G. Frost; which was reacl twice by its title, and, with Jackson that is old and worn out; which was referred to the Committee the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Pensions. on Appropriations. .Mr. McCONNELL introduced a bill (S. 4801) to provide for the pur-

Mr. HARRIS presented a resolution of the Board of Trade of Jack- chase of a site and the erection of a public building thereon at Boise son, Tenn., favoring the passage of what is known as the Paddock pure- City, in the State of Idaho; which was read twice by its title, and refood bill in lieu of the Conger bill; which was ordered to lie oa the ferred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. table. He also introduced a bill (S. 4802) to provide for the purchase of a

l\Ir. CALL. I present the petition of John R. Mizell, W. D. Holden, site and the erection of a public building thereon at Lewiston in the and other citizens of Pensacola, Fla., praying for the passage of a bill State of Idaho; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the to amend and re-enact section 5 of an act entitled "An act to promote Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. the efficiency of the Life-Saving Service and encourage the savingoflife Mr. SHERMAN introduced a bill (S. 4803) to remove the charge of from shipwreck," approve~l May 4, 1882. desertion from the military record of Enos W. Townsley; which was

I move that the petition be referred to the Committee on Commerce. read twice by it~ title, and, with the accompanying papers, referred to The motion was agreed tq. the Committee on Military Affairs. . . Mr. HOAR presented three petitions of citizens of Montgomery Conn ty, Mr. ALLEN introduced a bill (S. 4804-) for the relief of certain ex- .

North Carolina, praying for the passage of the Federal election bill; cadets of the United States Military Academy; which was read twice · which were ordered to lie on the table. · by its title, and referred tot.he Committee on Claims.

He also ·presented a petition of the National Woman's Christian I l\Ir. MORRILL introduced a bill (S. 4805) to provide for the purTemperance Union, praying for the passati:e of a national Sunday-rest chase of lots 14, 15, 16, 17, and part of 18, in square 633, in the city law; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. of Washington, wHh the improvements thereon; which was read twice

l\Ir. PAYNE presented a resolution of the Board of Trade of Gallip- by its title, and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and olis, Ohio, favoring the enactment of the Torrey bankruptcy bill; which Grounds. was ordered to lie on the table. l\Ir. DOLPH introduced a bill (S. 4806) io provide for the construc-

He also presented a memorial of Henry Smith and 32 farmers, who tion of a public building at Baker City, Oregon; which was read twice were visitors at the St. Louis fair, remonstrating against any increase by its tit.le, and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and in the internal-revenue system; which was referred to.the Committee Grounds. on Finance. He also introduced a bill (S. 4807) to establish an assay office at

He also presented a l)etition of 89 citizens of St. Louis, Mo., praying Baker City, in the State of Oregon; which was read twice by its title, for the passage of the Paddock pure-food bill; which was ordered to and, with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Fi-lie on the table. nance.

Mr. PLUMB presented resolutions of the Morton Center Alliance, Mr. EVARTS introduced a bill (S. 4808) for the relief of George W. · No. 1249, of Cheney, Kans., concerning governmental ownership of Quintard; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Comthe Northern Pacific Railroad; which were referred to the Committee mittee on Claims. on Railroads. Mr. CULLOl\I introduced a bill (S. 4809) granting an increase of

REPORTS OF CO.Ml\IITTEES. pension to John S. Furling ; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions.

l\Ir. PASCO, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was referred l\1r. DA VIS introduced a bill (S. 4810) t-0 incorporate the National the bill (H. R. 3449) for the relief of James l\I. Lowry, reported it Electric Light Company ; which was read twice by its title, and re-withont amendment, and submitted a report thereon. , ferred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

1018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. JANUARY 8,

REBELLION RECORDS.

-Mr. EDl\-fUNDS submitted the followingiesolntion; which-was considered by unanimous consent, and agreea to:

Resolt1td, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is her~by, directed to inform the Senate whether the-re are in the :possession of his Department any books, records, or papers belonging or relatmg to the affairs of the late socalled Confederated States, and, if so, whether there is any legal obstacle to their being placed among t.he archives of the Rebellion necord Office of the 'Var Department.

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there further morning business? Mr. SHERM.AN. The Calendar. The VICE PRESIDENT. If there is no further morning business,

that order is closed, and the Calendar under Rule VIII is in order. ltI.r. PLATT. I desire to state at this time that there is a bill passed

by ihe House of Representatives, House bill 10381, lying on the table, for the amendment of the copyright law, and I shall take the earliest occasion to call up that bill in the hope that it may be disposed of without any extended discussion. I should do so this morning except that upon conference with some Senators who are opposed to the bill I think it is better not to do it. I wish, however, to say that I shall call it up at the first favorable opportunity.

.Mr. TELLER. Why not call it op this morning? ?i!r. PLATT. I have been talking with some Senutors who ure op

posed to the bill and I do not think it best to do so. Mr. GORM.AJ..~. Do I understand the Senator from Connecticut to

designate a day when he proposes to call the bill up? Mr. PLATT. No; I did not designate any day, but I think the dis

position of the Senate is that the bill shou1d be considered at an early time, and there will probably be no extended discUBsion upon it. I shall call it up as soon as I can do so.

:Mr • .ALLISON. I do not wish to antagonize any suggestion made by tue Senator from Connecticutor any arrangement for the early consideration of the copyright bill, bub I desire now to give notice that if the cba.irman of the Committee on .Agriculture and Forestry, who is necessarily absent from his seat for a few days, does not call up thQ bill known as the Conger lard bill, I shall ask the Senate to consider that bill.

Ur. TELLER. What is the bill? 111 r. ALLISON. It is the bill relatin~ to pure lard. l\Ir. GIBSON. I desire to give notice that when the Conger lard bill is

called up by the Senator from Iowa I shall move as a substitute therefor what is known as the pure-food bill, although I am not enamored wit.h that particularly. ·

l'd:r. W .ASHBURN. I ask unanimous consent for the present consideration of the bill (H. R. 1460) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue certain duplicate bonds to James E . .Andrews to replace same destroyed by fire. It is a bill which has already passed the House of Representatives, and it will take but a moment to dispose ~It -

Mr. SHERMAN. If we stick to the Calendar for one hour that bill will he reached in its regular order. I have no doubt the bill is right, but I think we had better follow the regular order. The bill is only a few numbers ahead, and will soon be reached.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Objection being made to the request of the Senator from l\Iinnesota, the Calendar will be proceeded with.

EDUCATION IN ALASKA.

The bill (S. 4567) to provide for elementary and industrial education in Alaska was announced as first in order upon the Calendar.

The VICE PREsIDENT. The bill was read at length yesterday1

and the question is on the amendment proposed by the Senator from Maine [Mr. HALE].

Mr. GORMAN. Let the amendment bo read. 'J.'he CHIEF CLERK. In line 13, after the word "dollars," it is pro

posed to strike out all down to and including the word "dollars " in line 19, being the remainder of the bill, in the following words:

For the year ending .Tune 30, 1894., the sum of $30,000; for the year ending .Tune 30, 1895, the sum of$90,000; and for the year ending .Tune 30, 1896, the sum of8100,000.

So as to make the bill read: Be it enacted, etc., That there shall be, and hel'eby is, appropriated, out of any

mone;v in the '.rreasury not otherwise appropriated, for the elementary and industrial education of the children of school age in the district of Alaska, without reference to race, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with an aot providing a civil government for Alaska, approved l\Iay 17, 1884, for the year ending .Tune 30, 1892, the sum of $60,000; for the year ending.Tune 30, 1893, the sum of 570,000.

. Mr. COCKRELL. I do not think that bill ought to pass in any shape, manner, or form as a separate, independent measure.

Mr. SHERMAN. Let it go over then. :Mr. COCKRELL. I have not objected to it y~t. The question of

education in A.la.ska has been before the Senate for' years. The distinguished chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs [Mr. DAWES] is also a member of the Committee on ..Appropriations. A full and fair consideration has been given to the educational interests of the people of that Territory, and I see no reason why such private bills should be

thrust into the Senate. It looks to me very much as if these appropriations were secnred probably by interested parties wno spend a considerable portion of their time here in the inclement season of the year and the rest of it in expending the money in .Alaska.

Now, I do not think there should be a divided authority in the disposition of money for educational purposes in .Alaska. The question belongs appropriately to the Committee on Appropriations, and from year to year the proper and necessary appropriation has been made; and this is an attempt to secure fixed .appropriations for n series of years, so that the parties interested can arrange things to their own satisfaction. As a matter of course, we all know that the Secretary of the Interior can not give personal attention to this matter, and it will be simply under the guidance of some person. Probably there is some person there now already in charge of the educational interests who will consider himself the fittest person to take charge of the permanent appropriations for an indefinite series of years. I do not believe this is right.

There are some very good schools in Alaska, if I am not mistaken, and there are some missionary schools already established there. They are educating a goocl many of the children of the Aleuts or natives there. I remember very distinctly when Judge Dawson, the judge in that Territory under the last Administration, first entered upon bis duties, one of the first questions presented to him was the right of the parents to take from the schools the children whom they had apprenticed there for a certain period of years. It seems that the school au~ thorities bad been making contracts with the parents or with the mother of a child to take him and educate him for a series of years free of any charge or expense, and when the child would get large enough to be of some service to the other parent he would be taken from the school. The judge decided that that could not be done .and that the children must remain in the school.

I think there has been no national .neglect of the educational interests of the children of that Territory; and1 having that view, I shall 'be compelled to ohject finally to the consideration of the bill. I shull not object to the consideration of the bill now, if any Senator desires to make any remarks upon if.. -

.:Ur. W .ASHBURN. As the bill is likely to lead to a long debate I tbink it had better go over. I object to its further consideration.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Objection being made, the bill will go over.

l\1r. DA WES. I should like, before objection is made--r.rhe VICE PRESIDENT. Objection has already been made, and the

bill has gone over. l\Ir. W.ASIIBURN. Ifitisnottolead toanylongdebatcl will with

draw the o~jection, but if the debate is to take up the entire mornini:? hour, I shall have to object.

Mr. DA WES. If the question whether we shall fulfill our treaty obligations to that country is so irksome to Senators that they can not spend five minnte3 in the consideration of it, I shall not press it upon the Senate. I have no particular interest to press this question upon the Sennte, but there seems to be a mysterious and wonderful sensitiveness--

The VICE PRESIDENT. Obj{!ction having been made, debate is not in order.

l\Ir. TELLER. I ask the Senator to withdraw his objection long enough to allow me to move to refer the bill to the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. DA WES. I believe that the motion of the Senator from Colorado is debatable.

Mr. SHER~I.AN. But it is not yet submitted. The bill cannot be considered under the rule~

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chaii; has ruled, as he understood the Senator from Minnesota not to have withdrawn his objection, that debate is not in order.

Mr. DA WES. And the Senator from Massachusetts presumes to ask the Senator from Minnesota, through the Chair, if he will withdraw his objection for a moment.

Mr. W .ASHBURN. I will withdraw it for a moment, Lut if the bill is going to take up the entire morning hour I shall renew it .

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. D~ WEB] will proceed.

!\fr. DA WES. I hnve not the slightest objection to the bill being referred to the Committee on .Appropriations. I have no parentage of this measure. This measure came from the Committee on Indian Affairs, not through my seeking. It was introduced without my knowledge, or the knowledge of any member of that committee, and it was there considered and reported with an idea that it is possible that we ought to fulfill our treaty obligations to these Indians and tbut we could not do it under annual appropriations.

The bill may be referred to the Committee on Appropriations and they may consider it, as the Committee on Indian .Affairs have done, and it will come hack in the same form probably. I do not know how that may bo; but if we are to depend upon annual appropriations thero is no doubt that it belongs in a regular appropriation bill and should come from the Committee on Appropriations. It comes in this form because all experience in .Alaska and all the necessities of the case in-

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENA'TE. 1019 dicate that appropriations ought to be made for two YE4J'S .at least to be at the command of those who undertake this work. '

Ifwe are to settle down in the doubt ~dap.Prehensionsnggested by the Senator from Maine [Mr. HALE] y-esterday, that we are to have upon us that vast Territory, with no effort to e~ucate the people there, who are living under such circumstances as we think it impossible to relieve them, let us a ban don the effort and not waste $40, 000 this year. and two or three years hence $40, 000 more. . ·

Mr. President, I say this in vindication of the committee, and I will say, in further answer to the Senator from Missouri [.Ur. COCKRELL], that if he has scented some lobbyist here I have not. I have not seen any, nor have the Committee on Indian Affairs seen any. The Committee on Indian Affairs have visited the Territory and have been impressed not only with our utter neglect pf our treaty obligations with Russia, but also with the growing necessity year after year of ma.king some extra effort to meet the necessities of that people.

That is all I wish to say. I have no objection to the bill going to the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. TELLER. Mr. President--1\Ir. VEST. Will the Senator from Colorado permit me to ask the

Senator from Massachusetts a question for information? Mr. TELLER. Certainly. Mr. VEST. I understand the Senator from Massachusetts to inti

mate now, if he does not charge it expressly, that we have disregarded our treaty stipulations with Russia.

Mr. DA WES. Yes, sir. J\Ir. VEST. I ask the Senator if it is not true that we have made

exceptional provisions for the education of the Indians in Alaska. Have we not a commissioner of education for that province-for it is not a Territory-who is there during the summer and here during ,the winter, and who is receiving a salary from the Government of the United States for that specially? I refer to Rev. Sheldon Jackson, whose name we have all heard.

?ifr. DA WES. I answer that, in my judgment, we have come nowbere near complying with our treaty obligations with Russia .in reference to that people. We omitted for ten years the slightest effort to carry out the treaty in this respect and then we appropriated $40, 000, with no method and no instrumentality to use it. Then we waited two or three years and appropriated $25,000, then $40,000, and then $30, 000. In the twenty-five years, more or less, that we have had possession of that Territory, it was ten years without the slightest government in the world.

Mr. BUTLER. Except the Army and Navy of the United States. Mr. DA WES. Now, I will say about Rev. Sheldon Jackson that

two or three years ago, at the instance of the Committee on Indian Affairs, the education of those people was turned over from the Indian Department to the Commissioner of Education, who has administered the little we have expended there. He has, through the board created by law here, employed a man to go. and visit 'the schools there, and his name is Sheldon Jackson; I understand. He is a missionary there.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Senator's time has expired. The Senator from Colorado [Mr. TELLER] is entitled to the floor.

Mr. TELLER. I move that the bill be referred to the Committee on Appropriations. I desire to submit at the same time, and ask that it be printed in the RECORD, an article by Rev. Sheldon Jackson and some army officers on the propriety of m::tking an appropriation for furnishing the natives of that country with some reindeer. It i.:i a very instructive article, and I think the subject suggested is of infinitely more importance to those people now than any educational fond that can be sent them. ·

l\Ir. DA WES. That article has already been presented and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. TELLER. I will ask to have it printed in the RECORD, be-cause I think it is worth while for the Senate to have it where 'thev can read it. ~

Mr. DA WES. I desire to say that when I presented it I asked to have it printed, but the Senator from Ohio [Mr . . SHERMAN] b~ving taken charge of the RECORD objected, and I could not get it in.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on the motion of the Senator from Colorado [:Ur. TELLER] that the bill be referred to tbc Committee on Appropriations.

The motion was agreed to. The VICE PRESIDENT. The paper submitted by the Senator from

Colorado will be printed if there be no objection. .Mr. TELLER. I understand from the_ Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHER

MAN) that this article bas already been printed as a public document. If that is the case I do not wish to have it printed in the RECORD . .

i\fr. SHERMAN. , I ask the Secretary, through the Chair, whether the article has.not been printed as a document.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Reference will be made to the record to ascertain that fact, and if the paper has not already been printed as a document it will be so printed-

Mr. TELLER. I will ask that it be printer1 as a document if it bas not been already done.

The VICE PUESIDENT. That order wifl be mr.d e in the absence of objection, under the rule, if the paper J,ias not already been printed.

PERSON.AL EXPLANATIOX.

·Mr. BLODGETT. lfr. President, I ask permission to make n. brief personal explanation. By the proceedings of the Senate on Monday 12.!3t it· appears that I was absent without being paired. It is due to the junior Senator from New Hampshire fl\fr. CHANDLER], as well n.s myself, to state that I have a general pairwit.h that Senator, but both being absent the pair was not announced.

Mr. BUTLER. The Senator was paired? Mr. BLODGETT. I was paired with the Senator from New Hamp

shire [Mr. CHANDL~R]. PUBLIC .BUILDING AT CHARLESTON, S. C.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The next 'bill on the Calendar will be stated. . '

The bill (H. R. 7630) to increase the limit of cost of the public building at Charleston, S. C., was~nnounced as next in m;der,.and· the Senate, as in Committee of the w nole, proceeded to its consideration.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, 1·ead the third time, and passed.

ANNUAL REPORTS OF DISTRICT STREET RAILWAYS·. The bill (H. R. 9105) requiring the street-railway companies of the

District of Columbia to make annual reports was considered as in Com· mittee of the Whole.

The bill was reported from the Committee on the District of Columbia with amendments. The first amendment was, in section 1, after line 71, to insert: ·

Twenty-ninth. All other items of construction, equipment, maintenance, and operation of said roads.

The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, in section 1, llne 74, to change the num

ber of the paragraph from "twenty-ninth" to "thirtieth." The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was

1 in section 1, line 78, to change the num

ber of the paragraph from • thirtieth" to "thirty-first." The amendment was 11greed to. The next amendment was, in sootion 1_, line 80, to change the num-

ber of the paragraph from" thirty-first" to "thirty-second." The amendment was agreed to. Mr. VEST. I move to add asa new section what I send to the desk. The VICE PRESIDENT. The proposed amendment will be read. The CHIEF CLERK. It is proposed to add as a new section the fol-

lowing: S.Eo. 3. That each ho1·se, cable, and electric railway company in the District

of Oolumbia. shall, on and after t.lle 1st day of .January, 1891, keep and sell to such persons -traveling on said railroads a.s desire to purchase the same at the rate of eight tickets for 25 cents, tickets to be made in strips, consisting of eight tickets ea.ch with perforations between each ticket, which tickets shall not be reissued again aft.er once having been used as fare: Provided, Tha.t no person not given or furnished a seat on the car of any such horse, cable, or electric railway company in the District of Columbia shall be required to pay fare on any such car.

Mr. INGALLS. Mr. President, I object to the further consideration of the bill at this time.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Objection being made, the bill wilJ go over.

Mr. HALE. That leaves the amendment of the Sena.tor from l'ifis-souri pending?

The VICE PRESIDENT. It does. • l\ir. COCKRELL. Let the amendment be printed. The VICE PRESIDENT. The amendment will be printed. Mr. VEST. The Senator from Maine has called my attention to

what I had not observed, that the amendment being the terms of a House bil1, there must be a change of the date. It now reads, "after the 1st day of January, 1891." That date is past. It should read, "after the 1st day of .Tnly, -is91." I had not observed that, and I am obliged to the Senator. I ask leave to modify the amendment in that respect, so as to strike out "January" and insert ''July, " and let the amendment be printed.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The amendment will be so modified, and the bill will go over.

PUilLIC BUILDING .AT AKRON, OHIO. The bill (H. R. 4403) for the erection of a public building at Akron,

Ohio, was considered as in Committee of the Whole. The bill was reported from the Committee on Public Buildings and

Grounds with an amendment, in line 11, before the word "thousand," to strike out "one hundred" and insert ''seventy-five;" so as to read:

The plans, specifications, and fall estimates for said buildin&" shall ba previously made and approved according to law, and shall not exceed, for the site and building comp1ete, the sum of $75,000.

Mr. SHERMAN. I hope that the Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. SPOONER], who reported the bilJ, will not insist upon that amendment. Akron is a rapidly growing town now, with over 30,-000 inhabitants, and I do not think $75, 000 will erect a proper building there. If the Senator insists upon the amendment I shR.11 have to submit, because half a loaf is better than no bread, but I think it important to erect in a city of that size not less than a $100,000 building.

I have another objection to this amendment. I submit to the Sen-

1020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. J .ANU .ARY 8,

ate that if the amendment is adopted it may defeat the bill. There is great difficulty in getting a bill up in the other House under the circumstances existing, and I do not think $100,000 is an unrea.sonable amount. I have seen much larger sumsappropriatedfortownsofonethird the size of Akron. This is one of the first bills which passed the other House at the present session, and I trust the amendment will be rejected. ·

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the amendment reported by the committee.

l\fr. SPOONER. Mr. President, I care nothing personally about the amendment. The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds adopted the amendment on the basis of the receipts of the post office and upon the ground also that it is to be a building for use, as I remember, entirely as a post office.

Mr. VEST. Mr. President, I believe it will be conceded upon both sides of the Chamber that the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds has been exceedingly liberal as to the appropriations for the construction of public buildings. Now, here is a specific argument in favor of the passage of the general bill which wa.CJ reported by the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds for the erection of edifices for post-office purposes alont>~ That bill was unanimously reported here the session before last. It was taken up and discussed, and there seemed to be very little opposition to it; but it was pushed out of the way, and nothing has been done with it since. The result is that we have bill after bill for the erection of public building:s in towns and cities for post-office purposes alone, the proposed cost to he from $75, 000 to $200, 000.

I hope the Senator from Ohio will believe-and I am entirely sincere in the statement-that I would not make an objection to the amount named in the bill originally except for public reasons, which I deem important, and I will name one of them. If this bill were the only bill in which there was a proposed reduction, tbe matter would not amount to so much, but we found eeveral of these bills pending before our committee and all of us know that if the amount is establisced in one bill at $100,000, say, every town of the same size as to population and with anything like the same post-office receipt.a will also require an appropriat~on of $100,000, and the result will be in the aggregate the taking out of the Treasury of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We endeavored to do absolute justice to the town or city of Akron, Ohio. We took the post-office receipts, the population, and the amount of business done generally, and we applied a rule to all these bills for post offices alone which is absolutely just and in my judgment proper.

Mr. SHERMAN. .Mr. President, rather than delay the bill I will withdraw my objection to the amendment of the committee. If any rule has been adopted of a universal character I am perfectly willing to acquiesce in it.

Mr. VEST. That is what we have tried to do. Mr. SIIERl\f.AN. Although I think $100,000 for a building in a

city like Akron is too small, rather than delay the passage of the bill I will withdraw my objection to the amendment.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the amendment reported by the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

The amendment was agreed to. '!'he biIIWas reported to the Senate as amended, and the amendment

was concurred in. The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read

a third time. The bill was read the third time, and passed. Mr. SPOONER. I move that the Senate request a conference with

the House of Representatives on the bill and amendment. The motion was agreed to. By unanimous consent, the Vice President wa.s authorized to appoint

the conferees on the part of the Senate; and Mr. SPOONER, M:r. M:oRRILL, and Mr. VEST were appointed.

PUilLIC BUILDING AT SAVANNAII, GA.

The bill (H. R. 178) to provide for enlarging the proposed public building at Savannah, Ga., the purchase of another site, if practicable, and for the sale of the present site was announced as next in order on the Calendar, and wns read by the Secretary.

Mr. EDMUNDS. Has not the morning hour expired? The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair understands that the morning

hour continues until 1 o'clock. Mr. EDMUNDS. That is not the way I supposed; but I nresume

the Chair is right about it. -]')fr. SHERMAN. What is the statement? Mr. ED:UUNDS. When we meet at 12 the morning hour goes to 2

o'clock, but under the former order we got through in an hour. The VICE PRESIDENT. The Secretary will read the resolution

adopted by the Senate on the 10th of .August, 1888. The Chief Clerk read ns follows:

Re.ciolution by l\Ir. IloAR, adopted Aug ust 10, 1888 : "Ruolvecl, That after to-day, unless otherwise ortlerocl, the morning hour

!i1:~·~ terminate nt tho expiration of two hour3 nfter the meeting o f the Sen-

Mr. EDMUNDS. If the Chair will excuse me, I thought that we adopted a temporary standing order providing for an earlier hour of

meet41g anQ. th~t the morning hour should expire one hour afterwards. The Chair thinks that not having met at 10 o'clock, but meeting at 11, would carry us two hours.

Mr. PLATT. Did not we meet at 11 o'clock yesterday? .M:r. EDMUNDS. We did. Mr. PLATT. And wasnotit announced at 12 that the morning bud

expired? The VICE PRESIDENT. The morning hour continued until 1

o'clock yesterday. What is the pleasure of the Senate? Mr. SHERM.AN. I move that the Senate proceed to the considera

tion of what is called the currency bill, now the free-coinage bill, I presume.

Mr. VEST. If the Senator from Ohiowillallow me, !wish to make a statement rather personal in it.a nature, which I think will cause the Senate to permit the bill which has been read here to be disposed of. Our colleague, the Senator from Georgia [Mr. COLQUITT], is very ill and hM sent me a personal request to have the bill disposed of.

Mr. EDMUNDS. .All right. Let that one go through, then. Mr. VEST. On account of illness, neither of the Senators from Georgia

is here, and I think, under the circumstances, we ought to dispose of the bill.

Mr. CULLOM. Let that bill be passed and then lot us go to the regular order.

Mr. SHERM.AN. I withdraw my motion for the present, as a matter of course, in deference to the absent Senators from Georgia.

The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill (H. R.178) to provide for enlarging the proposed public building at Savannah, Ga., the purchase of another site, if practicable, and for the sale of the present site.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

MESSAGE FROl\I THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by ]')~r. MARTIN, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House:insisted upon its amendments to the bill (S. 540) to amend sections 1529, 1530, and 1531 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to the Navy, disagreed to by the Senate; agreed to the conference asked by the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and had appointed Mr. BouTELLE, Mr. LODGE, and Mr. McADOO managers at the conference on tho part of the House.

The message also announced that the House had passed the follow- · iDg bills:

A bill (S. 447G) directing the issue of a duplicate of a lost check drawn by .A. W. Beard, collector of customs at the port of Boston, Mass., in favor of De Blois & Co.; and

A bill (S. 4547) for the relief of the inhabitanl.B of the town of Gallup, Bernalillo County, Territory of New Mexico.

The message further announced that the House bad passed a bill (H. R.11567) for the relief of telegraph operators during the war of the rebellion; in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate.

The message also announced that the Honse had passed a concurrent resolution for the printing of 500 copies of the hearing before the Select Committee on the Eleventh Census of the House of Representatives on resolution asking for a recount of the census in the city of New York, for the use of said committee.

COIN AND CURRENCY. Mr. STEW ART. I move to take up the unfinished business. Mr. EDMUNDS. The Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHEB:l\IAN] made

that motion long ago. Mr. ALLISON. I ask the Senator from Nevada to yield to me for

a minute. Mr. STEW .ART. Let the unfinished business be taken up and then

I will yield to the Senator from Iowa. l\Ir. ALLISON. The bill which I desire to have considered will

take but a moment to pass and it is the next bill on the Calendar. It is a public-building bill of some importance to my State.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question ison themotionoftbeSenator from Nevad!l. that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the hill (S. 4675) to provide against the contraction of the currency, and for other purposes.

The motion was agreed to. Mr • .ALLISON. Now I ask the Senator from Nevada to give way

fora moment. Mr. STEW .ART. I yield to the Senator from Iowa.

PUDLIC nmLDING AT DAVENPORT, IOWA.

Mr . .ALLISON. I ask unanimous consent that the unfinished busi· ness may be informally laid aside and that House bill 5380 may be taken up for consideration. If it takes any time I shall withdraw it.

By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, p:oceeded to consider the hill (H. R. 5380) to provide for the construction of a public building at Davenport, Iowa.

Mr. SPOONER. Does the bill contain nn appropriation? Mr. VEST. There is no appropriation in it. It is a. House bill. Mr. ALLISON. - It is a. House bill.

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· SENATE. 1021 The VICE PRESIDENT. The Secretary will read the portion of

the bill relating to an appropriation. The Chief Clerk read as follows:

So much of the appropriation herein made as may be necessary to det"ray the expenses of advertising for proposRls, compensation, and actual traveling expenses of the commissioners, and other expenses incident to the selection of the site shall be immediately available; so much of said appropriation as may bo necessary for the preparation of sketch-plans, drawings, specifications, and detailed es timates for the building by the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department shall be available immediately upon the receipt of the report of the com missioners selecting the site; so much of said appropriation as may be necessary to make payment.for tile site shall be available upon the receipt 'of the written opinion of the Attorney-General in favoi: of the validity of title to the site selected, and when the State of Iowa shall have ceded to the United States jurisdiction over the site selected, during the time that the United States shall be or remain the owner thereof, for all purposes except the admini&tration of the criminal laws of said State and the service of civil process therein; or. so much of said appropriation as may be necessary to acquire title to the site by condemnation shall be immediately available, etc.


l\Ir. VEST subsequently said: . I ask the Senate, in order to correct a mistake in a bill that was passed this morning, to take it up for the :purpose of reconsideration in order to amend the bill anci have a conference. I refer to the bill (H. R. 5380), to provide for the construction of a public building at Davenport, Iowa. I move a reconsiderationit will lead to no debate whatever-in order that the bill may be properly amended and go to conference.

The PRESIDING OFFICER {Mr. FAULKNER in the chair). Is there objection to the request of the Senator from Missouri? Hearing none, the question iS upon reconsidering the votes by which the bill was ordered to a third reading and passed.

The motion to reconsider was agreed to. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill is before the Senate and open

to amendment. :Mr. VEST. I move tostrikeouttheportionof the bill whichlhave

marked. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment will be stated. The CHIEF CLERK. In the first section, page 2, line 35 after the

word "commissioner," it is proposed to strike out all down to and including the word "approaches," on page 3, line 62, in the following words: •

So much of the appropriation herein made as may be necessary to defray the expenses of advertising for proposals, compensation and actual traveling expenses of tlte commissioners, and other expenses incident to the selection of the site, shall be immediately available; so much of said appropriation as may be necessary for the preparation of sketch-plans, drawings, specifications, and detailed estimates for the building by the Supervising Architect 0f the Treasury Departmentshall be available immediately upon the receiptofthereportofthe commissioners selecting the site; so much of said appropria.tion as may be necessary to make payment for the site shall be available upon the receipt of the written opinion of the Attorney-General in favor of the validity of title to the site selected, and when the State of Iowa shall have ceded to the United States iurisdiction over the site selected, during the time that the United States shall be or remain the owner thereof, for all purposes except the administration of the crill!inal laws of said State and the service of civil process therein; or so much of said appropriation as may be necessary to acquire title to the site by condemnation ~11 be immediately available; and, after the site shall have been paid for and the sketch-plans and detailed estimates for the building shall have been prepared by the Supervising Architect and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Interior, and the :Postmaster-General, the bal· ance of said appropriation shall be available for the erection and completion of t.he building, including fire-proof vaults, heating and ventilating apparatus, elevators, and approaches.

The. PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the amendment of the Senator from Missouri.

The amendment was agreed to. The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read

a third time. The bill was read the third time, and passed. Mr. VEST. I move that the Senate request a conference with the

House of Representatives on the bill and amendment. The motion was agreed to. . By unanimous consent, the Chair was authorized .to appoint the con

ferees on the part of the Senate; and Mr. VEST, Mr. SPOONER, and l\1r. MORRILL were appointed.

PRESIDENTIAL .APPROVAL. A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. 0. L.

PRUDEN, one of his secretaries, announced that the President had on this day approved and signed the act (S. 2474) ~or the relief of Charles N. Felton, formerly assistant treasurer of the Umted States at San Francisco, Cal.

JAMES E. ANDR~WS.

Mr. WASHBURN. I ask the Senator from Nevada to yield to me to call up a bill.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Nevada yield to the Senator from Minnesota?

l\Ir. STEW ART. If the bill of the Senator from Minnesota does not lead to debate I will yield once more, but after that I shall want to go on with the regular business.

l\fr. WASHBURN. I ask unanimous consent for the l.'Onsideration of the bill which I attempted to call up earlier in the dav. It is House bill 1460.

By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill (H. R. 1460) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue certain duplicate bonds to James E. Andrews to replace same destroyed by fire. It directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue and deliver to James E. Andrews, of Wadena, l\Iinn., four duplicate 4 per cent. coupon $50 United States bonds, with interest coupons attached to each bond for allinterestdueon and after Aprill, 1886, in place of four such bonds issued under the acts of July 14, 1870, and January 20, 1871, numbered 39027, 39028, 39029, and 39030, destroyed by fire on the 31st of March, 188G, at Wadena, Minn., while owned and in the possession of Andrews, upon his duly executing and filing with the Secretary of the Treasury a bond of indemnity, in double the amount of the destroyed bonds, with unpaid interest, with t.wo or more sureties to be approved by and in all respects to be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury.


PATROL STEAMER ON ST. MARY'S RIVER, MICHIGAN. l\Ir. McMILLAN. I ask unanimous consent to call up Senate bill

4632. The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Nevada yield to

the Senator from Michigan? Mr. STEW ART. For what purpose? Mr. l\.f c111ILLAN. That I may ask for the consideration of Senate

bill 4632, Order of Business 2217. Mr. STEW ART. I yield for that purpose. By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,

proceeded to consider the bill (S. 4632) to provide for a patrol steamer for the replacing of buoys in the St. Mary's River, Michigan. It appropriates $4,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be used by the Lighthouse Board for the hiring and proper equipment of a suitable steamer for use in patrolling the St. Mary's River, Michigan, for the replacement of buoys marking the channel lines in the river, which have been or may be displaced by rafts or otherwise during the season of navigation.

The bill was reported to the Senate without. amendment, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, .read the third time, and passed.

IIOUSE BILL REFERRED. The bill (H. R. 11567) for the relief of telegraph operators daring the

war of the rebellion was read twiee by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

CENSUS IIEARING. The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the following con

current resolution from the House of Uepresentatives; which wa.s referred to the Committee on Printing:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That there be printed 500 copi~s of the hearing before the Select Committee on the Eleventh Census of the House of Representatives, on resolution asking for n recount of the census in the city of New York, for the use of said committee.

COIN AND CURREYCY. The VICE PRESIDENT. The unfinished business will be proceeded

with. The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the considera

tion of the bill (S. 4675) to provide against the contractio~ of the currency, and for other purposes.

l\1r. STEW .ART. Mr. President, I should like to renew the suggestion I made yesterday, that we agree upon a day when we shall dis- . pose of this bill. It is very important to fix a time. I do not want to cot off any necessary or legitimate debate, of coul1'!e, upon a question of this kind, but the session is drawing to a close; there are other mat-

. ters pressing, and I appeal to Senators to fix an early day when the vote can be taken. I suggest that we ought to be able to finish the bill by Saturday. I ask unanimous consent that we agree to take a vote on the bill and amendments without further debate at 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objectionto the request made by the Senator from Nevada? _

Ur. GORMAN. :Mr. President, I confess to very great surprise at the suggestion made by the Senator from Nevada. I was not in the Senate Chamber yesterday at the moment when he made the suggestion to fix Friday as the date for taking the final vote.

There is no disposition, so far as I know, on the part of anybody to delay a moment the consideration of this bill; but I submit to the.Senator from Nevada that be ought not, in fairness, to press that suggestion now. The bill, with the amendment offered by the Senator, has been described, by the Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERl\IAN] as one of the most revolutionary measures which have been introduced into this (',ongress; and ift.he amendment of the Senator from Nevada be adopted the Senator from Ohio prophesied that the whole financial structure would be overturned.

If the Senator from Ohio is right then we ought to have time to de- . liberate and to ascertain what is necessary to be done. On ,the oth~r ·hand, the distinguished Senator from N evad.a stated yesterday in a most emphatic way that the suggestions and recommendations of the

1022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SEN.ATE. JANUARY 8,

Senator ·from Ohio and of the Committee on Finance were more destructive ~o the interests of the people of the country than any propositio:l which had ever heretofore been presented. If either of these Senn tors be right-and I trust they are both wrong-we ought to ha vo time at all events to weigh their suggestions and consider them.

Now, l\fr. President, for one, I think in the present emergency we ought to ba•e time for calm deliberation, and there ought to be a disposition on both sides of the Chamber, with all the views we have had heretofore upon the abstract question, to consider them calmly and carefully, and we should endeavor to come together without regard to party to meet this emergency. Therefore it seems to me that the baste which my friend from Nev~ula displays in this matter is most extraordinary.

The Senator surprised the country and gratified it at the same time, I think, on Monday morning by making a motion, which was successful, to proceed to the consideration of the financial measure in which every living soul within the Republic is interested. He made the motion about half past 2 o'clock, as I remember, on Uonday. At all events, it was half past 2 o'clock before we began the consideration of it.

It wasabout 3 p. m., according to a memorandum I have, when we acti•ely began the consideration of the bill after its reading on .?tfonday. That entire day up to 5 o'clock was occupied bytheSenatorfrom Kansas who sits nearest me [Mr. PLUMB], the Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERMAN], the Senator from Texas [Mr. REAGAN], and the Senator from Nevada [.Mr. STEWART]. At 5 o'clock, on motion of the Senator from Ohio, who considered that another matter of greater importance demanded attention, we went into the consideration of that. I do not care to describe it more than to say that it was a matter of great importance in the opinion of the Senator from Ohio and of the Senate. On Tuesday we met here at 10 o'clock a. m., at least that was the order of the Seng,te.

We have been meeting frequently at 10 o'clock in the morning from almost the beginning of the session, and at no morning when the Senate was to convene at 10 o'clock were there more than sixteen Senators present. That is the highest number at any time present in this body at that hour, Then we were on the consideration of another matter, purely polUical in its nature. But once during the entire time W'l.S a quorum asked for on this side of the Chamber. So long as there was opportunity for free and fair discussion we have been anxious that the opportunity might be embraced by those who desired to discuss measures here, aud no question of a quorum was raised. But Tuesday morning the Senator from Vermont [Mr. EmIUNDS] called attention to the absence of a quorum, and we spent nearly one hour in getting a quorum of this body before we proceeded to busineas. · '

Mr. COCKRELL. He first made a motion to take a recess. Mr. GORMAN. As the Senator from Missouri says, a motion was

made by the Senator from Vermont to take a recess, and that was voted down. Then followed a discussion of this measure by the Senator from Colorado [Mr. TELLER], be having i;ven this question of course very great consideration, and we are all glad to listen to him, for he enlightens the Senate and the country whenever he speaks upon it. Then came a discussion by the Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERMAN], the Senator from Vermont [l\Ir. l\1oRRILL], the Senator from Arkansas [Mr. Jmrns], the Senator from :Missouri (.M:r. VEST], and then again the Senator from Colorado [.Ur. TELLER], in general debate, until 3 o'clock and 10 minutes p. m., when again the Senator from Ohio suggested that the matter be la.id a.side and moved that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business, at which we spent the rest of the doy.

Now, can it be that following this moderate discussion, confined al· most exclusively to the other side, when the s~nator from Nevada, the Senator from Colorado, and the Senator from Ohio and his friends on that side of the Chamber have consum<¥I the entire time so far practi· cally in the discllBsion of this matter, this great revolutionary proposi· tion, :lS it is described by the Senator from Ohio, this outrageous proposition on the people of the country as described by the Senator from Nevada, that we are asked to take a vote upon it and agree upon a time now within twenty-four hours or forty-eight hours?

I think the Senator from Nevada upon reflection will withdraw his suggestion. It may be that he is under some pressure to insist upon doing this, but I submit to him and to every Senator on the other side of the Chamber that while the bill was reported from the Committee on Finance by the Senator from Ohio on the 18th day of December, ordered to be printed and recommitted, it has had no consideration whatever except it be by the members of this body on the other side of the Chamber. We on this side, oven the members of the Committee on Fina.nee, have never been able to meet with you for its consideration. I say to tbe Senator from Ohio and the gentleman in charge of the bill that never before in the history of the Government in a great financial crisis had the majority of a body such an opportunity to avail themselves of whatever encouragement a minority could give and do give a.s in the consideration of this measur-e.

Ur. SHEl:Ut!AN. Will the Senator allow me? Mr. GORMAN. Certainly. Mr. SHER1t1AN. I wish ho would relieve my mind on one subject.

I <lo not know, but I supposed thut t lle practical control of this bill, which we considered very important and which we thought would be very beneficial, was taken out of our hands. I speak not onlyformyself, but for the Committee on Finance. The interposition of the question of free coinage, as we supposed, was presented, and that being much more important in every aspect than any other measure that could be proposed, we were disposed to surrender to our superior authority on the other side who nre supposed to be in favor of that proposition, together with a few on this side, and let them exercise their authority as a majority of the body upon this money quesUon. There is where the rcspon.'3ibility rests, at least as the vote now stands. So I am taking a very modest part and expected to stand in opposition to the proposition which I think is a practical financial revolution of our whole system; and I do not consider myself exactly responsible for the bill, as it is practically taken out of our hand&.

Mr. GORMAN. Mr. President, I think the Senator from Ohio docs himself great injustice by that speech. That distinguished Senator stands before the country as possibly no other member of either House of Congress. IIis fumiliarity with the financial affairs of the Government and its business interests is recognized by everybody. There is not a member on this side oftbe Chamber who at the beginning of this session did not look to the Senator from Ohio to lead in this matter for the present telief of the co-untry. Publicly upon this floor and privately that Senator and his colleagues knew that we were ready to join him in the consideration of a financial measure which would be moderate and conservative and give the needed relief to business affairs. But in the consideration of it, though it was pressed by the Secretary of the Treasury and the President of tho United States, for some reason unknown to me unless it be one purely of a partisan character, the frumingof the bill, the determination as to its provisions, was confined exclusively to the Senator and his political friends. As we understand from the public prints this bill Cd.me here practically as a party measure, but, as it failed to unite the partyofthe Senator, as a matter of course it comes up for amendment. The bill, however, as it stands is the bill of the committee and in charge of the Senator from Ohio.

Mr. President, all we desire, as you have excluded us from the private council in framing the mea!mre, is that proper time at least shall be allowed for the discussion of it in open Senate. L think, sir, this Congress will go down to history as the onewherean attempthasbeeu made from the very beginning, by suggesting almost every other day that votes shall be taken upoa important measures, to lay the foundation for a rule which will cut off and termian.te debate. I call the attention of the Senator from Nevada to the fact that his very suggestion, inopportune and out of.time as I think it is, may be used hereafter to further a proposition which would not only cut off debate, but which if adopted would bave prevented. him from offering the amendment now pending and going on with this discussion.

If the Senator from Nevada will :permit this matter to go on us has been usual, if he will permit the discussion to proceed to a reasonable length of time, I believe there will be no trouble about a vote on the bill, as there never has been upou any great proposition affecting the interests of the Government. If the Senator f,rom Nernda would confer with the distin~uished Senator from Iowa in front of him [Mr . .ALLISON] I have no doubt the Senator from Iowa would tell him, as he ha..'i said publicly upon this floor, that at no time during this Con~ress in the consideration of public matters hn.s there been any delay. During the last session we consumed more time upon the single proposition to a.scerta.in whether it is possible to find water in Novada. or in a few of tho Western States than you propose to give us upon the discussion of a measure which involves hundreds of millions of dollars. Al ways in this body it is possible to come to a vote n.t the proper time, but I say to the Senator from Nevada that while I am anxious to move along with him and have a fair discussion upon the question of free coinage, I want also a full opportunity to discuss the other prop~ ositions which the Senator from Ohio bus alluded to, the outright purchase of silver and the issuing of a bond.

The Senator from Ohio made a statement in his speech that ought to be inquired into and examined. The act passed at the last session for the purchase of silver had the effect of permitting the specul[ltors to come in; it was principally for the bears that that meas um was passed, or at least that was the :::esult of it; and the Senator from Ohio intimated what I have seen before in the public prints, but did not believe: while disclaiming an idea of the speculation under that act lie intimated that there were others here who knew more about it than he did.

Mr. President, when a great Senator like the Senator from Ohio throws out such an intimation after the publications in the public prints it seems to me that we ought not to be asked to pass this bill in a day; and when the Senator from Nevada retorts and says the provisions of the bill as reported by the Senator from Ohio woultl increase the indebtedness of this country two hundred and fifty or three hundred million dollars in the shape of premiums that would go into the hands ofafew speculators, I say to birn, Give us time to weigh your statements. The charges do not come from this side of the Chamber. Give us an opportunity to confer with you in private and to discuss in public fully this matter.

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 10.23 Mr. President, you have attempted to reverse the whole rule in the question, which is the whole bottom and nut of this business, ought

the government of iegislation at this session. It began on the very to be proceeded with in one way or in another or not proceeded. with first day with the consideration of a matter which the country was at all. This subject, therefore, if it be longer debated than to-day, is not prepared for and which the Senate was not prepared for. You not debated to the public interest or to the public welfare, and, howhave met at 10 o'clock and prevented the committees of this body from ever good the intentions of orators may be in that respect, it is debated the consideration of any important measure. There is the Committee to the effect of excluding from consideration the other measures which on Appropriations with appropriation bil~ pending in it. There has are already on the Calendar. not been a day when it could meet except it left the Senate Chamber I am therefore opposed to fixing any time or doing anything but while these important matters were under consideration. The Com- going straight on until this bill is finished to-day. mittee on Interstate Commerce has a proposition pending before it M:r. GORMAN. Mr. President, Ibave always had great respect for which all the railroad interests in the United States insist is most im- the Senator from Vermont. We all respect him not only as a man, but

· nortant and absolutely necessary to prevent disaster. Yet you have for his great intelligence and learning. But the Senator from Vermont, kept us here so that not one of these measures has been considered; great as he is, has fallen into a habit of lecturing everybody who disa· and now you come in after twenty-four hours, yes, after about only grees with him. He bas been constantly intimating that there is some eight hours, of actual discussion of this measure and ask us to fix.a time unseen motive in the action of gentlemen who happen to be opposed to for a final vote. him. He says be does not understand the ulterior motive of myself now

I am sure the Senator from Nevada. upon reflection will withdraw in what I have said, insinuating that there is something behind. ?i1r. his suggestion. We have begun at the wron~ end of the session. Busi- President, ''Evil be to him who eYil thinks.'' But it does not lie in ness has been delayed, the public interests have been jeopardized by the mouth of the Senator from Vermont, great as he is, to be constantly commencing the sessions herea.tlOo'clockandnotenablingustoframe throwing out these insinuations. He can not be permitted to do it measures that ought to be passed or confer with you in the morning without reply. hour, as has been usual. · I trust the Senator from. Nevada will post- There are some Senators, :Ur. President, who are found here at pone bis request until we have disposed of his one important amend- prayers in the .morning, and then, by a convenient order of the Senate ment, and then when we go on to the consideration, as !hope we shall granting a committee leM·e to remain in session during the sessions do speedily and in the usual way, of other amendments that are to fol- of the Senate, they absent tl,J.emsel ves on committee work, I t.ake it for low, we can reach a time when a vote can bo had, and had after a full granted, until about the hour of adjournment in the afternoon. and free discussion of the measure. Mr. EDMUNDS. But w-e are always here to vote.

