The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-01-25
FROM WASHINGTON.
AERIAL TELEGRAPHY.


rent-rsachng to all parts of the earth. He
proposes therefore to erect tower aud app ,ra, as
ON the highes, peak Of the Rocky Mountains and
another On the highest peak Of the Alps. and
without any connecting wire to establish perfect
tsiesraphlc communication between the two.
Ground connections between the tvs points, as
IN Ordinary tecgrsphy, Can be erected without
limit. Congrsss must have some faith in the
scheme, wild as it looks, or it would hardly have
gravely passed a charter to bring it to a practi.
cal test.
LETTER POSTAGE.
The post office committee of the house have
agreed bill to reduce letter postage to two
cents, and to require all printed matter passing
through the mails t. be prepaid, except weekly
newspapers. which are to circulate free in the
counties where printed, at present.
CONTESTED ELECTION swINDLE.
One OF the meaneat swlndles, which has grown
into gigantic abuse ut Washington, is the mat.
ter OF contested elections. A h.grant case just
decided is that Of Bowen VS.. De Large. at the
election IN South Carolina two years ego, Bowen
and De Large were opposing candidates for con.
gross. Bowen Was fairly elected, but having
just been pardoncd out OF the peni.entiary by
the President, feared expulsion if be took his
seat at Washington, and therefore, by an ar.
rangement with De Large, consented that the
certificate Of election should be Issued to, the
latter, while Bowen would contest his seat in
such way IS not to Dust De Large until the
close of his term. Aud this arrangement has ac
tuslly been carried out De L,tge has occupied
the seat and drawn his pty-some $12 O00-and
now the committee on elections decide that Bow.
en- was elected, and he also draws bis p.y
$4,000. There are half dozen more lust
such c..e. still pending and which will To decid-
ed in the same WY before tho 4th of March.
INTERNAL WATER COMMUNICATION.
The House set aside the 18th Of February for
the consideration Of the stnpendous internal i'm.
provements recommended by the President ia
his message, embracing the K.nawha and jane.
River canal, the Niagara ship canal and the At.
lantio and Great Western canal. The rroposi.
ton passed ~ TAG to 30, which lie reg ardsd as
favorable feeling toward. the schemes.
BANkRUPT LAW REpEALED.
The House on Monday, near the adjournment,
and when hardly quorum was present, rushed
through, without Allo wing word of debate, .
bill repe.l:ng the general bankrup. law. Strong
efforts will be made 10 defest it in the Senate.
sLooPs OF WAR.
The House bill for new sloops of war b..
passed the Sen.te with an smsn ment providing
for 10 instead Of g. and limiting thsir tonnage to
10000 ssob. 100000 are appropriated to
"begin on"
FRANkING PRIVILEGE.
The Senate on Thursday, passed the house
bill TO sbolisn the trankns privilege, with i'm.
por..ut anne iments. Ittae House coucur the
bill 10 to 10 into sfec, on the first day Of July
next.
CREDIT MoBILIER INVESTIGATION.
The Credit Mobllier investigation has reached
. stage whore the thing is becoming serious
Durant's declaration that he had paid 10000
Pacific Railroad money towards the election Of
the pious Harlan to the L. S. senate in 1864
was met by Harlan, in the paper he is now edit.
ing at Washington, by the statement that doubt.
less Durant may have contributed money for
election purposes in Iowa in 1864, IS others had
done, lcgitimatcly, but none had ever been paid
TO him (Hsrlan) personally, or to aid him direct.
". But Durant comes back and swears that bic
two checks OF 5000 each were paid to Harlan
personally
But this is not the worst of it. On Thursday
Cakes Ames said, between the two committees
now investigating the Credit Nobilicr business,
he had been deviled so much that he should
stand it 10 longer, but would make clean
upon proceeded positively TO inculpste reprsseu.
tatives Bingham, Scofi-ld, Dawes and Kelly, {.
Pennsylvania, aul Vice President Colfax and
Senator Patterson, of New Hampshire. With
the exception OF Bin CHAM, who, it will be re.
membered. admitted receiving the stocks and
dividends, Ames contraiicted most Of the state.
ments which the others b al inside in their own
defence before the committee. Ho took up tho
list and told the truth, as he phrssed il, about
each one, the sum and substance Of which is that
Coliax, Patterson, Kelly, Dawes Scofield and
Bingham all took the Credit Mobilier stock and
bonds at a nominal price and received dividends
thereon. Ames testified specifically that he paid
Colf,x one Of three dividends with check
marked payable to IS. q. or bearer" and that he
also paid Ksly as "W. d. H. his initials Col.
fax WAS present VIXEN Ames brought out his
memorandum book, and swore direct that he hsd
paid Cofax dividends, and seemed greatly eXsr.
al sad NJ ~. fNy afr Ant