Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-12-20

L
Mcmillan Offers Bill Reviving the In
come ax-Pitney Peaches on His Pals =
More Appointments.
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 19.-The senate judlcl.
ary committee have unanimously agreed to
report back the nomination of Benjamin d.
Brewster for attorney general with the recon-
mendation that it be confirmed. The senate
committee on naval affairs have decided 10
POSTPONE action on the nomination of Pay Di-
rector Watmouth to be paymaster-gen
and all other contested navy nominations,
until after the holidays. Secretary Freling-
huysen took possession Of the state depart
ment.
CONTINGENT FUND INVESTIGATION.
The contingent fund investigating commit
| tee at this mornings session examined PitneY
very closely about the manner of disbursing
the contingent fund heretofore in the treasury,
| the laws for its disbursement, wherein these
| laws had been violated, who was responsible
| for these violations, and SO on. Pitney testl:
| fled freely and tells straightforward story
| Said person who has heard his testimony.
| s'Pitney is telling all he knows without reser-
vation, and he knows great deal. He has in
effect turned states evidence"
The Meline report was the basis of to-day q
proceedings in the contingent fund investiga-
| tion, and Pitney was questioned in regard to
| the manner of disbursing the contingent fund,
| and the laws and governing the disbursement
when he was custodian of the fund. 1t is
stated that he told plain, straight forward
story, giving to the committee all the informa-
tion he possessed concerning the alleged irreg
ularities. Members of the committee refuse
to disclose his testimony further than to say
he has not yet communicated anything OF
startling nature.
NOMINATIONS.
The president has nominated T. G. Acton,
assistant treasurer OF the United States, at
New York; Horace Gray, Massachusetts, asso-
ciate justice of the supreme court of the United
States to the Republic of Chilli, Peru and BO-
livia; George M. Duskin, attorney of the
United States for the Southern district of Ala
bama.
Resolutions were introduced in the house
to-day asking for information concerning
American citizens confined in British pris-
ons, and in regard to the discontinuance of
| the star route service.
The president sent in to-day another batch
of nominations for postmasters.
The president has signed the commission of
J. G. Bancroft Davis as assistant secretary of
state.
The president received large number Of
callers to-day, including two cOlOred delega-
tions, one headed by Prof. Greener and the
| other by Ex. Marshal Douglass.
ARTIFICIAL COLORING OF SUGARS.
| A statement relative to artificial coloring
of imported sugars was issued from the treas
ury department this afternoon. It gives the
position of importers on the question of class
| fication by the Dutch standard sugars, and al
| SO of that government. Various acts on the
subject are quoted to sustain the action of the
secretary Of the treasury in directing the use of
| the polariscOpe in the classification of sugars
| by the Dutch standard.
REPORT OF RAILROAD COMMISSIONER.
The report of Jos. 4. McCommon, COM
missioner of railroads, has been received by
the secretary of the interior. It says the indi-
cations are, that within short time there
will be five different roads to the Pacific coast,
where less than year ago there was but one.
Railroads have been instrumental in develop
| ing the country at rapid rate. Capital has
been invested in numerous sums, and still the
| tendency is towards increased developments,
principally in the west and southwest. It is
| believed that the operation in railroad con-
| struction this year will exceed those of any
| previous year, and in consequence large tracts
of mineral and agricultural lands will be made
accessible. The commissioner takes up
| the question of compensation to land
grant railroads for transportation of
troops and government supplies, and says.
81 have rerched the conclusion that so per
cent. of the tariff ordinary rate of the COM
| panies would be compensation just to the
| railroads and the government and proper for
permanent application" Engineer Black
stone, while recognizing the general good con-
dition of the Pacific railroads, says there is
still left much to be done in order to bring
them to that standard condition that true
economy in their maintenance and operation
suggests. The engineer criticises severely the
| faulty construction of many bridges, and says
that comparatively few of them are supplied
| with proper safeguards against accident. In
conclusion the attention of congress is invited
| to the fact that there is no uniform system of
| railroad signals in use, which is source of
confusion, and should be remedied by appro-
pirate legislation.
| Duriug the five months ended November 80,
| there arrived 291, ,31S immigrants, against
| 254, 1862 for the same period in 1880.
Redemptlons under the 105th call to date
amounts to Sl6,677 400.
MCMILLAN's INCOME TAX BILL.
| The bill introduced by Representative Nc
MILAN relative to income tax, provides for the
assessment of 8 per centum from each per-
son, corporation, banking association, tele-
graph company, railway company, or other
incorporated companies or firms doing bust
ness in the United States and territories, on all
net incomes above 5000.
RETIREMENT OF ARMY OFFICERS.
The bill introduced by Representative Petit.
bone, relative to the retirement of army off,
GERS, provides that all general officers on
| different staff corps shall be retired from act
i've service when they have served forty.fiye
years in the army, and all officers be retired
at the age of sixty. The bill further provides
that when general and staff officers who have
not served forty-five years, and line officers
who have not reached the age of sixty and are
unable to properly perform their duties, they
shall be reported by the
general of the army to the president,
who will convene a board Of officers
and report the facts in the case with recon-
mendations. Should the board report the
! disability, the result of service in dutv. the
officer is to be placed on the retired list, other
wise he is to be retired with one years. pay.
REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE.
In his annual report to the president the
commissioner of agriculture says: The ex.
penses of the attempt to cultivate the tea
plant in South Carolina have been somewhat