Mr. STEW ART. 11fr. President, I realize the importance of this l\fr. GORMAN. At the bead of that list stands the Senator from measure and also the necessity of having fair discussion; but it must Vermont. Webavenothadhjscounselforayearduringtheboursfrom be remembered that it is a question which has been much discussed. 12 to 4 o'clock except on rare occasions. There arc others of us, in our I do not wish to cut off debate; I want it to be fairly and deliberately poor way and with not half the ahility of the Senator from Vermont, considered; butithink the Senate ought to fix a time so that the Sena· who have struggled to do what we could for the best interests of the tors who are to speak will be prepared to be here and work within that country during the whole hours of session here. Ile may have been time, not going along with the bill and putting off a vote day after day better employed in his committee, the interests of the oountry may to allow this one and that one to get ready, .as has been done before, have been furthered by his absence from the body in committee. What and crowding out other business. There is not time for such a course his motives were I will not inquire-into. to be pursued. Other public business is pressing. I think this is vastly Now the Senato~ comes back before 1 o'clock in the day, at halt more important than any other measure. I think it is the most im- past 12, and when I only presented a proposition that we should ha.Te portant measure that can come before Congr~. I believe the money a reasonable time and with the declaration that there was no intention question is more important than any other question, the tariff, a. po- to delay on this great financial question, he complains of it. At the litical question, or otherwise, because it is only with a supply of money last se!f>ion of Congress we spent more time upon the question whether that. free institutions can be sustained. Every country has gone into we should givp a bounty to sugar, including maple sugar, than yon barbarism when it lost its money. No country has ever emerged from propose to admit upon this great proposition affecting the finances of barbarism without money. It is the life blood of civilization. It is a this 62,000,000 people. question of freedom. You may extend the suffrage or whatever you 1\fotive! Let me tell the Senator from Vermont that no gentleman like, but deprive the people of the United 'States of mon,ey and they who is a member of this body ought to have and can ha>e any other would lose their liberty; they woulcl become serfs. I believe it is the motiv.e except the fuithfnl and honest discharge of his public duties. most important of all questions. But I think that it is sufficiently We have, however, different ways of doing it, the Senator in his coun· understood to have a vote within a reasonable time. cil chamber appearing only upon great occasions as the spirit may move

I do not wish to cut off debate, but I appeal to Senators to name a him. The rest of us, not so great or good, think it our duty to be time when we can have a vote. If Saturday will not do name some hcrewhen the Chair announces that the Senate shall come to order and other day. Let us have a vote at a fixed day. we remain here until the session closes.

Mr. EDMUNDS. Mr. President, if I did not know so perfectly the Mr. President, so long as we have one legislative body remaining entire candor and innocent simplicity of the Senator from l\faryland where the representatives of a State can fully and freely present the [Mr. GORMAN], I should be inclined to .f{mr that he had some ulterior facts connected with every proposition, so long will we remain to guard purpose or view in his struggle for an indefinite liberty of debate upon the people's interests. No intimation of ulterior motives or insinuathis question. I sbould think that he bad some ulterior purpose or tions, no matter how disagreeable or base, will deter me, I wish to inview when be refers to the terrible condition of the committees of this form the Senator from Vermont, from doing my duty as I understand body in being deprived of t;he opp~rtunity to work because they are it to the people whom I represent an<j to the best interests o"f the whole obliged to attend here at 10 or llo'clock iu the morniug, although most people of this country so far as I can serve them. people have observed that at 10 o'clock and 11 o'clock in the morning Mr. EDMUNDS. Mr. President, I am extremely obliged to my only a dozen or two out of the eighty-eight Senators of the United sensitive brother from 1\faryland for reminding me that I have not been States were present. I assume that those who were absent were strug- as attentive to bis speeches and those of his fellows for some time past gling in committee to still further swamp the Calendar of the Senate a.s I ought to have been. Ihavecommitted, I admit, the unpardonable with measures already reported so as to go round and round like Ix- mistake of thinking that I could be mo.re useful in my way to my ion at his wheel, and get nothing determined at all. The Calendar country in studying law and working over the affairs of the Committee oftbe Senate now (aua it bas beensosincethe firstdayofthissession) on the Judiciary in its room, and attending to the matters of the Comhas on it more than u dozen measures of universal public importance mittee on Foreign Relations in its room, than to listen even to the elothat have been considered by committees, that have been reported, quence of the distinguished Senator from Uaryland upon threadbare and yet can not be reached and disposed of. topics that have been discussed over and over again. Undoubtedly I

Mr. HOAR. Many of them debated, too. was wrong; and so I thank him for decorating me with bis displeasure Mr. ED:;\:IUNDS. And maµy of them debated. They can not be that I have not had the grace to come and listen to all of the good

reached ancl disposed of on account of some reason which is probably things that be bas been so much accustomed to say. I am extremely quite as well known to the Senator from Maryland and gentlemen on sorry for it; but I think the Senator from :Uaryland will do me the the other side as it is believed by me. The trouble ia not in the want justice to admit that when the time has come to vote upon anything of opportunity for committees; it is in the want of willingness on the after his elaborations have been comp1eteand his formations all in order part of some members, be it a majority or a minority of this body, that my name has been found on the roll-call nearly every time, and quite short, sharp, and decisive and real debate shall occur upon every meas- as often as bis. u.re, ~-ind then honestly vote upon it one way or the other. That is all 1 wish to say about that, Mr. President. But, lca>ing

Mr. President, eYery one of the questions involved in the pending personal considerations aside and personal sensitiveness aside, which bill upon which there is any difference of opinion wns the subject of I can readily imagine, I wish to repeat that we have now in the Sendiscussion, exhaustive, exuberant, if not profound, at the last session of ate and have ha.d from the first l\fonday in December, stating it as I Congress. All the Sangrados of :fiJ:iance shed the blood of the gold do on my responsibility, a persistent effort to delay the progress of bugs and silver bugs and mortgage bugs and every other kind of bu~s business and coming to a solution of it, for an ulterior motive that that we .are accustomed to hear referred to, a.nd exhausted C\ ery re- everybody in this Chamber and some people in the country understand. source oforatory and ingenuity in trying to show either that the silver . Th:itis all I wish to say about it.


Mr. MORGAN. Mr. President, the Senator from Vermont has forgotten, I suppose, that the majority of the Senate took the measure, which had been so long debated, out of the hands of the Senate and postponed it to give place to the very important bill that is now here. It was net this side of the Chamber that hau the power to do that. It required the action of both sides of the Chamber to do that. The Senator from Vermont is now found on his feet in the Senate Chamber complaining of the action of his own friends in taking out of the hands of the Senate a measure that the country had evidently reprobated and is continuing to reprobate, a measure about which the country 2ays we have been wasting a great deal of very valuable time, and has placed in the stead of it a measure relating to finance, which contains 11t least one proposition, if not two, that are entirely novel, that are a total

_ departure from our system of legislation and from anything that has ever heretofore been suggested in this body.

Mr. President, the debate on the force bill, to which the Senator from Vermont very quietly alludes without calling it by its name, did progress in the Senate from the beginningofthissession down to within a few days since. It was very thoroughly debated, although there were several Senators at least on this side of the Chamber and some on the other side of the Chamber who have had as yet no opportunity of presenting in detail or at any length their views of that very important and very intricate and h~rd-to-be-understood measure. Thereupon Senators who felt that the interests of the country were suffering in consequence of the continuation of that debate moved its postponement in favor of the bill which is now before this body. There is no ground for complaint about that at all, :Ur. President.

Neither is there any ground for · the urgency which the Senator from Vermont is now exhibiting upon this particular silver bill, as it is called here (which is anything but a silver bill, for the silver coinage part of it comes in by way of amendment), except his desire to push to the front again the fore~ bill, which has been condemned by the vote of this body as bejng one of the measures which are occupying and exhausting public patience and public time without any good to the country, without any prospect of good to anything else than the mere machine work of the Republican party. The machine men of the Republican party seem to have a very earnest desire to interpose this new piece of political machinery in favor of the interests of their party for the purpose of working out results which shall reverse and annul the judgment of the people on the 4th day of November last nnd the judgment of every State amongst the older States of the American Union now for a hundred years. That I or that any man who is opposed to that measure should be disposed to oppose it with all proper parliamentary opposition is not a strange matter.

The opposition to that measure dates conterminously with the foundation of this Government. The opposition to that measure was expressed in the State conventions by way of admonition and warninsr and injunction and conjuration and persuasion upon all of posterity and all of the successors of the men who were then laying the foundations of our institutions, that the particular bill which was before the Senate until it was displaced by this bill never should become a Jaw. The whole century has been loaded with these injunctions of our ancestry; and scarcely a statesman has ever written or spoken upon this subject from this time back to the foundation of our Government who has not recalled the admonitions of our fathers and impressed them upon the 1hen people of the country and insisted that measures of that kind should not go upon the statute book.

Now, the Senator from Vermont, for the purpose of gratifying bis party zeal or possibly for the purpose of gratifying some secret feeling of animosity towards some people of the United States, wishes to haul up that measure by its locks and to place it again before the country; and in order to do that he wishes to cut off debate upon a question which he says has become threadbare, the question involved in the finance measure which is now brought forward. I suppose, sir, that the Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERMAN], who bas the imputed paternity of this finance measure, will be very much surprised to hear the Senator from Vermont say that a _proposition which originated in his brain within the last month has become threadbare, a proposition to issue $200,000,000of 2 per cent. bonds of the United States and to sell them for the purpose of payin~ 25 per cent. premium upon the existing indebtedness of the United States into the pockets of men who hold our bonds at present, who may probably have purchased them in the open market, but who, if they have held the bonds from the date of their issue, got them perhaps for 50 or 60 cents on the dollar.

That proposition is antagonized among the people of the United States in a very stern and positive way. There has been no measure brought before the Senate of the United States since I have had the honor of a seat in this bod.Y which has so rapidly and so thoroughly stirred up the public heart, especially of the laboring and agricultuml classes of this country, to their very depths as this proposition to issue $200, 000, 000 of 2 per cent. bonds for the purpose of retiring the issues of bonds now outstanding and which are to become payable very soon. The measure seems to have been contrived for the purpose of enabling the national banks (of which we are informed we have now about 4,300, if I am correct in my figures) to continue a system of speculation upon the necessities of the laboring classes of this country, which

has enriched everybody connected with it and which has put the stock of some of these national banks up to 400 and 500 per cent. premium.

That now is the avowed purpose of the proposed issue of $200, 000, 000 of bonds Of the United States; that is to say, the credit of the people is to be taxed for the purpose of raising money to pay 25 per cent. pre· minm upon the debts that they now owe, for we can not disconnect the people from this subject, and nlso for the purpose of enabling the national banks to go on indefinitely and continuously with that system of finance which has so enormously enriched them, and every dollar of their riches has been collected by taxation and by usury and by op· pression from the hands of the laboring people of this country.

Is that a threadbare proposition? It is not a month old in the mind of the Senator from Ohio, even. It is not ten days old in the Senate of the United States. Is that a threadbare proposition? Is thataproposition to which the rule of cU.ture is to be applied? Is there to be a gagging of debate upon a great, interesting question like that in the Senate of the United States, a body which has been boasting of its conservativeness here for a century, and which has always informed the count~ that, no matter how wildly other legislative bodies or executive officers or even judicial officers might proceed in the administration of their supposed or actual functions: still the Senate of the United States would be here, a conservative and deliberative body, to look throuj?h all such measures with care, to see what is best to be done?

When th,e vote came in t.he Senate upon the conference report at the last session of Congress, and it contained an enactment, which became a law, to the effect that the premium upon the sil¥er should be increased in favor of the holders of silver bullion (for that was the effect of it and that we should not have a free coinage of that metal to be used by the men who happened to have a hundred dollars' worth or more of bullion), I voted against it.

The first speech I ever had the honor to make in this body was in favor of the free coinage of silver. My course from that time to this has been unbroken in its consistency, and I stand ready to vote and have stood ready to vote for a proposition of that kind every time that it could be advanced in good faith and was not to be employed as a mere float to get some other financial scheme of speculation before the country. I objected to that feature of the bill of the last session. I believed then that, whether it was intended or not, the effect of it would be to raise the price of silver bullion in the hands of men who had accumulated vast sums of it, and that it would be buffeted about as a mere commodity of traffic, back and forth, with rising and falling prices continually; and I then said in substance that the Secretary of the Treasury had the power to raise or depress the price of silver at his will and that it was a power I was afraid to intrust to any living man. ,

I then further said that the people of the South realize from their annual crops of a single staple, cotton, more than $300,000,000; that every dollar of it could be demanded from all purchasers in gold if they desired that it should be done; that the people concerned in this crop, peculiar to a certain section of our country, a monopolistic crop, it may be called, bad the power to demand gold coin for their crop year after year, and would do so whenever they were relieved from debt, and tllat perhaps one of the easiest ways for them to get rid of debt and to have a career hereafter of perfect independence was to set out to demand gold for their crops and to receive nothing e]se.

Now, with an annual influx into the hands of producers, farmers, cotton-growers, of $300, 000, 000 of gold coin every ye:ir it can be readily seen that the Farmers' Alliance or some other alliance or some banking institution to be organized in the South could get control of that enormous amount of gold and do towards the West and the North and the East what they have been suffering now for a great many years in the handling of gold for the oppression of their neighbors. I said then that unless good faith attended the operations of the silver men in the Senate hereafter I should be found antagonizing that scheme which I consider realiy and truly to be of the greatest advantage for the country at large; but if men are"to legislate here solely (Qr the interests of their section and their classes, if that is to be the principle of our legislation, then I shall have to resort to it along with my brethren from the South also, and we shall have to turn our faces in the direction of gold, demand it for our crops, and use the power that it gives us in the financial condition and circumstances of this country.

Now, I want to know, I want to understand·, I want to bear the speeches of Senators on this floor. I want to have this subject inves· tigated and aired and the light thrown in upon it, to know whether this is a mere pretense of legislation which will come ba.ck to us again , through the hands of a conference committee in some disfigured shape that neither House bas agreed to. I wish a little time to consider also that very important branch of this bill. I am not permitted to-day1to vote for the free coinage of silver upon this bill until I have ascertained that the men who desire the free coinage of silver are in dead earnest about it, until I have ascertained that they will withstand the frowns and objurgations of their party friends and stand by the principle in spite of all the clamor that can be brought against them and against the amendment to the bill. I do not distrust them, but I think that after the experience of the last session, when those who are in favor of the free coinage of silver quietly took w bat the conference com·

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1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1025 mitteeputupon us, it is timethat the people wboare reallyconcerned in this matter sboukl look around and see what is best to he done. I am not in favor of hurrying through with this bill until we can have an opportunity of sounding by amendments, by votes, the real temper of this bony upon this great finn.ncial question.

J.\Iy confidence in silver is not dislodged; my belief that the free coinage of silver is the true sol vent of the difficulties of this country has not been in the slightest degree abated or shaken; but if this is to be a controversy in which sections are to war against sections then we must be permitted to avail ourselves of what resources and opportunities we have to protect ourselves against being continually fleeced by men who accumulate gold in their treasuries, not through the productions of aariculture or the mechanic arts or m'achinery, but simply through thei~ wits nnrl speculations in Wall· street, and also ,in the ownership of the stocks and charters of great banking corporations. The men who control the gold of the United States to-day do not earn it; they have never earned it. It would be the most difficult task that could be conceived of to trace one single dollar of gold to the productive labors of the men who now control the destinies of the people of the United States.

The men who earn the gold are the men who make the wheat and the corn and the cotton and the other staple products of this country, without which your gold would be mere dross. They earn it, but they do not get it. The use of it is taken away from them by the framework of our financial system and by the laws upon the statute book, and it is concentrated by the genius and skill and rascality of men engaged in great financial operations into the hands of comparatively a very few men.

i wish now to take deliberate counsel upon this question. I wish to hear and I do hear or read all that is said about it by the wise men who speak on this floor, and I expect in the course of this debate to bring up some of the sayings of some of the wisest men who have passed away upon this question also, and present them to this honorable body, and it l'equires some little degree of time to do it.

Now, the Senator from Nevada, after what occurred here at the last session on the vote upon that conference report, after his experience and observation of the operations of that law from that day to this, ll!ld after having seen that the effect of that act was more largely than anything else merely to put money in the hands of speculators in silver bullion, ought not to be in a hurry to press thIB bill through. I do not doubt that honorable Senator and his friends ought to give assurance to us that there is to be some better outcome to the bill we are debating now and are preparing to vote upon than the conference re~ort of the last session made to this body. That was a disappointing report, Mr. President. It was an awful blow to the hopes and aspirations of the silver men of this country. It dislodged confidence; it marred zeal. It prevents concert of action; it casts a shade of suspicion over all legisln.tion in regard to this matter; and while we are standing under the shadow of that wrong and injustice, for that is what it was, I do not propose to be in any hurry to go stumbling about in the durk until I can see a ray of light that will lead me ·to some safe shore. · ... ·

Mr. STEWART. l\!r. President, I differ with the Senn tor from Alabama as to the net that we passed at the last session. I think that was a step in the right direction, and that it hns already done a great deal of good and is doing good by getting more money in circulation and preventing contraction. It has raised the price of silver as it is now quoted from 12 to 15 cents on an ounce, which shows that it was a question of demand that fixed the price of silver. There have been many causes which operated against the beneficial effect of that act. The people of India, when silver went up to $1.20, were so embarrassed in their finances that they could not buy silver.

Wheat went down too low and cut oif exports, and they stopped buying silver pretty much altogether, and, as I am informed, adopted an expedient to bridge over the time by the issuance of paper money. They have been bridging it over temporarily, but when things are settled the demand from Asia will continue as it al ways has. It is n. continuous demand, and the only reason why they have not renewed their purchases is in hope that something would happen to make silver low. The free coinage of silver will settle that question. They will then know that there is an unlimited demand for silver here and that they must pay that price to receive it. The business will soon adjust itself to it, and undoubtedly India and China will continue to take silver as heretofore.

When "We have free coinage it is-probable we may not get as much silver as we want. We may not get much more than we are now get· ting unless the product of the mines should be greatly increased. But free coinage will stop speculntion, it will put sih·er back as money, and it will be legislation in the interest of the peo1lle. The bill as it came from the Committee on Finance, I presume, will not receive the vote of the Senate. It can not be largely voted for because it has too much of the appearance ofajob. !twas not so intended by the Finance Committee, but the first proposition is to buy 12,000,000 ounces, which is known to be in the hands of those who have bought it up for speculation.

I do not object to their speculating, because people will speculate if W;B give them an opportunity. There is nothing dishonest in buying

XXII-65

in the open market if the opportunity is presented, because if you deny that to the people you deny all enterprise. We gave them the opportunity and they have purchased the silver and they have it on hand; but if you relieve them by an act of Congress the people at large have arightto say that this is special legislation forthe reliefofaset ofmen who are abundantly able to take care of themselves. If we are going to pass a relief bill we should pass one for the relief of those who have some claim on the Government. It can hardly be contended that those who have been speculating in silver in a way which has been·iujurious to our finances have any claim for special relief or ought to be relieved by an act of Congress.

Then, again, as to the other branch of the propo:;ition, the purchase· of $200,000,000 of bonds, that is a measure for the relief of the national banks, who have already received large sums, amounting toten or fifteen million dollars, as premium to furnish money to the people. They have not furnished it very cheaply. They have done all they could to make money for themselves, and the people do not want any more of that kind of business.

So the provisions of the bill if it should pass as it caµie from the Committee on Finance would only aggravate the evil and make silver no better than heretofore. But the amendment I have proposed would put silver where it belongs, and it would be the end of speculation. Those who speculate in silver make money, no doubt, but that would be the end of this opportunity, ns was suggested by the Senator from Virginia [1t1r. DANIEL] yesterday.

Now, I hope that the Senate will fix some reasonable time when the consideration of this bill shall be concluded. If Senators are not prepared to come to an agreement now, I will make the suggestion later in the afternoon, that, after they have considered the proposition, r hope there will be a time fixed, and if we can not agree upon it now, I shall renew the suggestion later in the afternoon, and let us dispose of this very important matter without cutting off debate unreasonably, but we can see how many want to speak and how much time is necessary, and then I shall bring ·up the matter later in the afternoon.

l\Ir. GIBSON. I should like to ask the Senator if he has nny data showing the importation of silver into India in the last eight or ten years.

Mr. STEW ART. In the last eight-0r ten years the average amount of silver absorbed by India has been between thirty-five and forty million dollars. It was $46,000,000 last year.

Mr. GIBSON. I was looking for a table showing that, but could not find one.

Mr. STEW ART. Last year the amount was $46,000,000, but there bas been no importation of any importance, I think, to India or to China since silver went up to 120. There was a large amounFshipped from San Francisco to China, but when it went up that way theorders stopped. The orders have not been renewed, but they will be renewed as soon as it gets to a normal price.

Mr. MORGAN. I wish to ask the Senator from Nevadaa question. I ask him if he believes the free coinage of silver would bring silver bullion up to par.

Mr. STEWART. Undoubtedly. l\!r. MORGAN. Then what will India· do for silver wh,.en we get

free coina~e? Mr. STEW A.RT. She will have to buy it at par. She is waiting

now for it to get cheaper. They stopped their orders 'f hen it went up to 120. It has gone down and they say we are making money by it and they are holding off, but when it will stand fixed ata certain figure they will buy, as they always have done. They used to buy at1'ar, ana it is very natural when it went up over 30eents an ounce, as it did, that it disarranged everything. It put down the price of wheat so low that there was a panic in India.. •

I have correspondence here showing that they hau n. most fearful panic, and to relieve them the Indian Government furnished them paper to bridge over. Then, their stopping the purchasing of silver helped to put down the price; and so the case will be unless we give it its place as money; it will be open to speculation. That was the objection to the act of last year. Although it was in the right direction it did not take away the commodity element which opens up an opportunity for speculation. We shall not get an undue supply of silver on free coinage, because the entire product is only 120,000,000 ounces, according to the exaggerated estimates. I think that is much over the true amount. It is estimated that there are only 120,000,000 ounces now in the whole world. Of that 120, 000, 000 all the way from 25,000,000 to 40,000,000 ounces will certainly go 'into arts. We can not ascertain the amount exactly; but our share of it, that we can possibly get, will not be more th:in we want. There is no flood of silver anywhere; there is no danger of it anywhere. The measure is so jufinitely more conservative than to enter upon the field of paper without any metal behind it that it seems to me the business of the country should demand the p~age ofit, and the speedy passage of it, because it is admitted on all hands that we need more money.

Here is a.proposition of the Committee on Finance to bny$200,000,000 of bonds, and they would have us· adopt various other expedients, such as to allow the national banks to issue up to their par value to get out money. It shows, it is conceded, that there must be more money.

.-

1026 , CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. JANUARY 8,

It is conceded that there is not money' enough, but such 11 feeding out of money from time to time to meet the necessities of speculative classes and for no regular system of finance, it seems to me, is a great reflection upon the wisdom of this body. We ought to have some general system that the people can unde.rstand, and the people ought to know when Congress is going to act. Those who are attending to business and speculating il;l money use the necessity for a spasmodic issae to raise prices, and then comes again contraction.

All this irregular tinkering with finance is injurious and unjust. It is class legislation. It brings nothing but a want of confidence and a want of stability. It seems to me it is trifling with the great question to patch it up and say that 12,000,000 ounces shall be obtained, when it is in ~he hands of speculators, and then that the national banks shall have this sum, ns if we could determine in that way how much silver we get out into circulation. When this gets out it may relieve the present stringency, but it may put up prices in other branches. All such tinkering with finance is injurious. It is not conservative; it is not common sense; it shows want of wisdom.

The national-banking system was a most illusive one. It was very beneficial to banks, for it yielded them for a long time $15,000,000per annum, but when it was organized every man knew that these bonds would become due. They all had a fixed date, and it was known that when they became due the system must go out of existence without tinkering. Now the national-banking system requires constant tinkering. Yon mustlegj.slate all the time to loosen up the system, and that tinkering is always done in the interest of speculators and not in the interest of the public. It must be the case; and the people are tired of this tinkering. They want to know what they may expect to-morrow and next day and next year. That is what they are asking for. They are asking for a sound currency, and the only way to get it is to return to the money that the experience of the world has dell!onstrated is always sound and always sufficient when the mines are productive.

There is a prospect now that the mines are going to be productive. The prospect is. good that the present generation will return to the usages of the world until silver was demonetized. If we shall return to sound money the prospects are that this generation will certainly have a reasonable supply of money. If we do not we shall have the basis of an extended circulation, because we shall have the coin in the Treasm:y vaults upon which to issue more money on some system. I hope it will not come out $100,000,000 or $200,000,000 at a time when

, somebody wants it for speculative purposes; but when the volume of money is increased on a ~etallic basis, if that ever becomes necessary, then I want it increased on some basis proportionate to the increase of business and population. From the statistics we can ascertain what is the reasonable thing, so that we can have a reasonable range of prices at all times.

I am tired of this experimenting and tinkering with finances and treating the usages of the ages as of no account, discarding the experience of the world, not building on the experience of England, not building on any philosophical principle, not attempting to ascertain by the statistics what is needed to keep pace l_Vith population and business, but we come in here in an emergency and propose to feed out $200,000,000; and one Senator says he WO!lld feed out a thousand million dollars if necessary and leave that to the banks, leave that to corporations. I am unwilling to leave to· anybody the regulation of the currency. I would first use the metallic money and then I would set statisticians to work, if the metals were insufficient, to ascertain what ratio of increase was necessary, and that might be based upon the metallic money we now require.

There is now an opportunity to get a large amount of bullion in this country with ease.~ We should get that amount of bullion as quick as pos.sible, so that we may -be prepared to issue paper money or some other kind of money on that bullion when the mines shall fail, and so that we can have a regular supply on hand. We ought to have some financial skill, and not make the finances of the country a matter of speculation. It is a reflection npon this body more than anything else to put in a bill a job which people can point to at once, without any theory upon which it is based.

It seems to me that the matter should be referred to statisticians to ascertain the amount necessary, and then we could have some regular rule about reaching the object desired and not be subject to the action of speculators who would devise plans whereby the people would suffor every time. It should not be left to chance, for then the speculntors would avail themselves of tha.t chance. Those are the men who, by the manipulation of money, are threatening this civilization. . It is by manipulation authorized by legislation that the world's money has been so used as to build np such fortunes as those of the Rothschilds.

Mr. HALE. Mr. President-The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. F .AULKNER in the chair). Does

the Senator from Nevada yield to the Senator from Maine? Mr. STEW ART. Certainly.

. Mr. HALE. I was out of the Chamber a fe'w moments ago, and do not know just what the status of the business is now. I desire to ask the Senator from Nevada what has become of his proposition, which

was the basis of the situation when I left the Chamber, that a time should be fixed for closing the debate.

l\ir. STEW ART. The proposition is still under consideration [laughter], and if the Senator can arrange it I shall be obliged to him. I

Mr. HALE. I shall be very glad to try. Mr. STEW ART. In the hope of trying· to have that arranged, I

yield to the Senator from Kansas [l\Ir. INGALLS]. l\1r. INGALLS. Mr. President, I admit the force of the suggestion

of the Senator from Maryland [Mr. GORMAN], that upon a subject of this gravity and importance action should not be precipitate or improvident; that debate should be deliberate and sufficiently protracted and prolonged to permit all aspects to be considered as to the effect of the meaimre upon the finances of the country.

I will venture, as the previous suggestion was rejected, to ask unanimous consent that general debate upon the pending bill shall close with tlie adjournment on Tuesday nex t, and that on Wednesday debate shall be resumed upon the bill and amendment:i under the tenminute rule, the final vote to be taken upon the passage of the bill before the adjournment on Wednesday.

Mr. GORMAN. l\fr. President, the suggestion of the Senator from Kansas is iµ exact accordance with the usages of this body, and is the usual and proper mode upon appropriation bills and financial measures. I think that the proposition is perfectly fair and will give us ample time for a full and fair consideration of the pending bill.

l\fr. MORGAN. I desire to suggest to the Senator from Maryland and the Senator from Kansas that the last branch of the proposition, in regard to the final vote being taken on Wednesday, might keep us here during the whole of 'Vednesday night, perhaps. There will be no difficulty in getting the bill passed rnpidly enough and getting a vote on all the propositions which may be presented without the last clause being in, that the fill::\l vote shall be taken on Wednesday.

Mr. INGALLS. We could meet, say, atlO o'clock Wednesday morning, and with diligence I should think there would be no difficulty in reaching a final vote on the bill, eveh if the session were protracted a little beyond the usual hour of adjournment.

Mr. RANSOM. I think that is right. l\Ir. GORMAN. I trust the Senator from Alabama will not object

to the proposition. Mr. MORGAN. As my friends on this side seem to be satisfied with

the proposition, particularlytheSenatorfromMaryland [l\Ir. Go&l\IAN], I shall not press my suggestion, although it looks to me as though it might result in very serious inconvenience possibly, not certainly.

Mr. HARRIS. I did not understand the suggestion of the Senator from Kansas as to the time at which debate should be limited to ten mina-tes.

Mr. SPOONER. Wednesday morning. , Mr. INGALLS. To begin with the close of the morning business on

Wednesday. Mr. HARRIS. The ten-minute rule prevailing during the day,

Wednesday, throughout the proceedings? Mr. IN.GALLS. Yes; and the final vote to be taken on that day be-

fore adjournment. "" The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair understands that the Sen

ator from Kansas asks the unanimous consent of the Senate that general debate should cease upon the pending bill and amendments on Tuesday evening next, upon the adjournment of the Senate, and that on Wednesdaythe debate upon the bill and amendments shall be limited to ten minutes, and that the final vote shall bp taken before ad-journment on that day. ~

Mr. HARRIS. Ten minutes for each Senator. l\fr. INGALLS. Yes, for each Senator desiring to speak. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The proposition is that .debate shall

be limited to ten minutes for each Senator, and that the final vote shall be taken on the bill and amendments before adjournment on Wednesday. Is there objection? 'l'he Chair hearing none, consent is given.

Mr. TELLER. Mr. President, I submitted last ni~hta. few remarks to the Senate just before adjournment. The confusion was very great, aud I notice that the reporters have misunderstood some of the statements I made. I have taken the liberty, or will do . it, to correct my remarks for the permanent RECORD, but I do not like to be left with the statement as it is here. I am made to stato that Great Britain imported more silver last year than ever before. What I said was that Great Britain imported more silver last year than she exported. The total amount of her imports and exports was nothing to what it had been in other years. In otller words, I wanted to make the point that she added about three millions to her then existing stock, but I am made to make the statement that she imported more silver than she ever had imported, which is not correct. The movement of silver last year throughout the world was exceedingly small compared with what it had been in previous years, and that was particularly true in tho latter part of the financial year.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending question is the amendment of the Senator from Nevada [Afr. STEWART] to the amendment reported by the committee •

Mr. TURPIE. Mr. President, I shall vote for tho amendment of the Senator from Nevada which has just been read, as I voted at the

1891. CONGRESSION.l\L RECORP-SENATE. 1027 last .session for a similar measure. I think the free coinage of silver would be a relief to the people, certainly a very necessary relief to a population so much accustomed as ours has heen to every sphere of activity and enterprise.

Not only do I believe that the free coinage of silver would be a measure of relief to the people at large, but I am of opinion, sir, that it would be a substantial measure of relief, if it could be thought so, for what.are called the exigencies of the Treasury. These etc-igencies have become lately a kind of }'lolitical distemper and disorder, occurring two or three times a week. The symptoms seem to partake of the nature of walking typhus, and the disease is such as to keep the Secretary of the Treasury in a constant state of oscillation between Washington City and New York. In fact, we are told that for the last few months the most of the time of that distinguished officer has been spent in a condition of active transit between those two cities.

I agree, l\fr. President, very thoroughly with what was stated by the Senator from Nevada. [l\Ir. STEWART] the other day; that is, that the question of the bulk or volume of the currency of this country, and also its charact~r, should not be left to be determined by banks or bankers or any mere financial or speculative interest. Still less should they be left to the discretion of tho Secretary of the Treasury or the discretion of any officer or of any Department of the Government. It is highly necessary, I think, sir, that these questions, with respect to the bulk or voJume of the currency, for use among our people, and the character of that currency, should be left alone to the decision and determination of Congress by public law. I am satisfied, sir, that by the action of-the two Houses of Congress these questions would be settled in the best manner for the public interests without resort to extreme or extravagant measures in any direction.

I have very little concern about the statistics of the Treasury Department upon the subject of the volume of currency or any other relating to this matter. The bulk of the currency is stated at a certain sum, and it is reduced to a per capita rate of about $24 per person. I have no doubt, sir, that the amount of the circuTu.ting medium available for business purposes is much less than appears by this official stateme~t, and that the rate per capita of money in actual use is exaggerated when it is stated. to be $24a head. Yet, taking itto be true, that is a very low rate, less than the rate per capita in France and a great many other countries of the Old World, whose metliods of business have, for centuries, been crystallized into permanent forms and where new enterprises make little demand for the use of funds to aid them.

What seems to me the principal reason for the passage of this measure at present is this: In 1880 we had a population of 50,000,000. In 1890, under the recent census, we · have a population of very nearly 64,000,000. I do not believe there is any greater sum of money in circulation now than there was in 1880, ten years ago, and there is a greater risk of diminution of the circulation in actual rue than there

· was ten years ago. .A.t least the policy of the national banks seems to be tending in that direction, and they may under existing law control to a great extent the amount and volume of the currency.

It is very easy to come to a determination, and a very conservat.ive, cautious, and prudent determination, that more money is needed for carryin~ on the busine5s of a population of 64,000,000 than that of a· population of 50, 000, 000. And there is one thing that we can be assured of without consulting any statistics, and that is that there has been no increase of the circulation proportionate to the increase of population.

Money being1 as all nuthorities agree, a medium of exchange and the necessity and opportunities for exchange varying according to the ratio of population and the quantity of commodities, it would seem that there ought to be an increased ratio of the bulk of currency, certainly upon such a vast increase of population as has accrued to us within the limits of the United States during the last ten years.

I do not state this maxim, with reference to the ratio of population to that of the bulk of currency, as being a financial or fiscal maxim, or as being better for what may be called funded investmentis, or as being the better or the best possible met:t,.odofbuildingupprivileged wealth and accumulating what is called capitalized wealth. But it is certainly the best method of serving the interests and wishes of the masses of the people, the men who labor daily for their daily bread. They are the men who·are interested in the question of the bulk of money and its character. Their wishes and interests should be consulted in preference to the wishes and interests of mere financiers, mere speculators or investors, no matter what may be the good faith or the respectability of the classes engageJ in these fiscal operations. If we did not have an ounce of silver in the country to-day, and it

were very certain that we did not have an ounce of ore to be extracted from the earth, I should, for those reasons, vote for an increase of the volume of the currency. I should think it the imperative duty of Congress under these circumstances, by some method, to increase the amount of money, and so adapt it to the increased sum of our popnbtion, the increment of it since the census taken ten years ago.

When, however, it is shown to us, as we all know, that we have several million dollars in silver which annually may be taken from the earth and be made the basis of paper money to be issued under the

pTovisions of this am,endment, making the circulation perfectly safe and at the same time preventing any unnecessary or useless inflation of value in the limits which nature itself has put upon that production, I can not see how anyone can hesitate, under the3e circumstances, to vote for the increase of the volume of currency which the passage of this act implies, as a measure imperatively needed for the greatest advantage and h~ppiness of-the greatest nnmber of ouT people.

For my part, I wish that the amendment of the Senator from Nevada providing for the free coinage of silver and providing the option of the issue of paper in lieu of specie dollars-I wish this amendment might be substituted for the whole bill. There is nothing in the bill which is neceseary if this amendment be adopted. It will be a gr~at, substantial, definiti\e measure of relief; and without the adoption of this amendment theTe is nothing in the bill, I think, whfoh can commend itself to the attention of any person who waits in this Chamber upon the interests of tho people.

· Mr. President, the text of the various provisions of this bill bears the usual earmarks of the Department of the Treasury. Now, the Treas· ury of thi..~ country in its origin was a very simple device and agency for the conduct of the public business of the fisc. It is made the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to collect such moneys as may be due to the United States by law; safely to keep them or to provide for their safe keeping, and to disbunie them under warrant of appropriations made by law. Ile is naturally and legally only a collecting and di&bursing officer. I do not desire to be told of tbe extent of his operations; of the fact that he may ·handle millions of money in an hour. His real duties are not different from those ~fa private trustee, guardian, or administrator of an estate. There is no other duty imposed upon him by the law, no other by any public necessity or emergency, than that of an executor or faithful and honest administrator of a private trust.

The Treasury troubles, sometimes called exigencies of the Treasuryt J\fr. President, have, in my judgment, very largely grown. out of the disregard of the original functions of the office, and it ha8 become so usual and-if I may use the expression-so traditional for this officer, instead of being a mere collecting and disbursing agent for the people of the United States, to be taken to be what in Europe is called a minister of finance, aud consequently assisting year after year, administration after administration, in furnishing to the people some policy or scheme of his own upon financial subjects, that the Treasury troubles are very largely due to this departure. It may not be due altogether to the act\on of the present incumbent, but I speak of the general line of policy of this Department. •

The position of the Secretary of the Treasury is one almost judicial. ·He ought to be thoroughly impartial; and give his advice and counsel when asked, but withholding his influence, as it is called, from either side when questions here are discussed with reference to the financial policies. But such has not been the usage; it is not the custom; and I am very well satisfied from reading the text of the bill that in this case no such policy has been followed.

'We have here before us a text which if not prepared has been approved and inspired by the officer at tho head of the Treasury Department.

I do not think it necessary, sir, to specially point out the odiorui fe::i.tures of all the sections of this bill. I do not think there is a single section in it which ought to receive the support of anyone here pres .. ent if he desires to relieve the country or even the Treasury from the embarrassments which affi.ict it.

The most odious section in the bill is probably the last one, and I shall comment upon that section, which reads as follows:

SEc.10. That It is the continued policy of the United States to use both gold and silver as full legal-tender money under the ratio now existing in the United States, or that may be hereafter esta.bllahed by the United States, acting in aocord with other nations.

There is. a public, patent declaration of a fact as to the present policy of the Government; that it is the continued policy of the United States. I do not, for one, wish to vote for such a declaration. I believe the declaration is insincere. It is inconsistent and it is untrue.

The declaration is insincere because in the very enactment of which it forms a part there is not one single measure looking to the parity of the two metals or to the establishment of a ratio which shall contemplate any appreciation of silver either as money or bullion.

It is inconsistent because this declaration in the tenth section is thoroughly in disagi-eement with every section of tbe bill. It is only a verbal apology. It is only a subterfuge to cover up the hostility to silver, the most manifest enmity to silver, which is to some extent concealed in the text of the other sections of this bill.

.A.s to the other objection, this declaration is not true, that "it is the continued policy of the United St.ates to use both gold and silver as full legal-tender money." What, then, is the present policy of the United States? for the particle used is "is."

Is it the present policy of the United States to use both these moneys for full legal tender? Is not this declaration a falsity upon its face? The present policy of the United States, like that Of any other Government, is determined by the present law. From wha.t present statute or present law do you deduce the policy that these metals are to be on


a parity as money? We have not free coinage yet. After June next we shall probably have no coinage of silver at all.

There is nothing in this bill, provided the amendment of the Senator from Nevada. [Ur. STEWART] be defeated, which will lead us even to a. partial adoption of the :policy of free coinage of silver. The present statute of the United States with respect to silver, as a full legal tender, the only one declared, enacted, followed, and obeyed, is that it shall be a legal tender as subsidiary coin up to the sum of $5. That is the existing.policy of the Government of the United States on the subiect of silver. All the rest of this section 10 iq mere verbiage, and its recital is wholly untrue.

I was very much interested, Mr. President, and very keenly disap· pointed by the address of the Senator from Colorado [Mr. TELLER] upon the bill, commonly miscalled the silver bill, which passed Congress atitslastsession. The Sena tor from Colorado voted with Senators upon this side for the free coinage of silver, but he voted also and made an argument in support of the bil1, which argument is reported.

l\ir. TELLEL<. .Mr. President, I should like to say a word. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Indiana yield

to the Senator from Colorado? l\fr. TURPIE. Gertainly. Mr. TELLER. I think the Senator can scarcely say that I made an

argument in favor of the bill. I believe I did say that I accepted it as the only thing that could be had, and I believe I did say that it was illogical, a makeshift, and unworthy of the Senate. But., feeling that we bad run against an insurmountable obstacle in the other House, I accepted it. I did not prophesy any good from it, and I am not at all iq..love with•it, as I stated.

.l\Ir. TURPIE. I am very happy, Mr. President, to bear from the Senator from Colorado upon the subject~ That Senator made one prophecy which is now fulfilled. The Senator predicted last session that silver would come again.

l\fr. TELLER. Yes. l\1r. TURPIE. It has come. It is here now, and I trust this time

it bas come with such power and efficiency that it will stay until free coinage has become the law of the land. I trust that it will have power enough even to outlive the consideration of a joint committee of conference, which I have no doubt will be appointed at the present session, even if that joint committee of conference be held under the auspices of the Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERl\IAN].

I think this country is much indebted to the Senator from Colorado for his prophesy that silver would come again, and I think we ought to. condone, if there was anything to condone-I do not know that there was-in the conduct and action of that distinguished Senator, what he saw fit to say with reference to his own views of the bill passed at the last session. The Senator from Oregon [l\Ir. DOLPII] declared it to be a bill in favor of the establishment of the single standard of gold.

The Senator from Colorado [Mr. TELLER] hoped that it would be a partial step towards the free coinage of silver, and gave us his reasons and many genial expectations with respect to the beneficial consequences which would follow the passage of the billoflastsession. Those expectations and prophecies, however favorable to the bill, were not due to the calmer judgment of the Senator from Colorado and his colleagues, the friends of silver, who voted for it. They were rather due, sir, to that liberal mind, large heart, and sanguine temperament of the Senator from Colorado, which is always willing to account the good things of hope and expectation among the most certain of its possessionEt.

Mr. President, I think that hoth sides, silver and antisilver, on the other side of this Chamber, are perfectly convinced that the act oflast session is wholly useless, that it does not and will not answer the expectations of those who from difterent motives supported it at the time of its passage. "" But there is quite a difference between the attitude of these two wings. Those who touched the Treasury side seem to rejoice at the failure of their own measure, but those who in good foith supported the measure, supposing that it would lead to the free coinage ofsih·er, share with ourselves the regrets that it has no such effect and can have no such effect.

The most of this Jn.st section to which I have alluded is taken up with provisions for the appointment of three commissioners, who shall attend an international conference to be held upon the subject of international coinage of silver and gold, and an international ngreement upon some ratio of value between the two metals. It is not many years, sir, since we had such a conference. It met at Paris, France. The United States was represeuted in that commission by a gentleman whose name has escaped me, bat who was d11 ly appointed and accredited to the samo.

It seems we were represented there also by another reprcsentatiYe, a Senator of the United States, at that time a member of the Committee on Finance, and the chairman of the Committee on Finanr.e of this body. This Senator was not accredited to the international monetary commission in any way, but the conference itself and the general public seemed to have taken it for granted that the Senator outranked the commissioner, and that he was an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from the United States upon that subject to the whole

world, including the Paris international conference. I heard the Senator from Ohio last session, in discussing this subject, say that he happened to be in Paris when the international monetary conference met.

But, sir, there was a series or succession of contingencies in this case which almost exhausted the category of accident8. The Senator happened to sail from New York to Liverpool. Not staying in Great Britain at all, he happened to cross the channel, and, having crossed the channel, he happened to make a journey to Paris. Having arrived at Paris, he happened to write a letter. Now, there was no offense at all in the writing of a letter by that Senator, even to the commissioner of the United States to the international monetary congress. One can easily conceive a very innocent letter. Having settled at his hotel, he might ad vise the commissioner to the monetary conference that the Senator from Ohio had arrived and would be happy to receive him, or that the Senator from Ohio bad arrived and he would be happy to call on the commissioner; I do not know which way the call would be due.

But the Senator did not choose any such method. He j nst happened to write a letter to the commissioner of the United States to the international monetary congress then in session upon the subject before that congress (that is, as to the relations of gold and silver here in the United States and the policy of the United States concerning the same), setting forth that the policy of t,he United States was that of the single standard of gold, and that it was injudicious and inexpedient at that time to take any step looking towards the establishment of an international ratio of value between the two metals or to carry the negotiations further. .

