Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-04-07

main BODY, which weighed 437 pounds.
The Leading men of the Pacific Rail-
road companies, among them Jay Gould,
Sidney Dillon, Daniel Huntington and
James R. Keen, will be summoned by
the subcommittee ofinquiry of the House
Committee on Pacific Railroads in Con-
gress to testify regarding the contract
made between the transcontinental COM
panies and the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company, by which the former have sub
sidized the latter to keep up freight rates.
The committee will endeavor to ascertain
whether the contract is violation of law
and against the public welfare.
Mr.. BLAINE AND THE MAsoNs.-
WASHINGTON, March 29.-There is
widely-circulated report that Senator
Blaine has written an anti-Masonic letter
that is calculated to do him much injury
with the craft. Senator Blaine said to-
day that the statement was not only false
but absurd. Among the hundreds of
letters reaching Mr. Blaine every day
was one from Chicago asking if he was
Maon, and if he was intending to be
present at the Knights Templar gather
ing in Chicago in August next. Mr..
Blaines private secretary, Mr.. Thomas
Sherman, himself Mason, answered that
MIR. Blaine was not member of the fra
ternity, and could not be present at the
gathering, and that is all there was of
It.
A bill extending the time for the COM
pletion of the Northern Pacific Railroad
has been agreed upon by the Senate
Committee on Railroads, but it is likely
to meet with opposition in the Senate on
account of being coupled with a similar
bill in the interest of the Texas Pacific
which is opposed by the friends of the
Southern Pacific Railroad. The North
ern Pacific Railroad is assuredly entitled
to have the time extended for the compile
ton of its line and this act of justice
should not be rendered doubtful by COM
plicating the matter with the Southern
and Texas rival schemes.
FoREIGN.-BERLIN, March 31.-The
confirmation of the daughters of the late
Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victo-
ria and wife of Louis ", Grand Duke
OF Hesse-Darmstadt, took place to-day in
the royal chapel at Darmstadt. The young
princesses are Victoria Alberta, Elizabeth
Louise and Irene Mary They are re-
spectively II, Is and IA years of age.
The ceremony, which was that of the
Lutheran Church, was very elaborate
and impressive, and was performed in
the presence of Queen Victoria, the
Prince and Princess of Wales and Prin-
cess Beatrice, who had come from Eng
land especially to witness it, and several
members of the Imperial family of Ger
many and notables of the Grand Duchy,
More Chinese are reported to have
crossed the AMOR river into Russian
territory, and the Russian government is
considering the expediency of purchasing
arms and ammunition in America and
shipping them to Viadivostock to equip
the army which is being raised in the
Anon provinces for the purpose of with
standing the anticipated Chinese attack.
1t is also in contemplation to purchase
large quantity of coal in America for
shipment to Vladivostock to supply the
Russian fleet in the Pacific. The prepa-
rations for formidable Mohammedan
movement against China are believed to
be already set on foot.