Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-02-13
CONGRESSIONAL MATTERS.

''-N'i.E''tb-N-Ai hAl
WASHINGTON, Feb. ll.-General Daniel
Ruggles of Virginia, before the Senate COM
mittee on agriculture, today, explained his
method of precipitating rainialls by sending
up to the cloud realm cartridges of dynamite
or other explosives in skeleton balloons and
exploding them either by time fuses or cleo
tricity. Ruggles claims that diffused mists
passing over arid regions or localities suffer
ing from unusual drought, may readily be
consolidated into rainfalls by conclusions
and vibrations thus artiiicially produced. lie
suggested a small appropriation for expen-
diture by the commissioner of agriculture to
test the practicahility of aiding the agricul-
tural interests of the country in this manner
The committee requested him to prepare an
amplifed memorial on the subject.
The house committee on Indian affairs
agreed to report favorably a bill providing
for the sale of certain lands in Kansas al
lotted to thirty-two New York Indians. The
bill provides that the proceeds he paid into
the treasury in trust for said Indians, To he
paid them upon satisfactory proof Of their
identity.
The bill reported 10y Senator Garland i'm
poses fine Of not more than $500 and not
more than five years Imprisonment upon
persons guilty of bigamy. Ii provides that
in any case Of prosecution for bigamy any
person drawnas juryman may he challenged,
if he practices bigamy or polygamy or if he
believes it morally, religiOusly or legally
right for man to have more than one wife.
1t also authorizes the President to grant
amnesty TO offenders against the law for Of
fences committed before Jan. 1st 1879.
The bill provides that the issue of plural or
Mormon marriages born before Nov. LIST,
al, 10. 1 l..
THE SENATE REJECTS TIE NOMINATIONS FOR
CENSUS SUPERVISORS IN ONO.
The Senate, to-day, rejected all the NOM
nations OF census supervisors for the eight
districts of Ohio. This was the result of a
session of three hOnrs, during which the
reasons for the majoriiy'S action on these NOM
nations We're distinctly stated and their
purpose i'll regard to the remainder of the
supervisors nominations significantly fore
Swallowed. Pendleton, chairman of the
census commission. who reported the Ohio
nominations adversely, explained that the
adverse report had no reference TO the per-
sonal character of the nominees. but was
based solely upon the ground that the
President in nominating eight republicans
and not single democrat TO appoint emu
merators and supervise the taking of the
III tlllb, inc spirit OF
the census law and ignored the distinct un-
Outstanding Of both parties in Congress,
when the bill passed, that the supervisors
as well rs the cnumeraiOrs should be
appointed irrespective of party No
special restriction of this sort had been in
serted In regard To the supervisors las was
the case IN regard to enumeratorS) simply be-
cause it was considered on all hands to be I'M
necessary, especially in view of the remarks
made by the republicans in debate. tina;
the Democrats could control the confirma-
tions by means of their aSccndencv in the
Senate. Some showing Of non-partsanship
had been made in the appointments of super
visors for some states but in most Of them
the democrats had been wholly ignored by
the President. This case of Ohio WAS a
glazing instance of partisanShip of select
sense. for although half of the people of
Ohio are democrats, and the state has two
democratic Senators and eleven democratic |
Representatives in Congress, the President
had not appointed one democratic supervisor |
To assist in taking her census Pendletun |
agreed that in view of the fact that this |
census will be the basis for the appOrtion- |
ment of the representation in Congress and |
i'll state legislatures il is of the highest i'm
portance not only that supervisors shall be |
personally competent. but that the results of |
their labOrs slr;fil be above suspicion from |
any standpoint, political or otherwise.
Thurston also spoke at considerable length
in the same line OF argument.