This was the substance of the letter to the commissioner, and it was not marked "private and confidential." It was written without any caution, without any condition. It appeared the next morning in all the newspapers, in all the languages of the French capital. It was read in open session of the international monetary conference and the effect was instantaneous. The congress adjourned amidst much con· fusion and wonder as to why they had ever met. Whether the com· missioner of the United States escaped with his life or not I do not know. The Senator who wrote the letter, I am happy to say, survives.

Now, sir, it has been much mooted whether this epistle of the Senator from Ohio was a matter of covenant, or agreement, or machination, or of magic, so instantaneous was its effect and so rapid was the dissolution of that council upon the receipt of it.

But these are idle speculations. I have µo doubt, sir, that the letter was not a matter of covenant, agreement, or consideration. I have no doubt it was a free-will offering, voluntariiy made, an act of pure, single, simple-hearted adoration by the Senator from Ohio to tho image of gold which is so often set up here, like that erected by the King of Babylon on the plains of Dura., which he called upon all men to fall down and worship. I have no doubt such was the character of the Senator's action.

But I would like to ask the Senator how, with such a record, he can demand that persons voting now upon this question should give that heed, that attention,or that weightto the considerations which he advances, when he has pursued silver as the ferret does the rodent.

He attended a conference here at Washington at the last session. The result was the same. Silver fled away like a guilty thing. · It did not abide his presence. But I think-I hope at least-that the Chamber as at present constituted has enough of the friends of silver and of free coinage to exorcise all the evil spirits of hostility. He has certainly the right to maintain the correctness of his opinion, but I am pointing to the continued and constant hostile record at home, abroad, in Congress, ont of Congress, as an evidence th:i.t it is a thing impossible that the gentleman should take an impartial, fair, or judicial view of the question presented l>y the amendment of the Senator from Ne· vada.

I have sometimes heard, and so have other Senators here, the Senator from the State of Ohio, in speaking upon this subject of silver in tones of indifference which implied much more than the language nsed, say that he was not hostile to silver; that he was indifferent to the use of silver; and once I heard the expression that he was friendly to the use of silver as coin, implying always that he would prescribe the amount of it that should be so used and in what character it should be used, whether subsidiary or otherwise.

But I do not care what the mental aspects of the Senator may be, whether they are those of indifference or professed and avowed animosity. The indifference and the animosity return to the same goal, and that is the single standard of gold. That is the ultimate aim of the Senator from Ohio and of all that school of financiers who so long doubted, feared, and fought against what we think ought to be, aml certainly will be, the policy of this country, the free coinage of s ilver.

Now, if the declaration I am commenting upon read this way "that it should be" or "ought to 1.Je the continued policy of the Unitetl S tates," I would have no hesitancy in voting for it. That would bo the truth. But to eay that it is such now is not the truth, and I do not think the truth is better known to anyone than to the bead of the Treasury Department and to the Senator who introduced this hill into this Chamber.

With respect to the appointment of international commissioners, what is the use of appointing such commissioners to a conference upon

1891. CONQ-RESSION.AL RECORD-SENA~rE. 1029 this subject of the relative value of the two metals, gold and silver, of the establishment of an international ratio, or in reference to any international action looking to a parity of the two metals in their character as money or coin? What is the use of doing that when the policy of the country is by statute fixed and determined against ~11 recognition of it except as subsidiary coin? What if these commlSsioners were appointed and should now visit a conference? And I hope that when we make the next appointment we shall certainly appoint some gentleman who will not be driven from one hemisphere to tbe other by the epistle of a United States Senator.

But supposing we had now appointed such delegates, three commissioners and this conference should again meet in Paris, and there should be no ~ncatenation of contingencies, such as drew the Senator from Ohio into that neighborhood or vicinage, what would be the relations which our. representatives would o~cupy to the Latin union or to any other peoples who have indicated by act, word, and deed their friendship for the white metal and their desire to see this monetary parity? They would ask in a moment of the commissioner of the United States, "Ah! sir, what is the status of silver in your country? How do you legislate about it? Do you coin it at all? Is it used as money?"

And such commissioner, .after Jane next-and the conference could not possibly meet sooner-would be bound to answer that there was no law in this country absolutely authorizing the coinage of silver at all, except in subsidiary pieces. The reply would be, ''Why do you cross the ocean to advise and counsel us in a matter respecting the establishment of an i-nternational parity between the value of the two metals when you have not at home taken the first step toward establishing that parity?"

Sir, I believe it will be time enough to appoint these commissioners, to authorize the conference, and· to appropriate money for the payment of their salaries, which I see that section 10 does, when we have some clear, effective, emphatic declaration of the policy of the Government, indorsed and supported by legislation in accordance therewith, and until we have legislation of that character, showing that the Government is friendly to the w bite metal, that it is not disposed to banish one of the precious metals from the monetary markets of the world, but is, on the contrary, disposed to show it favor and make it do equal service with that of the other metal so often mentioned; until we do that, sir, it is wholly unnecessary, it is merely idle waste-of time to talk about the appointment of commissioners or the meeting of an international monetary conference.

Mr. CALL obtained the floor. Mr. STEW ART. If the Senator from Florida will give way to me

a moment, I wish io modify my amendment to the amendment very slightly, and then have it printed. · In the seventh line of the amendment to the amendment, I wish to strike out the word "of" after ''notes,'' and insert •'to be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury in;" so as to read:

And that at the said owner's option he may receive therefor o.n equivalent of Ruch standard dollars in Treasury notes to be issued by the Secretary of the •rreasury in the so.me form and description and having the same legal qualities.

I ask that the amendment to the amendment as,modified be printed. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada asks that

the amendment to the amendment as modified be printed. If there be no objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. CALL. Mr. President, the bill before the Senate provides, in the fourth section, as proposed by the Committee on Finance-

That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to issue, in a 1mm or sums not exceeding in the aggregate 5200,000,000, coupon or registered bonds of the United States, in such form as be may prescribe, and of denominations of S50 or Rome multiple of that sum, redeemable in lawful mon.ey at the pleasure of the United States, on and after July l, 1900, and bearinir interest payable semiannually in such money at the rate of 2 per cent. per annum. And he is authorized to sell or dispose of any of the bonds issued under this act at not less than their par value for any lawful money of the United States, or for gold or silver certificates, and to apply the proceeds thereof to the redemption of or to the purchase of uny of the bonds of the United States, and for no other pur-pose wh atever. ·

As opposed to that provision the Senator from Nevada introduced an amendment providing for the free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver. '

CRE ATES A MONEYED TRUST.

The bill as reported from the committee creates a trust of all the money or tho great bulk of the money of the United States, and in effect farms out the privilege of owning the entire money of the United States to a limited and ::t select number of persons.

This would be a startling idea were it not that it is in the line of the public policies which have prevailed in this country for many years, the policies which have concentrated the forger portion of the wealth and the control of the annual products of this country into the hands of a very limited number of persons.

Now we have this bill initiating a public policy under which the Government of the United States shall increase its debt in a new class of bonds, under which the public credit in this new class of bonds converted into the existing public debt shall be the basis of the money of the people. Who will be the owners of these bonds? WiU they be ac.cessible to the great mass of the people? Who is it of the people

who have money to invest in the bonds of the United States to be made the basis of currency?

The number of the people of the United States who are capable of owning these bonds is very limited. This bill: if enacted into law, will be practically the creation of a money trust an:l the designation of a very small number of people who will hold in their bands the entire power which money gives over the property, th~ labor, the life, the comfort of the people of this country.

MONEYED ARISTOCRACY AND TUE CO::l!ING BILLIONAIBE.

It is a startling proposition, especially in view of the opinions which. are seizing hold of the public mind, to create not only a moneyed aristocracy, but to give them absolute power to own all the money of the country. In the Forum for the month of January there appears an instructive article which is headed '' The coming billionaire.''

ltjs well for the people to form some idea of the extent to which the powers of the Government are becoming sulJj ect to the control of a very small number of people, and the extent to which these powers are becoming absolute, despotic, monarchical, almost as much so as the power of the Czar of Russia, and the indifference which prevails in this body to this fact. In this respect we seem to be divorced from the great body of the sentiment and the living opinion of the people.

We step into this Chamber as it were into another world from that in which the people live and in which they think and act.

TO OWN TilE MONEY OF TUE UNITED STATES.

This bill is a proposition, deliberately made and ably advocated by many Senators, to put the power of controlling the money of this country into the ownership of the small number of persons who own its wealth. .And who are they?

FORTY THOUSAND FAMILIES OWN llIORE THAN HALF Tlllll UNITED STATES.

This is an instructive article, and I will read it for the information of the Senate:

In the Forum for Novembcr, 1889, the question was usked

Says this writer-who own the United States? and reasons were given for the belief that onehalf of all the national wealth is owned by 4.0,000 families and that three-fourths of it is in the possession of fewer than 250,000 families. These estimates were based in part upon official tax returns, but in part, also, upon private information as to the wealth of seventy estates, specifically named, each estimated to be worth more than S20,000,000, nnd averaging 837,500,000. The correctness of these statistics, as well as that of the inferences drawn from them, has been somewhat bitterly denied. Hostile critics have assumed that the estimates of individual wealth were based entirely upon newspaper reports; and many newspaper editors, acting presumably upon their own experience, have unhesitatingly declared that such statistics are necessarily worthless.

But not one-tenth of these names were given upon the authority of newspaper estimates, while a large majority were given upon very trustworthy private information. It has been said tho.t no one can tell what a man's wealth amounts to without access t-0 his books, which, it hl\s been assumed, is impossible. In several instances, however, the information came from persons who had access to the necessary books or had been permitted to inspect the securities ; in some cases it was obtained from tax returns; and in other cases it was taken from the oral or wri•,ten statements of the owners themselves. For example, one gentleman, whose wealth was set down at Sl00,000,000, had o.ctually exhibited 575,000,000 in securities and had testified in a court of law t.o the possession of $10,000,000 more of one kind, all unincumbered.

During the year which has now elapsed not one-tenth of these names have been specified by any one as erroneously entered upon the list or as seriously overrated, and in only three instances has any probable error been established. These names mi~ht be omitted and their places might be SUtJplied by others of the twenty-million grade. Errors of understat~ent have been discovered which largely counterbalance all overstatements. 'rhe least that can be said is that there are seventy American estates that average 835,000,000 each, not including Trinity Ohurch, which perhaps shoufd not be classed with strictly individual owners. During the year, by the consolida.tion of two esto.tes, one individual has become wo1·th at least $200,000,000.

* * ,.. * * • * Thus we see that in the last twenty years, while rn.tes of interest have been

constantly declining in America. vast fortunes have increased more rapidly than ever before. Several nonspeculative estates have increased fivefold in less than forty vears. Interest is now very low; but, adding to interest the steady incre· ment of city lands, an addition of at least 4. per cent. per o.nnum, at compound interest, may be counted upon for these great estates. At that rate 11. present fortune of &"200,000,000 would become a. biUion ($1,000,000,000) in less than forty years. Financinl conditions remaining unchanged, the American billionaire might reasonably be looked for within that time, and several billionaires might be expected within sixty years.

'Vhat would be the effect upon our social order of the advent of the billionaire? • * • 'Yhen there is even one billionR.ire, there will be several halfbillionaires and many hundred millionaires. The fact will be 1m indicntlon of a tremendous concentration of we11.lth, and of the dwindling proportion of wealth held by the farmers nnd wage-earners of this country. The billionaire will bring o.n army of paupers in his train. • • • The evils which would ensue from such an unequal distribution of weath are eyen more serious tho.n any here suggested, and might possibly include the destruction of republican government, which is even now little better than a form among us.

The wealth of the United States, given in the Forum for November, 1889, was as follows:

moh •...•.••.•......•...... ~ •.. °.':~: ..................................... l-F-u-:-:-:•ooo_es_._, _~-3-:-:-:-.'ooo-th_._• 000~ ~~~,~~:::_::::::.:_::.::·::: __ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.::::::::::::::::::::1-~-!-: ~-~-~-: =--1--:!-:-~-1:-:--:-: :-

The total production of the United Stntes for 18!>0, estimated by the same rules as in 1880, can not greatly exceed $13,00'.>,000,000 in value. Of this, 4 per cent.


must be allowed for repairs and replacement. The net income is divided in proportions not less favorable to the riclier classes than the following:

Class.

Rich ........................................... . l'iiiddlo ....................................... . 'Vorldng ..................................... .

Number of families.

180,000 1,200,000

11, 620,COO

Average income.

$2.3, 000 1,250

560

Total income.

i4, 500, 000, 000 1, 500, 000, 000 6, 500, 000, 000

Total. ................................. . 13,000, 000 960 12, 500, 000, 000

If taxation is not taken into account, the ::.ao,ooo rich ca.n accumulate, on n.n average, two·lhirds of their income. The rest of the people can not well save one-fifthofthcirs. A tax: burden of 15 per cent. on expenses would therefore take ~25,000,000 from the rich and $960,000,000i'rom the other classes. One-third of the whole amount thug paid by both rich and poor goes, not to the Government, but to a small section of the richest class. This would restore to that class, as a. class, about $400,000,000. The result would be as follows:

