CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



201 



made among the old and new States for the 

 equal and common benefit of all. That is my 

 answer to that question. 



"I have done with the constitutional ques- 

 tion, as my time will not allow me to go into 

 it further. I put it upon this ground : Show 

 me the gran tea power of how this bill is neces- 

 sary and proper to carry into effect an ex- 

 pressly granted power, or before God and 

 under my oath I cannot vote for it. 



" Talk about sentimental patriotism ! I have 

 as much of it as most people, but my senti- 

 mental patriotism will not allow me to triHe 

 with the solemn obligation I took at the 

 Speaker's desk when I was sworn in as a 

 member of this House. 



" Now, sir, I put it on another ground and I 

 beg my Democratic friends around me to hear 

 me, and I beg the gentlemen on the Republican 

 side of this Chamber to hear me I put it on 

 the ground that the only limit to this growing 

 corruption in the country is a limitation upon 

 the power of the Government. If you would 

 advertise to this country that any scheme that 

 a plausible committee or commission can in- 

 duce gentlemen to strain themselves -up to the 

 point of believing to be for the general welfare 

 is open to the exercise of power by this Con- 

 gress, I tell you, sir, it will be an advertise- 

 ment for jobbers ; and the lobby will be so 

 filled that its agents 'will push us from our 

 stools,' and drive its members from this House. 

 But whenever it comes to that, the people of 

 the country will say, ' Thank God, they shall not 

 sit here any longer! ' Whenever you claim 

 power to do anything which you may judge 

 for the general welfare, you proclaim to the 

 country and to all its schemers and jobbers 

 this invitation : ' Have any of you any scheme 

 you think for the general welfare ? If so, bring 

 it forward ! ' There will be no lack of them, 

 sir, and the lobbyists out there will corrupt 

 this body if it is corruptible. Your Credits 

 Mobiliers, your railroad schemes, and all your 

 other thousand plans for plunder upon the pub- 

 lic Treasury and upon the tax-paying and the 

 tax-burdened people of the land, will be with- 

 out remedy. There is only one remedy, and 

 that is to limit power ; but there is no limita- 

 tion of power, if this Government can do any- 

 thing it pleases upon the ground of 'general 

 welfare.' " 



Mr. Springer, of Illinois said: "I move to 

 amend the bill by striking out the words ' share 

 equally with the holders of the said centennial 

 stock, and a like percentage thereon be paid 

 into the Treasury of the United States as may 

 be paid to the holders of the said stock,' and 

 in>rrting in lieu thereof the words 'to be paid 

 in full into the Treasury of the United States 

 before any dividend or percentage of the profits 

 shall be paid to the holders of said stock.' 



" The object of this amendment is to provide 

 that, if there should bo a dividend when this 

 exhibition is over, the United States shall come 

 in as a preferred creditor, instead of sharing 



equally, as this bill now provides, with the 

 stockholders of this corporation. In other 

 words, tin- United States having made a volun- 

 tary contribution, as this bill provides, we shall 

 be first entitled to have the people's money 

 back before any of it goes into the pockets of 

 private individuals as a dividend. 



" Before I sit down I desire to say that, while 

 I am anxious for the full success of this cen- 

 tennial exhibition, at the same time I regard 

 this bill as simply a proposition to place in the 

 treasury of the finance board $1,500,000 to be 

 divided among the stockholders after this ex- 

 hibition is completed. If we pass this bill, 

 they will have $1,500,000 more to divide ; if we 

 do not pass it, they will have $1,500,000 less. 



" We have farmed out this exhibition to a 

 corporation which is rich enough to pay its 

 own way, and is to receive all the advantages 

 and receipts of the exhibition." 

 ' The bill having been reported from the Com- 

 mittee of the Whole, the Speaker said : 



"The first question is on the amendment of 

 the gentleman from Illinois." 



The question being put on the amendment, 

 it was agreed to. 



The Speaker : " The question is next on the 

 amendment of the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 

 Kasson)." 



The Clerk read as follows : 



Add to the bill the following : 



SEC. 2. That the money by this act appropriated 

 shall be paid to the treasurer of the centennial 

 board of finance, only after he and the president of 

 the board shall execute a bond in the sum of $500,000 

 to the United States, with sufficient security, to be 

 approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the 

 safe-keeping and faithful disbursement of the sum 

 hereby appropriated. 



The amendment was agreed to. 



The bill, as amended, was ordered to be en- 

 grossed and read a third time ; and being en- 

 grossed, it was accordingly read the third time. 



The question was taken, and resulted as fol- 

 lows: 



YEAS Messrs. Adams, George A. Bagley, William 

 H. Maker. Malloii, Banks, Banning, Barnum, Bass, 

 Blaine, Blair, Bliss, Bradley, William R. Brown, 

 Burleigh, Cason, Caswell, Cllapin. Chittenden, (Jlv- 

 mer, Crapo, Crounse ? Cutler, Danford, Darrall, 

 Davy, Denison, Dobbins, Dunnell, Eames, Egbert, 

 Ellis, Farwell, Forney, Foster, Freeman. Frost, Fryi-, 

 Garfield, Gause, Gibson, Hale. Hancock, Haralson, 

 Hurdenbergh, Benjamin W. Harris, Harrison. Ha- 

 thorn, Abram S.Hewitt, Hill, Hoar, Hoge, Ilonkin*, 

 Hubbell, Hunter, Hurlbut, Hyman, Jenks, Thomas 

 L. Jones, Kasson, Kelley, Ketchum, King, Lamar, 

 George M. Landers, Lane, Lapham. Lawrence, Leav- 

 enwortli, Levy, Luttrell, Edmund W. M. Mackev, 

 Levi A. Mackey, Magoon. Maish, MaoDougall, 

 McCrary, MoDill, Meade, Miller, Money, Monroe, 

 Morey, Morgan, Mutchler, Nash, Norton, O'Brien, 

 Oliver O'Neill.Page, William A.Phillips, Pierce. I'i- 

 per, Plaisted, Platt. Powell, Pratt, Purman, Ruim-y. 

 Randall, Reagan .John Reillv, John Bobbins, Wil- 

 liam M. Bobbins, Roberts, Miles Ross, Sobieski Ross, 

 Sampson, Schleicher, Schumaker, Seelyo, Sinniok- 

 non, Siemens, Smalls, A. Herr Smith. Strait, Stow- 

 ell, Swann, Tarbox, Teese, Thompson, Throckmor- 

 ton, Martin I. Townsend, Washington Townsend, 

 Van Vorhes, Waddell, Alexander S. Wallace, John 