A~·xuAL SAVIXGS OF TilE RICH.

~~~i:il~~\:~:~~:~~:::::::: ::::::::: ::::::. ·:.:::: :::·.: :·.: :::::::·.:: ::-. :·.::::··s-i.ii;·ooo:·ooo $3, ooo, ooo, ooo Add pr<'fits from tax system ............... : ....................... _ 400,000,000

175, 000, 000

Total....................................................................................... 3, 175, 000, 000 ANXUAL SAVIS"GS OF OTHER CLASSES.

Natural savings............................. ..... ................... ............ ............ 1, 600, 000, 000 Deduct taxes, etc............................................................. ................ 960, 000, 000

Net ....................................................................................... . 64.0, 000, coo PEOPLE OWN ONE•TilIRD PROPERTY AND PAY TllREE·FOURTHS TAXES.

The whole people of the United States paying nine hundred !l.nd sixty millions taxes upon the sixteen hundred million dollars of income and property as against $175,000,000 paid by these 250,000 families upon three billions of income and property. Is that a fact? Is it true or is it not trne? Although this Chamber may be empty and thesoseatsremain vacant, the force of this fact, believed as it is to be true, is arresting the minds of the American people to-da.y, and has created the Farmers' Alliance, which will continue to increase its numbers and its power until there are representatives in these halls who will give heed to the fact that this Government is rapidly losing its character as a republic and becoming an aristocracy of the most despotic character. You can not place the property of the country, its annual production, and the labor of the people in the control of a class limited in number and still have a government of ibe people. Property is nothing without abor.

Labor is the great power that moves the world and creates all value. Iden.s are imperishable, and they constitute a power and are a great factor in the creation of wealth; but it is only by labor in its different forms that the world moves and upon which civilization rests. If this statement be true-and I take it there can be no doubt that these statistics are approximately c~rrect-we are brought to a consideration of the cause and effect of a condition of affairs in which 40,000 families of this country own more than one-half and 250,000 families own three-fourth!i of its wealth and its wealth-producing property and the results of its labor. Ilow did this happen? By what means did it occar? Is it the natural result of legitimate business enterprise?

MONEY OF TIIE PEOPLE-SilOULD BE FREE.

Is it true thn.t the control of money has anything to do with these great results? I think there is no doubt upon that subject.

This condition, so inconsistent with republican government, is the result in great part of the control of the money, of the means of exchange of the country. In that point of view ma.king the money of a country as free as possible from control is the great object of all financial legislation which shall have in view the promotion of the prosperity of the people at large, and which shall not be in the interest of an aristocratic and a property class of people.

PERILOUS TIMES IIA TE CO:uE.

In a little manual upon the subject of silver, written by a Mr. William Brown, there are many ideas and suggestions which are worthy of consideration. He says:

There is no denying that perilous times have come. Ho who thonght his seat most secure, whether millionaire or monarch, now trembles at what he daily sees and hears around him. Anxiety and uncertainty rei~n in every heart and there is complaining on every tongue. Tho joy of the land is gone. A terrible and ever-present sense of insecurity weighs down the spirits of all. The moan of a.n unhappy and restless world is ever sounding in my cars, and often, in the solitude of my own thoui::hts, do I feel constrained to cry, with one of old, "Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tea.rs, that I might weep day and night over the sorrowings and sufferings of these poor sons of toil." 'Vho that has an ear to hear may not catch, mingled with that moan, the mutterings of the distant thunder?

A mighty deUvera.nce for the labor of au enslaved race w115 the stupendous event of ancient times, sung in rejoicing praise throughouta(terages, chronicled in Scripture, and considered worthy of incorporation wiur the ceremonies of religious worship. Interpreted in the light of the modern contest between capita.I and industry-a contest whiclt, though it be unhappily at present one of simple brute force, is more and more dwarfing all other forms of controversy-thede!iverance ofthelsraelites from. the bondage of Egypt becomes, to the present generation, o. historical fact of the deepest interest. That a second and fa.r mightier deliverance for human toil, a second destruction or ••the tongue of the Egyptian sea," is the stupendous a.nd surpassing event in the near future there a.re not only a.bounding prophecies in the 'Vord of God, but signs and warnings enough on every hand.

Theda.ysofordinarycommerci~ panic a.re gone, tho nations are in the grip of of poverty. men's hearts are failing them forfea.r, suffering isoverywhere abroad, and there is that universal anxiety as to approaching events which portends the ccming storm. I fear the trials and sorrows throuch which we have been passing· for eight or ten years past are but the beginnings of sorrows. Temporary causes may again cause a spasmodic" revival of trade;" and the peril lies in the -fact that that reviYa.l will only serve to <lrive the wild world of modern commerce more speedily to its doom and hush into silence or forgetfulne11s many whose faculties were beginning to be aroused by the sulemn warnings of recent yea.rs.

'£his terrible system and humanity are in eternal conflict, and one or the other must disappear. I have the deepest conviction that the human race is about to pass through a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation e\·cn to this same lime.

Mr. President, how can it be otherwise? If tho public economies of this country have vested in 40,000families more than half, andin 250,· 000 families three-fourths of all the wealth-producing labor, property, and the fruits of labor of 65,00t>,OOO of people, and leave but the one· fourth of the remainder for all the support, all the education, all the comforts, and all the luxuries which about four-fifths of these 65, 000,000 of people must possess, what is the necessary result? We have universal discontent of labor; we have labor unions predicatecJ upon the idea that the great mass of people engaged in prpducth'e industry are not adequately compensated.

THE PEOPLE ARE POOR.

What does that mean? That they have not a sufficiently large pottion of the fruits of labor; that they have not houses which are comfortable; that they have not clothing in abundance; that the food which they are able to obtain is not sufficiently good and sufficiently abundant; that education and the opportunities of education are not pro· vided for them, or that the necessity of labor for bare subsistence forbids their use of the public schools; and yet, side by side with them, in a luxury and a magnificence which surpasses anythin~ the history of the world has ever seen, are a limited number of people, their fel· low-citizens, equal and only equal by law to them in all their privi~ leges, rights, and opportunities.

ONLY REASONADLE AC<:mitJLATIOW3 PROTECTED BY WISE LAWS.

I am not opposed to the accumulation of wealth. So far as I am concerned I am willing to support every wjse and equal system of legislation which shall foster and protect the reasonable accumulation of property, bnt if public policies or the evolution from necessary conditions have brought about this result it is full of menace and danger, and is a condition which demands from all tbnughtful men, and espe· cially from this body, such measures and such public policies as will cbange and remove it; otherwise a. forcible revolution may bring about a worse condition. of affairs.

CREDIT :MONEY ONLY A PLEDGE OF FUTURE PRODUCTS.

Pertinent to this subject of an increase of the debt of the United States and placing that debt in the ownership of a limited portion of people, into whose bands it must necessarily go because of their superior opportunities of acquiring the means to control and own it, I read in this little tract another very significant statement. Mr. George M. ·weston, the secretary of the British Monetary Commission, says as follows: If we pass from the borrowing to the lending side in international transac

tions.we see the sa.mo tlting in a reverse Yicw. Lending nations never pa.rt with any money. England. which has been me.king loans for fifty years, never had any approximation to the amount of money it has loaned-

Curiosity may here ask, How, then, did it manage to loo.n a thing it never possessed? llow can value be predica.teu of that which never lmd existence a.s a product of industry?-and possesses as much now as it c>cr <lid. Its loans have been in substance mero credits to draw upon in payment for merchandise, and their net result has been the conYersion of English iron, coals, cotton, cloths, and similar things, at round prices and round profits, into foreign securities. As the borrowing nations obtained no money and only swelled their merchandise imports, England parted with no money and only swelled its exports.

This, then, is a system of credit, an artificial system of promises, of anticipations of the future, which, converted into the power to control labor and property and the elements which produce wealth, have become vested in those who had the ingenuity to create and to use thfa credit. The bonds of the Government pass to the Hothschilds, to the great manipulators of credit in Europe, or wherever it may be found; in Europe generally, because the securWes are chiefly there upon which is based and which creates this vast power over the money, tho exchanges of labor, the comforts of every man and every woman and every child throughout this country.

POWER AXD WEALTil OF A FEW-DEDT AND PO\ERTY OF TilEl PEOPLE.

This great power and this great wealth of a few persons, which have prouuced the unhappiness, the debt, resting upon all the fairest and best portions of the United States and converting the ownership of the sQi!, which belongs to the free people of this country. into the private, tribute-paying estates of the great landlords of our own and foreign countries-this system of artificial credit and anticipations ofthe future in promises to pay, without any contribution to the welfare of mankind, has vested the labor and the property and the comfort of the people of this country in forty thousand families, who control and who are now seeking to control the powers of legislation, both in the State and in the nation. In this direction and this line of policy we have a

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· 'SENATE. 1031 i;>roposition that the entire money of this country shall be passed into the hands of this domestic and foreign class of aristocrats :md manipulators of the credit of the world.

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY llAYE CONFERRED DENEFACTIONS.

I am not insensible to the benefactions conferred upon mankind by great captains of industry and princes of commerce in our own country and iu other countries in cheapening the necessaries of life. · I have sometimes mentioned them by name and given them due ·credit, but surely they are too wise to countenance the public policies which impoverish the people 1lnd excite their just animosity. They must consider that their ownership of ·great properties rests only on the fact tba t they so use them as to be benefactors of the people. Cresar in the height of bis power and of the wealth and magnificence of Rome found it necessary to appease the people by laws restraining luxury and ostentation. Public opinion when aroused asserts power with supreme force. The l\Iarscillaise of France, the child of democracy, ever sounds its warning to the nations, and the tocsin of revolution will always be ready t.o signalize the wild fury of a people starving in the mids~ of abundance.

TUE PEOPLE'S SERVANTS BOUGIIT WITII MONE Y.

This system of artificial credit, the bonded debt of the war, passing necessarily into the hands of a very small number of persons, an almost infinitesimal portion, gives them money to buy those who represent the people; money to fill the seats of this Chamber and of the other House and to corrupt those who exercise the judicial functions of the country; money to loan at enormous and extortionate rates of interest throughout our great Western country; money to manipulate railroad charters; money to control banks and corporations of every kind, and to place bankers and money-lenders in places of official power; money to sn born the pres.s, to monopolize and concentrate in their ownership all the transportation and the means of exchan~e, and the ownership of the public land, and to extort from the people, by high prices, the fruits of their labor, until there is want and suffering and debt in the households of the great majority oftbe people.

l'RICE OF MONEY IN IOWA.

'1 made a statement in the debate here the other day in regard to the State of Iowa, taken from this magazine, the Forum, which was controverted by the Senator from Iowa [Mr. WILSOX]. Since that time I have received a letter in which is inclosed a copy of a letter written to the distinguished 8enator from Iowa; and just here I will read it as pertinent to this point, that this power to control tlle credit money of this country through its public debt has been in large part the instrument and means by which the entire control of the wealth of this country has passed into the bands of a very small number, two hundred and :fifty thousand families.

In that debate I referred to a statement contained in the Forum of the amount of money in the shape of mortgages which bad been placed upon the farms of the people of Iowa, the most fertile and wealth-producing region of the world, and I drew the conclusion from it that when the farmers of a country were compelled to burden themselves with debts at high rates of interest it spoke of poverty, it spoke of want, it spoke of bad systems of public policy, it spoke of laws opposed to the interests of the people, to the comforts of their homes and their welfare. I received this letter, which I desire to read, and I am sorry the Senator from Iowa [Ur. WILSON] is not in his seat. He will, however, see it in the REcon.n. The letter is as follows:

l\IOUNT PLEASA..."IT, low A, Dtcembt1· 30, 1890. l\IY DEAR S1n: In CoNGilESSIONJ..L RECORD, page &55, in your discussion with

Senator CALL, you are reported as saying, "These great corporations the Senator speaks of are begging the people of Iowa. to take their loans a.t 6 per cent.' 1

For many years I have been in the loaning business, offering security on farm lands in this, Henry County, which you can attest is the most favored location for agricultural purposes on earth. Shall I except Jefferson? 'iv ell, I hiwe been looking and working and writing to get money I could offer at 6 per cent. interest, and up to this date I have been unsuccessful, and of all the loa.ns made on Henry County farms I know of not one tlla.t is not bearin~ greater interest than G per cent. Except on a sale of land as a consideration m the sale, 6 per cent. interest may be named. But in negotiating these it is expected and demanded they bo made good at the current rate of interest.

Now, you can not do the farmers of Henry or Jetrerson f\ greater service than to show where these corporations are that are begging the people of Iowa to take their loans at 6 per cent. Will you do them this service? I will at once offer such corporation t,110 best security in Iowa for loans of 51,000 and upwards at 6 per cent. interest. ·

Very truly, etc., J. A. THROOP.

Hon.JAMES F. 'VILSON, Washinoto11, D. 0.

POVERTY IN NEW YORK, DOSTON, AND OTIIER CITIES NORTU,

I read in the New York World of twenty thousand evictions in a year in the city of New Yoi:k by landlords of people from their homes, and I read from a speech of Rev. Dr. bfoGlynn, as follows:

"Poverty," he told his ~u.d.ienc:e, "increases in proportion to civilization, 'Vbere you find the most c1vihzat1on there you find the most poverty, misery vice, and crime. London has more of it, even in proportion to population, tba~ New York, New York more than Philadelphia or Chicago, and those cities more thu.n Cincinnati and such smaller ones.

"Here in New York this veracious chronicler of the times tells us and proves for us that there are 20,000 evictions annuallv. Ireland has three times the population of New York City and only 4,000 or 5,000 evictions a year.''

"'Vhat becomes of the evicted? Where do all the pins go? They are broken up, ground down, lost in the general mass. The poor take in many of them. The asylums and institutions care for others.''

I read that in the city of Boston, according to articles published in the Arena by. W. D. P. Bliss and several others, who are vouched for by the editor of this magazine to be men of character and reliabilitv. Mr. ~~~s: •

Undoubtedly, the one great evil of city life is lack of employment. It docs not exist for ~rls and boys. '£here is a demand for girls; you can not get a. house-slave,' help "-seeking," help "-harassed lady, because there is a demand for girls in shops and factories. For boys there is a demand as well. Our great stores employ boys till they become men and want men's wages; then they discharge such and take new boys. It is not the fault of the storekeepers. It is one of the beautiful fruits of holy competition. Boys and girls will sell them· selycs cheaper than men. It is men who ara out of work.

Mr. Walter J. Swaffi.erd, in the same number of the Arena, says: There a.re houses in which from one hundred and fifty to two hundred per

sons, men, women, and children, are herded together like cattle, and sleep in heaps upon the landings of the stairs. What wonder that there are immorality and disease?

These houses are owned by respected citizens who refuse to be satisfied with less than 20 to 30 per cent. of their investments and who neglect year after year to wllitewash, paint, or paper these filthy hn.bi-t.ations of Iloston's p<>or.

:Mr. Swaffi.eld also says: Within gunshot of the pa.laces of the Back Bay nn:i the ~ilded dome of tho

State house there exist most abject poverty and wretchedness, such destitution ns a. few years ago called forth "'l'he bitter cry of outcast London." A revelation of the true state of things sllould raise a. blu.sh of shame on the cheeks of Cluistian philanthropists and cause the ears of those who are in any way reRponsible for it to tingle with the hearing. .

The wail of helpless poverty has become so feeble from starvation that it foils to reach the ear of those who are ready and willing to help.

In fe,v words I desire to draw aside the ¥ell and call attention to the gaunt forms of hungry, pa.in-racked women and naked children; to emphasize the cry-

Of children crying in the ~ht, OC children c1·ying for the light, And with no language but a. cry.

Ur. Bliss in another place says: Old men sewing pants at 14 cents a. pair; children of four and five doing

basting; women, pn.le, thin, and diseased, because for months they ha\•e only eaten what was left of the scanty meal aft.er the children were firi>t fed-these are common sights in not the poorest section of our city; but they will not usually be seen by the regulation associated charity inspectors of the poor. They are usually in homes tha.t never ask for help. True poverty is silent; such persons do not usually die directly of starvation. Hence we are told thnt t11ere is no destitution in Boston. Theyhnve the "necessities of life.'' God pi.ty the blasphemy of what we regard as necessary to life. Bu.t how do these people live?

Mr. President, these extracts are from articles written by lea.din~ men of the city of Boston in a public magazine. Rev. Edward Everett llale is one of the contributors of these articles. The Farmers' Alliance have told us that this state of thing~not sncb great poverty, not such great distress, but exorbitant rates of interest, scarcity of money, an absence of the means of removing their crops at the periods when they are required to be transported to market, and the pressure of debt which compels their sale as soon as they can be placed into a form for transportation-these various causes have placed the entire agricultural population of the country in the same condition as all the rest of the people of the United States, excepting the 250, 000 families who ~1old three-fourths of its entire wealth.

FR.KE COINAGE A$D Anm"DANT MOJl.'EY TIIE lll01KDY,

What shall we do to remedy this condition? We are told that tllo existing cond.i~ion of things, namely, a currency based upon its convertibility into gold by the guaranty of the Government of the United States, indirect, if not direct, a system in which the money, the paper currency, of the country, is in the control of 25, 000 corpora tionS' of this country, and the majority of the stock in all probability owned by less than that number of persons, is as good a system as we could have, and that we had better strengthen it and extend it; we bad 'better increase the power of a few men in this country to say what every man's labor and every man's crop and every man's ln.nd shall be worth. Let us looka little into that proposition, for it is an important one.

In my judgment the legislation upon this bill may and will have a great effect upon the future of this Republic. If there is one thing that menaces the perpetuity of these institutions, it is the policies which give the absolute control over the comfort and happiness of every family in this country to'a few thousands of its people. Talk about sla'rnry and the condition of the negro. You have terms of reproach for the slavery which existed in the Southern States, but never was there such a system of slavery since the days of the nations of old as exist'3 to-day if these statements are true. We :µear constantly of a Southern oligarchy and aristocracy suppressing votes, but here is an aristocracy and an oligarchy destroyin~ the very life of the people in the Northern States.

GOLD MONEY A~m conroRATJJ: POWER llIAKECl PAUPERS AND ARISTOCilATS.

M:r. Davi.d A. Wells, with his usual acumen and learning, has investigated many of these propositions, and not unfavorably to the side of capital and the gold-money inter~ts of the country, for he appears to be himself a monometallist, and he argues this subject with >ery great ability from that point of view. The truo criticism, however, is that with tlie gold system, with the present system of currency, with the present commercial relations, and the present corporate power we have created a condition of things in which it is not possible to perpetuate republican government, unless it be radically changed. We can not. have a people of paupers, pauper women, pauper men, nnd

1032 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. J .ANUA.RY 8,

pauper children, in this country and 250, 000 families of aristocrats owning three-fourths of all the property and all the annual fruits of labor and living in imperial magnificence and luxury.

There is no republican government possible under that condition of things, and if this writer states the truth, that 40,000 families in the United States own one-half or more than one-half of its wealth and 250,000 families own three-fourths, with the hjgh rate of interest for money loaned, with universal mortgages over the country which it is impossible for tho formers to pay, some legislation must be provided by which the people may be able to live and a condition of things established in .which a few will not have all and the great body of the people have nothing.

This is a truth so obvious that it should influence the conduct of all men. To allow this condition to remain is to invite the most extreme action from the people and to place all the interests of the country in the hands of agitators who are too often the base and venal slaves of money, bought with a price to sell the people's rights and betray all the interests of civilization, ofreligion, and progress.

DEPRESSION OF INDUSTRY, TRADE, AND COMMERCE.

:Ur. Wells says: The existence of a. most curious and, in biany respects, unprecedented disturb

ance aml depression of trade, commerce, and industry, which, first manifesting its('llf in a marked degree in 1873, has prevailed with fluctuations of intensity up to the present time (1889), is an economic nnd socio.I phenomenon that bas been everywhere reco1rnized. Its most noteworthy peculiarity has been its uniYersa.lity; affecting nations Chat have been involved in war as well as those which have maintained peace; those which have a. stable currency, based on gold, and those which have an unstable currency, based on promises which have not been kept; those which live under a system of free exchange of commodities and those whose exchanges are more or less restricted.

It has been grievous in old communities, like England and Germally, and equally so in Australia., South Africa, and California., which represent the new; it has been a calamity exceeding heavy to be borne, alike by the inhabitants of sterile Newfoundland and Labrador and of the sunny, fruitful sugar islands of the East and 'Vest Indies; and it has not enriched those at the centers of the world's exchanges, whose gains are ordinarily the greatest when business is most fluctuating and uncertain.

One of the leading economists and financiers of France, 1\1. Leroy Beaulieu, claims that the suffering has been greatest in his country, humiliated in war, shorn of her territory, and paying the maximum of taxation; but not a. few stand ready to contest that claim in behalf of tho United States, rejoicing in the maintenance of her national strength and dominion and richer than ever in national resources.

The Director of the United States Bureau of Labor after an .investigation of the industrial depression in the country, in his repor~ for 1886, sa.ys:

The investigations of the Director also indicated a. conclusion (of the j!'reatest importance in the consideration of causes), namely, that the maximum of economic disturbance has been experienced in those countries in which the employment of machiner71 the efficiency oflabor, the cost and the standard of living, and the extent 0 popular education are the greatest j and t.he minimum in countries, like Austria, Italy, China, .Mexico, South America., etc., where the opposite conditions prevail. These conclusions, which are concurred in by nearly all other investigators apply, however, more especially to the years prior to 1883, as since then" depression" has manifested itself with marked intensity in such countries as Russia, Japan, Zanzibar, Uruguay, and Roumania..

This condHion of things has resulted in the undue acquirement of wealth by 250,000 families out of the 65,000,000 of people in this, the freest and richest country in the world, with its virgin soil, without incumbrance up to this time, without entail, and unde:r a public policy which has sought, so far as the forms of law could do it, to give the public land free to the farmer upon the condition of occupation and culti vatiotl. We find the people even under these favorable circumstances in a condition of unexampled depression, want of the comforts of life, want of employment, an increase of poverty, men making pantaloons at 14 cents a pair in the great cities of the country, and the farmers throughout the United Rtates in every State forming alliances and demanding legislntion for their assistance. What does all this mean?

MONOPOLY OF l\IO::.O"'EY A CURSE TO TIIE PEOPLE.

To my mind it is very plain what it means. It means that the monopoly of the money, which this bill seeks to extend and perpetuate, bas in every form become a concrete force bearing down on the people with crushing oppression. The transportation corporations of the country have been allowed to createapublic debtwhich is quite as binding as the national debt would be, $1,000,000,000, and probably three times tha"t amount, as a gratuity to the monopolistic and aristocratic class, and levy it annually upon the labor u.nd transportation of every man, woman, and child in the land.

FARlIEltS HAVE A RIOllT TO LEGISLATION FOR TIIE CONTROL OF llIONEY.

It means that the farmers of this country have a right to have, and no man can give a sound reason why they should not have, such legislation as will enable them to control in their own localities the money which shall be necessary for their immediate needs.

To say that that is impracticable or impossible and that it is necessary that the control of the money which they require shall be vested fa syndicates of rich men in New York, Iloston, and the great cities of Europe and America, is entirely unreasonable and can have no true defense.

Let us see how this thing stands. What does 1\fr. Wells eay about it? No more thoughtful man, no clearer intellect, no more perspicuous analyst, no better informed mind exists upon the continent, and, although I differ with him broadly in his conclusions as to the exist-

ing system of currency and finance and the policies which have created it, I say that every man who has a part in legislation ought to fit himself for the study of the measures with which he has to deal by a study of the facts which he states and the conclusions at which he has arrived. They are of the very first importance, been.use they are not ignorant; right or wrong, they arc formed on a profound and careful study of facts, and are not mere assertions of opinion. Letrui see what he says about t.he subject: _

Never before in the history of the world ho.ve there been so mo.ny and such successful devices invented and adopted for economizing- tlle use of money. Every incrense in facilities for banking and for the granting and extension of credits largely contributes to this result, the countries enjoying the maximum of 1mch facilities requiring the smnllest comparative amount of coin for their commercial transactions. In the United States the number of national banks increased from 2,052 in December, 1879, to 3,151 in December, 1888, or in the ratio of over 53 per cent. During the sam"' period their capita.I, surplus, and undivided profits increased 38.5 per cent. and their loans and discounts 79~ per cent.

In England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Channel Islands there were 2,417 bank· ing offices in 1865 and 3,886 in 188.5, an increase which is regarded as extraordinary. The t0tnl banking deposits of Englnml, which were estimated (nt one moment) at £676,000,000in 1874, were£760,000,000in1884, an increase of £84,000,000 ($408,000,000) in nine yea.rs, and this notwithstanding tho concurrent great fall In prices. ln Germany p. system of deposit accounts began at the Imperial Ilauk in 1876. Since then they have grown to more than 350,000,000 ma1·ks ($85,-000,000). Of these deposits the owners can at any time avail themselves by means of checks, and make their payments throughout the whole empire without any expense. ·

To this must be added the progress made in Germany in recent years in the n.boorption and utilization of the very smallest reserves of money through the savings-ban ks system.

There a.re now scarcely any peasants left in Germany to keep readymoney on hand to any considerable a.mount; and in families, in which a few decades ago eve1·y child possessed bis money box filled with gold o.nd silver pieces, now every child has his savings-bank book.

• • .. t. • • * The statislics of clearing house3, which are everywhere multiplying, also

show a continued tendency for the settlement of financial obligations without the intervention of either notes or coin. In the United States the exchanges effected through the medium of clea.rinir houses increased $7,604,000,000 in the single year from 1885 to 188G. In the United Kingdom the dnily clearances of its banks amount to nearly one-fifth of the whole supply of gold in the country; and for the year 1885, for the three commercial centers or London, Manchester, and Newcastle, amounted tolbealmost incomprehensible sum of£6,018,000,000 ($29,393,280,000). In Germany the clearing-house system only came into full action in 1884, but in 1836 the business had grown to 12,355,000,000 marks, and the question in this connection Is most perMnent, 1, e.," \Vhali relation does this saving of the use of money bear to the quantity of gold Germany is estimated to ho.ve absorbed in her new coinaire?"

Mr. President, I have been ende·avoring to show what would be the effect of a continuance of the present policy without any participation to any considerable extent by the great agricultural interests or the country; a system in which they a.re the borrowers al ways at extortionate rate of interest; a condition of things in which the banks or the money depositories or the subtreasuries, for you may call them by either name, are not connected with the owners of the soil, the real estate, the growers o.nd producers of commercial values, and whether or not that bas proceeded to any extent from the relations of money to business, whether of agriculture or manufacture or exchange or labor; whether or not a restricted coinage and a system of banks and bank credits, ot bills of exchange of money based on bonas and ownecl by a class, now the prevailing method of doing business, is the cause of the slavery and want and poverty which have been imposed upon the great agricultural interestil of our country; whether or not the 40,000 families owning more than half, and the 250,000 families owning three-fourths, of all ·the taxable property, of all the fruits of toil, of all the crops, of all the money, and all the property, as shown in these tables, and paying largely less than half and but little, if any, more than a third the truces imposed for the support of the Government; leaving to the great body of the people-GS, 000, 000, with only 250, 000 families taken out of the great mass-leaving to them to pay not only the burden of supporting the Government, but also the burden of supporting the great corporations of the country, with their more than $1,000,000,000of .fictitious and unreal capitalization and their host of highly paid officers, and their poorly paid employcs or working people, all paid out of the little remainder of one-fourth of the aggregate production of the people which remains to them after the payment of all these charges.

· TIIE EFFECT OF LllIITED COINAGE.

In this connection, relating to the burdens of taxation which rest upon the people of the country, in the table which I have read from the Fo;rum, it is possible for us to see what effect the limited coinage, the concentration of the money, the amount of money in the shape of bank credits or of gold alone, or of gold and silver, has upon the annual production of the people and the remainder of the fruits of common toil which are left for the housohold, for the family. In this book of 1\fr. David A. Wells the following statement is made:

Recent authorities estimate the clebt of Enrope in 1865-'GS to have been £2 -640,000,000, and that it had been Increased in 18S7, mainly by reason of ware~ponditures, to £..i,684,000,000 ($"22,261,000,000), entailing an annual burden of interest of £213,640,000 ($1,038,000,000).

* • * "' * * • 'l'he result of increasing war burdens may not, therefore, presagedisa.rmtunent

and peace, but an ultimo.le terrible social sti·uggle "between tile classes and the masses."

How can it be otherwise? How can you increase to· the extent of one billion of dollars (probably three times that sum) the annual interest charge paid ont of the labor of the people without ultima.tely producing an absolute state of impoverishment?

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1033 Mr. President, all this has to be paid with money, with toil, with

suffering, with poverty. It is true thatthe national debt of European countries has become a fictitious one, impossible of payment, yet the annual interest charge, which must be paid by taxation, has increased and is increasing until it soon will become a fiction and utterly impossible of payment. Here is this vast system of credits which constitutes the money of the country, bank credits, bills of exchange, fictitious capital, and fictitious money, and here is a requirement that it shall be paid only in the monometallic or gold standard of value owned by the holders and managers of this money.

MONEY SHOULD BE FREE .AS TIIE TIDES OF THE OCEAN,

If there be one thing that the man who reasons upon this subject can see clearly and that is susceptible of demonstration, it is that money, the means of exchange, shcmld be as free as the tides of the ocean to come and go. The part which it performs, it is true, is not an absolutely necessary part; it is only a part that ministers to the convenience of a high condition of civilization, to the economy of exchanges, but it must be carefully guarded against being a power monopolized and limited to the hands of one or a few. It is under our existing economies a power that holds in its hands the comforb or the want and poverty of all the people, the continuance or the destruction of the Republic and the hope of free government.

It must be protected by law against monopoly or control.. by combinations so far as that may be nossible.

'Ve have now, according to- Mr. Wells, a system of vast expansion. The gold standard has certainly some characteristics of advantage, but it is this gold standard which has enabled in these latter years the power to control tho money of the country to be concentrated in the hands of a very small number of persons. Barter, it is easy to see from these writers and from a consideration of the subject, could easily effect the necessary exchanges of society and of production and of commerce, but if you ascend l:leyond that you must u1:1e the modern convenience of clearing houses or bills of exchange or bills of credit, and all money must be divided into that which representstheactual exchange or into that which is efficient to represent its value.

You may create it either by nature, or perhaps to a limited extent by law, but it must be in itself the representative of the value of the two things exchanged or it must be in the shape of a promise so relia· ble that it will be acceptable universally. Such have been the securities of \lie Government; such have been the pledges of the returns to be deriV'-.'.< 1 • .>m the taxing power of a country.

PUBLIC DEBT OF NATIONS.

But economists are rapidly approaching the conclusion that the sys· tern is a vicious one, that it has only aided in the pursuits of individual ambition and of national aggrandizement, until now it has become a load so great that it must be discarded, so oppressive that it will impoverish the people. To this credit of Governments, this pledge that the taxing power shall be used for the benefit of a class, none have so meritorious a claim as the farmers. So we see, Mr. Pre1ident, that the question bus come now to present itself in this shape, as Mr. Wells says:

The predominant feeling induced by a review and consideration of the numerous and complex economic changes and disturbances that have occurred since 1873 (as has been detailed in the foregoing chapters) is undoubtedly, in the case of verv many persons, discouraging and peRsimistic. The questions which nat· urally suggest themselves, and in fact are continually being asked, are: Is mankind being made happier or better by this increased knowled~e and applica· ti on of the forces of nature, and a consequent increased power of production and distribution? Or, on the contrary, is not the tendency of this new condition of things, ns Dr. Siemens, of Berlin, has expressed it, "to the destruction of all of oar ideals and to cause sensua.lism; to aggravate injustice in the distribution of wealth; diminish to individual laborers the opportunities for independent work and thereby bring them into a more dependent position; and, finally, is not the supremacy of birth and the sword about to be superseded by the still more op· pressive reign of inherited or acquired property? 11

What will the farmers of this country, who have become associated in organizations tho~ghout the country say to this? Their present complaints butrepeat in words what these economists and phila.nthropists and scientists have already expressed and foreboded?

.They find support and warrant in these statements of fact and the conclusions drawn from them. My sympathies are with them, and they shall have my support in the measures they have proposed so far as it may be possible upon mature consideration to make them efficient to relie\e their present embarrassments and troubles. In my opinion, much may wisely be done in the line of these proposed measures,nnd if I had the power the present session should be devoted to the cons.ideration of the measures proposed by them and such others as might look to their relief.

Mr. Wells says: 'Vhat many think, but hesitate to say, finds forcible expression in the follow

ing extract from a letter addressed to the author by a large-hearted, sympathetic man, who is at the same time one of the best known of American jour• nalists and leaders of public opinion. After referring to his great interest in the exhibit that has been made of the extraordinary economic disturbances since 1873 and their effect on persons, production, distribution, and prices, he says:

"But what. a deplorable and quite awful picture you suggest of the future; the wheel of progress is to be run over the whole human race and smash us all, or nearly all, to a monstrous flatness. I get up from the reading of what you have written scared, and more satisfied than ever before that the true and wise course of every man is to get somewhere a. piece of land, raise and make what he can for himself, and try thus to get out of the crushing process.

LAND MONOPOLY-LAND JllORTGAGES-EXTORTIONS OF MONEY.

But land monopoly, extortion of money, land mortgages, have de· prived the people of this country of the power to obtain land. A con· tinentof public Jand which was devoted to the free use for the citizens, for the people of the United States, has been passed to corporations and foreigners, the money lords of the world.

It seems to me-

Says this letter to Mr. Wells-It seems to me that what we call civilization is to degrade and incapacitate the

mass of men and women, and how strange and incongruous a state it is. At the same time these masses of men are thrown out of their accustomed employ· m.ents by the introduction or perfection of machinery, at that very time the number of women and children employed in factories rapidly increases, an un· precedent.ect cheapness of all necessaries of life is coincident with an intensification of the bitter struggle for bread and shelter. It is a new form of slavery which, it seems to me, projects i~self into view-universal slavery-not patri· archal, but mercantile.

I get yearly more tired of what we ·call civilization. It seems to me a preposterous fraud. It does not give us leisure_; H does not enable us to be clean, except at a monstrous cost; it aifects us with horrible diseases-like 'diphtheria and typhoid fever-poisoning our water and the air we breathe; it fosters the vicious classes so that these grow continually .more formidable; and it compels mankind to a strife for bread which makes us all meaner than God intended us to be. Do you really think: the " game pays for the candle? 11

• * What are the social and political results to follow the sweeping reconstruc

tion of our material prices and our labor system? Are we not unconsciously, and from the sheer force of these new elements, drifting fa5t into a form of actual socialism-if not exactly such as the doctrinaire reformers preach, yet a form which in respect to material interests swallows up individualism in huge com· b inntions? Does not tha econon;iizing of the new methods of production necessitate this tendency? And, if so, to what sort of social reconstruction is it

' likely to lead? Does it mean a future of industrial kings and industrial slaves? How far does the new situation harmonize with current aspirations of labor? Are these aspirations a reflex effect of the new conditions of industry?

RELATIONS OF MONEY TO INCREASING PAUPERISll A?."'D LABOR DISCONTENT.

So, Mr. President, we are here to deal with the relations of money to this great mass of increasing pauperism, to this great discontent of labor, to this cry of the farmers of this country for such measures of legislation as will enable t!iem to command the means of exchange of their products and will enable them to have their great products, upon which this country and the world depend, transported to market at such cost as will leave to them a residuum, something for the support of their families, for the education of their children, something for the improvement of their home.c:i, their land, and of the country. · What a picture does this letter from Iowa, from the editor of a Mount

Pleasant paper, give to us of a country, the richest in the world in its agricultural resources, and yet not able to control the money for its necessary purposeR, even upon a mortgage 9f those fertile and productive properties, except at exorbitant rates of interest made to the money power abroad!

_Nothing can prove more clearly the necessity of free coinage of silver than the present condition of mortgage and debt of the farmers of the West and Northwest; and in addition, such further legislation in the direction of the farmers' ideas as will enable them to control and obtain on the pledge of their crops the money that would enable them to hold them beyond the reach of the low prices at which the mo~ey speculator obtains them, becaus_e he can and the farmer can not obtain the money necessary for him to hold them until a reasonable price is offered for them.

What effect will the free coinage of silver have? I take it.that there is a great deal that is unreal in the speculations upon this subject. The character of money has been known from the remotest times. Away back in the days of the Grecian republics Aristotle gave a definition of money andan analysis of the subject. It was true, and therefore it never can be improved. It was absolutely true, and all that has been said since has added nothing to the fullness and the perfectness o:t his reasoning. Speaking of the origin of coins, be says:

It became necessary, therefore, to think of certain commodities, easily trans· portable and safely transportable and of which the uses are so general and so numerous that they insure the certainty of always obtaining for them the articles wanted in exchange. The metals, particularly silver and several others, exactly correspond to this description. They were employed, therefore, by general agreement as the ordinary standard of value and the common measure of exchange, being themselves estimated at first by their bulk and weight, and afterwards 'stamped in order to save the trouble of measuring and weighing them.

It has been asserted that this quality inherent in these metals had ceased to have efficiency as money, as means of exchange, for money is nothing but that which will exchange values. No law can make money. It must have that power. Whether by law or by nature it must have a value which will enable it always to be in demand and always to be acceptable. You may by certain public policies increase and fortify the efficiency of these qualities, but it has been said that their value has been impaired because they were of divergent vu.Ines, that you could not retain them at one uniform standard, that the greater quantity of the one or the smaller quantity of the other would create a divergence of value. That no doubt is true to some extent.

The public policies of laws have been always to endeavor to guard against that as far as possible; but how can you find a substitute, how can you prescribe a legal tenner and make it solely of the one kind of metal for the discharge of all obligation~, with this vast amount of debt to be discharged, with this vast amount of private and public credits

l034 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. J A.NU .ARY 8,

taking tho place of money. It means, when you do that, that you give the power to use that as money which is not money, which is not a means of exchange, except in the temporary confidence which one individual mayhaveinanother, and which is abused, to vest the greatmass of the fruits of labor in the man or the corporation or the body in whom that confidence is reposed.

Therefore money should be as free as nature has made it, as abundant as the ores of which it is composed, to be carried to the mints and stamped simply, as Aristotle says, for convenience, and put forth by whoever owns it for such purposes as it may be in demand. Then, it you choose to supplement, as bas been done in every country, a pa.per issue of promises to be redeemed in this coin, in this metal, if the convenience of society shall require it, as it has required it, in addition to the private credits, which are mere matters of personalconfidencc, let your laws be directed to that end, so as to meet the demands of the farmers of this country by such fiscal organizations of themselves, based upon such sound metallic systems, as may answer their purposes and may be in conformity with their demand. How is that impossible?

RELATION OF FARll PRODUCTS TO PUDLIC CREDIT AND TO l\IO::>IEY.

The following statements were made in a memorial signed by 95 members of the United States House of Representatives of the FOrty

·eighth Congress and pre8ented to the President of the United States in 1885. They show that it is practicable to devise measures in conformity with their ideas, which will offer the farmers the relief they require and yet be consi"ltent with a sound system of finance:

Eighteen million bales of cotton were the equivalent in value of the entire interest-bearing national debt in 1865 ($2,221,000,000), but it will take 35,000,000 bales at the price of cotton now (188.)) to pay the remainder of such debt (Sl,196,-000,000). Twcnty-fi,·e million tons of bar iron would have paid the whole debt ($2,674,000,000) in 1865: it will now take 35,000,000 tons to pay what remains (Sl,375,· 000,000) after all that has been paid.

Is that true, Mr. President? Has it any significance? Does it mean anything? It would seem that statesmen who assume to be capable of making laws would have been considering what it means. Does it mean that that much of the labor of the people of this country has been taken by law and placed in the pockets of a few men? Does it mean that the representatives of States and people have given that vast sum, representing the tears of the widow and the orphan, the poverty of the homes, and the suffering which is now being complained of by the agricultural interests in these forty thousand families in this country, and that is the function which the representatives of the people have been performing here? Does it mean that? Mr. President, it

. means it in part. I do not think it means it in the full proportions stated. Mr. Wells

gives some qualifying circumstances, some conditions which lessen and diminish that amount, but it certainly has been through legislation, and, in part, legislation 3ffecting the money standard. It is true, if you were to put under free coinage all the gold and silTer in the world and store it in each county of the United States, that you would have to get it out of the storehouse in some way or other or it would be of no service and have no effect whatever. How would you get it out? That is a question. That is the logic of the situation.

Suppose you had your free coinage and the money was there, what woulJ. you dowith it? Point out the method by which it. would get into the Jiands of each individual. What are your public policies? Point to the evolutions of social order, the relations of business. Tell us what they are, and how will this money get out, and how does it now get out? You ship a. bale of cotton or a bushel of wheat; it pays it.s own way. Somebody advances the money upon it to its ultimate destination, be it in tbis country or abroad. It has to pay for its production, its transportation, and it is carried out of what it ultimately brings, whether it is his neighbor in the next house or whether it is a million miles away. If it does not it can not be carried. One bushel migb t, but the second could not. The world's business is predicated upon it. Everything must pay for its production, its transportation, and its sn,le or exchange.

How, then, will you get this money out? If you give it away it repre•ents nothing. If year after year you are to give it away or if vou lend it upon a security which can not replace it in things of exchangeable value, it is no longer a means of exchange. It must be used under legitimate and just laws. Transportation must be cheap, the use of this money must be made cheap. It can not be so when you leave it in the hands of great syndicates of foreigners associated as money-lenders and money-dealers with men of your own country whose interest it is to make the money valuable and make the labor of the conntry less valuable. This will be to gather tribute from toil and suffering cveryw here.

The statement shows that these farm products are an adequate security for the money which exchanges them. They have pa.id this great sum of money, and we now confidently rely on them to pay this great debt. Why, then, should not the farmer have such measures as will enable him to control his own products?

DJOIAND FOR DIA:UONDS IN CO:NTRAST WITII POVERTY OF PEOPLE.

A very interesting exhibition of the condition of the money power, and our business syotem, and our banks, and of our aggregate'd capital,

and of the extortion of usury and the thousand forms in which wea:1th a_ggrandizes itself at the expense of the people, is to be found in the history of diamonds.

DIA.M:O:KDS. Says this trea.tise:

'.l'he. recent price experience of diamonds is in the highest de~ree interesting. Diamonds were first discovered in South Africa. about the year 1868, and a. business ofsearclling (mining) for them immediately sprang up. At the out.set the mining was conducted IJy indi".idua.ls, but, in consequence of the expense, the work ~radually and necessarily passed into tho control of joint stock companies with command of lar.ge capital; and it was not until 1880 that operations on a great scale were undertaken.

The result of this improved system, conjoined wiU1 underground mining, was such an i~crease in the output of diamonds that a.n oversupply to the ma1·ket and a serious reduction in price became imminent; and the period of 188.1-'81 was in fact one of falling prices and intense competition among the various producing companies, <luring which the leading companies paid little or nothing to their shareholders, and some entirely s11spended operations. Continued disaster was, however, finally arrested through a. practical consolidation of all the companies for the purpose or controlling product and prices; and a revival in demand having occurred about the same time, average prices were advanced between 1885 and 1887 from 20s. 5d. per carat to 23s. 7td.

The value of the diamonds exported from South Africa since the first discovery of the mines, or from 1868 to 1887, is believed to have been between £40,-000,000 and :£45,000,000 ($200,000,000 to S225,000,000), of which about :£15,500,000 (S77,500,000) represents the valuqoftheoutputfroml8S3 tol887. Very curiously, this large export of value-nearly all in the first instance to England-deems to find no distinctive place in the columns of British imports, although they have served in R large measure to enable South Africa to pay for her imports of British and other foreign products. · If the export of diamonds from South AfriC!I. to Europe has aggregated £!5,-

000,000 (S225,000,000) in the rough, the process of cutting may be regarded as havini; increased their market value fully 100 per cent., or to £90,000,000 (Sl37,-000,000J, a. grenter valuo than the yield of the world during the two preceding centuries. The aggregate weight of the entire diamond product of the Soutll African mines up to 1887 is estimated at 38,000,000 carats, or over 7t tons.

'Ve have, therefore, in this experience, the phenomenon ofthestrangelypersistent value of a comparatively useless gem, during a :period when the price!! of most other commodities were diminishing by leaps and bounds, as well as the extraordinary concurrent absorbent power of the world for a. greatly increased product.

But the demand for diamonds has exceeded all others in the times of the greatest poverty and want of the necessaries of life, and of this immense product there is good reason to believe that the largest portion found its market in the United States.

These data, imperfect as they are, afford some indication of tho rapid increase of the wealth of the classes in recent years during the time of this extrordinary distress.

Mr. President, that is a commentary. The wealth of the country is increasing. What do we mean by that? Its railroads are increasing, its corporate wealth is increasing by leaps and bounds; its proverty and destitution of the masses is increasing, the mortgages upon its farms are increasing, the landlordism of the country is increasing, and yet the demand for diamonds is exceeding that to be found in any other part of the world.

FREE COINAGE DEMONSTRATED.

Mr. President, the question of the free coinage of precious metals is' one which i!! a demonstration, in my judgment, in itself. It is true that you can not by any legislation preserve an exact equality between the precious metals without the Government putting its hands in tho pockets of the taxpayer and paying the difference of cost between the cheaper and the dearer metal; but that the equality of these metals for use as a coin as the basis of whatever ma.y be the medium of exchange is a necessity would seem to be entirely apparent from the very fact that t}lere is nothingelse thatiareal; that allelsearepromisesand anticipations und pledges, but that gold and silver have been in the ex· perience of the world always a present, existing value.

I do not attach so much importance to the legal-tender feature as others do. If it adds something to them it is very well. I think great modifications, in my judgment, are pointed out in the path of reason in the legal· tender laws of the c,ountry, but that gold and silver are by nature stamped with qualities which make them, as Aristotle said, the most convenient, the most suitable, the most readily accepted, the most universally approved of all means of exchange as representatives of value is, in my judgment, a matter which is not even susceptible of doubt or question.

Mr. Wells and other economists, in examining into this subject, have with very great ability pointed out that in modern commerce the use of the metallic coin is being done away with except as an expression of value. So it is; but when itis done away with you have reposed the whole production of the country in the confidence which may exist in associations or in individuals, and, when ever that confidence is destroyed or in any way impaired, the metallic currency, the two coins, must be the basis of all exchan_ges and the only thing which does not deal in future possibilitiei:i and pledges and promises. .

NEEDS OF TIIE AGRICULTURAL PAnT OD' Tlllll PEOPLE.

Mr. President, this subject connects itself largely with the needs of the agricultural portion of this country. I sympathize with their demands. I believe it is practicable to establish a system of :finance which will afford to them money abundantly and on a fair basis, whicb will enable them to control their own products, which will exempt them from the extortioner and the usurer, which will enable them, if they must have subtrensuries or depositories or banks, to own and control them themselves and to be, as they ought to be, the great leading intet•

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. · 1035 est of the country upon which every 9ther interest is dependent, and which should receive the care of fostering legislation and such measures of financial relief as may be effective. I believe they have been the victims of public policies whicli have J03sened, if not destroyed, their prosperiiy. The statistics of the country show that $6,000,000,000 of agriculturaf products have been shipped abroad and brought back to this country in gold values t.o be sold and loaned to the very men who produced them at three or four times their cost or at high and ruinous rates of interest. Why should there not be some measure devised by which the farmer may be enabled to obtain at reasonable rates the money to control the sale of his own products? I believe such measures may be devised.

Mr. President, I shall vote for the amendment of the Senator from Nevada to the amendment of the committee, and, if it were not that it would embarrass the passage of this free-coinage amendment, I would now ask for a consideration of the propositions· of the farmers for such financial measures as would enable t.he great staple products of agriculture to be made the bases of loans, in great depositories, banks, or other fiscal agencies, to the end that we may see what may safely and 'wisely be done.

Mr. President, I ask the leave of the Senate to print some extracts in the RECORD.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ur. DOLPH in the chair). " Is there objection? The Chair hears none, and leave is granted.

.1\Ir. EDMUNDS. The Senate is very thin. I move that- the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business unless some other gentleman wishes .to speak now.

Mr. HISCOCK. Will the Senator from Vermont allow me to call ·up a bill?

l\1r. EDMUNDS. I withdraw the motion for a moment, as my friend from New York desires to present some businesR.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DoLPII). The Senator from Verm'ont withdraws his motion.

Mr. HISCOCK. I usk for the consideration of the bill (H. R. GOS) making an appropriation for the construction of new buildings and the enlargement of the military post at Plattsburgh, N. Y.

'l'he PRESIDING OFFICEH. The Senator from New York moves to take up for present consideration the bill named by him.

Mr. HARRIS. Does the Senator move it or does he ask unanimous consent?

· :Mr. HISCOCK. I ask unanimous consent. Mr. HARRI8. There is some difference between the two proposi-

tions. Mr. COCKRELL. Let the bill be read, so that we can see what it is. Mr. PLUMB. Is it a Senate bill? Mr. HISCOCK. It is a House bill, a bill which passed the other

House and is reported unanimously from the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. PLUMB. It is somewhat unusual. Nearly all these posts are provided for by general bill. I do not know what necessity there may be for it. It seems to me to take rather an unfair advantage of the other posts.

l\Ir. HISCOCK. It is strongly recommended by the Secretary of War. Ile asks for it.

Mr. PLUMB. I have no doubt the Secretary of War would recommend buildings for perhaps many other posts in the United States, but the question arises why should this post be taken out of the ordi· :pary plan?

l\Ir. HISCOCK. There is, in the first place, to be a donation from the people of quite a tract of land which is to be transferred to the Government, and it has been supposed .that it is necessary that there should be a bill that should cover the whole question.

l\fr. PLUMB. Let the bill be read subject to objection.~ Mr. HARRIS. If the Senator asks that the unfinished business be

informally laid aside and asks unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the bill he mentions, I certainly haye' no objection.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. That the Chair understands to be the request. The Chair did not observe how the original proposition was worded; · perhaps the Chair was inattentive, but he understood the Senator from New York to move to take the bill up.

.1\Ir. INGALLS. Before this matter is proceeded with, it is of great importance that opportunity should be given for some committee work to-morrow morning, and with the consent of the Senator upon the floor I will move that when the Senate adjourns to-day it be to meet tomorrow at 12 o'clock.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas moves that when the Senate adjourns to-day it be to meet at 12 o'clock to-morrow.

The motion was agreed to. · The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request of

the Senator from New York? Mr, COCKRELL. Let the bill be read for information, subject to

objection. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill will be read. The Secretary read the bill.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the present con· sideration of the bill.?

-1\fr. PLUMB. I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas objects to

the present consideration of the bill.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

l\ir. EDMUNDS. I renew my motion that the Senate proceed to the censideration of executive business.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to the consideration of executive business. After seven minutes spent in executive session the doors were reopened, and (at 4 o'clock and 27 minutes p. m.) t)le Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Friday, January 9, 1891, at 12 o'clock m. ·

NOJ\UN ATIONS.

Exccut.ii:e ?Wminations received by the Senate tlte 8th day of Janua1·y, 1891.

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.

Samuel C. Mills, of the Districb of Columbia, to be justice of the peace in and for the District of Columbia, to be assigned to the city of Washington. His term will expire January 20, 1891.

POSTI\IASTERS •

Joseph Meredith, to be postmaster at Rico, in the county of Dolores and State of Colorado; the appointment of a postmaster for tho said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891. ·

.William 0. Stephens, to be postmaster at Delta, in the county of Delta and State of Colorado; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, .become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891. .·

James n. Baldwin, to be postmaster at Terryville, in th~ county of Litchfield and State of Connecticut; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Heber S. Ives, to be postmaster at Plantsvilie, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, in the place of Thomas Buckley, whoso commission expires February 26, 1891.

Laura A. Wilder, to be postmaster at Forsyth, in the county ol Monroe and State of Georgia; the appointment of a postmaster for tho said office having, by law, become vested in the President on and after October 1, 1890. · .

John Q. Adams, to be postmaster at Ji!arengo, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, in the place of Frederick Ji!. Mead, whose commission expired January 7, 1891.

Thomas J. Buntain, to be postmaster at Momence, in the county of Kankakee and State of Illinois; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Thomas Diller, to be postmaster at Sterling, in the county of Whitesides and State of IDinois, in the place of William A . .McCune, whos~ commission expired January 7, 1891.

John C. l\fartilldalc, to be postmaster at Fulton, in the county of Whitesides and State of Illinois, in the place of William C. Green, whose commission expired January 7, 1891.

Josiah B. Parkinson to he postmaster at Savanna, in the county of Carroll and State of Illinois, in the place of John l\f. Startzman, whose commission expires January 13, 1891.

Alfred W. Jameson, to be postmaster at Ackley, in the county of Hardin and State of Iowa, in the place of Edward J. Higgins, whose commission expires February 14, 1891.

George A. Lincoln, to be postmaster at Uedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, in the place of Alexander Charles, whose commission expires February 14, 1891.

Peter J. Potts, to be postmaster at Council Grove, in the county of MorriB and State of Kansas, in the place of Charles L. Knight, whose commission expired J uJy 26, 1890.

Emily 'l'. Helm, to be postmaster at Elizabethtown, in the county of Hardin and State of Kentucky, in the place of Emily T. Helm, whose com!llission expires February 14, 1891.

Henry A. Burdett, to be postmaster at Clinton, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, in the place of John McQuaid, whose commission expired December 21, 1890.

Nathan D. Stoodley, to be postmaster at Readirig, in the county of Middlesex and State of !fa.ssachusetts, in the place of William J. Rug• gles, whpse commission expires February 26, 1891.

Franklin ~I. Cutcheon, to be postmaster at Portland, in the county of Ionia and State of Michigan, in theplaceofWilliam W. Bogue, whose commission expires February 28, 1891.

William H. Davy, to be postmaster at 1tfoorhead, in the county of Clay and State of Minnesota, in the place of Edward Fay, whose commission expires January 10, 1891.

Charles G. Mullen, to be postmaster at Madelia, in the county of Watonwan and State of l\finnesotn.; the appointment of a postmaster

1036 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. JANUARY 8,

for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Hans M. Serkland, to be postmaster at St. James, in the county of Watonwan and State of Minnesota; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by la.w, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Martin E. Fritz, to be postmaster at Lexington, in the county of Holmes and State of Missie:sippi; the appointment of a postmaster for the said' office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 11 1891.

Benjamin Sharp, to be pm1tmaster at Wellsville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Missouri; the appointment of a postma5ter for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President on and after January 1, 1891.

Albert F. Smith, to be po:oitmaster at Fairbury, in the county of Jefferson and State of Nebraska, in the place of James D. Hubble, resigned.

Erastus V. Cobleigh, to be postmaster at Lancaster, in the county of Coos and State of New Hampshire, in the place of Charles E. ?iicintire, whose commission expires January 20, 1891.

William A. Churchill, to be postmaster at Lebanon, in the county of Grafton and State of New Hampshire, in the place of Charles H. Clough, deceased.

Frederick Boorman, to be postmaster nt Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, in the place of Edward Gardner, deceased.

William I. Halstead, to be postmaster at Mount Kisco, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, in the place of Charles S. 'Vare, whose commission expires February 3, 1891.

James L. Hays, to be postmaster at Welden, in the count_y of Orange and State of New York, in the place of Charles P. Yan Zandt, whose commission expires February 3, 1891.

James Miller, to be postmaster at Utica, in the county of Oneida and Smte of New York, in the place of E. Prentiss Bailey, whose commission expires February 22, 1891.

George E. Norris, to be postmaster at Brighton, in the county of MouroeandStateofNewYork, in the place of James ?11. Holton, whose commission expires February 3, 1891.

Andrew J. Taft, to be postmaster at Whitehall, in the county of Washington and State of New York, in the place of Orville A. Manville, whose commission expired December 20, 1890.

John A. Berkimer, to bepostmasteratNewLexington, in the county of Perry and State of Ohio, in the place of John R. Meloy, whose commission expires February 3, 1891.

John R. Crain, to be postmaster at Jamestown, in the county of Greene and State of Ohio; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President on and after Jan-uary 1, 1891. .

.Andrew Il. Mason, to be postmaster at .Auburndale, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, in the place of J a.mes Stratton, removed.

Alvin E. Nishwitz, to be postmaster at Tippecanoe City, in the county of Miami and St~te of Ohio; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Henry Howard, to be postmaster at North Clarendon, in the county of Warren and State of Pennsylvania; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Benjamin Steele, to be postmaster at Irwin, in the county of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, in the place of Charles W. Gant, whose.commission expired January 5, 1891.

George N. Arnold, to be postmaster at Dublin, in the county of Erath and State of Texas; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

William Pilley, to be postmaster at Will's Point, in the county of Van Zandtnnd State of Texas; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Hermann Seele, to be postmaster at New Braunfels, in the county of Comal and State of Texas; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by ln.w, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

William A. Densmore, to be postmaster at Lyndonville, in the county of Caledonia and State of Vermont; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President from and after January 1, 1891.

Thompson S. Brown, to be postmaster at Waynesborough, in the county of Augusta and Stn,te of Virginia; the appointment of a postmaster for the Raid office having, by law, become vested in the President from nod after January 1, 1891.

Solomon H. Keeler, to be postm:ister at Fairhaven, in tho county of Whatcom and State of Washington; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President on and after January 1, 1891. ·

James F. Stone: to be postmaster at Ravenswood, in the county of

Jackson and State of West Virginia; the appointment of a postmaster for the said office having, by law, become vested in the President on and after January 1, 1891.

Henry C. McWhorter, to be postmaster at Charleston, in the county of Kanawha and State of West Virginia, in the place of Richard J. Ashby, who:"e commission expired May 18, 1890.

Frank W. Harriman, to be postmaster at Appleton, int.he county of Outagamie and State of Wisconsin, in the place of James Ryan, whose commission expires January 10, 1891. ·

CONFIRMATIONS.

Executive nomination..<1 confirmed by tlte Senate January 8, 1891. POSTMASTER.

Mattie D. Todd, to be postmaster at Cynthiana, in the county of Harrison and State of Kentucky.

PRO~IOTIOXS IS THE ARl\IY, JJiedical De1Jartment.

Lient. Col. Anthony Heger, surgeon, to be surgeon with the rank of . colonel.

?lfaj. Ge9rge M. Sternberg, surgeon, to be surgeon with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Cai·alry. First Lieut •. Henry H. Wright, Ninth Cavalry, to be captain of cav

alry. Second Lieut. William H. Baldwin, Seventh Cavalry, to be first lieu

tenant of cavalry. Second Lieut. Herbert G. Squier.:i, Seventh Cn,valry, to be first lieu

tenant of cavalry. Infantry.

First Lieut. John A. Baldwin, Ninth Infantry, to be captain of infantry.

First Lieut. :Marion P. Mans, First Infantry, to bo captain of infan-try. •

First Lieut. Frederick A. Smith, Twelfth Infantry, to be captain of infantry.

First Lieut. Thomas C. Woodbury, regimental quartermaster Six-teenth Infantry, to be captain of infantry. .

First Lieut. George Le R. Brown, Eleventh Inf::mtry, to be captain of infantry.

First Lieut. Horace B. Sarson, regimental quartermaster Second Infantry, to be captain of infantry.

Second Lieut. William N. Hughes, Thirteenth Infantry, to be first lieutenant of infantry.

APPOINTl\IENT IN TTIE ARl\IY. James .M. Williams, late captain Eighth Cavalry, to be captain of cav

alry.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THURSDAY, Jam/ttary 8, 18!)1.

The House met at 12 o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Ilev. W. H. MILBURN, D. D.

The J ournnl of the proceedings of yesterday was read and approved. 6

APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES. The SPEAKER. The Chair desi!:'es to announce the appointment

of conferees, which the Clerk will read. · The Clerk read as follows: On the bill (S. 544) amending secticns 1529, 1530, and 1531 of the

Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to the Navy-Mr. BouTELLE.z Mr. LODGE, and Mr. McADOO.

ISSUE OF DUPLICATE OF A LOST CIIECK. The SPEA.KEH. The Chair desires to lay before the House a Sen

ate bill, on the Speaker's table, substantially the same as a House bill already reported; which the Clerk will read.

The Clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 4·176) directing the issue of a duplicate of a lost check drawn by A. W.

Beard, collector-of customs at the port of Doston, l\Ias:.., in favor of De Blois &Co. 'Vhereas it appears that A. ,V. Beard, collector of customs a.t the port of Bos

ton. in the Commonwealth of l\Iassachusctts,did, on the 9th day of 8eptember, 1890, issue a check, numbered 145966, upon the assistant treasurer of the United States nt said Boston, in favor of Do Blois & Co., for the sum of $4,295.5!>, being for tho refund of certain duties exacted in excess of the legal rate, which check is nllcged to have been lost in transmission through the United States llUloils; nnil

Whereas the provisions of the act of February IG, 1835, nm ending section 3646, Revised Statutes of the United States, authorizing United States disbursing o:Iicers and a.gents to issue duplicates of lost checks, apply only to checks drawn for $2,500 or less: Therefore,

Be it enacted, etc., That said A. W. Beard be, and he is hereby instructed _to issue a duplicafe of said original check, under such regulations in regard to1ts issue and payment as have been prescribed by the Secretary of the '.L'reasury for the issue of duplicate checks under the provisions of section 8646, Revised Statutes of the United States.

( l

'·

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1037 l\fr. ROGERS. A parliamentary inquiry, l\fr. Speaker. How does

this bill come before the House? The SPEAKER. It is on the Speaker's table. Mr. ROGERS. Is there a bill of that description reported and on

the Calendar of the House? The SPEAKER. The Chair so understands. The Clerk informs

the Chair there is. The Chair relies on information he obtains from the Clerk, and that information rests upon the statement of the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. ANDREW], who does not appear to be present at this time. 1

Mr. ROGERS. There ought to be some explanation under what rule a duplicate check can not be issued without an act of Congress. ·

Mr. OUTHWAITE. I will state to the gentleman from Arkansas that the law will not permit a lost check to be duplicated when the amount is over $2,500, which is the casein this instance, and therefore the general law does not provide for a case of this character.

Mr. ROGERS. As I understand this bill, it takes no money out of the Treasury.

The SPEAKER. It simply authorizes the issuance of a duplicate check.

The bill was ordered to a third readingj and it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

The SPEAKER. Without objection, the corresponding House bill will be laid on the table.

There was no objection. GALLUP, N. l\IEX.

The SPEAKER also laid before the House the bill (S. 4547) for the relief of the inhabitants of 'the town of Gallup, Bernalillo County, Territory of New Mexico.

The bill was read, as follows: Be it enacted, et~., That the probaLo judge of Bernalillo County, Territory of

New Mexico, be, and is hereby, authorized to enter in trust for the occupants and inhabitants of the town of Gallup, for town-site purposes, the southeast quarter of section 11', township 15 north, of range 18 west, of New l\Iexico principal meridian, subject to the provision!'! of section 2387, 2388, and 2389 of chapter 8 of the Revised Statutes of the United State!!, relating to town sites.

SEC. 2. That upon the passage of this act. the 'l'erritory of New l\Iexico, through its proper officer, shall be, 11.nd is hereby, authorized to select as indemnity for said land, and in full satisfaction thereof, and for the purposes st:.ted in section 1!>46 of the H.eviiled Statutes, one quarter section of 160 acres of public lands a.t any office in said Territory, said selections to be made according to legal subdivisions and contiguous.

Mr. ANDERSON, of Kansas. l\Ir. Speaker, I think there ought to be some explanation of that bill.

Mr. JOSEPH. Mr. Speaker, I will simply state that the town of Gallup, in the Territory of New Mexico, was built upon the land iii occupies before that land was surveyed. It was afterwards surveyed and the town found to be on a school section of land. 'l'here is no provision of law by which they could get a title, and therefore they have to get relief in this way.

Mr. ANDERSON, of Kansas. Is the town built on this quarter section?

Mr. JOSEPH. Yes, sir. The bill was ordered to a third reading, and it was accordingly read

the third time, and passed. Mr. SPRINGER moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was

passed j and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to. The SPEAKER. Without objection, the corresponding House bill

will be laid on the table. There was no objection, and it was so ordered.

PUBLIC BUILDING AT PATERSO~, N. J.

Mr. LEHLBACH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take up House bill 6!J51, to increase the appropriation for tho erection of a public building at Paterson, N. J., and pu~ it upon its passage.

The bill was read at length for information. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the present consideration of

the bill? Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I call for the

regular order. 'I'he SPEAKER. The gentleman from Arkansas calls for the regu

lar order. The morning hour commences at seventeen minutes past 12, and the call rests with the Committee on Military Affairs.

TELEGRAPH OPERATOilS DURING THE WAR OF TIIE IlEilELLION.

.Mr. CUTCHEON. Mr. Speaker, I call up, on behalf of the Committee on 11.Iili tary Affairs, the bill (H. R. l15G7) for the relief of telegraph operators during the war of the rebellion, and yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania. [Mr. OanoRNE], who has charge of the bill.

The bill was read, as follows: Be it enacle<l, etc., Th\l.t the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and re

quested to prepare a roll of all persons who served in the operation of military telcJ?ro.ph lines during the late civil war, and to issue to each, upon applica.· tion, unless it appears that his service was not creditably performed, or to the representatives of those who are dead, suitable certificates of honorable service in the military telegraph corps with the Army or Navy of the United States, stating the service rendered, the length of such service, the dates, as near as may be, between which such service was performed, and the assimilated rank,

I if any, they held by general or special orders of the commanding officers under whom they served: Provided, That this act shall not be construed to entitle any person who served in snch military telegraph corps to any pay or allowances to which he was not previously entitled, nor to entitle them to recognition as an integral part of theArmyorNavyofthe United States during such civil war

Mr. SPINOLA. (during the reading). :i\ir. Speaker, I rise to make the parliamentary inquiry as to whether a point of order will lie against this bill.

The SPEAKER. Not until it is read. Mr. SPINOLA. I want to reserve all rights to make a point of or

der against its consideration in the House. The reading of the bill was resumed and concluded. The SPEAKER. What is the point of order presented by the gen

tleman from New York? l\Ir. SPINOLA. Th.e point of order is that I would like to have this

bill considered in Committee of the Whole. The SPEAKER. That is not a point of order. Mr. SPINOLA. Then I make that motion, that this bill be consid

ered in Committee of the Whole. The SPEAKER. The gentleman has not the floor for that purpose. Mr. CUTCHEON. The bill carries no appropriation and makes no

charge on the Treasury. The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Michigan is recognized. Mr. CCJTCHEON. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr.

OsBORYE], who bas charge of the bill. Mr. OSBORNE. 1\lr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is simply to

give recognition to a class of men who did most excellent service during the war of the rebellion. Every soldier knows that during the campaign, at least with the Army of the Potomac, there was a most excellent organization of the telegraph corps. These men were simply employed by the Quartermaster's Department, but were required to follow the Army in all its marches, and on many occasions were obliged to place their instruments on the line of battle. Throu~h the whole service of all the armies there were about 1,200 of these men. ~

During the war 199 of them were killed in engagements between the armies and over 100 were wounded. These men were not in the Army because the War Department did not see fit to adopt a policy which would allow them to enlist, and it was simply because of the action of the War Department in that regard that they were not enlisted men. They were willing to enlist and offered to do so, but were not accepted because it was thought best to keep them under the Quartermaster's Department. Now they come here and ask for a simple recognition of their services, the issuing of a certificate that will set forth where they served, what they did, and the easualtics which as a class they incurred. It will require no money whatever and it "Will not put them upon the rolls oftbe Army. It is simply a reward of merit to a class of men who showed themselves to be true and faithful and brave men in the time of the peril of the country. If there is no gentleman who desires to be heard in opposition I ::i.sk for a vote.

Mr. CANNON. I understand the gentleman to say that this is merely n. proposition to furnish certificates of service to these parties.

Mr: OSBORNE. That is all. -Mr. CANNON. I want to ask the gentleman further if this is not

a first step toward the recognition of these parties so as to entitle them to pensions and other pay hereafter?

l\Ir. OSBORNE. Not at all. Mr. CANNON. Then it is merely a matter of dress parade. Mr. OSBORNE. It is merely the issuing of certificates that tb_ese

men did good service and were with the loyal armies during the war. 1\1 r. CUTCHEON. That is all. Mr. Mcl\ULLIN. Let us have the report read. l\ir. OSBORNE. The report is quite long. Mr. l\1cl\1ILLIN. Well, it can be read. The report (by Mr. OsBomrn) was read, as follows: The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 281)

for the relief of telegraph operators during the war of the rebellion, having considered the so.me, respectfully report:

That the servic~s performed by the military telegraph operators during tho war of the rebellion were both interesting and important. They were with the Army, but not in it. The bill as reported from the committee defines their· · status and proposes to gi ,.e them a certificate reciting their service-a reward or merit-but does not propose to change the history or pervert the facts as they actually existed. '.rhe men of such service were of unusual intelligence and showed thernselyes possessed of a courageous spirit and indomitable pluck. No me11 who served with the Army showed themselves possessed of these traits to a greater degree. They put up their instruments many times on tho skirmish line o.nd frequent.Jy almost on the lines of battle. Tiley went with tho ad,·ance and were often the last to leave an abandoned position eYen when it mennt capture and imP.risonment.

8ome were killed at their posts of duty, many were wounded and crippled for life, and still they were only civilians. They were ma.de prisoners of war and exchanged for important officers. They were to n. certain extent subject to military orders, but have never been o.blo to clnim a soldier's reward or bear an honorable title among the nt\tion's defenders. Some heh.l an assimilated rank, but not the real rank of officers. Their duties were just as important and just ns faithfully performed as though they had been sworn into the service of the United States. These men have come to your committee through their representative officers with a bill, and have asked to have it declared by lego.l enactment that they were an integral part of the Army, to be accorded a military status at this late day, twenty-five years after the performance of the service, which all agree was meritorious, which is entirely mconsistent with the facts. By their bill, which was referred to your committee, they ask to be enrolled and declared a. part of the Army of t.he United States of that period, and also tha~ they be granted commissions of actual rank relati>e to tile assimilated rank

1038 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. J.ANU.AilY 8,

held by~. and then a certificate of honorable discharge from the sernce, reciting the cha.meter of service as from the Army of the United States.

Your committee would with hold no meed of praise or just reward for patriotic and efficient services performed, but do not feel at liberty, and tllink it would be unjust to those who also performed other valuable service with the Army while not actually in the Army, to declare the military-telegraph operators were what they were not, and thus at this late day ~ive them a military status not held by them at the time, when such recognition has been refused to otller branehes of civilian employes who served in different capacities with the Army. The history of their services is already w1·itten, and no legislation can add to or take a.way from that history. Their actual standing with the Army must always remain as it was at the time such services were performed. These viewA are apparently shared by the War Department, whose report is herewith submitted. .

Your committee also submit, as Exhibits A, B, and C, reports made on similar IJiUs in the Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, and Fiftieth Congresses, and dissent from such reports only wherever they declare that the mili!Airy-telegraph operators were an integral part of the Army, and would put them on a military basis. the reason for such action becoming more apparent at each session of Congress, when other l>ranches of the civilian arm of the service come in and ask like recognition.

Your committee therefore recommend that the bill do lie upon the table, and in lieu thereof recommend the passage of the accompanying substitute, which places the military-telegraph opera.tor upon the same equality ns other like arms of the service.

Mr. Mc"MILLIN. I understand from the gentleman in charge of this bill that it is not sought by this measure either directly or indirectl.v to procure additional compensation or pension for these employcs.

Mr. OSBORNE. It is not. Mr. CUTCHEON. That is expressly excluded. Mr. McMILLON. That is a matter that should be fully understood,

because I think that in regard to pensions there should be kept up at all times a clear distinction between the men who enlisted for a regular period and underwent the fatigues and the dangers of a soldier's life and any class of civilian or semi-civilian employes.

:Mr. CUTCHEO~. I will say to the gentleman that the committee fully considered all those points and reported this substitute for the express purpose of excluding anything of the kind which he suggests. This bill simply proposes to give these men certificates of honorable service with the Army, but not of it.

Mr. McMILLIN. If it is distinctly understood that this is not for the purpose of procuring pensions or of laying the foundation for the procuring of pensions for these persons, if it is merely intended to recognize their faithful oorvices, I shall not object.

Mr. SPINOLA. l\Ir. Speaker, I wish to offer an amendment, to come in nt the end of the bill, as follows: "and never to be entitled to any pension.''

Mr. OSBORNE. The bill provides that. · Mr. SPINOLA. In order to cover the point made by the gentleman

from Tennessee [Mr. MCMILLIN] I think this amendment is necessary, and I do not see why there should be any objection to it.

Mr. OUTHW .A.ITE. The effect of that would be to cut them off from applying for pensions hereafter.

Mr. SPINOLA. That is my object. If they are to be recognized as a portion of the Army they will be entitled to pensions.

.Mr. CUTCHEON. But this bill does not recognize them as a portion of the Army.

Mr. SPINOLA. I think the gentleman in charge of the bill makes a mistake in not accepting the amendment.

The question was taken upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time, and the Speaker declared that the ayes seemed to have it.

l\Ir. BLAND. I ask for a division. The House divided; and thero were-ayes 63, noes 49. Mr. BLAND. I call for the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered.

. The question was taken; and there were-yeas 136, nays 81, not vot mg 114; as follows:

Adams. Allen, l\Ilch. Anderson, Kans. Andrew, Arnold, Atkinson, Pn.. Atkinson, W". Va. Banks, Ba.rtlne, Bayne, Beck"lovitb, Belden, Belknap, Bergen, Bilis, Boothman, Boutelle, Bpwden, Brosius, Browne, Va.. Buchanan, N. J. Burrows, Burton, Caldwell, Carter, CaBwell, Cheadle, Cheatham, Clark, Wis.

YEAS-136.

Clark, Wyo. Cogswell, Comstock, Connell, Cooper, Ohio Craig, Culbertson, Pa.. Cutcbeon, Dalzell, Dingley, Dolliver, Dunnell, Dunphy, Evans, Finley, Fitch Flick: Flower, Funston, Gear, Geisscnhainer, Gest, Grosvenor, Grout, Ha.11, Ila.rm.er. Hayes, W. I. Ila.ys,E. R. Henderson, Ill.

Henderson, Iowa. Hill, Hitt, Kelley, Kennedy, Kerr, Iowa. Ketcham, Kinsey, Lacey, Laidlaw, Langston, Lanham, Lansing, Lawler, Laws, Lel.ilbacb, Lin<l, Lo<lge, l\fo.n.~ur, l\lcComas, McCormick. 1\IcDufile, l\IcKenna, ':\IcKiuley, Miles, l\Iollitt. l\Ioore, N. H. 1\Iorey, l\forrow,

l\Iorse, O'Donnell, O'NeiU,Pa. Osborne, Payne, Perkins, Pickler, Post, Quackenbush, Quinn, Raines, Randall, Reed, Iowa Reilly, Robertson, Rockwell, Rowell, Russell, Scull, Sherman, Shh·cly, Simonds. Smith. W. Va. Smyser, Spooner, Springer, Stephenson, Stewart, Vt. Sti;ers,

Stockbridge, Stone, Pa. Struble, Sweney, Tarsney,

Taylor, Ill. Townsend, Pa. Taylor, E. D. Van<lever, Thomas, Vaux, Thompson, 'Va<ldill, Townsend, Colo. 'Valker,

NAYS-81. Abbott, Cooper, Ind. Bankhead, Covert, Ba.rwig, Crain, Biggs, Crisp, Blanchard, CnllJcrson, Tex. llland, Davi<lson, Boatner, Dickerson, Breckinridge, Ark. Dockery, Brickner, Ellis, Brookshire, Fithian, Branner, Forney, Buchanan, Va. Fowler, Buckalew, Geary, Bynum, Grimes, Candler, Go.. Haynes, Caruth, Hemphill, Chipman, Ilendcrson, N. C. Clancy, Herbert, Clarke, Ala. Holman, Clements, Hooker, Cobb, Kilgore,

Lane, Lee, Lester, Ga. Lester, Va. Lewis, l\Iaish, l\Iartin, Ind. l\IeCreary, l\Icl\Iillin, l\IcRao, l\Iills, l\IooreiTcx. l\Iutch er, O'Neil, l\Iass. Outhwaite, Owens, Ohio Parrett, Paynter. Peel, Penington, Pierce,

NOT VOTING-114. Al<lerson, Dorsey, l\IcCla.mmy, Allen, l\Iiss. Edmunds, l\IcOlellan, Anderson, l\Iiss. Enloe, McCord, Baker, Ewnrt. l\Iiller, B1uncs, Farquhar, Milliken, Bingham, Featherston, l\Iontgoruery, Blount, Flood, l\forgan, Breckinri<lge, Ky. Forman, Morrill, Brewer, Frank. l\Iutld, Ilrower, Gibson, Nie<lringhaus, Brown, J.B. Gifford, Norton, Browne, T. l\I. Goodnight, Nute, Rnllock, Greenhalge, Oates, Bunn, Ila.nsbrougll, O'Ferrall, Butterworth, Ila.re, O'Nea.ll,Ind. Campbell, Ilatch, Owen, Ind. Candler, l\Iass. Haugen, Payson, Cannon, Heard, Perry, Carlton, Hermann, Peters, Catchings, Hopkins, Phelan, Clunie, Houk, Pindar, Coleman, Kerr, Pa. Price, Cothr:m, Knapp, Pugsley, Cowles, La Follette, Ray, Cummings, l\Iagner, Reyburn, Dari:-a.n, Martin, Tex. Rite, Darlington, l\fason, Rowland, De Lano, l\1c.Adoo, Rusk, Dibble, l\IcCarthy, Sanford,

Wallace, N. Y. "Wheeler, Mich. 'Villiams, Ohio 'Vilson, Ky. Yarclley.

Richardson, Hogers, Sayers, Skinner, Spinola, Stewart, Tex. Tillman, Tucker, Turner, Ga. "\Vashington, 'Vheeler,Ala.. 'VhiLelo.w, "\Vike, 'Viley, Williams, Ill. 'Vilson, l\Io. Wilson, "\V. Va. Yoder.

Sawyer, Scranton, Seney, Smith, Ill. Snider, Stahlnecker, Stewart, Ga.. Stockdale, Stone, Ky. Stoue, l\Io. Stump, Sweet, ~aylor,J. D. Taylor, Tenn. Tracey, Turner, Kans. Turner, N. Y. Van Schaick, 'Vade, 'Val lace, Mass. WhiUng, 'Vhitthorno, Wickham, Wilkin.son, 'Villcox, Wilson, \Va.sh. Wright.

So the bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. Mr. l\IcADOO. I would like to have my vote recorded. I heard

my name called on tho first roll-call, but on the second roll-call I had stepped just outside the screen when my name was reached--

The SPEAKER. Was the gentleman listening at the time when his name was called and did ho fail.to bear it?

Mr. McADOO. The second time my name was called I was not lisi:cninO'; the first time I was, but did not vote.

The SPEAKER.. That time the gentleman heard his name called and did not respond?

:Mr. McADOO. I did not respond. The SPEAKER. The Chair is not permitted under the rule to en-

tertain the gentleman's request. Mr. McADOO. I would have voted in tho affirmative. The following pairs were announced: Until further notice: l\Ir. MILLIKEN with l\Ir. DrnnLE . Mr. PETERS with Mr. ALDERSON. Mr. COLEMAN with Mr. McCLAl\IMY. Mr. THOMAS M. BROWNE with Mr. PINDAR. Mr. WALLACE, of Massachusetts, with 1i1r. STAIILNECKER. .Mr. GIFFORD with .Mr. NORTON. Mr. MCCORD with Mr. SENEY. Mr. DARLINGTON with Mr. CLUNIE. Mr. TAYLOR, of Tennessee, with Mr. PRICE. l\Ir. HOPKINS with l\Ir. HATCH. Mr. NIEDltINGIIAUS with Mr. STONE, of Kentucky. Mr. KNAPP with :M:r. PERRY. Mr. PUGSLEY with Mr. WITITTIIORNE. ]}fr. MORRILL with Mr. STEW.ART, of Georgia. Mr. DELANO with Mr. ROWLAND. Mr. BINGHAM with Mr. MONTGOl'lIERY. Mr. FLOOD with Mr. DARGAN. Mr. l\IASON with Ur. FOIUI.AN. Mr. WICKIIAl'lI with Mr. GOODNIGHT. Mr. DORSEY with Mr. ALLEN, of Uississippi. l\Ir. FRANK with 1\Ir. EDMUNDS. Mr. COOPER, of Ohio, with Mr. ANDERSON, of Mississippi. Mr. SCRANTON with Mr. WmTING. Mr. BREWER with Mr. BARNES. Mr. REYDt:RN with l\Ir. WILKINSON. Mr. NUTE with Mr. STOCKDALE.

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1039 On this vote: JI.fr. BAKER with Mr. KERR, of Pennsylvania. l\Ir. OWEN, of Indiana, with Mr. UcCARTHY. Mr. HOUK with Mr. ENLOE. For this day: l\fr. BROWER with l\Ir. COWLES. Mr. VAN SCIIAICK with :M:r. BUT.LOCK. Mr. BUTTERWORTH with Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Kentucky. The result. of the vote was then announced as above stated. The bill having been en~rossed, was read the third time, and passed. Mr. OSBORNE 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 to.

OFFICIAL GRADES, SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT.

Mr~ CUTCHEON. I call up the bill (H. R. 28) to effect a rearrangement of the grades of office in the Subsistence Department of the Army.

The bill was read, n::i follows: Be it enacted, etc., That the Subsistence Department of the Army shall consist

of on.e Commissary General of Subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of brigadier general; three assistant commissaries general of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonel; six: assistant commissaries general of subPistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant colonel; eight commissaries of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of major; and eight commissaries of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captain of cavalr) : Provided, That the vacancies created by this act shall be filled by the promotion by seniority of the officers now in the Subsistence Department.

Mr. CUTCHEON. I yield to tbe gentleman from Alabama [Mr. WIIEELER], wh.o has the bill in charge.

Mr. IlOLM:AN. Until we have had some explanation of the measure, I wish to retain the right to raise the point of order that the bill should be first considered in Committee of the Whole.

Mr. WHEELER, of Alabama.. I hope no gentleman will ra.ise a que1:;tion of order on ibis bill.

1\fr. HOLMAN. I wish to retain the right to do so. The SPEAKER. The gentleman can only reserve that right by

unanimous consent. Mr. GlWSVENOR. I object. The SPEAKER. Objection to the reservation of the point of order

is made by the gentleman from Ohio. Does the gentleman from Indiana make the point of order now?

Mr. HOLM.AN. I make the point of order, though no one can tell with certainty whether the bill is subject to a point of order until after · t bas been exnl::l.ined.

l\Ir. WHEELER, of Alabama. The bill simply rearranges the grades of office in the Subsistence Department so as to conform to the grades in other staff departments.

l\Ir. HOLMAN. What is the effect as to expense? l\Ir. WHEELER, of Alabama. The effect in that respect will be very

slight, and there may not necessarily be any expense at all. That will depend simply upon the question whether the pay of a certain grade shall be fixed one way or another.

l\fr. BLAND. The bill must necessarily affect the salaries of the officers named, and therefore it ought to be considered in Committee of the Whole.

The SPEAKER. There is nothing on the face of the bill which indicates any increase of expenditure.

Mr. HOLMAN. That is the reason an explanation ought to be made before the point of order is decided.

The SPEAKER. A point of order of this character is not good unless the bill itself shows that it involves an increase of expenditure.

:Mr. HOLMAN. The gentleman from Alabama has conceded that the bill increases expenditures, though "only slightly."

The SPEAKER. To sustain the point of order tho increase of expenditure should appear on the face of the bill, not· as a matter of argument.

])1r, BL.A.ND. The bill shows a change of these official grades, and that must affect the salaries. On the face of the bill it is apparent that these salaries must be affected.

The SPEAKER. The Chair does not think that tho bill on its face involves any expenditure of money.

l\Ir. WHEELER, of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, in the Forty-ninth Congress a bill was introduced and enacted into law to rearrange the grades of officers in the Adjutant General's Department. At that time it was proposed to so amend the bill as to do like justice to the officers of the Subsistenca Department. These gentlemen, however, very generously consented to waive their claims temporarily, with the assurance that in the next Congress a similar law would be enacted for their benefit, and thus place them on the same footing with regard to rank as other staff corps. A bill of this character was int-roduced in the Fiftieth Congress, and passed the Senate, but owing to captious objections it was not brought to a vote in this body.

This bill was recommended hy Secretary Endicott, who said in his letter of January 7, 1889, that he "trusted Congress would be pleased

\

to consider the request for the passage of the bill favorably," and be went on to give reasons why it should be passed.

General Sheridan, in a letter of December 27, 1887, stated that this bill was necessary owing to the faulty organization of this corps, and also stated that '.'the corps h3.S not now a basis which gives its officers rank equivalent with others."

General Sheridan commended and recommended the bill and expressed the hope that the Subsistence Department may be given an organization similar in scope with the other staff departments of the Army.

General Macfeely, the Commissary General, in his letter of December 22, 1887, said: ~ .

The proposed change has been carefully considered, and I believe it to be necessary for the best iqterests of the service. It is in exact keeping with the most recent changes in the organization of the other staff departments made to meefthe uecessities of the service, untl would greatly incre11.se the efficiency of the Subsistence Department by giving it the organization required by the established system of militn.ry divisions, departments, and depots.

General Macfeely also said, "When the other staff departments and the line of the Army were increased in 186G no change was made in the Subsistence Department."

Ile then proceeds in a letter of some length, which is appended to the report, to explain the necesssity for this reorga::iization. It will simply promote to the grade of lieutenant colonel one officer who bas served over forty years, four majors who have served at least forty years, and four captains who have served more than a quarter of a century.

I do not want to delay action upon the bill and will not consume further time, because I do not believe any one will oppose a measure which in no event can increase the cost to tbe Government more than $5,300 and is shown to be so essential to the proper organization of one of the corps of the Army, and which is necessarytopreventagreat injustice to military men who have served their country in the Army for n lifetime.

.Mr. GROSVENOR. How does this change the existin~ law? Mr. WHEELER, of Alabama. By making some promotions in this

particular branch of the service. It is the only corps in the Army I will state to the gentleman, which has not had the benefit of this ;eoq?;anization. It has been applied to all the other branches of the service except to this one. It is an act of simple justice to a corps which has been heretofore neglected.

.Mr. HOLMAN. l\Ir. Speaker--The SPEAKER. For what purpose does the gentleman rise? l\fr. HOLMAN. I wish to ha\1e the report read. The SPEAKER. Does the gentleman from Alabama yield? 1\1r. WHEELER, of Alabama. I yield for a question. l\1r. HOLMAN. I thought the gentleman had finished his remarks. The SPEAKER. But the gentleman from Alabama has charge of

the bill. Mr. HOLMAN. Then I hopo tl.tc gentleman will not object to al

lowing the report to be read. Mr. WHEELER, of Alabama. I have explained the report and

hope the gentleman will not insist upon its reading, as the tiJOe is very limited. ·

Mr. HOLMAN. There is a large increase of expenditures in this particular corps of the service, and I want to know what the bill actually does, and I suppose the House wishes that information.

Mr. BLAND. We all want to underst:and the bill. Mr. WHEELER, of Afa.bama. But. I have explained its provisions. Ur. HOLMAN. I ask for the reading of the report. The SPEAKER. The gentlemau from Alabama has charge of the

bill. l\fr. WHEELER, of Alabama. I demand the previous question. The previous question was not ordered. The SPEAKEH. Tho gentleman from Indiana is recognized. Mr. HOLMAN. Now I ask for the reading of the report. The report (by Mr. WIIEELER, of Alaba.ma) was read, as follows:

'fhe Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (II. n. 28) to effect a rearrangement of the grades of office in the Subsistence Department of the Army, having duly considered the same, submit tht> following report:

'J'he ol>ject of this bill is to increase the efficiency of the Subsistence Depa.rt· mentofthe Army by giving it 110 organization in accord with the necessities of the service, and it proposes to effect this l>y the rearrnngement of grades without increasing the number of officers now in the department.

The followini;r table will show the changes which the proposed bill will make and the n<lditional cost to the Government:

Rank.

Rrigatlier general ...................... . Colonels .................................... . Lieutenant colonels ........•........... ~Iajors .................. ..................... . Captains ..................................... .

Present Proposed organ- organ- Increase. Reduction.

ization. ization.

1 2 3 8

12

1 .............. 'i"" :::::::::::::::::: 6 3 ................ ..

~ :::::::::::::::::: ················4 ~~·~~-!-~--~-1-~~~~1;~~-~~

Total................................... 261 4 26 4


DIF FERENCE IN COST.

Pay per year after twenty years' service: 1 colonel. .................. : ...... ................................................ . .......•.•....•...... $4, 500 3 lieutenant colonels ............... : .............................................. ............... 12, 000

16,500 4 captaius ............................................................................................. 11, 200

Difference per year ............. . ............... ............ ...... ............ ......... .....• 5, 300 Tho urgent necessity of taki og some action to improve the organization of this

corps and remedy what seems to be a great hardship and injustice to officers in· this branch of the senice ili so clearly set forth in the following communications from the Secretary of \Var, the Lieutenant General of the Army, and the Commissary General of Subsistence that your committee make them a part of this report.

These letters were written more than two years ago. There has been a slight change in the Department since these letters were written, but the reasons given for the change are as strong now as they were then :

'\VAR DKPARTM.ENT, Washington Oily, January 7, 1883. Sin: In accordance with the recommendation of tho Lieutenant General of

the Army, contained in his inclosed letter of the 27th ultimo, I have the honor to transmit a Jetter, dated the 2~d ultimo, from the Commissary General of Subsistence, together with a draught of a proposed bill, to effect a re.arrangement of the grades of office in the Subsistence Department of the Army.

The action proposed is similar to that asked by the Adjutant General for the department of which he is the head, and g1·anted by Congress at its lastsel:!sion; and I trust that Oongres.~ will be pleased to consider this request favorably, having (as it has) in \"iew the promotion of men who, as the records show, are well entitled thereto by long and faithful service. Its object is, as the Commissary General shows, the placing of a department whose services are most importnnt to the well-being of the whole Army in a state of proper efficiency.

In view of the statements made by the Commissary General of Subsistence and the approval of the Lieutenant Genernl commanding the Army, I beg the favorable and speedy consideration of the committee for this matter.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, · WILLIAM C. ENDICOTT,

Ser.retary of War. The PRESIDENT pro tcmpore Un.ited States Se1iate.

IIE ADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Washington, D ecember27, 1887.

Sm: I forward herewith a draught of "An act to effect a rearrangement of s;radcs in the Subsistence Department of the Army."

'.fhe officers of the Subsistence D ep:ntment have suffered much loss of rank from faulty organization of their corps, and the proposed bill is intended to remedy this by giving promotion to the intermediate grades.

The corps has not now a basis which gives its officers rank equivalent with others, as will be seen by reading the accompanying letter and papers from the Commissary Generali llnd, this being tile case, it is unnecessary for me to say that the promotion 01 men who ha ve stood in one grade for so many ye1us, as is here shown, would benefit the service. I therefore commend the proposed bill to your consideration, and respectfully ask its transmission to Congress, in the hope that the Subsistence Depnrtmcnt may be given an organization similar in scope with th~ other staff departments ot the Army.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

The SECRETARY OF WAR.

P. II. SHERIDAN, Lieutenant General.

WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE CO:lDl1SSARY GEYERAL OF SUBSISTENCE,

Washington, D. C., December 22, 1887. GENERAL: I have the honor to inclose herewith tho draught of a bill to eflect

a rearrangement of grades of ollice in the subsistence department of the Army, which, it is proposed, with your approval, to submit to tbel\Iilitary Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The proposed change bas been carefully considered, and I believe it to be necessary for the best interests Qf the service. It is in exact keeping with the most recent changes in the organizations of the other st.ail departments made to meet the necessities of the service, and would greatly increase the efficiency of the Subsistence Department by giving it the organization required by tbecstablished system of military divisions, departments, and depots.

Unfortunately, when the other staff departments and the line of the Army were increased in 1866, no change was made in the Subsistence department, the then Commissary General being opposed to it, in the belief that the Army and the number of divisions and departments would soon be reduced, and any increase then made ,,·ould be only temporary. Time has shown that this belief was erroneous. As well stated by the Adjutant General, referring to the number of divisions and departments, iu his letter of January last, submitting the draught of a. bill similar to this. for the reorganization of his department:

"The wisdom of the present territorial division of the country has been fully demonstrated by more than twenty years' experience, and leads to the conclusion that any deoarture from this system must be remote. In view of this, tho underlying reason for the desired organization becomes apparent."

Besides the principal purchasing depots, involving great responsibility and requiring officers of rank and experience, there are three military divisions and six military departments, each of which requires an officer of the subsistence department as chief commissary. There are not in the department, as at present organized, enough officers above the rank of captain to fill these positions. As a consequence, four cat>tains are performing duty as chief commissaries, while on the same staffs the representatives of other departments have higher rank, often to the extent of two grades.

'\Vith the rearrangement of grades provided for in the proposed bill, the department, with the same number of officers as at present, would have a colonel for each military division and a lieutenant colonel or major for each department and principal purchasing depot.

- For the efficiency of an army a. well-organized commissariat is second in im-portance to no other branch of army administration, and the duties of the ofticerB of this department, whether at military headquarters or at large purchasing depots, demand ab!lity, experience, and unremitting careful attention. As chief commissaries of divisions and dep:i.rtments. they must have thorough knowledge of the details and customs of service, oft.he wants and necessities of troops, of the resources of the country, and of the laws and regulations relative to the procurement and distribution of army supplies. Not only are they, equally with officers of the general staff, responsible to the commanding general for the efficient service of their depntment within his com wand, but they are also, as disbursing officersi pecuniarily responsible that their acts are in accordance with law and rcgu ations. Their rank evidently should be commensurate to the importance of their duties, and not inferior to that held by officers of other staff departments performing duties of like responsibility.

'The impropriety and injustice of requiring officers of one department to serve with so much less rank than that of others, whose duties are no more impor-

t1mt, will be manifest to any one who has ever serYed as an officer. The bard· ship to officers of this department will be still more apparent lVhen their length of service is considered in comparison with that of those of the same rank in other branches of the service. It comes directly from the defective irrading of its officers, which bas en.used in the department an extreme and unparalleled stagnation of promotion. To show clearly the extent of this, a statement set· ting forth facts in detail is inclosed herewith, to which attention is specially invited.

I will merely add here that since 1865 only one officer besides myself has advanced more than one grade in the subsistence department, and that five of them are still serving in the same grade they held the year the wa.r closed. Of the majors who would be promoted should the proposed bill become a law all have served continuously over thirty years, and of the captains who would be promoted all have served over twenty-five years, one of them in tile same grade nearly twenty-six years. All officers now in the department, except the two junior captains, served in the Army during the war, one-half of them were officers in the Army before the war, and three-fourths of them are !!till serving in the grades of major and captain.

It is not t.oo much to say that no officers in service have worked more intelligently, zealously, and faithfully than the officers of this department, although feeling keenly the fact that they were receiving less promotion than any other class of officers in the Army.

As the proposed measure will not increase the number of officer .'! in the department, but will correct existing defects in its organization, do justice to most deserving men without injury or injustice to any one, and is in the line of improving the military service, I ask for it your favorable consideration and action.

I nm, general, yery respectfully, your obedient eerYant, R. MAOFEEL Y,

Commissary General Subsistence. Lieutenant General P. II. SIIERIDAN,

Commanding the Army.

The prP.sent organization of the subsistence department is one brigadier general, two colonels, three lieutenant colonels, eight majors, and twelve captains. The bill provides for one brigadier general, three colonels, six lieutenant colonels, eight majors, and eight captains, the same total number of officers as are now in the department.

The bill will promote one lieutenant colonel who has ser'\"ed in the Army over thirty-nine years, four majors who have so sen·ed from thirty-six to forty years, and four captains who ha.v.e so served over twenty-five years, and one of them in his present grade of captain over twenty-seven years.

The reorganization proposed by this bill is in keeping with the latest legislation with regard to other branches of the service, and will place the Subsistence Department on an equality with them, as it should be.

Your committee are of opinion that the interes ts of the serrlce wiil be advanced by this action, and therefore recommend that this bill do pass.

Mr. HOLMAN. Now, Mr. Speaker, I wish to suggest, as a matter of practice in the :J;Iouse, that there was evidently a mistake in admitting: this bill to consideration in the morning hour. It was clearly sut;ject to the point of order made, but in the hurry of our proceedings here the character of the bill itself was overlooked. I submit that, where by an inadvertence or mistake the House has before it a measure of this character, it should retrace its steps when the error is pointed out and should be permitted to stand where it stood when the question of order was first raised. If on the face of the bill it appears that an error has been made and that it was clearly subject to the point of order, the House should certainly have the benefit of that provision of the rule requiring its consideration in Committee of the Whole.

The SPEAKER. But it does not appear on the face of the bill that this involves an expenditure.

Mr. HOLMAN. I think it certainly does from the proviso. Promotions are involved in the bill, which necessarily carry an increased expenditure.

The SPEAKER. But only promotions to vacancies created by the bill itself. The making of a vacancy does not necessarily cause an increase of expenditure.

Mr. HOLMAN. The act itself creates vacancies. The SPEAKER. Precisely. Mr. HOLMAN. And promotions are to follow to fill the vacancies.

That involves an expenditure. Mr. McCREARY. The report shows, if the gentleman from Indiana

will permit me, that it increases the amount to be appropriated for this branch of the service some $5, 300. The report so states.

The SPEAKER. Had the Chair been aware of that statement in the report it would. undoubtedly have taken it as an admission in ruling on the question of order. But the bill on its face does not indicate anyt!ling of that kind.

.M:r. HOLMAN. Ilut I submit, 1\1r. Speaker, that when it is pointed out that the bill does involve an expenditure, and"this is admitted, the rule should be made to apply to it.

1\fr. McMILLIN. And I beg to submit to the Chair that it is not a question as to how the information as to the increase is obtained, but merely a question of its existence, whether the bill shows it or not. The fact that it does create an increase of expenditure entitles the House to have the bill considered, under the rule, in a Committee ot the Whole; and the fact that it does not appear on the face of the bill is wholly immaterial. If as a. matter of fact the bill crP.ates an expenditure which may or may not appear on the face of the bill, yet when that information is clearly before the House there can be no question as to the operation of the rule.

The SPEAKER. But it must be made to appear prior to the ruling. Mr. McMILLIN. The point was made that this bill should be con

sidered in the Committee of the Whole, and the Chair overruled the point of order under an error as to the purport of the bill.

Mr. W ASIIINGTON. And· that error is pointed out in the report itself.

1891. CONGRESSIONAL . RECORD-HOUSE. 104] Mr. HOLMAN. The provisions of the bill create vacancies, and

then follow promotions to fill them, with increased expenditures. The logic, therefore, is inevitable that it creates a charge upon the Treasury. The bill creates a large number of new officers by promotion. For instance, the present number of lieutenant-colonels is three; the effect of the bill is to increase that number to six.

tion which is very important. I will ask that the resolution be read. There will be no discussion upon it.

M:r. CUTCHEON. I will yield for the reading of the resolution. The Clerk read as follows: _ -

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That there be printed 500 copies of the hearing before the Select Committee on the Eleventh Census of the House of Representatives on the resolution asking for a recount of the census in the city of New York, for the use of said committee.

Mr. DUNNELL. :rtfr. Speaker: the Honse a few days ago authorized the committee to secure this printing within the limit of $500. The

[Forty-fifth Congress, second session (Speaker Ha.ndall), April 9, 1878, page 819.) report of the hearing has been put in type and is ready to be printed, l\Ir. Buckner, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, to which was but it is ~ound that it will cost $654, and therefore exceeds the limit

referred the bill of the House (H. R.2827) to retire the circulation of the national of $500. I have conferred with the members of the Committee on banks, and for other purposes, reported the same with e. substitute therefor; Printing, and I think there will be no obiection to the passa

0"'e of the

The SPEAKER. The Chair will cause to have read certain rulings which have been made heretofore bearing upon this question.

The Clerk read as follows:

which bill (H. R. 4247), with the same title, was read twice. .J The House having proceeded with its consideration, resolution. l\Ir. Eames made the point of order that the said bill must receive itsiirst The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the present consideration of

consideration in the Committee of the 'Vhole House. the resolution? The Speaker overruled the point of order on the ground that the said bill, · . . .

though requiring action to be takt'ln that would ultimately involve nn appro- Mr. FLOWER. I want to know if the committee mtcnd to report

[Forty-fLfLh Congress, third session, January 21, 1879, page 214.] Mr. DUNNELL. That has nothing to do with this. We sh:lll re-priation of money, did not contain such appropriation. I that resolution for a recount favorably or unfavorably.

On motion ofl\Ir. Tucker, the Ho11se took up for consideration the bill of the port upon the re3olution in due time, but the question now is with refHouse (H. R. 607•> to change the eastern and norlher.n judicial.dist.ric~s of the erence to printing this hearing. State of Texas, anu lo a.ttach a part of the Indian Territory to.si;i.1d d1str1cts, and M:r. FLOWER. I am very willing that the hearing shall be pr~nted for other purposes, reported from the Committee on the Jud1c1ary on the 18th . . . . · of l\Iarch la.st, and referred to the House Calendar. The SPEA~ER. Is there Objection to tho present cous1deratlon of

The same having been read. . the resolution? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none. l\lr.JonNH.RooERS.ma?e the pomt.of or~er t~atunder eta.use 3, RuleXXIII, Mr MAISH Would it not be well to incrensethe number of copies

1£~::~~~1:~~~~~~e;m~: ~?;~~ cons1derat1on m the Committee of the Whole to be ·printed ? • After debate on the said point of order, Mr. FLOWER. No; I do not think it is necessary to do that. The Speaker overruled the same, on the irround that, under previous decis- The resolution was agreed to

ions, it had been held that, unless the bill expressly made an appropriation or · directly required one to be made, the rule quoted did not apply, the fa.ct htat ORDER OF BUSINESS. execution of the law might involve an additional expenditure of money not being sufficient to carry the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The SPEAKER. The gentleman frO!ll Michigan [l\Ir. CUTCHEON J [Forty-ninth Congress, first ses3ion (Speaker CARLISLE), April 2-i, 1886, page mo•cs that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the 'Vhole

1373.] House on the state of the Union for the purpose 9f considering p;eucral Mr. Hepburn, by direction of the Committee on the.Judiciary,called up the bill appropriation bills, with the intention of calling up the army aopro-

of the House (H. R. 2929) to a.mend the a.ct dividing the State of Missouri into · ti b.11 -· two judicial districts, and to divide the eastern and western districts thereof pna on 1

· into divisions, establish district and circuit courts of the United States therein, Mr .SPRINGER. ]')fr. Speaker, I desire to inquire whether the genand prCivide for the times and places for hoidlng such courts, and for other pur- tleman remembers that it was understood last evening that we were to r~:'it·o~e!eob~~~d~~ said committee on the 9th of February last and referred to continue the discussion of the shipping bill to-day, in order that my

The bill having been read, colleague, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. FITHIAN], might proceed Mr. IlLAND made the point of order that the said bill, under clause 3 of Rule with his remarks this morning. , That was the understanding at the

XXlU, must receive its first consideration in a Committee of the Whole. time we adjourned on yesterday. After debate on the said point of order, The Speaker overruled the same, on the ground that H did not appear with Mr. CUTCIIEON. I did not hear the whole of the gentle ma. n's

certainly that an additional appropriation would be required to execute the law statement. if the bill became one. The Speaker fui;ther held that when it does not appear 'I SPRINGER I 't d to d 1 t · ht h th on the face of the bill that additional appropriations will be required, but the .lf r. . say 1 was un ers 0 as mg w en e m'ttar is one of argument or conjecture, the Chair could not decide that such House adjourned, or before the committee rose, tba.t this morn in~ we necessarily would be the case. would resume the consideration of the shipping bill, in order that my

[Forty-ninth Congres':I, second session, December 13, 1886, pa~es 86, 87.] colleague [Ur. FITIIIAN], a member of the committee, should con-l\lr. BARBOUR, under instructions from said committee, en.Herl up the bill of the tinue liis remarks on that bill, and for that reason he gave way for the

House (H. R. 9125) to create a school board for the District of Columbia, and to t' f th h th t th · d · d th t h · ht b prescribeitspowersandduties,reportedfromsaidcommittee onthe~dof.Junc por wno e our a enremame ,in or er a emig eper-last, and referred to a Honse Calendar. mittcd to make his speech connectedly and all at one time .

.l\lr. HOPKINS made the point of order that the said bill must receive its firs~ l\fr. CUTCHEON. That bill will undoubtedly be taken up at some comiideration inn. Committee of the Whole. · future time. It has been understood that this motion would be made

Tlte Speaker overruled the point of order on the ground heretofore hel<l, that unless tae bill on its face mnde an appropriation or plainly required one to bo at this time. It is a privileged matter, and I think we hacl better go 111ade to execute its provisions, it was not subject to the requirement of clause on with the army appropriation hill. 3 of Rule XXIII. 1\lr. SPRINGER. As the debate now stands upon the shippiu~ bill,

MESSAGE FROl\I TIIE SE~ATE. two members of the committee have spoken at length in favor of it and A message from the Senate, by Mr. McCooK, its Secretary, announced only one member of tho committee on thi& side iu oppos.ition to the

that tho Senate had p:issed without amendment House bills of the fol· bill. lowing t.itles: · · l\fr. CUTCHEON". But undoubtedly that bill will be taken cp in a

A hill (H. H. 1 i8) to provide for enlarging the proposed public build- short time. iug at Savannah, Ga., the purchase of another site if practicable, and Mr. SPRINGER. If the bill stnnds aside now, it may remain sitle· for the sale of the present site; tracked for several days, and I think before thnt course is taken you

A bill (H. R. 1460) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to ought to hear the gentleman from Illinois, my colleague [l\Ir. Frrnissue certain duplicate bonds to James D. Andrews and to replace the IAN], who is a member of the committee, who made the minorit.y re-

-same d03troyed by fire; and port. A bill ( H. H.. 7630) to increase the limit of cost of the public build- The SPEAKER. The question is on agreeing to the motion of the

ing at Charleston, S. C. • gentleman from Michigan [Mr. CUTC'HEON]. The message also announced that the Senate had passed a bill of tbe The questiob was taken; and the Speaker announced that the .aoes

following title; in which the concurrence of the House was requested: seemed to have it. A bill (S. 4632) to provide for a patrol steamer for the replacing of On a division (called for by Mr. CuTCm.:o~) there were-ayes 63, noes

buo.vs in the St. l\fary River, Mich. 79. · The message further announced that the Senate had passed a bill Mr. CUTCIIEON. Mr. Speaker, I call for the yeas and nays.

(IT. H. 4403) for the erect.ion of a public building at Akron, Ohio, with Several MEriIBERS. Oh, no; do not do that. an amendment, asked for a conference on the disagreeing votes of the Mr. CUT'JHEON. Mr. Speaker, this appropriation bill bas been the two Houses, and bad appointed as conferees on the part of the upon the Calendar for more than four weeks--Senate Mr. SPOO~ER, Mr. MORRILL, and Mr. VEST. The SPEAKER. The~ demand for the yeas and nays is not debata-

ORDER OF BUSINESS. Mr. CUTCHEON. Mr. Speaker, sixty minutes of the morning hour _

having expired, I movo that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of general appropriation bills, for the purpose of culling up tbe Army appropriation bill.

ELEVENTII CENSUS. Mr. DUNNELL. I will ask the gentleman from Michigan [Mr.

CuTCHEON] if he will not permit the passage at this time of a resolu-

XXII-CiG

ble. Mr. LANHA1'1.

gestion? Will th~ gentleman from Michigan allow a SUJ};-

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from l\iichigan [l\fr. CUTCIIEON] demands the yeas and nays.

Afr. LANHAM. But I ask him to allow me to make a suggestion, which is this: If it was understood that the gentleman from Illinois should have a certain portion of time this morning in which to address the House, suppose that immediately upon the conclusion of his remarks the gentleman from Michigan shoul~ then make a motion to go


into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union fol' the purpose of considering the army appropriation bill.

Mr. CUTCHEON. Can it be understood that the bill will be taken up immediately upon the conclusion of his remarks?

.Mr. LANHAM. I think there will be no difficulty about that. Mr. OUTHWAITE. There will be no trouble about that. Ur. CUTCHEON. Then I withdraw the demand for the yeas and

nays. Mr. FARQUHAR. As chairman of the C-0mmittee on Me.rchn.nt

Marine n.nd Fisheries, I object to any arrangement· of that kind. Mr. BLAND. :Mr. Speaker, I hope the matter will be submitted to

the House. The SPEAKER. The Chair would not undertake to have any agree

ment made without submitting it to the House. l\Ir. FARQUHAR. What is the question before the House? Is it

the request of the gentleman from l\Iichigan for the yeas n.nd nays? The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Michigan demanded the yeas

n.nd nays. 1\fr. CUTCHEON. l withdraw that demand for the yea.~ and nays,

but I give notice here that at the first opportunity hereafter I shall call up this general appropriation bill, which has been upon the Calendar for more thanfoor weeks.

The SPEAKER. The noes have it, and the motion is rejected. 1\1r. F ARQUIIATI. Ur. Speaker, I move that the Honse resolve it

self into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, for the purpose of considering the tonnage bill, and pending that motion I would like to come to an understanding as to the limit of time during which this general debate is to continue.

Mr. SPRINGER. I hope the gentleman will not make that effort now.

Mr. FARQUHAR. Upon this matter I merely wish to get thesense of the Honse.

Mr. SPRINGER. I hope the gentleman will not undertake to fix the hour to close debate at this tirue.

Mr. HOO KEH. Let us see whether we will take up the bill or not. Mr. FARQUHAR. There will be no trouble about that. Mr. HOOKER. I do not know whether there will or not. Ur. DOCKERY. Allow the agreement be made in committee. Mr. F .A.RQUHAR. Considering that three days have been occupied

in the discussion of the bill and that, while mnny of the speeches have been quite lengthy and not a great many membershavo made speeches, yet nearly the whole subject has been pretty thoroughly discussed, and my own idea would be that one day more of general debate would be sufficient for the bill.

Mr. SPRINGER. The gentleman cn.n test the question at that time much better than he can do so now, and I hope there will be no effort made to limit general debate at this time, as it will simply consume time and will not accomplish the result the gentleman seeks.

1\fr. WHEELER, of Alabama. Mr. Speaker--The SPEAKER. This matter is not debatable except by unanimous

consent. A 1\f~rn.ER. Regular order. The SPEAKER. The regular order is demanded. The question is

on the motion of the gentleman from New York [Mr.FARQUHAR] that the House resolve itself into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

:Mr. F AilQUHAR. Pendin~ that, I make the motion that all general de bate close at 5 o'clock to-day, so as to test the sense of the Honse on it.

Mr. BLOUNT. And, Mr. Speaker, I move to amend that by mak· in~ it 5 o'clock on next Tuesday.

Mr. WHEELRR, of Alabama. And I move to amend that by making it Thursday next.

.!\fr. BLOUNT. And I desire to add to my amendment "that there be no consideration of any other matter after the morning hour on each day."

Mr. F _:ARQUHAR. Is!r. Speaker,.. I ask for the previovs question on the motion and the amendment of the gentleman from Georgia.

The question was ta.ken; and the Speaker announced that the ayes seemed to have it.

Mr. BLAND. Division, Mr. Speaker. Mr. SPRINGER. Division. The House divided. The SPEAKER. On this question the ayes are 78 and the noes are

78, and the Chair votes in the affirmative. Mr. SPRINGER. Yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The question was taken; and there were-yeas 126, nays 99, not vot

ing 106; as follows:

Adame, Allen, Mich. Anderson, Kans. A.mold, .Atkinson, Pa. Atkinson, W. Va. Baker, Danks,

Bl\rtine, Bayne, Beckwith, Belden. Belknap, Bergen, Bland, Bliss,

YEAS-126. Boothman, Brewer, Brosius, Buchanan, N. J. Burton, Ca.I.dwell, Cannon, Carter,

Caswell, Cheadle, Cheatham, Clark, Wis • Olnrk, Wyo. Coir$well, Comstock, Connell,

Cooper, Ohio Craig, Culbertson, Pa. Cummings, Cutcheon, Dalzell, Dingley, Dolliver, Dunnell. Evans, Farquhar, Finley, Flick, Funston, Gear, Gest, Greenhalge, Grosvenor, Grout, Ilall, II armer, Hays,E. R. Ilenderson, Ill. Henderson, Iowa

Hermann, Hill, Hitt, Kelley, Kennedy, Kerrhiowa Ketc am, Kinsey, Lacey, La Follette, Laidlaw, Langston, Laws, Lehlbach, J,odge, lHcComas, :McDuffie, 1\lcKenna, McKinley, l\liles, l\foffitt, l\Ioorc, N. II. 1\forey, Morrow,

Morse, Mudd, O'Donnell, O'Neill, Pa. Osborne, Owen, Ind. Payne, Perkins, Post, Quackenbush, Raines, Ramlall, Reed, Iowa Rockwell, Rowell, Russell, Sawyer, Scull, Sherman. Smith, ,V, Va. Smyser, Spooner, Stephenson, Stivers,

NAYS-91. And1·ew, Culberson, Tex. Lee, Bankhead, D11.vidson, I..ester,Oa.. Barwig, Dickerson, Lester, Va.. Blanchard, Dockery, Lowis, Illount, Dunphy, Lind, Breckinridge, Ark. Ellis, Maish, Brickner, Enloe, Martin, Ind. Brookshire, Fitch, Martin, Tex. Brunner, Fithian, McAdoo, Buchanan, Va. Flower, l\IcCreary, Buckalew, Forney, l\Icl\Iillin, Bynum, Fowler, Jl,foilao, Candler, Ga. Geary, l\lills, Cancller, Mass. Geissenhainer, Moore, Tex:. Caruth, Gibson, :Mutchler, Catchings, Grimes, Oates, Clancy, Ilayes, W. I. O'Neil, Mass. Clarke, Ala. Haynes1 Outhwaite, Clements, liem.,h1ll. Owens, Ohio Clunie, Henderson1 N. C. Parrett, Cobb, Holman, Paynter, Cooper, Ind. Ilookor, Peel, Covert, Kilgore, Penington, Crain, Ln.ne, Pierce, Orisp, Lanham, Reilly,

NOT VOTING-106. Abbott, Do Lano, l\IcClammy, Alderson, Dibble, :McClellan, Allen, l\Iiss. Dorsey, Jl,IcCord, Anderson, Miss. Edmunds, McCormick, Barnes, Ewart, Miller, Biggs, Featherston, l\lilllkon, Bingba.m, Flood, Montgomery, Boatner, Forman, l\Iorgan, Boutelle, Frank, l\Iorrill, Bowden, Gifforcl, Niedringhaus, Ilrccklnridgc,Ky. Goodnight, Norton, Brower, Hansbrough, Nute, Brown, J. B. Hare, O'Ferrall, Browne, T. l\I. Hatcb, O'Neall, Ind. Browne, Va. Haugen, Payson, Ilullock, Heard, Perry, Bunn, Herbert, Peters, Burrows, Hopkins, Phelan, Butterworth, Houk, Pickler, Campbell, Kerr, Pa. Pindar, Carlton, Knapp, Price, Chipman, Lansing, Pugsley, Coleman, Lawler, Quinn, Cothran, Jl,Iagoner, Ray, Oowles, l\lansur, Reyburn, Dargan, M~ason, Richardson, Darlington, McCarthy, Rife.

Th0

e following additional pairs were announced: Until further notice: 1\ir. WRIGIIT with Mr. McCARTIIY. Mr. HOUK with Mr. RICHARDSON . l\Ir. BROWNE, of Virginia, with Mr. O'FERRALL. Mr. BOWDEN with Mr. COTIIRAN, on this vote. Mr. BOUTELLE with Mr. HERDERT, for this day.

Stockbridge, Stone, Pa.. Struble, Sweney. Taylor, E. B. Taylor, Ill . Taylor, J. D. Thomas, Thompson, Townsend, Colo. -Townsend, Pa. Vande'l'er, Van Schaick, Waddill, Wade, Walker, Wallace, N. Y. \Vheeler, Mich. Williams, Ohio Wilson.Ky. Wilson, Wash, Yardley.

Robertson, Rogers, Rusk, Sayers, Shively, Skinner, Spinola, Springer, Stewart, Tex. S~one, l\Io. Stump, Tarsncy, Tillman, Tucker, Turner, Ga. Vaux, Washington, Wheeler. Alu.. 'V11itcla.w, Wike, Williams, Ill. Wilson, Mo. Wilson, 'V· Va. Yoder.

Rowland, Sanford, Scranton, Seney, Simonds, Smith, 111. Snider, Stahlnecker, Stewart, Ga, Stewart, Vt. Stockdale. Stone, Ky. Sweet, Taylor, Tenn. Tracey, Turner, Kn.ns. Turner, N. Y. 'Va.lie.cc, l\Ia.sa. Whiting, Whilthorne, Wickham, Wiley, Wilkinson, Willcox, Wright.

l\Ir. SWEET with l\Ir. KERR, of Pennsylvania, for the rest of thiR day.

M:r. RICHARDSON. ~Ir. Speaker, I votctl inadvertently. I nm paired with my colleague [1\Ir. HouK) and desire to withdraw my vote. If not paired, I would vote ''nay. 1 '

Mr. SPRINGER. I ask a recapitulation of the vote. The vote was recapitulated. Mr. BLAND. 1\Ir. Speaker, I desire to change my vote from "nay"

to ''vea. 1'

The name of Mr. BLAND was cal1ed, and be voted "yea." The SPEAKER. On this question the yeas are 126 and the nays

99. Mr. BLAND. I move to reconsider the vote by which the previous

question was ordered. Mr. F ATIQUHAR. And I move to lay that motion on the table. 1\Ir. BLAND. And. on that I demand the yeas and nays. l\Ir. SPRINGER. Before that isputidesiretomake a parliamentary

inquiry. Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Speaker--·

(

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1043 The SPEAKER. For what purpose does the gentleman rise? Mr. BLOUNT. I will state it. I know that this is not in order

but by general conson t of the House. A l\1E.MBKR. There may be objection. Mr. IlLOUNT. If the gentleman says he will object, I have nothing

to say. Mr. SPRINGER. Mr. Speaker, I desire to make a parliamentary

inquiry. I desire to know what became of the amendment of the gentleman from Georgia as to tho hour at which general debate shall close on Tuesday ancl as to whether we are to have to·morrow and .Monday for other business.

The SPEAKER. That question can not arise at this time. A parliamentary inquiry of that kind can not be made on the motion of the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. BLAND], which is to reconsider the vote by which tho previous question was ordered.

l\Ir. SPRINGER. That is the very question. If the motion of the gentleman from Georgia will permit this debate t-0 go on to-morrow and on Saturday and on Monday, it makes a very great deal of difference whether we should reconsider now or not. Therefore, I desire to know in what shape the Chair understands the amendment of the gentleman from Georgia.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman knows that it is not a parliamentary inquiry. Thero is a motion before the House to reconsider the vote just had, and a parliamentary inquiry can only relate to that.

Mr. SPRINGER. WelJ, if the Chair will pardon me, I will ask whether the gentleman from New York, chairman of the committee, will not withdraw his demand for the previous question and let us see if we can not fix this matter.

Mr. F .A.RQ U HAR There is no opportunity for ''the chairman '' to withdraw the demand atall, because the motionofthe gentleman from Missouri [.Mr. BLAND] stands in the way of all compromise or arrangement.

Mr. SPRINGER. It can be considered by unanimous consent. The SPEAKER. Tho question is on the motion of the gentleman

from New York to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. The question was put; ancl the Speaker announced that the "ayes"

seemed to have it. Mr. BL.A.ND. Division. The House divicled; and there wero-ayes 75, ,noes 59. Mr. BL.A.ND. Tellers, Mr. Speaker. Mr. F ARQUH.A.R. I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The question was taken; and there were-yeas 118, nays 55, not vot

ing 158; as follows:

Adams, Allen, Mich. Anderson, Knns. Arnold, Atkinson, Pa. Atkinson, W. Va. Baker, Bartine, Beckwith, Belden, Belknap, Bergen, Bliss, Boothman, Bowden, Brewer, Brosius, Buchanan, N. J. Burton, Caldwell, Oannon, Carter, Caswell, Cheadle, Cheatham, Clark, Wis. Clark, Wyo. Comstock, Cooper, Ohio Craig,

Biggs, Brown, '.T. B. Bucko.lew, Candler, Go.. Catchings, Chipman, Clancy, Clements, Cull>erson, Tex. Dickerson, Dockery, Dunphy, Ellis, Enloe,

Abbott. Alderson, Allen, Miss. Anderson, Miss. Andrew, Bankhead, .Bal\ks,

_YEAS-118.

Culbertson, Pa. Cummings, Dalzell, Dingley, Dunnell, Evans, Ewart, Farquhn.r, Fin1ey, Flick, Funston, Gear, Gest, Greenhalge, Grosvenor, Grout, Hall, Harmer, Haugen, Hays,E.R. Henderson, Ill. Henderson, Iowa Hermann, Hill, Hitt, Kelley, Kennedy, Kerr, Iowa Ketcham, Kinsey,

Lacey La Fohettc, Laidlaw, Langston, Lansing, Laws, Lcillbach, Lodge, l\TcComas, McCormick, :McDuffie, l\1cKenna, McKinley, Miles, Moffitt, Moore, N. II. Morse, l\ludd, O'Donnell, O'Neill, Pa. Osborne, Owen, Ind.

•Payne, Perkins, Quackenbush, Recd. Iowa Rowell, Russell, Sanford, Scull,

NAYS-5.5. Fitch, Lewis, Flower, Lind, Forney, l\Iaish, Fowler, 1\la.rtin,TeL Geissenh.niner, McCreary, Grimes, l\IcHae, Ilaynes, Mills, Holma.n, l\Iutchler, Hooker, Ontes, Kilgore, Outhwaite, Lanham, Owens, Ohio J,awler, Peel, Lee, Pen in~ton, Lester, Va.. Reilly,

NOT VOTING-158.

Sherman , Smith, W.Va. Rmyser, Spooner, Stephenson, Stewart, Vt. Stivers, Stockbridge, Stone, Pa. Strul>le, Sweney, Taylor. E. I3. Taylor, Ill. Taylor, J. D. ThomaR, Thompson, Townsend, Colo, Townsend, Pa. Vandever, Waddill, 'Vade, Walker, Wallace, N. Y. Wheeler, !\Heh. Willia.ms, Ohio Wilson, Ky. Wilson, 'Vash. Yardley.

Shively, Spinola, Stewart, Tex. Stone, l\Io. Tillmno, Tucker, Turner, Lia. Va.ux, 'Vashington, Wike, Williams, Ill. "Wilson, Mo. Wilson, W. Va.

Barnes, Earwig, Bayne, Bingham, Blanchard, Bland, Blount,

Boatner, Bro\vne, T. l\I, Boutelle, Browne, Va. Brockinridsc, Ark. Brunner, Breckinridge, Ky. Buchanan, Va. Brickner, Bullock, Brookshire, Bunn, Brower, Burrows,

Butterworth, Gibson, Morrill, Bynum, Gill'ord, Morrow, Campbell, Goodnight, Niedringhaus, Candler, l\Iass. Hansbrough, Norton, Carlton, Ila.re, Nute, Caruth, Hatch, O'Ferrall, Clarke, Ala. Hayes, W. I. O'Neall, Ind. Clunie, Heard, O'Neil, l\Iass. Cobb, Hemphill, Parrett, Cogswell, Henderson, N. C. Paynter, Coleman, Ilerbert, Payson, Oonnell, Hopkins, Perry, Cooper, Ind. Houk Peters, Cothran, Kerr, 'Pa. Phelan, Covert, Knapp, Pickler, Cowles, Lane, PiE>rce, Crain, Lester, Ga. Pindn.r, Crisp, :Magner, Post, Cutcheon, :Mansur, Price, Dargan, Martin, Ind. Pugsley, Darlington, l\Iason, Quinn, Davldson, l\IcAdoo, Raines, De Lano, l\IcCarthy, Randall, Dibble, l\CcClrunmy, Ray, Dolliver, l\IcClellan, Reyl>urn, Dorsey, l\IcCord, Rich'.lrdson, Edmunds. Mcl\Iillin, Rife. Featherston, l\Iiller, Robertson, Fithian, l\1illikcn, Rockwell, Flood, l\lont::;omery, Rogers, Forman, l\Ioore, Tex. Rowland, Frank, l\Iorey, Rusk, Geary, Morgan, Sayers,

Sawyer, Scranton, Seney, Simonds, Skinner. Smitb,IH. Snider, Springer, Stahlnecker, Stewart. Ga. Stockdale, Stone, Ky. Stump, Sweet, Tarsney, Taylor, Tenn. Tracey, Turner, Kans. Turner, N. Y. Vl\.IlSchaick, Wallace, l\Iass. 'Vheeler, Ala. Whitelaw, 'Vhiting, Whitthorne, 'Vick ham, Wiley, Wilkinson, Willcox, Wright, Yoder.

So the motion to lay the motion to reconsider on the table was agreed to.

The following additional pairs were announced: Mr. CooswELL with Mr. O'NEIL, of Massachusetts, for the rest of

the day. Mr. ROCKWELL with Mr. ANDREW on this vote. Mr. BLAND. Mr. Speaker, let us have the vote recapitulated. The Clerk recapitnlated t'!le names of members voting. The result of the vote was then announced as above recorded. The SPEAKER. The question now is on the motion of the gentle

man from Georgia [Mr. BLOUNT]. Mr. WHEELER, of Alabama. Pending that, I move that the House

do now a-djourn. This is the hour when Old Hickory was whipping the British at New Orleans. [Laughter.]

Mr. ALLEN, of Michigan, and l\fr. FARQUHAR. "Regular order." Ur. WHEELER, of Alabama. .A.ncl I think that out of respect t.o his

memory and the memory of that event the House ought to adjourn. The SPEAKER. It is evident from the gentleman's remarks that

his motion is a dilatory one, and the Chair rules it out npon that ground. The question is on the amendment of the Aentleman from Georgia. .

Mr. SPRINGER. I desire to have the Chair state what is the question before the Ilouse.

Mr . .A.NDERSO.N", of Kansas. Will the Chair please state what t.he amendment of the gentleman from Georgia is?

The SPEAKER. The amendment of the gentleman from Georgia, as the Chair put it to the House, was a proposition to substitute Tuesday next for this afternoon as the time when the debate should close; but the Chair understands from the gentleman [Mr. BLOUNT] that when he made the motion it was with a proviso that after the morning hour no other businc~s was to be considered in order from this time until Tuesday, and the Chair will put the question in that way.

Mr. WHEELER, of Alabama. I morn to amend that by making it Thursday.

Mr. CANNON. That is not in order. Mr. WIIEELER, of Alabama. lt is in order. An amendment to

an amendment is in order. The SPE.A.KER. The Chair thinks that if there is any change ma9c

in the motion it will be subject to a point of order. Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Speaker, it is too late. If the motion is pend

ing at all the point of order ought to have been made at the time. The SPEAKER. One moment. The Chair will state the question.

The question for the House to consider was the motion as it was put by the Chair, and if any change is made in it now it must be with all the rights that properly appertained to the motion when it was originally presented.

1.11r. BLOUNT. I wish to say this in reiation to the matter. I did seek to modify the motion, and if there was objection to it the point of order mi~ht have been made then, but most of the members of theHouso understood it-

Thc SPEAKER. The gentleman from Georgi.a, mnst understand in regard to this matter that the question acted upon by the Honse i'S tbe question as put by the Chair. The Cha.iris--

Mr. BLOUNT. I hope I shall be heard by the Chair and by the Ilouse--

:Mr. SPRINGER. I understood the Chair to put the question simply on " the motion of the gentleman from Georgia" --

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from GeQrgia evidently object<s, and the matter must stand.

Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Speaker, I wish to be heard n._moment in roference to this point.

1044 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE.

Several MEMBERS. What point? Mr. BLOUN·r. I am going on to state it, but I am interrupted by

gentlemen on one side and another so that I can not get it. out. I made the motion without providing for the exclusion of other business, but almost incidentally added that to it. Now, as I recollect, the Chair stated that there were two amendments pendin~, the proposition of the gentleman from New York [Mr. FARQUHAR] and that of the gentleman from Georgia (myself), and I understood, and the other gentlemen around me understood, that when the Chair used that language he used it with reference to the motion as I intended it to be modified.

Now, I think good faith requires that my motion should be so treated. I do not believe this discussion should be hurried along in this way; I do not think such a course is any advantage to any gentleman on either side of the House.

The SPEAKER. But the Chair did not hear the gentleman from Georgia state his proposition as he now states it.

l\Ir. BLOUNT. Mr. Speaker, I did all I could to make the Chair hear me.

The SPEAKER. That may be; but if the confusion of the House was such that the question was not properly put, it was the right and duty of the gentleman from Georgia to cause the modification to be brought to the attention o( the Chair at the time.

Mr. BLOUNT. And I would have done so if I had understood the Chair as submitting the motion in any other form than as I had modified it. But the Chair submitted the question upon ''the proposition of the gentleman from Georgia..'' I had done all I could do in the way of modification. It never was submitted in any more formal manner than I have stated.

.Mr. SPRINGEH. As I understood, the Chair stated that the question was upon the amendment of the gentleman from Georgia. I heard the gentleman from Georgiu state bis modification, that no other business was to be in order after the morning hour; and I saw at the time, and made the remark, that the proposition was subject to a point of order, hut nobody made the point.

Mr. CANNON. Nobody heard the proposition. Ur. SPRINGER. I understood that was to be the form of the order

as proposed by the gentleman from Georgia; but when I inquired at the desk I found I was mistaken and that others did not so understand. Therefore I desired to.have it so understood. I understood that was the motion as put to the House.

l\fr. BLOU~T. I hop.e the gentleman from Maine [Ur.DINOLEY], to whom we listened durmg a large part of yesterday, will not attempt to cut off debate on the part of other members.

l\Ir. DINGLEY. I was not objecting to anything; I Rimply desired to know what the amendment was. I understood that when the gentleman from New York moved that debate close at 5 o'clock to-dav the gentleman from Georgia moved to amend by substitut.ing Tuesday. I heard nothing more.

Mr. BLOUNT. But I coupled that proposition with the modification I have stated, and I snpposed the Chair so understood it, because the Chair submitted the question upon "the amendment of the gentleman from Georgia."

.Mr. DING LEY. As the gentleman from Georgia so understood and as tho matter is one of no very great consequence, I suggest that there be no objection to the motion being put in the form now stated by the gentleman from Georgia.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the motion of the centlemnn from Georgia.

Mr. CUTCHEON. I rise to a pa.rliamentary inquiry. If the amendment of the gentleman from Georgia should prevail, would privileged business. such as appropriation bills, be excepted?

The SPEAKER. The Chair, without undertaking to decide beforehand any question which may possibly arise hereafter, can think of nothing but conference reports which would be privileged over this under the vroposition as stated.

Mr. BLOUNT. So far as I am individually concerned, I would be perfectly willing that there should be a change of days so as not to interfere with the army appropriation bill, if there is any trouble about that.

The SPEAKER. The question is upon the amendment offered by the gentleman from Georgia, to substitute Tuesday, with the understanding that no other business be transacted after the morning hour until the close of that day. ·

l\lr. WHEELER, of Alabama. I rise to a parliamentary inquiry. I wish to nsk whether the Chair recognized me to amend the motion of the gentleman from Georgia.

'rhe SPEAKER. The gentleman is not so recognized. The question is on the motion of the gentleman from Georgia.

The question being put, ther~ were. on a division-ayes 84, noes 52. Mr. PERKINS \before the result of the vote wns announced). Mr.

Speaker, I rise to a parliamentary inquiry. If this motion should prevail will it dispense with the evenin,g session to-morrow for the consideration of pension legislation?

Several ME:'IIIlERS. Ob, no. l\fr. CUTCHEON. Certainly it will; it excludes private-bill day. The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks this would not dispense with

the evening session. On this question the ayes are 84 and the no~s 52; and the amendment is agreed to. The question is on the adoption of the motion as amended. [The vote was taken.] The noeg seem to have it. [A pause.] The noes have it; and the motion is disagreed to. The question now recurs on the motion of the gentleman from New York [1\Ir. F.ARQUIIAR] that the House resolve itself into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. ·· -

The motion was agreed to.

TIIE SHIPPING DILL.

The Ilouse accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole House on .the state of the Union (Mr. Bunnows in the chair), arnl resumed tho consideration of the bill ( H. R. 3738) to place the American merchant marine engaged in the foreign trade upon an equality with that of other nations.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair understands that the gentleman from Illinois [.h1r. FITHIAN] is entitled to the floor.

Mr. FITHIAN. Mr. Chairman, the Commissioner.of Navigation in his report for 1890 makes the statement that "Great Britain of course stands first as a shipowning and shipbuilding country." The same statement is repeated by the J?;entleman from New York [l'ifr. FARQUHAR], the chairman of the Committee on Merchant l'ifarine.

The claim is not made directly, but the inference is held out that Great Britain's supremacy in shipowning and shipbuilding is due to a policy of subsidies, subventions, and bounties, or government aid, by whatever name it may be called. 'rhe term "subsidy" in the United States and Great Britain bas different significations. In the United States subsidies and bounty are synonymous terms and have one and the same meaning. When a subsidy is proposed in the United States it is understood to be in the nature of a bounty or gratuity, for the purpose of helping the owners of steamships in making profits. In Great Britain mail payments, although called subsidies, are not regarded as bounties, but are payments by the Government to shipowners in carrying the mail of Her Majesty's Government. No other payments whatever are made except the admiralty subventions, which I will mention at some leugth further on.

Whatever may be the Claim or the opinion of others in regaril to tho policy of Great Britian in granting aid to her merchant ships, I claim to have investigated the question for myself; and say here, without fear of successful contradiction, that it is not now nor has it been the policy of Grent Britain in the past to build up her merchant marine by a system of government ~ratuities and bounties. England pays her, ships for ca.rrying the mails the same ns the United States pays our railways, steamboats, and stage lines for carrying our mails. Simply this and nothing more.

llefore entering into a general discussion of this question I desire to refer to a statement which hns been made by a gentleman who is perliaps known to many members of this House, who has been here as a lobbyist to my personal knowledge from the beginning of this Congress to the present day.

I read from the Washington Post of thi8 morning a statement signed by a gentleman by the name of Charles S. Hill, who :is the secretary of the American Shipping League, an organization that the members of this House are doubtless familiar with. This lobbyist, this gentleman who bas been here representing the interests that nre ciemanding this legislation from Congress, makes this remarkable statement:

The emissaries of Ill"itish intereRts like l\Ir. Dayirl A. 'Vells and Capt. John Cod man wield their pens with crafty facility in sophistical arguments in some of our journa Is and upon some of our Senators and U.cpresentnti vcs. nnd, strange to say, lure them from the patriotic pa.th of duty and logical comprehension of political economy, e.s well as begnile them with the most absurd conclusions. For instance-

This gentleman goes on to say: I could cite the n!lsertion of l\lr. ll'ITIIIA.'i, or Illinois, first; thnt Great Britain

docs not pay subsidies; and, second, based upon one of l\1r. Dn.vid A. 'Vells's "hh1toric lies" regarding American shipping, that Great Britain only pnys 2 per cent. as subsidy to her shipping tonnage.

This, Mr. Chairman, is a most remarkable statement, in my judgment, coming as it does from a man who is known to the members of this Congress as a paid lohbyist in the interest of this class legislation by which the whole people of this country are to be taxed for the private enterprises of the individuals who own and sail ships.

An investigation of the facts will show tbat the often-repeated claim that Great Britain grants bounties to her ships in ~he sense the term is used in this country rests upon no truthful foundation. I call ntten-1ion to the report of Consul-General New, dated London, September 3, 1889, which is ns follows:

SUDSIDIES TO BRITISII STEAMSllIPS.

Report by Consul-General New, of London. 'Ihe British Government does not grant subsidies, in the general sense of that

term,to any steamship company, but the post-ollice authorities make contracts for the conveyance of mo.ils to the different parts of the world with the steamship companies having steamers sailfng to tho&e ports.

I transmit herewith two copies of the "Arrangements of tho Foreign n.nd Colonial Packet Service," corrected to July 1, 1889, a publication Issued by the British post office, giving a list of the contracts entered into with the different steamship companies for the conveyance of mails by sea, showing the lines of communication, how often dispatched, payment made to '.each company, etc. No payment other than for the conveyance of mails is specially macle for main·

1891. .CONQ-RESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1045 taining communication between Great.Britain and Central and South America and the "'West Indies.

I inclose a statement of the amount paid by tho British post office for the conveyance of mails for the last twenty years; also statements showing the average rates of freight charged by the steamship companieli conveying the mails to the ports of Colon, La Guayra, Rio de Janeiro, Iluenos Ayres, and Valparaiso. I am informed that the British Government grants some aid to companies building large steamships, with a contract that such vessels shall in time of war be called into the service of the Government as war ships and transports, but tho amount of such payments I have not been able to ::i.scertain.

Here we have the statement of our consul general at London that ''the British Government does not grant subsidies, but the post-office authorities make contracts for the conveyance of mails to the different parts of the world with steamship companies having steamers sailing to those ports," and "the British Government grants some aid to companies building large steamships, with the contract that such vessels shall in time of war be called into the service of the Government as war ships and transports.'' ~

No gentleman has been able to point to an act of the British Parliament granting a subsidy or bounty us Governmentaid to her shipping, and when the gentleman from New York [Mr. FARQUHA\l-] was asked to point out such nets of Parliament his only answer wa'3, "I wo~ld characterize that question a.ci a good deal of a chestnut," a term which he perhaps borrowed from the honorable Commissioner of Navigation, who, in his report for 1890, referring to the modification of our na vigation laws, says:

This old chestnut has nothing in it but worms,

and who, speaking of the rehabilitation of our merchant maTine, says that "there is no way to have it but to build it and run it under governmental protection." Out of courtesy to · the chairman of our committee and Captain Bates I will not characterize any of their claims as chestnuts, but will say that history proves that their theories are built upon a foundation of false logic. Aside from a subvention that is paid certain shipowners, a l.ist of which I will .insert in my remarks, for ships to be used as war ships and transports m case of need by the Government, ltthe disposition of the British Admiralty, and legitimate payment for carrying the mails, no other government aid will be found.

The question as to what percentage of the British merchant marine receives any aid or subsidy from the British Government was discussed in the hearings of this question before the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and this gentleman, Mr. Charles S. Hill, the secretary of this American :Shipping League; Ambrose Snow, the vice president of the League; Mr. Clyde, a shipbuilder, and Mr. Cramp, another shipbuilder, as well as numerous other gentlemen who have been attending nt this Congress, from its beginning to the present time, appeared before that committee, and yet none of them took the pains to explain to the committee or to the c_ountry what percentage of the British merchant marine received aid from the British Government, if any. I submitted inquiries to the gentleman from Maine [l\fr. DINGLEY], and also to thegentlemanfromNewYork [Mr. FARQUHAR], the chairman of the committee, in regard to this point, and I desire to refer to the record of the committee bearings and read the answers that these gentlemen made to me in respect to that question, which is of imoortance in connection with this debate.

At the hearing of the committee on Thursday, the 13th day of Febru-ary, 1890, addressing myself to Mr. DINGLEY, I asked this question:

What per cent. of the Ilritish vessels are subsidized?

.l\Ir. DINGLEY responded: I would not undertake to say; I do not know.

Later on in the hearing before the committee, addressing myself to the chairman of the committee [l\Ir. FARQUHAR], I asked this question:

I would like to know from your knowledge and judgment whnt per cent. of steamships are subsidized by the English Government?

The reply the gentleman made to me was this: I want to say, as I started to say yesterday, that I do not know.

Both of these gentlemen in their statements before this committee claimed that a larger percentage than 2 per cent. of tile British vessels had been subsidized by the British Government. But neither one of these gentlemen (nor any of the lobbyists that appear before Congress) has been able to tell, if they know, what percentage, if any, of the British vessel.s do receive subsidy.

Capt. John Codmnn, who is perhaps as familiarwith the question as any gentleman in the United States, I believe, a man who is actuated and prompted by the highest and purest motives, a gentleman that is called by this lobbyist, Hill, a ''British emissary," made a statement before the committee, and made it with a full knowledge of what he was talking about, that only2 per ~ent. of the British merchant marine received any such subsidy. He used this buguage:

Captain COD:UAN. I want to say that if, in considering this question, suppose you discover that instead of being2per cent. there were 10 per cent. subsidized, that makes my argument all the better. It is a greater hardship to the independent ship. Ilut to show how I got at this I went with l\Ir. Smith anti went over the columns of the l\Iaritimo Register. ·

The chairman of the committee interrupting him said that "he died years ago;" and the colloquy proceeds:

N~~P{~~k?ONIAN. This is John R. Smith, editor of the l\Iariti~e Register, of

The CnArnllAN. I thought that man was dead. Did not Captain Smith die about-

Captain CoDMAN. You know there are a great many Smiths. The CnAmMAN. Was ho edit-Or of that newspaper? Captain CoDMAN'. His name is John R. Smith, the son of the Mr. Smith you re

fer to. I saw him a few months ago.

Now, I want to repeat the statement that, ~hile the term "subsidy" is used in Great·Britain as a term explaining the question of aid or embracing the kind of aid that the British Government gives to her ships, it has not the same meaning that the term has in the United States. When we speak of "subsidizing" a steamship line in this country we mean that we intend to give them a bounty, to give them money· out of the Treasury of the United States without compensation, to give them a donation; in other words, a direct grant of money from the Treasury in the shape of a bounty. The term in England, on the contrary, means mail pay-pay for a certain class of ships that are appropriated by the British Admiralty to be used in case of war by the British Government-and it is to these two things, the subsidy or bounty, as the term is used in Great Britain, must be addres.sed.

Consul General New, in a second report to the St.ate Department, gives u. list of vessels receiving an annual subventio:i and a list of additional vessels belonging to certain owners at the disposition of the Admiralty without further subsidy, which I here ask leave to print:

ROY AL NAVAL RESERVED 1\IERCHA.NT CRUISERS.

[In<llosurc 2 in Consul General New's report.]

LIST OF VESSELS HELD BY TIIE OWNERS AT TIIE DISPOSITIO::s' OF THE LORDS CO:U:!>HSSIONERS OF TIIE ADMIRALTY.

1.-Speciai vesseis receiving an annuai subvention.

Name of commander ff Tonnage.

Name of steamer and owner. an officer of the royal I. II. P. 1------n~~ re~rr~ I

-------------I-----------:-I·--- Gross. Net.

Cunnrd Company: Etruria ............................. Wm. H.P. Hains, honor- 14., 500

able lieutenant. Umbria .................. ......... Wm. l\lcl\Iickan, honor- 14,500

able lieutenant. Aurania .......................... Horatio ·l\1cKay, honor- !>,500

able lieutenant. Peninsular and Ol"iental

Steam Navigation Com-pany:

Geo.N.Hector, honor-Victoria .......................... 7,000 able lieutenant.

Britnnnin. .......................... Julius Orman, honorable lieutenant.

7,000

Oceana ............................. P. S. Tomlin, honorable 7,000 lieutenant.

Inman and International: City of Paris ................................................••............ 18, 000

Wh~t~:Ef i~~~~.~.~-~~:::::::::::1:::::.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 18,000

Tons. 7, 790

7,'i98

7,269

6,268

6,257

6,362

10, 499 10,499

9,685

Tons. 3,39

3,40 1

4,03 0

3,16 7

3,14 5

3,34 9

5,581 5,581

4,244

NOTE.-One vessel (the l\lajestic) is now building by the White Star Line, upon which subvention will be paid when complete.

2.-Addilional vesse·s belonging to the above owners held at the disposition of the admfraltywilhout further subsidy.

Name of commander if Nnme of steamer and owner. an officer of the royal

naval reserve.

Cunard Company: I Servin .................... ..... ............................................ . Gallia ............................... I Michael l\Iurphy, honor-

! able lieutenant.

Wli~i~~rnT;~.e.'..... . .... . ............. ................................. . Germanic .................. ·····\ Peter J. Irving, lieuten-

ant. Adriatic ........................... John G. Cameron, lieu-

j tenant. Celtic ............................. ......................................... .

Peninsular and 0 r i en t 11. l Steam Navigation Com-

paA~c~dia ........ .... ............... 'Vm. Il. Andrews, honor-n.ble lieutenant.

Valelta .................................. .............................•... Massllia ...................... .............................................. . Rome .............................. ! ...••....• .•••.•.••.••••••••••••••••.•••••

~:rt!1:!a~ :: ::::·.::::::: .::::: :: : ::: : : : : :::::: ::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::: Parramatta.. .•.....•...... ...... l~obert G. l\lurra.y, hon-

orable lieutenant. Inman anti International:

City of Berlin ......... ................................................... . City of Chicago ........................................................ ..

Tonnage.

I.H.P.1------

Groi:s. Net.

Tons. Tons. 10,000 7,392 3,97 L 5,300 4,SC9 2,89 8

5,200 5,004 3,15 2 5,200 5,008 3,15 0

3,600 3,888 2, 458

3,600 3,807 2,13 9

7,000 6,362 3, 34.9

5,000 4,919 96 2,7 5,000 4,918 2,7 58 5,000 5, 010 2,5 46 5,000 5,013 2,5 88 4,500 4, 764 2,6 79 4,500 4, 771 96 2,6

6,000 s:526 3, 302 4,500 5,202 3, 8S3

I also call attention to the following statement of the amount paid by the British post office for the conveyance of mails for the last twenty years, transmitted ns Inclosure No.1 in Consul General New's report.


POST-OFFICE PACKET SERVICE.

[Inclosure 1 in Consul General New's report.]

Statement showina the expenditure oa account of the post-office packet service from, the year 1868-'69 to the yea1· 18S8-'89, inclusive.

Yenr.

1868-'69 .............................. .. 186')-'70 ...........•....••....•.......•. 1870-'71 ............................... . 1871-'72 ............................... . 1872-'73~ ........................... .. 1873-'74 ............. .. ................ . 1874-'75 ............................... . 1875-'76 ............................... . 1876-'77 ....................... ... ..... . 1877-'88 ...... ....................... .. 1878-'7\I .. ·•························ ···

Amount.

$5,404,530 G, 013, G-'30 6,091,345 5, 721,370 5,695,510 5,596,060 4,920, 770 4,433, 235 4,255, 130 3,813, 800 3, B!ll, 205

Year.

1879-'80 ............................... . 1880-181 ............................... .

1881-'82 •••·•··•········· ····•···•••···· 188"..-'83 .............................. .. .l883-'8-1 ...... ....................... .. 1884-'85 ............................... .. 1885-'86 ............................ -1886-'87 .............................. .. 1887-'88 .......................... ..... . 1888-'89 ........................ ....... .

Amount.

$3,865,260 3 592 239 a;m:330 3,600,800 3,6C8.355 3,642,065 3, 662,505 3,625, 915 3,490,860 3, 18-1,435

Yesterday when tho gentleman from l\1aine [Mr. DINGLEY] was making his argument and speaking of the supremacy of the merchant marine of Great Britain, I asked him to state at what period Great Britain had reached this supremacy, and he said between the years 1850 and 1860. At that time this thing which is known in GreatBritain n.s naval subvention was not in force. That began in 1881; and in proof of that,forfearsomcgentlem:mmaywanttocontradictmystatementinthat regard, I refer to the hearings of the committee, where I asked the direct question, I believ-e, of the chairman of the committee. At page 207 I said:

Let me ask you how long has the: British Government been pursuin~ this policy?

Referring to this naval subvention policy. Positi°\"ely since 1881. These are tile official <lala-

was the reply that tho chairman of the committee made to me. Then if Great Dritain attained this great supremacy which she has,

prior to the year 1881, it could not be traced to this naval subrnntion, this admiralty arrangement that they have in Great Britain, but it must be traced to some other source. What is that other source? Why, the only thing in the naval subvention is that Great Britain pays ten ships fair compensation that she holds in reserve in case the Government should need them in time of war; and aside from this th6re can be no money found, contributed by the British Government to any steamship line, except legitimate pay for carrying the British mail. And when the British Government makes a contract with a steamship line to carry the British mail they call it subsidy. When the Government of the United States makes a contract with a railroad company, or with asteamship company, or with a stage-coach line to carry the mails of the Government of the United States, the money that the Government pays is the legitimate pay of the co::npany or the individual for the services performed; and if the cfo.im is made that Great Britain is maintaining her merchant marine by means of a subsidy, which in Enc:la.nd is a mail contract, you could just as well say that the Government of the United States subsidizes every railroa1 company, every steamboat line, every stage-coach line, and every man who carries the mail acrossthecountryon horseback; because it is simply one and the same thing.

Accompanying also this report of Consul-General New is a statement of the terms of many of these mail contracts, and you will find that each and every one of them that has been entered into between the British Government and the steamship company carrying the mails cont.a.ins a penalty that would fall due to the Government upon the nonperformance of any of the provisions of the contract in transporting the mails.

For instance, from Dover to Calais, time two hours and five minutes to Calais; from Calais, two hours and ten minutes; a. deduction of £5 is made, from nccumulated premill.Iilll, if the duration of the voyage exceeds the time 11.llowed by fif\.een minutes; the penalty for general nonperformnnce is £7,000.

From Brindisi to Bombay; time, three hundred and forty-four hours outwa1·d and inward; deduction of £100 for every twelve hours outward and £200 for every twelve hours inward ovet·time; penalty for general nonperformance, £40,000.

From Bermuda lo New York; time, sixty-nine hours and thirty minutes; bolh outward and homewnrd; deduction for overtime, such sum as the Postmastor-Genernl may determine.

From Southampton to Buenos Ayres; timc1 thirty-four days and fourteen hours, inclusi°\"o of stops; deductions for over time, one-eighth part of ordinary payment for every twenty-four hours; penalty for general nonperformance, £500.

It will be observed that the payments by the British post office have been decreasing gm.dually each year, and certainly there is no evidence found in this that the postal expenditures of Great Britain have been made with a view to encouraging her merchant ships. To these expenditures for postal service and admiralty subvention must be traced the so-called British aid to her merchant marine, if at all, with the single exception of a subsidy of £45, 000 to be paid the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, added to the sum of £15,000 to be contributed by the Canadian Government. ·The advantages secured by Great Britain by this arrangement are

obvious. It will give her a route across her own territory and free from any possible obstructions to the east, and will enable her to reach that part of her d~minions in a shorter time than by any other route.

England has made this contract for purely political reasons, and not with a view of advancing the interests of her merchant marine. · Hon. David A. Wells, writing upon this subject, says:

The Canadian Pacific, however, was built primarily, not for traffic purposes, but as a. political r:.ecessity, to bind together the widely separate provinces of the Dominion of Canada: and immense contributions ofland and money were made by the colonial government to effect its construction. Once completed, it opened a. new, cheap, and expeditious route to the east, which England could control and use for the transportation of troops and munitions of war, as well as for postal service to India. and Australia, in case European or Egyptian complications, which are always throateninl:', should close to ber the Suez Canal. Her encouragement to the new line of steamers in question was, therefore, clearly dictated by military and not by mercantile considerations.

The so-called British postal subsidies have not been paid to British ships alone; the British post-office department, acting simply with a view to prompt and rapid transportation of the mails, awarded contracts to foreigners as well as to national vessels. Two German lines have carried the mails under contract with the British Government from Great Britain to New York, one of which, the North Germn.n Lloyd, held the contract for ten years, from 18G6 to 1877, interrupted only by the Franco-G.erman war of 1870. Again, in the years 1886 and 1887 this company carried the British mails under a contract with the British Gov-ernment for a short period of time.

The Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company carries the mails, governmentdispatches, and messengers between England and the east. The iargest amount paid by the British Government for ocean sc!"vic~ is' to this line.

Mr. W. H. Lindsay, the leading authority on English shipping, says: The impression that this company owed its origin to Government grants and

that it has been maintained by subsidies is not supported I by facts. Whether the company would have continued to maintain its career of prosperity w,ithout Government subsidies is a problem too speculative for me to eolve. Free from the conditions required by Government, tlle company would probably ha°\·e done better for its shareholders bad it been also at liberty to I.mild and sail its ships as it pleased, dispatching them ou such voyages and at such rates of speeds as paid it best; and in support of this opinion I may remark that various other shipping companies, with no assistance whatever from Governm ent, ha°\"e yielded far larger dividends than the Peninsularnn<l-Oriental Company; and, fm·tlier, t hat p r ivate shipowners who never had a mailbag in their steamers have realized large fortunes.

And ago.in, commenting on the large payments made to this line by the Government, he says:

From whatever c8.use it may have arisen, the fact is apparent that, though the ann uni gross receipts of the company arc enormous, its expenditure is so gren.t that less balance is left for the shareholders thnn is usually divided among those undertakings of a similar character which receive no assistance from the Government, but are free to employ their ships in whntever branch of commerce they can bo most profitably employc<l..-Lindsay's Merchant Shipping.

Mr. Guion, the founder of the Williams & Guion line of steamers, stated "that his company never received a. penny of Government subsidy, and felt no necessity for it."

When the British post-office authorities made a contract with the North German Lloyd for a regula.r mail service between Southampton and New York in preference to employing the Cunard and White Star Lines, for the reason that the Government could effect n saving under the new arrangements to the reported extent of £25,000 per annum, <:ommenting on the change, Mr. John Burns, of the Cunard Company, in a communication to the London press, made the following statements:

\\i hale°\"er the sa°\"ing ma.I.le by the employment of North German Lloyd ships may be, the acceptance by this company of lower rates than English companies is accounted for by tho following considerations:

1. They enjoy a. lartCe subsidy from their own Government,,an advantage de-nied to British ships.

2. They arc not subject to the restrictions a nd regulations of British law. 3. They have not to call a nd wait at Queenstown. 4. '.fhey call at Southampton on their way from Bremen to Now York In order

to compete for Britiah trallic. Whatever they can obtain for the carriage of the mails is therefore practically so much clear gain, and helps them in their war on British trade.

It must be taken into account in considering this question that the British Empire extends around the entire globe. Her population is over 300,000,000 of people, only about one-eighth of which live within the United Kingclom.

Hon. DavidA. Wells, in his pamphlet entitled "Dcca.yofOurOce:m Mercantile Marine," says:

To keep up a constant auu regular communication with her <lelacbed colo· nies, military and naval stations, by means of ocean sea service, is a necessity for the maintenance of tho empire; just a'!! much as quick and cheap communication with all the St.ates of tho Union by railway service is necessary for the proper aumlnistration of the Federal Government at 'Vashington.

It is not to be denied that. Great Britain1 in maintaining th.is sei:vice, has o:icpcnded and is still expend mg very consiuemble sums; but 1t is important m this connection to recognize two fo.cts:

J. Thnt in the days prior to 1860, when the sea service which Great Ilritain required was performed mainly by sailing vessels, she paid more than double per a.on um what sbo now pays for like service. llut no one ever though tofregarding such pavments, in the days of sailing vessels, ns in the nature of subsidies for the encouragement of commerce and shipbuilding j and if they Wero subsidieR their influence <lid notdrivethoAmericans from the ocenn or have anymnrked effect in expanding British shipping.

2. Previous to 1860 Great Britain paid os much as $>,000,000 in a slnJrle year for the transportation of her mails to and from the mother country and its colonies, and foreign ports and dependencies. For the year ending March 31, 1889, the British post-office department, according to its report prosontcd to Parliament, expended in all, for "conveyance" by land and by water and by n.11 agencies, tllosum of £1,916,691; and as it is under this head that tho so-called and r::iuch-talked-of English steamsWp subsidies must bo found, if found nt alJ,

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1047 an ana.lysisofthe items of such expenditures is of the first import.a.nee. And. instituting such an analysis, it appears that out of the above aggregate £903,63J: was paid to British railway companies. and £637,502 ($3,100,859) to steamship lines for mail coµveyance; but of the latter sum the foreign market service of steamshfps received £516,173 or $2,508,590. If there was anythingin the nature of subsidy in this expenditure, it is clear[ therefore. that the railways received the major portion, and that the comparat vely pitiful sum. of some $3,0001000 is all that the friends of subsidies can legitimately claim that Great Britam expended in 1888-'89 for the support and encouragement of her immense ocean mercantile marine.

fo 1888 Great Britain owned seven-twelfths of the world's shipping and 70 per cent. of the world's steam tonnage; but out of this immense . aggregate not 2 per cent. performs any direct service for the British Goveynment or receives one farthing per annum from its treasury in the way of payment for anything.

I find, l\Ir. Chairman, by nn examination of the report of the Commissioner of Navigation for last year, 1890, that there is credited to Great Britain 3,362,250 tons of tonnage that are exclusively sailirrg vessels, none of which receives a single penny in the way of bounty, subRidy, mail pay, or in any other way from the Government of Great Britain.

There are at present only two British lines between Great Britain and New York that receive postal subsidies from the British Go>ernment. They are:

Tons . Cuna.rd Line, five stcameYs ........................................................................ 35, 058 'Vhite Star Line, seven steamers (inclu.ding two freight steamers) ..........• 36, 505

Total, twelve sten.mers .................. ................. .................................... 71, 613

These are the only vessels that it can. be claimed are subsidized by the British Government between Great Britain and the port of New York.

On the other hand, there are now eight regular British lines in operation between European ports and New York that do not receive any postal subsidy or subvention from the British Government., maintaining a total fleet of ninety-two steamers of a tonnage of 347,966 tons in constant regular communication between Great Britain and New York, and between Mediterranean porla and New York. They arc:

Tons.

~i~~;~i~~~~t~:~~~~·;;·.:::::::::::::·~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::·::::: ~: ~ State line, six steamers,,............................................. .............................. 16, 400 Anchor line, forty-two steamers ............................................................... 132, 48!> Inman line, six steamers-.............. ::........................................................ 41, 641 National llnet twelve steamers..................................... ........................... 53, 272 Benver line, tnree steamers-··-···· ········"""""···-········ ... ,. .. , ...........•.......•. ... .. 14, 800 Snmner line, two steamers........................................................................ G, n3

This tonnage represents the regular British lines in communication with the port of New York, and leaves out of account the large number of irregular or so-called "tramp " steamers, that form a very respectable fleet by themselves.

While it is a~itted that ''Great Britain stands first as a shipowning and shipbuilding country," it is evident that if not more than 2 per cent. receives any aid from the Government and that only for services or qtber equivalents, the phenomenal success of B.rit:ish slµpping must be traced to some other. cause. Why can not we find out the cause and apply it to our own declining merchant marine? Is it because we are too shortsighted to apply England's remedy? When it was proposed in 1849 to repeal the British naviJ?ation laws, the same howl was set up for protection to British shipping that we hear now.

M:r. BINGIIA1t!. Will the gentleman allow me to interrupt him here and to ask him to state what amount of subsidy, as he calls it, these two lines receive? Has he got the figures? I do not want to divert him, bnt simply want the figures.

Mr. FITHIAN. I have not at this time the figures showinO' the amount that these two lines receive, but I will take the total ton~ge. There is a tonnage of 71,613 tons that receives subsidy as against a tonnnge of 347, 966 tons that does not receive any subsidy or pay of any kind whatever. But it would not matter much what subsidy these two lines obtain. It would make it still harder, as Captain Codman said before the committee:

It would make it a gren.t deal harder on the independent lines to compete in carrying freight ·even if 50 per cent. of the other lines receive a subsidy. It matters not; it makes but very little difference.

On March 9, 1849, when Mr. IIerries rose to oppose the further prorrress of the navigation bill, he quoted from a petition from 27,000 pe~sons from the great metropolis of London, 24, 700 from Liverpool, and from Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, and other cities, against the repeal of the navigation laws, in which the petitioners say:

That your petitioners view with the greatest a.la.rm the progress of a measure by which it is proposed to take away from this country the advantages it has 80 1ong and so successfully enjoyed, and by which such great results have been produced; a.nd (as they believe unwisely) to invite foreign nations to share those advn.ntages with us-nations utterly unable, even if willing, to confer upon us an equivalent in return. That oue self-evident result would be the substitution, to a great extent, of foreign for British and colonial shipping, the employment of the labor and capital of other countries in lieu of our own, and the creation of new relations between foreign nations and our own colonies, tbns weakening the ties which bind the latter to the mother country, and diminishing British power and in1l.uence throughout the world. But, above all these, your petitioners would most earnestly implore your honora.blo House to look at the consequences of this measure a.s regards the British navy. Dependent as this is for the supply of the bestseamenupon the mercantile marine,ca.n it be supposed that it will ma.int.a.in its present power when that supply is withdrawn, as it inevitably will be, by the diminution of merchant shipping? And

•

with a navy badly manned and inefficient, how, in the event of war, your pe-

~~\~~~~sntl~~~~ ~~t~~t:~~~e~~~';'~ti~~~i~;fst~~~~r:!e~:cf ~otected, our col-

Prior to 1849 Great Britain had the same restrictive navigation la'vs that we have. A bill was introduced by the Government for the repeal of those laws, and in the debate which began on the 9th of March, 1849, we find that the same arguments were used in opposition to free ships that are used on the floor of this Honse. The samo clam.or was made for protection. the same dire calamities were predicted if the free-ship policy was pursued nnd adopted as the policy of Great Britain.

Throughout that long debate, covering a long period of time in the British Parliament--

1\Ir. BLOUNT. Nearly two years. . M:r. FITHIAN (continuing). All the calamities that arc predicted here to-day, if this country should adopt a free-ship policy, were nre-~~ ili~ -

What did England do? And why did she do it? :England adopted a free-ship policy. She repealed her restrictive navigation laws and throw her commerce open to the competition of the world; not only her foreign commerce, but she even opened her coastwise trade, which is not proposed or even thought of in this country. She opened her commerce and permitted her merchantmen to go into the markets of the world and buy their ships in the open markets where they could buy them the cheapest.

1\:Ir. BLOUNT. And they did it, too. Mr. FITHIAN. And they did that, as I will show further on. At that time, 1849, when w.:>oden ships were used instead of iron

ships, America. built ships cheaper than England or any other country on the face of the globe. And for ~hat very reason, because she could build ships cheaper than England, she was taking the sea! competing with England, and making such encroachments on the shipping trade of tho world that the statesmen of Engla.nd, who foresaw the fatal resnltsto British shipping, including l\Ir. Gladstoneaopothers, proposed, as a government measurn, the repeal of the restrictive navigation laws, and those laws were repealed, and with that a free shipping policy was enacted permitting the merchants of the world to go into the ports of Great Britain, not only to compete for her foreign trade, but for her coastwise trade as well, and allowing her merchants to go into thei markets of the world and buy their ships where they could buy cheapest. England has been prosperous in her shipping from that day to this; and to-day, as was truthfully said by the gentleman from New York [Mr. FARQUHAR], she stands first as a shiJ>building and shipowning country in the world.

J\fr. SPRINGER. What is her total tonnage? 1.fr. FITffiAN. Her total tonnago is something over 7, 000, 000. The

report of the Commissioner of Navigation for 1890 gives the total British tonnage at 7, 7 40, 644 tons, and the colonies 461, 201 tons.

l\Ir. SPRINGER. J'i.fore than half the tonnage of the world? l\1r. FITHIAN. More than half; a fraction over 52 per cent. of the

tonnage of the world. Mr. Herries, in further debate on the question, on the 23d of April,

1819, regarded the repeal of the British navigation laws as fatal to agricnltural interests a.ndfutal to the commercial interests, and that the working classes would be Lhe greatest sufferers, and quoted approvingly from Lord Stanley the following:

I hen.r it said tha.t free trade has been adopted, and tha.t we must pl'oceed in that course, vestigia nulla retrorsum.. From that doctrine I dissent. n appears to me that the principle of protection to British industry is a sound and rational one. I will not consent to take it as afait accompli that protection to Dritish industry must be abandoned. Every day's experience convinces me more and more that this country will never prosper, that you will never be able to thwart tho dangerous design or mischievous men who think they ha.ve obtained a lever to aphea.ve and uproot the old foundations of the constitution, that ii you wish to see prosperity return to the interests of the country, agricultural as well as manufacturing-and when I speak of the agricultural interest I mean not that of country gentlemen a.lone, but of the farmers and laborers of Eni;tlnndcvery day's experience convinces me that you must retrace the gteps you have taken; you must make part of your revenue depend on o. moderate import duty; you must return to the principle of protection. Such is my conviction· but my belief moreover, is strong that to that conclusion, within no dist.ant perlorl, the ruh and deliberate opinion of the country will compel you to come.

The Marquis of Granby, in tho debate deploring the repeal of the navigation laws, said:

A shipowner carrying on an extensive transaction in Liverpool, and who also ga.ve evidence before the committee, informed me the other day that he was going to build another ship, but thn.t he delayed doing so till he knew whether it was indeed in contemplation to repeal the navigation law; that if it was he was resolved to have hi'I ship built in America.

That 1 think is another signi.6.ca.nt fact a.nd one which sufficiently indicates wha.t. we may expect in the event of the na.vign.tion laws being repealed.

• * * * * Those who advoca.to a repeal of the navigation laws a.re bound to show that;

Ru oh a change would not be injurious to our mercantile marine. But the repeal of the navigation laws would not only aim n. direct blow at our naval superiority, but it would necessitate the introduction of other measures; it would lead to a repeal of tho apprenticeship system and the allowing of foreign shipg to be registered in this ~ountry. The inconsistency of the Government plan was generally acknowleaged. The fact is the Government are oscillating behveen their desires to carry out the principles of free trade, between the injustice they are inflicting on '.British shipowners, and their desire to maintain the naval superiority of this country. The result is that they have introduced a measure, not only unjust fn principle but dangerous to our naval supremacy, one which. at the same time, shows their want of confidence in the truth of their principles .

1048 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. J .ANU.ARY 8,

Oh!-

Said the marquis, in conclusion-that I bad the power to dispel the delusions with which we are now assailed. Oh, that I had the power to stir up that patriotism and that love of country which should animate every breast, for if I had such power I should have no fear as to the result; for, despite of the confidence now entertained by Iler Majesty's Government, and despite those inconsiderate communications, and, I may say, the uncon'!titutioual communications made by Lhem to foreign Governments-despite all those disadvant.ages,still I think I should see the gallant vessel that is now struggling with the storm sail triumphantly above the waves that threaten to overwhelm her. Sir, I have no fear of the result of this great ques~ tion. Despite all disadvantages, if Englishmen are but true to themselves and their country we shall be able to weather the storm that impends over us, we shall be able to retain the commana over that glorious element which is our natural protector, and which is the connecting link between this country and thecoun-

- tries dependent upon us abroad ; and for years to come, notwithstanding the prophecy of Mr. Mackay, the flag of England will float triumphant through every~a. ·

Mr. Robinson, a member of Parliament, also speaking against the repeal, said:

They were about to confer on America-our most formidable rival-the facility of free navigation from all parts of Europe, Asia, and America, and to throw open to them the whole colonial and intercolonial trade. What had America. to give us in e:io::cbange for such concessions? Nothing whate\•er.

• * • • • • • The measure of the Government was a sweeping abrogation of the navigation

laws of this country, the points reserved being unworthy ofreservation; • • * that thus to expose all the interests of the country to unrestricted foreign competition, whilst we had such a. weight of public and local taxation to sustain·, while we had an expensive government and a. heavy national debt to pay, was nothing short of insanity.

And the gentleman grew so ·warm in his opposition to the bill that he made the following direct charge against the Government:

What, too, could be a. more shameful or disgraceful proceeding-he would not characterize it in milder terms-than to send out, as the Government bad done, letters from the foreign office to our consuls absolutely asking them, in terms they could not understand, to make as unfavorable a rept>rt as they could on the points referred to them, in order that the Government might the better be enabled to carry this measure? This, inconjuncUon with other things, tended to show the reckless ancJ determined way in which the}" were resolved to carry the repeal of the navigation laws in spite of every obstacle; and that the Gov· ernment, havin~ embarked in what was called a free-trade policy, were determined to carry it against every interest in this country.

In short, the rapid strides that the United States were making, even under t.he present navigation laws, convinced him that, if they made the proposed surrender to them: in a short time the tonnage of American vessels would considerably exceed that of Great Britain.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I could go on reading the debates that were had in Parliament upon this question, but it seems to me best not to pursue that line any further, and I shall not do so, except to quote only a few lines from Hon. William E. Gladstone, who, speaking for the Government and representing the Government view, went further and advocated throwing open to the competition of the world the coastwise trade as well us the foreign trade. Ile said:

I have never heard anything to convince me that there is any reason why the foreigner should not be permitted to embark in our coasting trade if he can find his way into it.

Notwith~tauding these warnings the navigation laws of Great Britain were repealed; she entered upon the free-ship policy in which her merchant marine has prospered, until to-day she is regarded as first in shipbuilding and shipowning of all the countries of the world. England bas found some other way to build a merchant marine and run it other than under governmental protection, and her policy is the policy that is characterized by the honorable Commissioner of Navigation as "an old chestnut that has nothing in it but worms."

What England has done why can not the United States do as well? If we repeal our restrictive navigation la.ws and allow our people to boy ships where they can buy them cheapest, it seems to me that the history of this legislation in Great Britain ought to convince any man wifh a sane mind that the same resulta would be attained · in the United States that were attained upon the repeal of the shipping laws in Great Britain.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I desire very briefly to allude to a statement that is made by the Commissioner of Navigation, and also referred to by the gentleman from Maine [Ur. DING LEY] and the gentleman from New York [Mr. FARQUHAR], in reference to the provisions of the recently enacted tariff law, known as the McKinley bill. Referring to section 8, admitting shipbuilding materials free of cluty to this country, the Commissioner of Navigation says: It will be seen that the new section adds to the non du ti able list four impor

tant items-plates, tees.angles, and beams, four of the chief component parts of steel and Iron vessels. 'Vith this amendment, practically all of the important materials which enter into the construction of metal ships for the foreign trade are admitted to this country free of duty. Our shipbuilders, therefore, are now in a. µosition to test the advantages which may lie in the" free-material" poliey, as they have the Republican majority in Congress to thank for it. l\lo1·eover, free materials not only for construction, put also for repair, are provided for. Section 9ofthenew act runs: "

''That all articles of foreign production needed for the repair of American vessels engaged in the foreign trade or in the trade between the Atlantic and Pacific ports of the United States may be withdraw-n from bonded warehouses free of duty, under such regulations ns the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe."

Our shipbuilders and shipowners who wish for free raw materials can 11ave very little, if anything, more to ask: in this direction from the Republican p_arty. With the most important raw materials for shipbuilding on the free list, the Democratic politicians lose the last vestige of an excuse for demanding free trade in the finished product, and the "free-ship" propaganda, which bas for

half a dozen years been in a moribund condition, definitely receives its deo.th-blow. ·

Here is an officer of the Gover·m:~ent of the United States, filling the high and important position of Commissioner of Navigation of this coun .. try, who descends from the lofty station that he ought to occupy to the level of a ward bummer, a ward politician, to inject into his report partisan politics. .

This fact should not be overloqked by the Department that is responsible for this officer's appointment. It was he who, criticising the minority report of the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. WHEELER], used such terms as "this old. chestnut has nothing in it but worms; this illustration is absurd, and., _worse than that, it is silly; this. assumption, not only artful and deceitful, contains a downright fabrication,'' and other such ''choice '' and ''elegant'' terms of civilization.

This gentleman forgets that Congress is a co-ordinate branch of the Go\rernmen t. He forgets his own position and becomes a partisan and lobbyist for vicious legisiation, the history of such legislation, as he must know, being a stench in the nostrils of the nation.

How such legislation was worked in former ConJ?:resses was told by my colleague, Mr. CANNON, in the debate February 28, 1879, when he said:

These subsidy-seekers came into this House, or, rather into Washington, in 1872, and absolutely took the money which we paid them out of the Treasury and corrupted the officials about this House-your doorkeepers nnd your Postmaster-to procure another subsidy. The soldiers of fortune swarm about the corridors of Washington; the lobby is on hand. If you will read that report about the Pacific Mail subsidy and examine it, and then look into your galleries, you will see familiar faces all around you now. They meet you all about the Capitol, and pull your coat tails in order that they may talk to you in favor of this subsidy, etc.

This influence is not asleep in this Congress; "coat tails" are still being pulled, and those who are not disposed to yield to the wishes of the lobby become the victims of its ill-will and are attacked through the interested agency of this Government official, the motive power of which lobby comes from H. K. Thurberis Brazil Steamship Company and the Pacific Mail Company. .

Now I want to call attention-and I do it for the benefit of the commissioner of navigation-to a statement that was made by_Mr. Charles II. Cramp before a committeeofCongress, in replytoa questionofMr. MORRILL as to the average rate of duty on materials entering into the construction of a ship. This statement was made by Mr. Cramp before he became a subsidy beggar, before he became a subsidy lobbyist, before he conceived the idea of coming to the Congress of the United States and asking the representatives of the people to give him and to give to others engaged in his business a bonus or gratuity. Before a committee of Congress Mr. Cramp made this statement in reply to a question as to the average rate of duty on materials entering into the construction of ships:

l\Ir. FARQUHAR. What was the date of that statement? Mr. FITHIAN. The investigation was before a committee of Con

gress in 1869. Mr. Cramp was asked the average rate of duty on materials entering into the construction of ships, and his answer was about 40 per cent.; and he added: If our shipbuilders cc.uld be relieved from that they could compete success

fully with foreign builders. The diffe.rencc in the cost of labor would be overcome by the superiority of American mechanics. Wooden ships will no longer be built, since iron ships are superior in every respect.

Now according to that statement of Mr. Charles H. Cramp, the leading shipbuilder to-day of the United States, if the McKinley bill places the raw material that goes into the construction of ships upon the free list, why is not he now, in 1891, as able to build ships and to compete with foreign shipbnilders as he would have been in 1869, with free raw materials? In other words, why doe_s not this patriotic lobbyist and subsidy .beggar say to this Congress and to the country ''I am willing now, since you have given me free raw material, to go to work and construct ships in the United States in competition with the shipbuilders of the world ?" But he does not propose to do that.

Since this statement was made in 1869 they have organized the great patrioticinstitution known as the American Shipping League, overwhich, I am sorry to say, my friend from Alabama [Mr. WHEELER] at one time presided; but be has since repented of the wickedness he was engaged in, has left off his evil associations, and has come out in favor of.free ships and against subsidies. I think it ought to be counted to his credit that he has done so, and I think that instead of receiving the puncturing of my friend from New York. [l\Ir. FARQUHAR] on that point he ought to be applauded for his manly course in leaving that concern and coming out in favor of honest legislation. [Laughter and applause.]

::M:r. Chairman, there was another notable shipbuilder in the United States in 1869, a man whom I regard_ as much better authority upon the shipbuilding question than Mr. Hill, the secretary of the American Shipping League. I mean John Roach. Perhaps you have all heard of him. What did he say on this subject? I read an extract from his statement:

America has los~ her commerce and wha.t has she obtained in exchange for it? Simply the right of a. few men to charge S9 per ton in gold on the import&tion of pig iron. Pig iron is the basis of all the metals connected with the making and repairing of ships. There has been a. revolution in shipbuilding and iron is the material from which they are now built. The higher cost of iron, produced by the tariff upon it, is one of the principal difficulties our commerce has io contend with. If Congress will take off all these duties from

•

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. · 1049 American iron, reducing it to the price of foreign iron, then we are prepared to compete with foreign shipbuilders. The labor question is misstnted. 'Ve are prepared to meet that difficulty and ask no further legislation upon the subject.

In 1869, John Roach, who was then _911e of the leading shipbuilders of the United States, said that the labor question was misstated, that the American shipbuilders were able to. meet that question, and that if Congress would give them free raw materials they were prepared to compete with the shipbuilders of the world. Therefore, instead of these gentlemen asking this legislation now, if you have met the demand of the shipbuilders of this country and placed their raw materials upon the free list, why not give tliat a trial before you propose 1;o pay out the money of the people to this :special interest? Why not give these gentlemen an opportunity to redeem their pledges and their promises? Why not give Mr. Charles II. Cramp, whois nowbuilding ships, an opportunity to redeem the pledge that he made before a committee of Congress in 1869? W~y not wait and do this before you pass a bill which will place a burden of many million dollars upon the American people?

. But, .Mr. Chairman, I suppose that this, like all other protective legislation, is to be done in the interest of the poor laboring man. 1t is wonderful how solicitous gentlemen become for the poor, downtrodden laboring man. My friend. Governor DINGLEY, of Maine, in speaking of the subsidy thatthe ships of the United States would receive under this bill, said it .was only about 11 per cent., and that, he said, was about the difference between the cost of maintaining American ve.ssels and the cost of maintaining foreign vessels. He said also that it would about pay the difference between the cost of the wages of American seamen and that of foreign seamen. Now, if the subsidy that these shipowners are to receive from the Government will only pay the Q.iff erence between the wages of American seamen and foreign seamen and if this legislation is merely for the benefit of the laborin~ man in order to give him better wages, I do not see why we should not pass a bill in such form as to give the subsidy directly to the American ~eamen, the men who perform the labor, instead of giving it to the shipowners.

I am afraid that these gentlemen who own these ships and these steamship lines will not give a fair "divide" with the boys who do the work. I find that Mr. Carnegie did not divide after the passage of the McKinley bill, but be reduced wages. Will not these gentlemen engaged in sailing ships do exactly the same thing?

l\fr. SPRINGER. There is one point on which I would like my col-league to give us an explanation.

The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. FITHIAN.· Yes, sir. Mr. SPRINGER. I would like my colleague to explain whether

this bill requires that the employes of the vessels receiving this bounty shall be American.citizens.

Mr. FITHIAN. I believe there is a provision of that kind in the bill

Mr. SPRINGER. The requirement is that a certain percentage of the seamen shall be American citizens.

l\Ir. FITHIAN. Yes, not all; a certain percent.'lge; and that percentage is to increase, I believe, each year.

Mr. SPRINGER. I have the provision here: SEC. 3. That no vessel shall be en tit.led to the benefits of this a.ct unless all the

officers thereof shall be citizens of the United States, in conformity with the existing laws; nor unless upon each departure from the United States the fol lowing proportion of the crew shall be citizens of the United States or shall have declared their intentions to become citizens, to wit: During the first two years this act shall be in force, one-sixth thereof; duringo the next three succeeding years, one-third thereof; and during the remaining term of this net, at least one-hnlf thereof.

So that at no time would there be required a larger proportion of American citizens than one-half of the men who would get the benefit of the increased pay which it is supposed would be given under this measure. Would the increased pay be given to the foreigner in the same way 88 to the American citizen?

Mr. FITHIAN. I judge so, as a matter of course. They would all be upon nn equality and would receive the same pay.

In 1881 the French Government tried the subsidy experiment. There is quite a difference of opinion in regard to the success of the French bounty law. The gentleman who spoke yesterday, the gentleman from Maine, concluded that the French bounty law bad been a great success.

On the 29th of January, 1881, the French law giving subsidies both to the navigation.and construction of French vessels went into effect. Following is a statement of the provisions of the law:

To the shipbuilders, in compensation for the customhouse duties charged them, this law grants the following alloco.tions: 60 francs per gross tonnage for iron and steel vessels; 20 francs for woo<len vessels of 200 t.ons burden or more; 10 francs for wooden vessels of less thnn 200 tons; 40 francs for screw sailing ships; 12 frn.ncs per lOOkilograms for the motive machinery and the auxiliary apparatus on board the steamships; finally, at the time of the renewing of the boilers, the owner of the ship is allowe<l a compensation of 8 francs per 100 kilograms of new boilers of French make, weighed without the pipes.

To the shipowners the law allows for a period of ten years a. premium, which is appropriated exclusively to distant navigation as a. compensation for the charges imposed upon the merchl\nt service for the recruiting and service of the navy. This premium is determined by tonnage and per every 1,000 miles traveled, at tho rato of 1franc50 centimes for new ships built in French shipyards; the said premium decrea~ing every year at the rate of .075 franc for wooden Yesselst 0.075 for composite vessels; of 0.05 for iron vessels. The premium is reducea one-half for vessels built in foreicn countries,

The above statement of the provisions- of the French bounty law is taken from Le Yacht, of November 23, 1889. . Bef?re we adopt the policr of paying subsidies for the navigation of American vessels, the question maybe asked, whathas been the result of the French law?

The premiums paid for the construction of vessels under the French law are not ·an expense to the Government, because the amount is re-turned under the form of custom duties levied upon the raw materials that go into the construction of vessels.

Worthington C. Ford, Chief of Bureau of Statistics, State Department, in treating upon the French bounty system, April 7, 1886, says:

One important fact is shown, that the bounties have been practically of no avail in stopping the continued decrease in sailing tonnage. 'Vhile the sailing tonnage stood in 1880 at6U,539, in 188-i it was only522,557 tons, a.decrease oflls, .. 782 tons, or more than 18 per cent., though the number of vessels was somewhat larger. · And ;n the three years for which returns are given 105,464 tons were built under the bounty law, for which $?22,012werepaid-anexpenditurewhich has produced no effect that is shown in the aggregate. * • •

In the ten years 1870 to 18801 or before the French bount.y act was passed, the aggregate tonnage of France had decreased 14.2 per cent.; tbat of Italy 1.2 ner cent.; that of Germany had increased 16.8 per cent. In the four years 1880to1883, the tonnage of Italy continued to decline (2.16 per cent.) while that of France increased 8.4 per cent. and that of Germany 6.9 per cent., so that the shipping of Germany, without fictitious aid of bounties. increased nearly as much proportionately between 1880 and 1883 'as the subsidized French shipping. The actual tonnage added was greater-87,953 tons, as compared with 84.381 tons in France. * * *

In the period 1873-'80, the number of steam "t"Cssels increased in France 136, or 26.3 per cent.; in Germany 161, or 63.6 per cent., and in Italy 23, or 18.8 per cent. The advantage th us appears to be with Germar.y. The tonnage shows a di ft' er• ent result. In France 1t increased 92,594 tons, or 50 per cent.; in Germany, 48,125 tons, or 28. 7 per cent., and in Italy, 28,477 tons, or 58.6 per cent. While Italy shows the highest relati¥e increase it can not be compared with that of France. So that in the eight years prior to 1880 the French ship pin!'?' was increasing much faster in its most valuable branch, steam vessels. than either of its continental competitors. The yea.rs 1880-' 83 show still more remarkable results. Then umber of steam vessels in France increased 243, or 37.3 per cent.; fn Germsmy, 189, or 45.6 per cent., and in Italy, 43, or 27.2 per cent.. The tonnage increased during the same period in France 189. 729 tons, or 68.7 per cent.; in Germany 158,941 tons. or 73.6 per cent., and in Italy 30,402 tons, or 39.4 per cent. The increase in Germany, where no bounties were paid, was relatively greater both in number and tonnage of vessels than in France, where large bounties were in force after 1881.

* • * * * 'Ill' * A study of the commerce of France goes to show that the increase of tonnage

engag~d In the trade * * * has not been accompanied by an extension of the trade itself; the imports and exports have not only not increased, but in the larger number of instances have actually decreased. • * *

The ships that were to be built and navigated with the aid of the Government were to carry French manufactures into foreign markets, and so encourage and extend domestic manufactures and open new vents for home-made wares. Unless the st.atistics are false, this result has not been attained, and it would. almost seem as if there ha.d occurred a mere transfer of carriage; what was brought formerly in ships sailing under foteign flags is now brought in French vessels.. * *

Did the transfer of carriage from foreign to French yessels involve a. decrease of freights peculiar to French tonnage, a sa\"'ing to the French shippers alone at least commensurate with the cost of the bounties, something might be said in fa\"'or o~ the policy~ *

The bounties have succeeded In infusing life into neither shipbuil<ling nor ship navigation. France finds it cheaper to have her iron vessels built in Great Britain and a large share of her wooden ships in other countries. The lines of ships that were called into being through the liberal offers of the Government are represented as being in a state of bankruptcy, and existing lines that participate in the bountits are either paying no dividends or very small Rmounts. The exports of France, reflecting n.s they did the slight reaction which ensued in 1879, have since declined, and are still declining in value, and the decrease can not be explained by a fall in the price of commodities, but rather by an absolute decrease in the foreign co1nruerce of the nation. In fact it may be asserted that the bounty policy of France, intended to bridge over a. temporary depression, has aggravated the situation nn<l has proved itself to be o. source of mischief and not of cure.

Consular Agent Sutton says: The general opinion on the bounty question is that it has failed to produce

tho effect of serving the shipping trade, and has only resulted in creating a. few large steamship companies, who have monopolized the whole of the carrying trade to the exclusion of sailing vessels.

Consul Mason, in bis report elated Uarch 9, 1886, after :five years of operation under the French subsidy law, says:

Shipping and seafaring men of Rll classes at Marseilles begin to complain of the present season as one of almost unprecedented dullness and depression in all that relates to marine transportation and the values of ·shipping. Not even during the lowest period of the cholera epidemics of 1884 and 18&5 was the lethargy in marine freights and vessel property so extreme and so apparently hopeless as now.

Of the ocean-going steamships belonging to this port 33 nre now laid up for want of profitable business. Twelve sailing vessels belonging to :Marseilles, 15 under the Italian flag, and 12 of Austrian nationality are likewise tied up in this port awaiting the return of more prosperous times.

There was sold yesterday by the tribunal of commerce a wooden bark of596 tons register, recently nrrived from Pensacola, thoroughly equipped and in good condition. The vessel is Italian and has been eighteen years in service, but hRs been in the mean time kepli in good repair. The pressure of hard times brought this bark to the block, and she wns sold for $199.52.

'£here are now offered for sale here two English-built iron steamers of 840 tons register, which have been in service twelve years, but have recently received new boilers, water ballRst, and steam steering gear, and are regarded thoroughly sound, capable vessels. Three years ago they were bought for $58,392 each. Now, with all their repairs anu improvements, they are ye.inly -offered at half that price.

Still another incident of the same character will illustrate the extraordinary contingencies wbich may overtake shipowners in times like these. A merchant with $7,720 to invest purchased la&t autumn an iron steamer of 1,500 tons burden for $17,3i0, paying whRt money he had and borrowing the remainder (lt'J,650) from a. bank, to which he gave as security a mortgage on the vessel, which he was thought to ha'\"e purchased at a great bargain, less than half her value a year or two ago. One of the steamer's boilers being somewhat burned, she was taken to her English builder to have that fixture renewed. There the

1050 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE& JANUARY 8,

new owner was persuaded that in order to have a really first-class modern steamship he should add steam stea.rlng gear. steam winches, and water-ballast apparatus. To this he agreed, supposing that his French banker would not hesitate to loan the cost o! these repairs on a new mortgage, since the entire sum would be invested in improvement of the vessel. But the bank had be· come suspicious of floating collateral and refused all farther loans. The steamer was therefore seized by the builder and sold at auction to meet his account for repairs. The price realized was less by $600 than the bill for repairs. The bank lost its-loan and the owner his $7,720, his entire fortune, and gained only a highly conclusive experience.

'When, in the light of facts like these, one reads that the shipbuilding of Great Britain has declined from J ,250,000 tons in 1883 to 540,000 in 18815, and that one.firm in London now offers for sa.le.222 screw steamers of all classes and dimensions, from 7,000 tons each downwards, the effect is to console the patriotic American citizen who has of late years been lamenting his country's want of a competent merchant marine adapted to international commerce.

Consul Mason indulged in the following display of language in a recent report submitted to the State Department in regard to the French bounty system:

Has the French system been successful? A glance at the shipyarda along the Seine, the Go.ronne, and the Bay of Toulon, as well as the ports o! Havre, Bordeaux, and :Marseilles. with their regular r.nd busy steamship lines to South. America, Ind!h, China. and Australia., bringini:; the raw materials of those remote countries to France, and returning freighted with the products of French industry, would afford a. ready and conclusive answer. .

Tu: this report Consul Mason summarizes the existing French law, and instead of giving a statistical statement that would enable the world to judge of the effect':! of the law, heindnlges in the abo>e glittering generality. But until he removes the impression made in his former report, after the French bounty system had five years of trial, his last statement will not have much weight with thinking people.

Consul Mason, in his former report, regarded the following as worthy of communicating to the State Department:

"Ah!" saiua.ma.rine brokerofl\Iarseilles,recently," you Americ::i.nsholda.11 the winnine; cards. 'Vhile we in Europe are overburdened with costly armies, you have only a single army corps to guard your fortifications and watch the Indians; while we have been squandering millions upon ironclad fleets, which are obsolete wit.bout ever having fought a battle~ y o u can build a. navy that will include and surpass all that we have impoverishea ourselves to lenrn; a nd as for a merchant marine, you have only to change a paragraph in your shipping laws , and your merchants can buy everything they want, the best fleet that can be built at any price, from half their cost down to their value as old iron."

The question is asked by Consul Mason: "Has the French system been successful?'' The answer is emphatic that it has not accomplished for France what the advocates of the present measure claim it will accomplish for us, and a demand is now being made by the advocates of the French sudsidy, which expired January 1, 1891, for a renewal of the law of 1881, as a. means to stop the downward course of the French t.onnage. The following articles, translated from Le Yacht, surveying the French system and demanding a renewal of the same, will not be without interest here:

SURVEY OF TllE FllXNCll SYSTIOL

[Transla.ted from Le Yacht of November 23, 188:!.) Thelaw of JanuanJ 29, 1831-Resulla of the subsidies allowed to the merchant service.

Among the business questions which aro to be submitted to the deliberation of th~ n.ew Chamber, one of the most important, on account of the large interests which are connected with it, i.'I certainly the prorogation of the Jaw of January 29, ISSI, concernini;r the merchant service. • • • • .. * *

In order to raise it [French tonnage] to its former position. the law of January 29, 1881, has laid aown anu carried out two rules of action: To the shipbuilders, in compensation for the customhouae dufies charged them, this law grants the following allocations: (i() francs per gross tonnage for iron and steel '\'easels; 20 francs for wooden v~sels of 200 tons burden or more; 10 francs for wooden "~els of less than 200 tons; 40 francs for screw sailing ships; 12 fraDcs per 100 kilograms for the motive machinery and the auxiliary apparatus on board the steamships; finally, at the time of the renewing of the boilers the owner of the ship is allowed a compensation of 8 francs per 100 kilogram~ of new boilers of French make, weighed without the pipes.

To the shipowners the law allows, for a. period of ten years, a. premium, which is appropriated exclusively to distant no.vigatlon as a. compensation for the charges imposed upon the merchant se rvice for the r ecruiting and service of the navy. This premium is determined bytonne.geand per every l,OOOmiles traveled at the rate of 1 franc 50 centimes for new ships bnilt in French shipyards; the sa.l.d premium decreasing cYcry year at the rate of .075 fmnc for wooden vessels; 0.075 for composite vessels; of 0.05 for iron vessels. The premium is reduced one-half for vessels built in foreign countries. The vessels registered a.s French before the promulgation of the law nre consiuered as being French built. Finally, the premium is increased 15 per cent. for steamers built on the plan approved by the naval depo.rtmen t. The ministerial department of commerce. of industries, and of the colonies. has just issued a. publication concerning the application of the law of 1881. The statistics of the Bureau Veritas, as well as the publications of the general directions of the customhouse, enable us to complete the information contained in this most interestini;r document.

According to the information furnished by the ministerial department, P.11 the premiums annually paid to the builders and to tho shipowners from 18Bl to 1887 nmount to 68,552.240 francs. namely:

Years. Premiums

pa.id to construction.

Premiums: pa.id to ·

navigation.

Francs. Francs. 1881.......................................... ...... 950, 899 2, 980, ~1 188'.?..... ....... .. ... .......... ...... .••••• ......... 4, 540, 1596 6, 458, 605 1883...... ............ ........... ..... ............. 3, 160, 297 8, 165, 291 las! ..................... ..... w....... ............ 4, 484, 968 8, 1589, 331 1885................. .............................. 1, 129, ll>2 7, 567, 27!} 1886 ........................................... -... 3, 005, 618 7, 5i8, 347 1887. .. .. ..... .. . . .. .. . ........... .• .. ... . .. .. .. ...• 1, 457' 482 8, 213, 481

Total of premiums

paid.

.Fr!mcs. 3, 931, 7!l3

10, 99!>, 201 11,625,588 13, 074, 20V 8,696,431

10,!'i83, 965 9,670, 003

Total ..................... -···· ......... ,--18,729. 0_12_, __ 4_9_,-853,--228-, - ,· ---68-,-28-2-, -24-0

The premiums a.warded to the builuers are not really an expense to the Government, because they a.re returned under the form of customhouse duties levied upon the raw materials necessary to shipbuilding. Before the present law the raw materials used by the builders were free of duty according to the law passed l\IaylG, 1866. It is then only 49,833,228 francs which have really been distributed to the merchant service in a period of seven years. It will be seen that the outlay has not really been a loss, but, on the contrary, a powerful factor in the raising up ofthe French standard to its former position.

The statistics issued by the general dlrection or the customhouse show that in 1860 untler·the regime of high protection the share taken by the Navy in the navigation of loaded vessels between France foreign countries, and colonies, deduction being matle foo: the tonnage of fishlng boats, amounts to 42.69 per cent .. ; in 1869, when the overtaxation was finally abolished, this percentage had decreased to 37.21 per cent.; in 1880 to 34.87 per cent. But thanks to the application or the premiums inaui;;-urated by the la.w of January 29, 1881, the national flag at once increased its trade 37.14 per cent. in 1881, 37 per cent. in 1882, 38.40 per cent. in 1883, 38.78 per cent. in las!, 39.79 per cent. in 1885, 40.31 per cent. in 1886, 41 per cent. in 1887, and 40.24 per cent. in 1888.

The regime of premiums has had the evidenta.dvantage of increasing in eight years the share of the national flag in French commerce from 3-1.87 per cent. to 40.24 per cent. Sacha resnlt is doubtless encouraging and shows undeniably the necessity of premiums; but tho foreign service still reto.ins 60 per cent. or our shipping, and we can not help considering this share too larg e. It is for the trade and the industries of the country so manifest a. benefit that the transportation should be made by our own merchant service that we can not contemplate without apprehension the advent of 1800, when the premiums a.Hotted to vessels will be abolished. The shipowners are alrendybecomingdiscouraged, the depreciation in freight which has not been less than 30 per cent. since 1881, the commercial crisis, the effect of which is still apparent, the prohibition'of the importation of American men.ts into France, the duty upon grain voted in 1885, all th.ese influences have occasioned the reduction in profits that had been looked for. Several companies founded in 1881 andl882, with a view to the advantages expected from the new law, were compelled to liquidate or to reduce their capita.I, the profits of the enterprise being inadequate to the inve~truent; nor can there be any new enterprise under the present conditions, the suppression of the premiums being imminent. Already as a first consequence of this situation the French flo.g in 1888 lostl per cent. in its transportation compared with that of 1887.

But it is not only the bi;.siness of the merchant service which is suffering and demanding a special protection, but the shipbuilding industry is still more jeopardized, for it can not live and prosper if the merchant service does not also prosper. As late as las!, during the three years which followed the promulgation oft.he law of 1881, the shipyards h~d displayed great activity on o.ccount of orders received from new companies. They had filled orders to the amount of 18,570 tons in 1881; 68.,502 in 1882; 47,217 tons in 1883; G.5,571 tons in 1884. But from this time the orders were stopped and the construction was reduced to 20,8.58 tons in 1885; 40,336 tons in 1886; 21,629 tons in 1887. At the same time, while the foreign marine service WO.'! increasing in importance, the tonnage of French steamere, which had steadily risen from 277,781in1880 to 4.!>S,-646 in 18S5, fell to 488,842in1888.

It is urgent to stop this downward course at once, otherwise the sa.crIBces the country has made for the me1·chant service will become fruitless, and the foreign flag will again supplo.nt our own. In the present condition of things a. prorogation of the law of 1881 can a.lone give back to the merchant service the enterpris~ and capital which are now threatening to forsake it. In 1886 F~lU: Fanre and forty of his colleagues, representing commercial seaports, submitted to the chamber of deputies a proposition for the prorogation of this Jaw for a. period of fifteen yea.rs. Since 1886 the evil has become a.ggravat2d and the proposition will be resumed. It will undoubtedly be welcomed by the new chamber, which can not fail to give attention to an industry bearing so closely on the most vital interests of the country.

[From Le Yacht of December 21, 1889.) The law of 1881 concerning the merchant service.

It is scarcely necessary for us to point out the importance of the article we g:;~J~~~=:i~~~~fa!te q)-lestlon which we have o.lrco.dy treated in our num-

It has been seen that the Jnw concerning the merchant service, promulgated in 1881, contains two provisions intended to revive our national shipbuilding industry nnd to encourage navigation under the French flag. The first provision grants a premium to French shipbuilding, not only for the hull, but also for the machinery and boilers which they contain. This premium is not lim-iterl as to time. •

Tho second grants a. premium to distant navigation rated by the tonnage and the number ol miles traveled; the a.mount of premium, decreasing from ye11r to year, to be finally abolished in 1891. It has seemed to us of great interest to investigate a.s nearly as possible what

has been the influence of the Jaw on our merchant service from 1881 to 1889 · that is to say, from the time of its promulgation until now. '

The Bureau Veritas, in France, tho Universal Register, in England, publish yearly the sta.tistics of the mereha.nt service in every country or the world. The tables of 1888i of the Universal Register, have been reproduced by several English periodica. s; we choose them in preference to those oftheBureau Veritas, because they report only steamers and sailing vessels gauging 100 tons and above, whilst those of the Bureau Veritas include sailing vessels of 50 tons; o.s we are merely discussing distant navigation, which o.lone receives premiums, in leaving out the ships of 50 to 100 tons we omit principally tho fishing boats and the coasters, which do not pa.rticipate in the premiums.

Sailing navlJ?ation is decreasing daily, while steam navigation is rapidly increasing; steamships are generally of a higher tonnage than eaillng vessels· in France the average ton nacre of steam navigation of 100 tons and above is 1510 per ship, whilst the tonnage of sailing navigation of 100 tons and above is of 266 tons. In contrast, however, to the small aYera.ge of tonnage of sailing vessels we must point out the remarkable firm of Ant. Dom. Bardes&: Co.,* which owns a. ileet of thirty·two vessels gauging 42,072 tonE!, an average of 1,320 tons per vessel, which is as much as the average of all U10 steamsliips, ha.cl we ta.ken for the latter tho net tonnage instead of the gross tonnage. The total tonnage of tbe Ant. Dom. Bardes & Co. represents a.bout the forty-0110-hundrodth oft.ho who lo tonnage of France in sailing vessels of 100 tons e.ntl a.bovo.

'Vith the exception of this firm, it is known tllat ono new stPamship alone takes the place of several sailing vessels, and this fact sufficiently cxplainA the increase of steam navigation to the prejudice of sailing navigation; but if, in order to compare the merchant service of all countries, the tonnage of sailing vessels were simply added with that of steamships, the result would be of no practical value and erroneous conclusions would be drawn. It is well known that the efficiency of 1\ steamer is three times greater than that of a sailing vessel, both having the eame tonnage. The comparison we epoak of must, then be ma.de by multiplying the steam tonnage by three and by adding it to that of tho sailing ships. This has been done in the puhllco.tlon called .(ndusl.rles of Manchester, in comparing the merchant service of England, Germany, and t.ho United States. The comparison has not been extended to more t hn n these three countrie'I, but in the Table No: l,hereappended, we have made it for fifleen na-

* l\··o call attention lo .tho fact that tho statistics to which we alludo date back to l 8S:l; therefore the numbers, relatinir to the Bartles firm pa.rticnla.rly, do not agree entirely with tlloso that we ha,·e ju.st given.

- .. -·

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1051 tions; those which would follow in regular succession have only very inslguificant fleets. \Ve have omitted the fractions of 1,000 tons.

TWs table shows that in sailing navigation we occupy only the eii:hth place, while we rank second in steam navigation and fourth in the two combined. It wlll~robably be a cause or surprise that a. small country like Norway shonld

occupy t* e third place in sai~ng naYig:tion. • * * But let us pass on to France, and as what calls our a.U.c.ntfon now is the march

of its development before and after the law of 1881, we give the n'1mbers both of its steam and sailing navigation, from 1877 to 1889; this time they are bor-1·owed from the Bureau Veritas, and contain, therefore, &he sailing vessels of 50 tons and over and the steamers of 100 tons and over. (Table No. 2.)

Th.is table is very slguificant. During the three years which precede the passing of the law the total tonnage remains nearly the same; there is even a de· crease. In the year 1880-'81 there is a revival; from 1880-'81 to 1885-'86 the increase is rapid. In comparing the total tonnage, 2,642,000, with that of the year 1878-'79, 1,601,000,we find an increase of 65 per cent., and if we consider only the steamers for these two. years the increase is of 120 per cent.; the tonnage has more than doubled. From 1885-'86 there is no longer any advance, but a downward course. The year 1888-'89 is slightly more product ive; the tonnage of steamers bas increased 30,000. But when one knows that the company of the Chargeurs Ueunis, in the same yeY.r, ralsed its tonnage about 6,000 and that the company of the l\Iessageries J\faritimes, a company subsidized by Government, increased its tonnage 22.000, it is readily perceiv~d that the advance is to be attributed to these two companies alone. It is evident, then, that since lss;J our steam fleet is no longer growing, and if we enter in the accounts only the free lines we can ascertain the fact that we are losing ground.

Does this retrograde movement proceed from general commerce? Is it found in other nations? Clearly not; the table No. 3 proves this. It gives the num· ber of steamers and the tonnage of England, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy for t.he years of 1885 to 1888.

All these nations are progressing around us. In these four years the tonnage of the United States has risen 4 per cent.; that of Spain, 10 per cent.; that of England, 11.2 per cent.; that of Germany, 20 per cent.; that of Italy, 46 per cent., and ours only0.27per cent.; and if, duringthese four years, we subtract the tonnage of the company of the l\Iessageries l\laritimes, subsidized.by Government, we find that we are not even at ti. standstill, but show a pronounced tendency backward~ The fleet of the ~Iessageries l\Iaritimes was of 150,000 tons in 1885 and of 170,000 tons in 1888. If we subtract these two tonnages from the general tonnage of 1885 and 1888 we have, in 1885, 588,000 tons, and, in 1888, 561,000 tons, showing a diminution of27,000 tons, amounting to 4.8 per cent.

Tho Compo.gnie Genera.le Transatlantique, also receiving subsidies from Government, has been without marked influence on the fluctuations of tonna.ge from 1885 to 1888. In 1885 its four large steamers for the p assenger line from Havre to New York had just entered the service, and with La Normandie were adequate to the business on this line. Since that time its extension has been counterbalanced by the ruling out of vessels ln its service.

By these statistics we ascertain that France alone, among the great nations, sees its merchant service decreasing in importance. The second place she occupied in 1888, owing to her steam navigation, she has just lost. \Vill she still continue to retrograde? We can not tell; but it seems to us that this lamentable situation is to be attributed to the approach of 1891, when the premiums granted to navigation are to be abolished. Several shipping companies have ceased renewing their ships or addinir to their fleets in the fear of creating an unproductive capital. Despite the premiums granted to shipbuilding, the principal French shipyards would have remained idle and would have been compelled to dismiss their force if they had not found considerable assistance in orders received from the navy, at1siscance which is necessarily tempora.rJO.

In this connection it is not inappropriate to ca.11 to mind thj\tthe ItaJ!an ship-owners share in the premiums granted to navigation. .

No. 1.-Tablc of the principal me·rchant navies in 1888.

Sailing vessels. Steamers. Total ton-n~eby

Countries. ,.; ,.; m tiply-Q) 0 ingthatof

..0 Net .!4 ..0 Gross JJ ~ a 8 steamers tonnage. s:::: tonnage. s: by three. s:z = al = ~

oS z ~ z ~ ---- - - - ----England and colonies ... 6,180 3,524,000 1 4,88.> 6,873,000 1 25,429,000 1 France ........................... 9!!0 2-15, 000 8 490 740,000 2 2,466,000 4 Germany ...................... 1,292 '684,000 4 640 726,000 3 2,862,000 3 United States ................. J, 148 1,402,000 2 4'25 516,000 4 2, 951,000 2 Spain .................. " ......... 514 139,000 12 380 399,000 5 1, 855, 000 7 Italy .............................. 1,461 563,000 5 201 284, 000 6 1, 416,000 6 Netherlands .................. 890 166,000 10 149 191,000 7 737, 000 9 Norway .................... ..... 2, 929 1,271,000 3 829 1&5,000 8 I.827,000 5 Sweden ......................... 1,029 299,000 6 491 163,000 9 799,000 8 Austria .......................... 255 127,000 13 125 149,000 10 575,000 11 Denmark ...................... 598 119,000 14 196 110, 000 11 539,000 12 Russia ............... ............ 997 278,000 7 220 139, 000 12 696,000 10 Japan ............................ 150 40,000 15 172 134,000 13 444,000 14 Greece ........................... 865 219,000 9 84 72,000 14 535,000 13 Turkey .......................... 791 153, 000 11 84 M,oro 15 345,000 15

Ko. 2.-Table of the French merchant m'vy,from 1877to1889.

Reports.

1876-'77 ................ ... ...... ~ ...... . 1877-'78 ......................... ...... .. 1878-'79 ............................... .. 1870-'80 ................................ . 1880-'81 ............................... .. 1881-'82 ............................... . 1882-'83 ...... ... ....................... . 1883-'84 ....... ........................ .. 1884-'85 ...... ................... :: ..... . 1885-'86 .............................. . 1886-'87 ................................ . 1887-'88 ................................ . 1888-'89 ................................ .

l Total after 1---..,-----i --------:multiplica

tion by three of the

tonnage of the

steamers.

Sailing vessels. Steamers.

No.

3,&58 3,300 2,972 2,914 2, 752 2,678 2,536 2, 43-1 2,343 2, 175 2,136 2,0.J.8 2,005

Net tonnage.

72:5,000 607,000 596,000 573,000 542,000 514,000 474,000 452,000 431, 000 399,000 386,000 365,000 352,000

Ko.

314 272 275 292 33;) 361 414 458 493 505 46S 4.33 450

Gross tonnage.

334,000 319,000 335,000 356,000 421,000 464,000 561,000 667,000 737,000 750,000 744,000 722,000 752,000

1, 727, 000 1,624, 000 I. 601,000 1, 641,000 l, 814, 000 1, 906,000 2,157,000 2,453,000 2,642,000 2,649,000 2, 618,000 2,531,000 2,608,000

Ko. 3.-Table of the number of steamers and their tonnage in the last four years.

1885. lBSG.

Countries.

No. Tonnage. No. Tonnage.

England and colonies ............................ .

~:~:~;;::::::::::::·:::::.:::·::::::::::::::::::::::::::: United States .......................... ............... . !:pain .................................................... .. Italy ....................................................... .

Countries.

No.

England and colonies ................ 5, 7:5 France ....................................... 481 Germany ..... .............................. 601 United States ..................... ........ 398 Spain ......................... , ................ 380 Italy .. ........................ : ............... 192

5,712 508 559 348 401 153

6,540,000 738,000 60{,000 496,000 361,000 105,000

1887.

Tonnage. No.

6, 864, 000 5,914 732,000 490 G60, 000 640 506,000 425 388,000 380 266,000 201

5,792 609 5i9 400 401 173

1883.

Tonnage.

7,305,000 740,000 726,000 516,000 399,000 284,000

6,596,000 743, 000 655 000 roi;ooo 357,000 230,000

Per cent. of in-crease intonr yea.rs.

1L2 0.27

20 4

10 46

After a review of the foregoing facts it would be a fatal mistake for the Government to begin a system that the costly experience of the French Government should teach us will be a failure in accomplishing the object sought to be attained.

One of the main objections to the present bill is that it would only be temporary and woulO. afford no permanent relief to our merchant marine. Temporary aid, in the light of the experience of the French system, would be a failure and of no permanent benefit to our commerce.

It has been asserted that ten years of subsidies would restore our merchant marine, so that we could thereafter hold our own on the seas with all foreign competitors. No doubt the same claim was made by the movers of the French law. There is no guaranty that such would be the case, and this country could not afford to continue bounties or gratuities to ships for indefinite periods. At the expiration of the bounty period under this bill parties who aro interested and the beneficiaries of the subsidies would a~ain be asking Congress for a renewal of the bounty.

Upon the approach of the date when this French bounty would be abolished this was the condition, as we learn from these extracts, that French shipping was on the declbe, and there bas been a renewal of that law for one year, pending action of the French Commons in passing another law.

GER:nANY, ITALY, A.i.-.D NOJlWAY.

The merchant marine of Germany, until very recently, has been left by the Government to take care of itself. In the yenr 1871 the German Empire united the various German states under one government. The shipping jndustry of that country from that time has been inci·easing.

The following is the sailing and steam tonnage of the German merchant marine from January 1, 1871, to 1889: [Annual statist!cs for 1833, published by tho Imperial Germ!ln bureau of statis·

tics, Berlin, 1889.]

Years. Sailing. ,_

Steam. Total.

No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. 1871 ...................................... 4,372 900,361 147 81, 994 4,519 982,355 1872 .......................... ............ 4,352 891,660 17.5 97,030 4,529 988,690 1873 ...................................... 4,311 869,637 216 129,521 4,527 999, 158 1874 ...................................... 4,242 866,092 253 167, 633 4,495 1,033, 725 1875 ...................................... 4,303 878,385 29'.l 189, 998 4,602 1,068,SS.3 18i6 ..... _ ...................... ... ... .. 4,426 901,313 319 183,569 4,7ci5 1,084,88'..? 1877 .................................. ... 4,491 922,704 818 180, 916 4,809 1, 103,650 1878 ...................................... 4,469 934, 5.56 386 183, 379 4,805 1, 117, 93J 1879 ................ ...................... 4,453 9.t9, 467 331 179, 662 4,804 1, 129,129 1880 ...................................... 4,403 974, 943 374 196,343 4, 777 1, 171, 2SV 1881 ..................................... 4,246 965, 767 414 215, 758 4,660 1 181 5:;5 1882 ..... ................................. 4,051 ™2,759 458 2Sl, 648 4,609 1: 194:407 1883 ...................................... 3,855 915, 446 515 311,201 4,370 1, 226, 650 1884- ...................................... 3,712 894, 778 603 3t·J,6!19 4,315 l,269,-!7i 1885 ...................................... 3,607 880,345 650 4 3, 943 4,257 1,294,28'3 1886 .................................... 3,471 861,84! G6i 420,605 4,135 1,282,4~9 1887 .... ................................. 3,327 830, 789 694 4.53, 914 4,021 1,284,7o::I 1888 ...... _ .............................. 3,09-1 769,818 717 470,361 3,811 1,240,182 1883 ...................................... 2, 885 731,315 750 502,579 3,63S 1,233,89.1

From a recent letter to Capt. John Codman, which Wa.3 read beforo the committee by Captain Codman, I quote the following. The writer is a German and wa.s formerly a New York merchant. He says:

Over here we have steamship lines to all parts of tho world, flourishing without any aid, and giving 10, 12 per cent., and more dividends. New steamers are continually building and new lines established. The New York Company are buildini: fast steamers, having sold some of the old ones to France. Sloman alone


owns twenty-one steamers e.nd has several lineR. The only line that ha.s subsidy from the Government is that which runs from Bremen to the Ea.st and Australia, but with that it does not pa.y, for there is not trade enough, while the- line from here to China., without a.ny aid, ha.s just declared 10 per cent.

The German states as well as the German Empire have aiways permitted free ships to be brought in and sailed under the German flag. This policy has taught the Germans eelf-reliance, and now they have established large shipyards. They learned from other marine nations. They bought their vessels in England, studied their construction, and thus learned to repair, which finally led them to ~cquire the art of shipbuilding, and now they compete with England in this industry. 'rhey have accomplished these results without the aid of bounties, be it said to their praise, thus establishing the fact thatindividualendeavoris much better than bounty aid in bringing about permanent prosperity. We here call attention to the following protest by Hamburg merchants in reply to Prince Bismarck's proposition in the year 1881 that Germany follow the example of Franc_e by adopting legislation for the encouragement of merchant shipping, exemplifying the fact that we as a nation should learn from the Germans that Government aid will never be able to "permanently raise and elevate the shippitig interest ... ,,

Even if the French Government should extend larger monopolies a.nd subsidies to their national trade a.nd commerce, the Hamburg shipping merchants are not afraid that if let alone their own development would be injured or suffer under such adverse legislation. The growth and prosperity of national trade are, before all, created by the natural talent and disposition of the people. Governmental measures, whether they consist in throwing artificial obstacles in the way of foreign competition or in direct support of the national flag, may here and there bring temporary advantages to individual enterprises; but they will never be able permanently to raise and elevate the shipprng interest. On the contrary, as experience ha.s shown in France, they paralyze individual energy and endanger the spirit of enterprise, and affect the decline, if not the ruin, of trade. In the interest of German commerce and of the national flag the Hamburg merchants most earnestly and respectfully pray that all governmental measures for their protection be definitely set a.side.

Germany in the year 1885 adopted a law providing for the establishment and maintenance of regular German postal communication by steamers with East Asia and Australia, for which the sum of 4,400,000 marks, or $(050,000, was provided. Beyond this subsidy no further bounties are granted in Germany to any shipping interests, and all materials and articles imported from foreign countries required for the building and outfit of seagoing vessels, whether built for Germany or foreign account, are admitted duty free. The customs authorities require that an account be given at certain times of the year of the use made of such shipbuilding material. The postal subsidies thus granted in the year 1885 for the lines to China and Australia, employing twelve steamers ancl operated by one company, obviously had no effect whatever upon the steady and uniform growth of the Germ::m merchant marine, which had grown to vigorous manhood long before these two postal lines were thought of.

On examining the tonnage of Italian shipping since the passage of the bounty act we find that since 1885, in which year the Italian tonnage was 953,419 tona, the tonnage of that country decreased in 1886 to 945,677 and in 1887 fell to 895,625 tons, a sad resnlt of snch an elaborate system of bounties on construction of hulls, boilers, and engines, subsidies for sailing vessels and steamers, and premiums on the importation of coal. Instead of increasing Italian tom:iage, as was intended by the promoters of this "Rubsidy legislation," Italy finds her shipping steadily decreasing in the short space that has elapsed since the passage of an act intended to stimulate activity in the shipping trade.

Those who are advocates of the subsidy or bounty system as the means of restoring our American merchant marine may learn an interesting lesson from the result of the repeal of the Norwegian navigation laws. The Journal of the Statistical Society (tonnage statistics of the decade 1870 to 1880) says:

Speaking roundly, Norwegian tonnage in the trade of the United Kingtlom has increased nearly tenfold since the repeal of the navigation laws. It trebled in the first decade after the repeal, doubled in the next, a.nd in the la.st grew from 1,975,575 tons to 2,914,407. The largest tonnage under a.ny other foreign flag entered and cleared in the. United Kingdon in any year appears to be that under the American flag in 1860, namely: 2,734,381. In the same year the Norwegian tonnage wa.s under 1,000,000 (948,212) tons. The American bas fallen to 882,277, and the Norwegian has grown to nearly 3,000,000, as stated a.hove. • • • The whole increase under the Norwegian flag was nearly 1,000,000 tons between lRiO o.nd 1880, but the steam increase for the same period wa.s only from 27,9S2 tons to 138,276tons, conclusively showing that this remarkable place in our national return ha.s been made mainly by sailing vessels. 'Vhen it is recollected that Norw~y has not 2,000,000 of inhabitants, far less than half the population or about one-third the population of Ireland, the wonder is increased that such a. flag should head the list of foreign nations in our navigation returns.

The history of the4)ast in every case where subsidies and bounties have been resorted to n.s a means of rehabilitating a declining merchant marine bas established th~ fact that the remedy is a failure. The resort to the system of bounties and subsidies, on which the majority of the committee rely for the re-esmblishment of the American merchant marine, will also be a failure. We should therefore profit by the costly exporience of others. The system bas been n failure where it has been tried; France nnd Italy, although relying upon liberal government aid to their shipping and shipbuilding interests, exhibit a marked reduction in their tonnage, where:J.S Germany and Norway show an increase.

OUR TRADE "WITil TUE COUNTRIES SOUTil OF US.

It has been urged before the committee with a great deal of apparent earnestness by gentlemen representing lines plying between the United

States and the West Indies and Central and South America that American ships must be subsidized in order that we may obtain and hold our ahare of trade with those countries. It is not a lack of ships now that bas curtailed our trade with these countries, but the falling oil has been due to other causes.

Below is a statement showing the number anll tonnage of steam vessels engaged Jn the trade between countries south of us and the United States, ta.ken from the New York Commercial Bulletin; which was published aft?r a careful investigation of the actual lines in the trade:

A!llERICAN VESSELS. Tonnnge.

Pacific l\Iail......... ...•..... ... ... .. . ........ ......•. .. ....... .. . ...... ...... .. . ... ... ... .. . .. . .. ...... 25, 026 New York a.nd Cuba Steamship Uompany .................................•............• 14, 927

i~d~ °f>v. ~~~.~.~~~-~~~~:::::::::::: :::::~ :::::::::::: :: : :::::: ::::::::: ::::::::: ::::::::::::::. :::::: ~: m 1-toyal l\Iail .................................................. :............................................. l, 790 l\Iorga.n ........• ..... . .. ....... ....•...• ... ... ......... ....... .... .. .. . ........ ... .. . •. . ............ ......... 11, 242 Oteri's Pioneer Line (American steamers)................................................ 695 United Stateso.nd Brazil.. .................. . ..... ............................................... 8,400 New Orleans and Colombia.......................... ............................................. 1,800 .Plant Line·.·············· .......................................... :..................................... l, 625

Total... .. ..................................................................................... .. .... 79, 775 FOREIGN VESSELS.

~ i~~~~i::1 ~e::s~~f n ?d:.~~~ :.::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ." .:·.: :: : : : : :: : ::: ::: : :: :: :::: Red Cross .........................•..•.•..••...........•.....•..........••.......................•........... .Atlantic a.nd 'Vest India ................................•....................... ................. .. Honduras and Central American ............ .........•........................................ Booth .............................................................................•. .....•.................. Ne\v York and Jamaica ........•.................................................................. Atlas ........ : ..................... ......... .................................... ... .......................... . W'inchester & Co.:

Porto Rico ...........•....••........•.....................•...•...•.......... . .......................•

Ear~1i~~ - ~~~.':.:::::·::.:::::·::.:::·::.:::·.::::::::::·.:·:.:::··:::::.:::·.·:.::::::·.::·.:::::::::::::::::::::::: Sloma.n's Line ........................................................................................... . New York and Yucatan ................................•..••••..••.•...............•......... · ..... .

g~e;i:Y :r1k~~d ~~~~ <~[;~~~-.:.~~~.~~~~::::::::::::::: ::::::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: Tauras .............................. .........................................................•..•..••...... Royal Dutch a.nd West India ... ........•.•....•...........•••••.................................

~~~Y!;;1i.fu~a~sii:y~r~ .. ~.~~.~~~~·::::.:::::·.:::::::::·.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Anchor Line, 'Vest India route •...........................•..................... ·············-

4,875 2,870 3,000 1,082 2,013 7,691 3.000

22,60",)

2,000 1,000 3,000 5, 200

.2. 2!lO 1,400 1,600

622 5,250 9,000 1,500 6,000

Total. ................. ...... ""...................................................................... 85, 99G ·

It can vot be claimed that it is a lack of communication that bas prevented our trade from increasing with these countries. It is a lack of trade rather than lnck of transportation. The same paper adds:

It will be seen that there aro thirty lines in· the trade, with an approximate t·onnage of 165.771, nearly one-half of which is American. Three of the American lines, the Thur>Jer, \Vo.rd, and Red D companies, have nine new vessels, on the stocks or just completed, of ubout 5,000 aggregate tonnage. In addition there is a large "tramp" tonnage, not ta.ken into account in the a.hove statement.

This service has increased since 1883 and is ample to meet all demands of the trade, and notwithstanding the enlarged opportunities for trading which have been thus afforded to us, there bas been a decrease in the same time of our exports to the countries specified to the extent of 121 per cent. Our facilities for trading, so far as the carrying service is concerned, are especially efficient as respects the West Indies and the ports of Ucxico and Cen tr:i.l America, and yet our exports to the West Indies were $5,316,848 Jess in 1888 than they were in 1883, and to Mexico and Central America $2,934,000 less. Going further south, we !incl two lines of steamers subsidized by the Brazilian Government nnd making regular connection with onr Atlantic ports; but the exports of our industrial products to Brazil were 21! per cent. less in 1888 than they were in 1883.

A great deal of sentimentality is indulged in in the statement tbag trade follows the flag. Just why trade would be attracted by the flat is not plain for some people to understand. Trade is more liable to go where there is a dollar, and without the attraction of the dollar the flag would be soon left without a follower so far as trade is concerned.

Our merchant marine has been on the downward course for many years, dating from 1855. It ought to bo the wish of every patriotic citizen to see it restored, but that this result will not be brought about · by resorting to an artificial remedy is well established. It will take something more than a mere palliative. The cause that bas brought us to our present condition must first be removed before we will begin to permanently recover what we have lost. If the policy of subsidies is to be resorted to, let the question be considered whether it can be continued both as to time and amount, and, if it is so continued, will it pay as a permanent and fixed policy?

All other nations buy their ships where they can get them the cheapest. An American citizen can not buy a foreign-built vessel and sail it under the American flag and engage in the carrying trade between any foreign country and his own, but he may put the Americnn flag upon it ancl trade with all the countries of the world, except his own. It he brings his ship with our flag upon it to one of our ports, the narrow and short-sighted policy of our laws would confiscate it or impose prohibitory duties. He may put a foreign flag upon his own ship and briµg it to our ports without molestation from our Government.

Would it not be better to so chang-3 our navigation laws ns to allow foreign-built ships, owned by our citizens and sailed under the American flag, to come and go between this and foreign countries as free as

1891. CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-.HOUSE. 1053 the ships of foreign countries sailed under foreign flags? This law is a discrimination against our own citizens, and hence many citizens of the United States sail their ships under foreign flags because the laws of their own country are less favorable to their business. ·

Let us imitate the policy of Great Britain and repeal our restrictive navigation laws, and American pluck, intelligence, and enterprise will overcome all else, and we will again compete with the world in building and sailing ships.

Defore the Government should be comtpitted to the policy of paying subsidies to ships the right to do so should not rest upon any doubtful ground of propri~ty. Every industry, every man's business, and every man's labor will be taxed to sustain the subsidy. It would be creating and fostering a privileged class at the expense of the whole people. An eminent jurist, Justice Miller, of.the Unit.ad States Supreme Court, laid down the true doctrine when he said:

To lay with one hand the power of the Government on the property of the citizen and with the other to bestow it upon favored individuals to nid priYa~e enterprises and build up private fortunes is none the less robbery because it is done under the forms oflaw. (!-oan Association vs. Topeka, 20 'Vnllace.)

.A few years ago it was suggested to pay a bounty to the sugar-growers. The proposition at the time was not received with any consideration. Now the itlea has grown until it has been enacted into law and made a part of our system of government. Petitions have been presented to Congress askingfora bounty on wheat, and theidea...has been suggested to pay a bounty to the growers of corn, and not witbou t some reason if th is system of government paternalism is to become the settled policy of our Government. . .

At this time no industry is suffering such depression as that of agricultur<'. From every section of the United States petitions have been flowing into Congress from organized farmers' associations depicting the deplorable condition of their businei:is and asking Congress for legislation that will relieve them of the burden of excessive taxation and unjust laws. The attempt is made to convert the farmers to the support of this measure by the alluring statement that it will furnish a new market for the products of the farm. The farmer has been beguiled with the alleged advantages of .the ''home market" until his farm is mortgaged and he has become debt-ridden, discouraged, and disgusted with the whole policy of protection which creates a privileged clas8 of the few at the expense of the many. That it is the object of the promotor3 of this scheme to restore our merchant marine to the seas and to thereby create a better market for our products 1171ay well be doubted. Both of these objects may better be attained by means which will not create addition!tl burdens upon the people, but will lighten those burdens, and that is the repeal of all laws in restraint of trade. ·

In my own State of Illinois the report or the State board of agriculture for the year 1889 show~ that the total value of the corn crop for the year 1889 was $59,337,0-19 and that the t-0tal cost of the production of the same was S68,272,872, making a total lo3s to the farmers of Illinois for the year 1889 of $9, 935, 823. Upon· that showing would not the farmers of Illinllis have an equal right to demnnd subsidies with the shipowners? The claim is made by the advocates of ship subsidies that it will be·of great benefit to the farmer by me ms of furnishing transportation for his surplus procl nets and opening up new market."! for the same. The claim might be made if we lacked for means of transporLation. When any foreign country demauda our surplus product, the means of transportation will be thereby created and will be forthcoming, if it is not already at hapd, as is the case with us now.

The farming industry and all other industries as well would have the same right to be subsidized, ~nd if subsidies are to be granted upon the ground that the business of navigating ships does not pay without Government aid the farmer has as much right to demand .that the Government pay him a subsidy upon the products of his farm, that his business may become more profitable. The subsidized ship would be useless to American commerce without farm products to be transported to foreign markets, and the ships are as much dependent upon the farm products as the farmer is upon the ships in getting his products to market.

The CH.AIRl\fAN. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. SPRINGER. I ask unanimous consent that my colleague ma.y

be permitted to extend his remarks for twenty minutes, the t.ime to be taken out of the time on this side of the House.

There was no objection. Mr. FITHIAN. Would it not now be well to pause in the course

of this legislation at least long enough to consider the cost of' the experiment? The Philadelphia Record of December 16, 1890, ha.s an able article on the cost to the Government under this bill. Figures have been made by the Commissioner of Navigation and other gentlemen in regard to the cost of this bill. In my judgment all of these estimates are very lame. It is estimated by the Commissioner of Navigation that the cost to the Government, I believe, would be something like $47,000,000 for ten years.

I ask leave to print the following article, above referred to: Mr. FARQUHAR, chairman of tho" committee for reviving the Americl\n ma

rine," in his report, which will be discussed by the House of Representalive8 this week, says:

"The estimate of the commiltee is that under the terms of the bill the payment in bounties for the first year would be, for sail vessels, $1,6-14,818; steam

veasels, Sl,715,992; total, S3,360,74i. The annual increase would be a.bout 5 per cent, so that it would be eight yean before the annual bounties would a.mount to S5,000,000."

Now, the advocates of this bounty scheme have always insisted that in ten years it would increase our shipping so that it would then equal one-half of the shipping of Great Brita.in. The British tonnage is, in round numbers, 7,-500,000 tons. One-half of that would be 3,750,000 tons for which on the tenth · yenr specified in the bill the la.st a.nn ue.l bounty would be collected. The allowance up to that time is to be ao·cents. per ton on every thousand miles sailed. As in .i!:n&land t.hesteam fleet already exceeds the sailing fleet, it is fair to estimate that at the end of the ten years they would still be at least equal· and, although they will both vastly increase, we will suppose that they would remain stationary; so that the tonn'lge to be reached by us would be only the 3,750,000 tons aforesaid. ·

All vessels, on the averp.ge. are at sea at lea.st three-quarte1·s of the time, say nine months of the year. \Vith due allowance for the delay of !!ailing vessels by calms, the average rate of speed for steamers and sailing vessels would certainly be at least 5 miles nn hour. That would be 120 miles per day, 3,600 per month, and 32,400 for nine months in the year. "!Ve are to calculate for the first yenr on one-tenth of the 3,750,000 tons, nnd for the following years in proporUon. Ee.ch ton would sail in the first year 32,200 miles, for which it would receh·c $9.72-equal to $3,645,000. That does not differ materially from Mr. FAR• QUHAR's calculation. But the egregious error lies in what follows in his statement: "!Ve have for the-

Firstyee.r .............................. ...................................................... . Second year ................ .................................................................. . Thirdyel\r ................................................................................... . Fourth year ........... ....................................................................... . Fifth year ..................... . .............................................................. . Sixth year ............................................... , ................................... . Seventh year ............................................................................... . Eighlh year ..................................... ............................................. . Ninth year ................................................................................. . Tenth year ........................................................................ ........... .

$.3, 615, 000 7,290,000

10, 935,000 H,680,000 18, 22:>, 000 21,.870,000 25,515,000 29, 160,000 32, 800, 000 36,450,000

TotaJ. ................................................................................... 200, 475, 000

In ten years, therefore, if by that time we a re to equal one-half of the present Dritish tonnage, this enormous sum would be drawn from the Treasury I Nor ls that all. 'Vith this immen'ie outlay we sboul<l not approach what would be one-half of the continually increasing British tonnage nt the end of ten years; and the prophecy of the minority report would be verified. At tho end of the subsidy period shipowners would be heard to say: "By the bounty of the Government we have been induced to fn,·e8t our money in high-priced ships, built in the United States at a cost much grenter thl\n we could have bought the same ships in the open market. \Ve can not continue in the busines:1 without I\ continuation of your bounty. 'Vlll tho Government continue it or refuse it and destroy the capital we ha'l"e been induced to invest?"

Now, what will be the amount of aid that would be rendered under this bill to .American vessels in competing with British vessels in the carryin~ trade of the wo~ld? I believe the gentleman from Alaba!na [Mr. HERilERT] submitted figures showing it would only amount to a subsidy of ahout 16 per cent. I do not remember bis exact figures, but it would be of no consequence whatever. If we arc undertaking to build up our merchant marine by this subsidy bill, so that we lliay meet the merchant vessels of Great Britain and compete with them on · tbe high seas, why this subsidy would -0nly be a mere drop in tbe bucket.

Then if we are to build up a merchant marine by a system of subsidies, would this merchant marine amount to anything unless it came somewhere near approaching the merchant marine of Greut Britain? If we only reach a condition where we have one-half the tonnage of Great Britain, the figures that are submitted here, wliich I believe no- . body has ever contradicted, show tliat it would entail upon the Go•ernment of the United States a cost of ove:r $~U0,000,000. Now, the question is, why <:An we not restore this marine in a better and cbe::tper manner?

l t does not take a prophet to predict that such would be the demand made upon Congress at the expiration of tbe bounty period, and unless thi~ Congress wishes to saddle upon the American people a system of perpetual bounties it would be well to pause before this bill becomes a law. Our protective. system was proposed as a war measure, as a temporary measure, bu tatter the war ended and the necessity for the continuance of war taxes ceased, the cry was raised by the beneficiaries of the protective system that they bad been induced to invest capital on the strength of protection, and therefore war taxes should be continued. And ifone industry is to be made the recipient of the Government's bounty, why not another?

This is not a paternal government. The people must support the Government, and not the Government the people. Defore the Government can bestow upon any special class any bounty or subsidy it must first obtain the money by taxation of thew hole people. The legitimate taxi.ag power of the Government ceases with raising the necessary revenue to economically administer its affairs. After the Government bas taxed the people beyond its constitutional limit and has thereby wrong~ fully accumulated · a large surplus, unjustly wrung' from the people, what constitutional right has Congress to appropriate this money of the whole people and pay it over to shipowners as a bounty to them for navigating ships? The wrong and injustice of the idea is revolting and antagonistic to all ideas of fairness. It is unwise and unpabiotic. If the Government commences by subsidizing one interest why should it stop there? All men are created equal and are supposed to be endowed with equal rights under our form of government. If one is to have a bounty, why can not we all have it? Let us carry the subsidy scheme to its fullest extent, if we begin it at all, and give all a subsidy.

Government paternalism is a species of socialism. While men of wealth and intelligen~e insist upon Government aid for their own pri-

1054 ·coNGRESSION AL RECORD-HOUSE. J.ANU.A~Y 8,

vate enterprises they should not complain of the ignorant and un .. learned, who learn from their more intelligent brothers to ask the Government's aid for themselves. The doctrine of the socialist is that the GOvernment must care for the individual. That demand is as reason· able and is upon the same footing as the demand for subsidies to shipowners who are engaged in purely private enterprises. Good government should enact only good laws, such as would extend the benefits to all alike. A law that gives to one individual or class of individuals benefits to the exclusion of others and taxes the whole people to maintain the benefits for the few is vicious and is contrary to the fundamental doctrine of a free ~overnment, a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.· Suppose this Con~ess subsidizes ships. Other industries will soon discover that it is easier to make pro.fits by having Government aid. This policy throttles individual enterprise and removes all incentive to industry, and as a permanent system would be a curse to the thus favored industry, as well as a curse to the nntion.

From such legislation springs the doctrine of socialism of the worst kind, that form of socialism that leads to anarchy and the overthrowal of every idea of a democratic form of government. If the system is once begun, the Government must become a nursery for every interest. thereby surrendering republican principle to the illogical doctrine of socialism. The day laborer, the tradesman, the blacksmith, the carpenter, the printer, and all other classes of labor, will demand their share of Government aid under this system, a.nd who then will be left to support the Government? This system carried to its logical conclusion would neces.sarily result in the ultimatedestruclion of any government that adopts it. Once fairly under way, there would be the greatest danger ofreaching that period when all the people would look to the Government for support and none would be left to support the Government. The result would be the end of a republican form of government.

Of all its foes, socialism is the most dangerous to our system of government, and the proposition to pay subsidies or bounties to ships or any other industry is but a step in that direction.

Nor is the claim that subsidized ships will furnish cheaper transportation founded in reason. It will be found that competition, unless combinations are formed to prevent the operation of natural l::i.ws, will regnlate the price of transpor~tion, as it does everything else when left free. Combinations may exist with orwithoutsubsidies, it is true, but it is certain that subsidie.3 will not prove to be an agency to prevent combinations, and the truth is would more likelyfeedandstimulate them. The result would be, . as reason will dictate, that after the subsidy jg granted the suiJ'!idized shipowner would take his subsidy and charge current rates for transportation of freight.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I desire to call attention to the fact that we have Americans to-day sailing ships under foreign flags because they can not buyshipsand sail them under the .American flag upon th~ same terms with foreigners. Hon. John M:. Forbes, who might be denominated one of these "British emissaries," appeared before the committee nnd made this statement:

!should like to sum up my position in the respectful request that you will allow me and other Amcrie&n merchants the protection of the St.a.rs and Stripes over such ships wherever built a.s we thinkare necessary to carry on our foreign trad c successfully.

We do not ask for charity in the wa.y of sub~idios, but simply for the protcc· tion of our flag, in doing what, by treaty or by friendship, you have long allowed every Englishman, Dutchman, Frenchman, or Sandwich Islander to do.

* * * * * * * I do not ask any prtvlleges in the coast trade, but that I ca.n get my ship and

carry on competition in every other country. Tl1e 0UA1RXA.N. All yon ca.re abont is free ships? M ... FoBBES. I only nsk the protect.ion of the fi11.g. The CHAimIA..."i, You want the protection of the flag for a foreign-buiU ship? M1·. FORBES. Yes, sir. I have been driven out of the trade. Twenty-five

yeau ago I was able to carry on the trade. I was driven out in the natural course of e"Vents by iron and steel. I find that the only way in which I can carrv on my trade with China. is by going where I can build my ship 25 per cent". cheaper than I can build her here. Until I can do that I am absolutely prohibited from carrying on the trade. Englishmen and Germans carry on their trade. I can do it by covering up my ship. I want to do it under the Amrrican flag if I can. I lost not only in my carrying trade, but also in my tea. trade.

Here is a gentleman who is engaged in sailing vessels and who is compelled, as he says, to go to foreign countries to buy his ships and place a foreign flag upon them before he can carry on the business that he desires to en~age in.

Iu this connection I wish to call attention to a statement made by Mr. JOHN SIIE.Rl\IAN when the question of granting a subsidy to the Pacific },fail Steamship Company was under consideration. He said:

Since we can not build these vessels within 20 or 30 per cent. of the cost in England, why not admit them ~uty free, raise the American 1l!fog upon them, put American .officers upon their decks and have American ltnes mstea.d of British lines? Why, sir, if that bill should pass anLhorizing foreign ships when owned by American citizens to be used for three years under the American flag, one-half the llnes between New York and England would be American lines in less than sixty days.

I also ask in this connection to print in my remarks extracts from speeches of Senators MORRILL, Chandler, and Hon. Benjamin Butler, and my colleague, Hon. J. G. CANXO~, in opposition to this class of legislation. Mr. MORRILL said:

Is itpradicable to recall our shipping? r think it is, and by the simplest proc· e!JS. Not a. dollar of subsidies. Give us '!heap materials and we will do it.

Give us the gro~nd on which we stand, so that we shall have ourmaterialsjust as cheap as they can be 11.tforded elsewhere, and then a.11 these shipyards and all that skilled labor will be at work at once; and you will find tho.t we sh al I restore the balance of the shipping interests on the ocean that now stand>1 against us.

l\Ir. Chandler said: · It is desirable to own iron ships , very desirable, and I hope to see tho clay when

we shall have our old supremacy in shipping; but it never will be clone ia the world by subsidies. lt is not the subsidized lines of Great Britain that pay the largest returns. * * .. You will never restore your flag to the ocean by subsi<lies, I care not how grent you may make them; you may increase your subsidies to $10,000,000 o. year and you will not restore your flag.

Mr. Butler said: I nm opposed diametrically with nil my might, with n.11 my ju<lgmcnt, with

all my strength, to the ideas of subsidizine; any lines whatever. Tile only time when this Government attempted to subsidize a. line of steamers, the great" Col· lins Line," we not only lost our money, but we ruined those whom woundertook: to aid.

Senator EDMUNDS cleclared that it ~as as much unconstitutional and wrong to grant these subsidies to Americans as to gi \"e them to foreigners, and that he could not support them.

Hon. J. G. CANNON, during the debate on the subsidy question, February 28, 1879, used the following words:

Now, what is this proposition? Oh, it is to give John Roa.ch $3,000.000 as I\ pra.clical gratuity, and to charge that as o. ts.x on the cotton, and provisions, and tobacco, and wheat and grain, and breadstuffs, and oil, that we prod nee. 'Vhat for? To enable somebody to sell something that he has madc,whichitcost Sl..43 to mnke hero, while it costs only a dollar to make it in Europe, and both mo.nu!aoturcrs have to go to the same market, namely, Ilrazil. 'Vhy, gentlemen, if you had a business agent who proposed to do your private business in that wn.y, you would put him into a lunatic asylum or swear that he 'vas a thief or an idiot and discharge him.

Commencing in the year 1847, down to the present time rl&i9] act after act has been passecl for a. similar purpose (postal subsidiesl. I hold in my baud the official statements of the Secretary of the Navy and the Postmaster-General, which show payments of subsidies to the amount, in rou.nd numbers, of$l4,500,-000 to steamship lines during t.he period from the year l&t.8 to 1858. I hold in my hand a statement that shows subsidies to the amount of $7,000,000, in round numbers, since that time, making over $21,000,0GO that ha'·e been po.id out of the Treasury for the purpose of establishin~ steamship lines-$7,000,000 would buy o.11 the steamships enga~ed in commerce that sail unaer the American fla~ 011 every ocean in the world-and, more than that. the subsic!iz ing of these steamship lines, from the Collins lino in 18.52 up to the present time, ha.s bunkrupled every prominent man that has favored it.

I hope my colleague still entertains a similar opinion of this propo· sition to vote away the people's money for the benefit of shipowners and notably the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, that has not been a stranger to subsidy legislation in the past.

l'iir. Chairman, I expect to offer an amendment to the pendin~ bill providing for the repeal of the navigation laws and for free ships.

Mr. BLOUNT. Does that cover the coastwise trade? 1.Ir. FITHIAN. No; simply the foreign trade. Mr. SPRINGER. I ask that general leave to print may be given at

this time. There are a number of members who desire to print remarks on this subject.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. FITITIAN] to extend his remarks in the REC· ORD? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none. The gentleman's colleague [Mr. SPRINGER] asks that general lc:i.ve be given to print on this measure. Is there objection? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none, and it is so ordered.

1\Ir. WHEELER, of .Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I clo not propose to worry the House with a speech upon thi~ subject. It does seem, from all I have beard sn.hl upon this question, aml especially from the other side of the House, that this is a subject upon which no great amount of practical experience is required. If it were practicable for lawyers and Congressmen to build ships this would be n. first-class place to build them. It bas been stated by the gentleman who Inst spoke, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. FITHIAN], that the plates and the angles might be purchased abroad free and that our shipbuilders then coulcl build their ships free from the duties imposed upon the materials.

Now, I h;lve had considerable 0.."{perience in shipbuilding, having been in the business all my life, and I should not consider tb.'lt I was guilty of presumption if I should join issue with the gentleman upon that question. It would be entirely impracticable to build a ship in this country and depend upon getting the plates and angles from a foreign country, because in ordering the materials and bringing them over here mistakes are often macle. The material often proves defective and faulty, and that, too, after monthsoftime have already been consumed in getting it here in the first place. Therefore, it is necessary that shipbuilders should have t.beir works near the rolling mills which make the materials of which the ships are built. But as I have said, I will not weary the House with making a speech. I simply want to make one statement of fact.

Mr. DOCKERY. Will the gentleman allow me a suggestion just there?

Mr. WHEELER, of Michigan. Yes, if you wish. l\Ir. BOUTELLE. He bas only five minu.tes. Mr. DOCKERY. If the gentleman has only five minutes I will not

interrupt him. ~Ir. WHEELER, of Michigan. I j not want to make one plain state

ment of fact, and I will make it to the gentleman from l\lissouri because of the remark I heard him make on yesterday that he wanted to

1891. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1055 go home to his farmers and tell them what we were doing here. I want to say, l\lr. Chairman, that there is only one steamship to-day of American build and carrying the American flag in the general freight trade upon the Atlantic Ocean that was built for the general freight trade. I wish to emphasize. There is only one steamship out of all the steamships upon the Atlantic Ocean that is engaged or used in the general freight trade of the world that was built in this country, and that one was built up among the farmers on the Lakes, and was so large ·that it had to be cut· in two to be taken through the canals. All the ships in our merohant marine, except one, are of foreign build, and that one, strange to say, was built upon the fakes. I wonder it' the gentleman on the other side who has spoken for an hour and a half realizes anything about what it means to build a ship. Let us consider for a moment what this means. The ship referred to cost in round numbers $250,000, and there is another one on the stocks just like her, and the entire ship from truck to keel is built of steel, iron, and wood, which represent American labor, except the ore as it comes from Mother Earth. These materials are stewed down by American labor and put into these various forms and angles which are brought together in the manufacture of the ship. So that anyone can see at a glance that at least 90 per cent. of this whole structure is labor.

Some three hundred men for a period of eight months are employed in the shipyard in building one of these ships; a large force is in the machine shops; another large force is engaged in taking the ore from the ground; another force is running the railways and ships, carrying the ore from the mines to the furnaces; more men are employed in making the ore into pig; still another force runs the rolling mills, transforming the iron into plates and angles for the ship. And so on through a vast number of processes through which the ore bas to go, and no one will deny that this all represents labor. "

Then again comes in the furniture whi~h was manufuctured in Grand Rapids, in Michigan. So that any.one can see that the people of the West are having the first advantage of any'one in this country in pln.cing the first ship upon the Atlantic Ocean foJ; the ge~eral :freight trade, without any particular route upon which to run, but ready to go anywhere and everywhere, wherever an American product needs to be carried.

Of course this large body of men that have been employed to put this materia.l in shape for this structure have done this on wind. They have not, of course, been eating of the pork and beef and corn and wheat raised by the farmer, thereby giving him a market at home, which is better than any foreign ·market he can look for. Wherever these industries prosper our farmers share in that prosperity.

But what we want, and where thelargestbene.fitmay be derived from this commerce, is that we may have ships in the general foreign trade; ships ihat will go anywhere and everywhere that Americans can find markets for their products and where we can find business for American capitalin their ships; a trade that opens all ports. But to-day we are only engaged in our coasting trade and in one or two trades in close proximity to our country, and out of the whole number of vessels there is only one that is used in the general trade, and that ship "\vas built up in the West among those farmers who are making such a howl about Wall street.

It is owned .up there principally by a doz.en or more ditrererit men who put their money into that business because the Republican party ha.d control of both branches of Congress and of the Administration and went into power pledging itself to give relief to American shipping. These men, I say, knowing t.hat the Republicans had the power and had made the promise, put in their money and started the ball rollincr and the Republican party, I trust, are going to keep their pJedg~~ Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time, or so much of it as he may desire, to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. GROSVENOR].

Having spoken some time Ur. GROSVENOR said: My time can not well be expended. to-night, unless we are compelled to hold a long session. I am speaking now under the very greatest difficulty, and I will ask as a personal favor that the committee rise.

[l\fr. GROSVENOR withholds his remarks for revision. See Appendix.]

Mr. F ARQUHA.R. 1\fr. Chairman, I move that the committee do now rise.

The motion of Mr. FARQUHAR was agreed to. The committee accordingly rose; and the Spea.ker having resumed

the chair, Mr. BURROWS reported that the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union had had under consideration the bill S. 3738 and had come to no resolution thereon.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

Mr. KENNEDY, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that the committee had examined and found truly enrolled bills of the following titles; when the Speaker signed the same:

A bill (S. 4692) for the relief of Abraham Lisner; A bill (S. 4112) to amend section 1225 of the Revised Statutes, con

cerning details of officers of the Army and Navy to educational institutions; and

A bill (S. 902) for the erection of a public building at Sioux City, Iowa.

LEA.VE TO WITIIDRAW PAPERS.

By unanimous consent, leave was granted to Mr. GE.An. to with4

draw the papers filed in the case of D. Mackay. LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted as follows: To .l\Ir. PRICE, for one.week, on account of important business. To Mr. KEBn., of Pennsylvania, for this day, on account of sickness.

STEAU VESSELS OF THE GREAT LAKES.

Mr. FARQUHAR . . Mr. Speaker, I ask to have printed in the REC· ORD the petition of n. large association on the lakes in respect to a bill regarding line-carrying pr~jectiles.

There was no objection. The petition is as follows: At the annual convention of the Excelsior l\.tarine Benevolent Association,

held at Buffalo, N. Y., OI]. the 6th day of January, 1891, the following protest and petition was unanimously adopted and copies thereof, properly attested, were ordered sent to Hon. JoHN l\L FARQUHAR, Hon. T. E. HURTON, and Hon. CHARLES S. BAKRn, members of the House of Representatives:

PROTEST AYD PETITION, The Excelsior :\Iarinc Benevolent Association, an organization composed of

masters of vessels on the Great Lakes, and embracing nearly all such masters, in annual convention assembled at Buffa.lo, N. Y., January 6, 1891, delegations being present from Buffalo, N. Y., Cleveland, Ohio, Port Huron, l\.tich., and Chicago, Ill., hereby _protests against the action of Congress in i·equiring steam vessels on the Great Lakes to carry line-carrying projectiles and the means of propelling them, and reRpectfully petitions Congress that it will repeal the law requiring the carriage of such projectiles so far as the lakes and other inland waters are concerned.

We feel that our experience as masters of lake craft makes us better able than anyone else to judge of the usefulness of such apparatus under the conditions which prevo.il in lake navigation, and we do not hesitate to give it as our deliberate and unanimous opinion, based on our knowledge and experience, that such appliances are utterly impracticable and useless on our vessel8 either for the purpose of saving life or for any other purpose. We can not recall any marine disaster on the Great Lakes where lives were lost which might have been saved by the use of Ule apparatus in question, nor can we think of any class of"dfsa.sters to our vessels where such an appliance could serve any useful purpose. To require steam vessels on the Great J,akes to fit themselves out with such appliances we regard as an outrage on their owners, and we can see no possible benefit to anybody from such a.requirement, except to the patentees and manufacturers of the nppara.tus, who are enabled by the existing law to sell useless articles at monopoly prices, and who thus have vessel-owners at their mercy.

In addition to their uselessness as life-saving appliances, .the guns, rockets, cartridges, and projectiles required by existing law might. well prove a source of danger on board of our vessels, especially in case of fire, when the explosive character of the-apparatus would increa.se the danger of those on board. The entire impracticability of the appliance becomes further apparent when its exact character is examined. The most that can be accomplished by the successful use of it would be to get a small line from a stranded vessel to the ehore. This would be of no value whatever without a.s.'4i!.'tance on the shore. In case such assistance were available, which is most unlikely on the lakes. a. larger line might possible be got ashore. To make this line of any use in saving life, all the outfit of a life-saving station would have to be brought i::.to use. 'Vithont such outfit, nothing affective could be done. It is not necessary to add that such outfit would not be at hand, and that, if it were, it could not be successfully used by the crew or shore assistance, who would have no experience or training in its use.

Tht' attempt to use for life-saving purposes the apparatus required to be carried by existing law would, in our judgment, result .in moro Jives lost than saved. We therefore regard the appliance in question as both useless and dangerous, and the law reqniring it to be carried on our steamers as pernicious and in the interest of designing monopolists. The merchant marine of the countzy should have the watchful attention at the hands of Congress which its usefulness to the public justifies, and a. law like the one in question, which tends to cripple it by imposing on vessel-owners unnecessary expenditure for impracticable patent devices, should be promptly repealed. . Alex:. Clark, president; F. D. 'Velcome, first vice president; John

R. Dipett,second vice president; J. l\I. Todd, secretary. Delegates from Cleveland, Ohio: Ed. Kelley, J.B. Hall, H.,V. Stone, G. B. Mallory.,1 Wm. S. Mack, R. J. Cowley, J. A. Holn::es, Thos. Jones, John Nelson, W. A. Collier. Delegates from Port Huron, Mich.: J. H. Ibers, W. A. Ashley. Delegates from Saginaw, Mfob.: J. 8. MeNeiU, D . .l\f. Pierce. Delegu.tes from Chica.go, Ill.: Jas. Hogan, J. N. Comstock, G. W. Pardee, J. O. Wood.

MESSAGE FROM THE SEN.A.TE.

A message from the Senate, by Ur. PLATT, one of their clerks, announced that the Senate had passed with an amendment the bill (H. R. 5380) to provide forthe construction of a public building at Davenport, Iowa, in which concurrence was requested, and asked a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes thereon, and bad appointed Mr. VEST, l\1r. SPOONER, and Mr. MORRILL as conferees on the part of the Sennte.

PUDLIC lJUILDTifG AT YOUXGSTOWS t omo. l\Ir. MILLIKEN. l\1r. Speaker, I present a conference report. The Clerk read as follows:

The comm.itteo of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Ilouses on the amendment of the Honse to the bill (S. 507) to provide fot the erection of a public building nt Youngstown, Ohio, having met, after full and free conference have a.greed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Ilouses as follows:

That the Senate recede from its disagreements to the amendments of the House, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

In lieu of the part proposed to be stricken out, strike out a.II alter the word "dollars," in line 11, to the end of the bill, and insert:

"Proposalsforthesa.leoflamlsuitn.bleforsaidsiteshall be invited by public advertisement in one or more of the newspapers of said city of largest circulation for at lea.st twenty days prior to the date specified in said advertisement-for the opening of said proposals.

••Proposals made in respom1e to ~Id ad\"ertisement shall be addressed and mniled to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall then cause the said proposed

I sites, and such others as he inay think proper to designate, to be e:xa.mined in person by an ag-ent of the Treasury Department, who shall make written re-

\

1056 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· HOUSE. J .A.NU ARY 8,

port to s.lid Secretary of the results of said examination, and of his recommendation thereon, and the reasons therefor, which shall be accompanied by the original proposals and all maps, plats, and statements which shall have come into his possession relating to said proposed sites. .

"U, upon consideration ofsa.id report and accompanying papers, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deem further investigation necessary, he may appoint a commission of not more than three persons, one of whom shall be an officer of the Treasury Department, which commission shall also examine the said proposed sites, and such others as the Secretary of the Treasury may designate, and grant such hearings in relation thereto as they shall deem necessary; and said commission shall, within thirty days after such examination, make to the Secretary of the Treasury written report of their conclusion in the premises, accompanied by all statements, maps, plats, or documents taken by or submitted to them, in like manner as herein before provided in regard to the proceedings of said agent of the Treasury D epartment; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall thereupon finally determine the location of the building to be erected. .

"The compensation of said commissioners shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasnry, but the same shall not exceed $6 per day and actual traveling expenses: Pl'ovided, however, That the member of said commission appointed from the Treasury Department shall be paid only his actual traveling expenses.

•·No money shall be used for the purpose mentioned until a valid title to the site for said building shall be vested in the United States, nor until the State of Ohio shall have ceded to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the same, during the time the United States shall be or remain the owner thereof, for all purposes except t.he administration of the criminal.laws of said State and the service of civil process therein.

"The building shall be unexposed to danger from fire by an open space of at least 40 feet on each side, including streets and n.Ueys."

The statement is as follows:

S. L. l\IILLIKEN, P. S. POST,

Managers on the part of the House. .JOHN O.· SPOONER, G.G. VEST,

Managers on the part of the Senate.

The effect of the amendments as agreed to in conference is to leave the bill as amended by the House with cert.a.in verbal amendments to make the bill conform throughout to the House amendments, excludlngclause3 that became surplusage in the bill as amended by the House.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the nuoptionof the eonfer~nce report.

The question was taken; an<l the report of the committee of conference was adopted.

PUDLIC BUILDING AT FORT DODG~ IOWA.

Mr. MILLIKEN. I offer another conference report. The report is as follows:

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the llouse to the bill (S. 953) for the erection of a public builuing nt Fort Dodge, Iowa, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:

That the Senate recede from its disagreements to the amendments of the House, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

In lieu of the part proposed to be stricken out, strike out all arter the word "dollars," in line 11, and insert:

·•Proposals for the sale of land suitable for said site shall be invited by public ad vertiscment in one or more of the newspapers of said city of largest circulation for at least twenty days prior to the de.to specified in said advertisement for the opening of said proposals.

"Proposals made in response to said advertisement shall be addressed and mailed to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall then cause the said proposed sites, and such others as he may think proper to designate, to be examined in person by an agent of the Treasury Department, who shall make ·written report to said Secretary of the 1'esults of said examination, and of his recommendation thereon, and the reasons therefor, which shall beRccompanied by the original proposals and all maps, plats, and statements which shall have come into his possession relating to said proposed sites.

"!f, upon consideration of sa id report and accompanying papers, the Secre· tnry of the Treasury shall deemfurtheriuvestigat.ion necessary, he may appoint a commission of not. more than three persons, one of whom shall be an officer of the Treasury Department, which commission shall also examine the said proposed sites, and such others M the Secretary of the Treasury may designate, and grant such hearings in relation thereto as they shall deem necessary; and said commission shall, within thirty days after such examination, make to the Secretary of the Treasury written report of their conclusion In the premises, nccompanied by all statements, maps, plats, or documents ta.ken by or submittetl to them, in like manner as herein before provided in re~nrd to the proceedings of said agent of the Treasury Department; and the Secretary or the Trcasmy shall thereupon finally determine the location of the building to be erected.

"The compensation of said commissioners shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury, but the same shall not exceed S6 per day and actual tre.'reling expenses: Provided, however, Thatthe member of said commission appointed from the Treasury Department shall be paid only his actual traveling expenses.

"No money shall be used for the purpose mentioned until a valid title to the site for 5aid building shall be vested In the United States, nor until the State of Iowa shall h11ove ceded to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the so.me, during the time the United States shall be or remain the owner thereof, for all purposes except the administration of the criminal laws of said State and the service of civil process therein.

·•The building shall be unexposed to danirer from fire by an open space of at least 40 feet on each side, including streets and alleys."

8. L. MILLIKE:'.'i, P. 8. POST,

During the reading of the report,

Managers on the part of the House. JOHN C. SPOONER, G. G. VEST,

Managers on the part of the Senate.

Mr. MILLIKEN said: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the formal part of the report be omitted in these confer-ence reports, as they are all exactly alike. .

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Maine asks unanimous consent that the formal part of the report be omitted, and that it be printed in the RECORD, it being the same in all cases.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Arknnsas. I would like a statement in regai:d to them.

l\1r. MILLIKEN. I will state that in all these cases the report sus tnina the action of the House, and the changes are simply verbal.

Mr. BYNUM. Is this the only report the gentleman from l\Iaine has?

Mr. MILLIKEN. There are two others, but they are all alike. I make this request simply to save time.

The SPEAKER. Is the:re objection to the request of the gentleman from Maine?

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, of Arkansas. I will not make objection as to this bill; but let us tako the others in order.

The statement is as follows: The effect or the report is to perfect tbe bill as amended and pasRed by the

House.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the adoption of the report. The question was taken; and tho report of the committee of con

ference was adopted.

PUBLIC BUILDING .AT LEWISTON, ?!IE.

:Mr. MILLIKEN. I now present another conference report. The report is as follows: The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two llouses on

the amendments of the House to the bill (S. 24C5) to provide for tho purchase of :i. site and the erection of a public building thereon at Lewiston, int.he State of l\Iaine, having met, after a full a.nd free conference have agreed to recommend ancl do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:

'rhat the Senate recede from its disagreements to the amendments of the IIouse, and agree to the same with an amendment ns follows: Strike ont all after tho word" dollars," in line 10, and insert: ·

"Proposals for the sale of land suitable for said site shall be invited by public advertisement In one or more of the newspapers of said city of largest circulation for at least twenty days prior to the dn.te specified in said advertisement for the opening of said proposals.

"Proposals ma.de in response to said ad\"ertisement shall be addressed and mailed to the Secretary or t.Qe 'l'ren.sury, who shall then cause the said proposed sites, and such others as ho may think proper to designate to be examined in person by a.n agent of the Treasury Department, \vho shah make written report to said Secretary of the results of said examination, and of his recommen· dation thereon, anti the reasons therefor, which shall be accompanied by the original proposals and all maps, plats, and statements which shall have come into his possession relating to said proposed sites.

"If, upon consideration of said report and accompanying papers, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deem further in \"estigation necessary, he may appoint · a commission of not more than three persons, one of whom shall be a.n officer olthe Treasury Department, which commission shall also examine the said · proposed sites, and such others as the Sec1·ctary of the 'l'rensury may designate, and grant such hearings in relation thereto as they shall deem nccess11.ry; and said commission shall, within thirty days Rfter such examination, make to tho Secretary of the Trea sury written report of their conclusion in the premises, accompanied by all statements, maps, plats, or documents taken by or submitted to them, in like manner as herein before provided in regard to the proceedings of said agent of the Treasury Department; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall thereupon finally determine tho location of the building to be erected.

"The compensation of said commissioners shall be fixed by the Secretary of · the Treasury, bat the same shall not exceed $G per day and actual traveling expenses: Provided, however, That t.he member of said commission appointed from the Treasury Department shall be paid only bis actual traveling expenses.

••No money shall be used for the purpose mentioned until a valid title to the site for said building shall be veRted in the United States, nor until the State of . Maine shall have ceded to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the same. during the time the United Rtates shall be or remain the owner thereof, for all purposes except the administration of the criminal laws of said 8tatc and the service of civil process therein.

"The building shall be unexposed to dani:;er from fire by an open !!pace of at least 40 feet on each side, including streets and alleys."

· s. L. MILLIKEN, P. S. l'OST,

.lllanagers on the part of the Rouse. I .JOHN 0. SPOONER,

G.G. VEST, Mmrngers on the pa1·t of the Senate.

During the reading of the report, l\fr. l\f!LI,IKEN eaiu: I ask unanimous consent that the reading of

the formal part of the report may be omitted in this case also. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman

from Maine ? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none, and it is so or- · dered.

The statement is as follows: The effect of the report is to perfect the bill as amended and passed by the

House. ·

The SPEAKER. The question is on the adoption of the report. The qu~tion was taken; and the report of the committee of confer·

cnce was adopted. PUBLIC BUILDING AT IIA VERRILL, ?IIASS.

Mr. MILLIKEN. I present another conference report. The Clerk read as follows:

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the House to the bill (S. 3417) to provide for the purchase of . a site and t.he erection of a public building thereon at Haverhill, in the 8tate of l\Inssachusetts

1 having met, after a full and free conference have agreed to rec·

om mend and ao recommend to their respective IIouses as follows: That the Senate recede from its disagreements to the amendments of the House

and agree to the same wltb an amendment n.s follows--

1\fr. :MILLIKEN. I now ask unanimous consent that the reading of the formal part of the report be omitted.

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