Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-04-20
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
KEIFER AND WHITE As HARLF-
QUINS.
A Plea for MIR. Emory Speer-A Ro-
nance of the Pigeon HeIes-Geor-
gia and Florida River and HarbOr
AmprOvemenss-Arthur and Lady
Office KsOlderE-TOrnadOes

The Democratic leaders worry and make fur
of him. The majority of the Republicans joir
in that fun. In fact, with the exception Of 6
very small following. the whole House seem.
to be bent on letting Keifer show what an ass
in exalted place he is; and further, to be bent
on assisting in the circus 1t is a question as
TO who is the greater ass, Keifel
or John D. White of Kentucky. John
D. is Republican member from Kentucky
He is by long odds the ass supreme on the
floor. Keifer in the chair, is however his rival
and between the two they dispute the posses
sion of the cap and bells White cavorts
around and makes himself the laughing stock
OF the whole House Keifer has no opportunity
Tor caVorting around. but he manages with nc
antics other than the gavel affords to make a
supreme ass of himself and to show
that he is wholly Incompetent for the place he
holds. And the best of it all is
that that neither White or Keifer knows
that the House is making game of them. On
the contrary, they think that they are playing
very big parts in the Congressional drama.
Kelfer really thinks that he is making the best
speaker mat Congress ever saw, and John D.
Whlte thinks that he is on the rapid road to a
position as q great leader in the House Asses
always think that they are just whooping
things up.
There is disposition among the freQuenters
OF the reporters gallery to put the Honorable
Emory Speer, of Georgia, in the same cate
CORY with White and Keifer, but that
l Will not submit to. Whatever Mr..
Speer's egotism and fondness for gallery
gazing may be-and both are of & fairly
good sjze-I repel every insinuation from my
associates ON the press that the Young Georgia
statesman is to be classed with John ID White
Mr.. Speer has his peculiarites, which bring ad-
verse comments from the men who sit in the
reporters gallery but he certainly has brains,
which, to the unprejudiced mind neither
Speaker Keifer nor his companion in asininity
ID. w fn V,aCraCc
even remotely.
ROMANTIC CLAIM PASSED.
The House to-day passed bill for the relief
OF the heirs and executors of the Captain
owners, officers and crew of the late United
states private armed brig General Armstrong
me bill had previously passed the Senate, and
now only waits the Presidents signature
which is a certainty-to become a law The
amount or the appropriation made by the bill
IS $7O,739 The claim has been before Congress
In one shape or the other for sixty-five years
Today widow and five children watched in
the gallery the course of the bill. When it
nnaliy passed there was a hearty clapping of
the hands in the family bunch The widow
was the daughter of the Captain of the brig
General Armstrong, and the children were
the grandchildren of that officer The claim
a. passed was perfectly valid in every respect.
lts hanging for sixty-five years and now only
adJud1cated Is typical example of how slow
Congressional action Oh claims is.
The history OF the claim is a romance that
C6unoI ouU prove interesting. In September,
1914, the private armed brig General Armstrong
was destroyed by the boats of three British
men-of-war in the port of Fayal belonging to
the neutral power of Portugal. Such destruc-
ton was in breach of the neutrality of Portu-
gal The local authorities of the Azore Islands,
as well as the Government of Portugal then
residing at Rio JaneirO, admitted to the Ameri-
can Minister Immediately on the happening of
he event that there had been a breach OF its
neutrality, and, asserting that fact to the Brit
Ish Government, demanded satisfaction
therefor in the most peremptOry terms
Alter Alter fr1ltless regulations for many
made eremptoTy demand upon the Govern
ment OF Portugal for the settlement of ''incon-
troyerti0le claims of American citizens upon
that government" among which was the claim
for the loss of the brig General Armstrong.
IN: Government of Portugal, not admitting
their validity, but pro bono pGcia. offered to
pay all the claims except this, which it pro-
posed should be referred to the arbitration of
a third power. President Taylor declined this
proposal, insisted on immediate settlement of
all the claims, and on an evasive answer being
gwen, required the American Minister to de-
mand MS passports and to leave Portugal in an
American man-of-war which had been sent for
him. sub=equent administration accepted
the ofter OF the Portuguese Government, re-
celVed payment of the other claims and sub
mitted this claim to the arbitration of Louis
Napoleon, then President of the French Repub-
lie. This submission was made without the
knowledge OF the claimants. and pro-
pondence which has passed between the
Two governments in reference to the said
claim shall be laid before the arbiter" The
Interpretation put on this article by the State
Department excluded all proofs and all argu-
mentS except those contaioed in the CORE.
spondence. And, in point of fact, not only
were tho claimants prevented by the govern
ment from making such proofs and arguments,
but the correspondence Of the Fayal auuhori-
ties and of the Portuguese Government while
at Rio JaDeiro, admitting the breach of neu-
trality, was not laid before the arbiter. Louis
Napoleon, in 1858, forty years after the event,
decided against the validity of the claim on
the ground of a doubt as to whether the Brit
lSh forces or the brig commenced the hoStili-
houses OF Congress reported favorabIy on the
claim, and referred it to the Court of Claims.
The court reversed its opinion on a rehearlng,
and decided that these a0ove recited facts con
stituted no legal claim against the Government
OF the United states, and thereupon the Senate
passed bill for the relief OF the claimants
which received a very large majority of those
voting In the House of Representatives, but by
reason OF the failure of quorum did not be-
come law.
ToRNaDoES OFFICIALLY CONSIDERED.
General Hszen, the Chief Signal Officer, is
paying good deal of attention to the subject
OF tornadoes, with view to obtaining so clear
knowledge Of this class Of storms that some
OF their evils may be mitgated. All who live
IN regions that are liable to be often visited by
these destructive winds will be interested 20
know that already Sergeant Finley is about to
start out to investigate the track Of the storms
which swept over Michigan, Iowa and Illinois
on the 9th inst Sergeant Finley has done
some very valuable work on this subject.
Last year the Signal Service issued. as one
OF its professional papers, a very important
monograph on the character of the storms of
May 18th and June 10th, 1879. The paper was
very elaborate, and there is now in press an
other professional paper by the same writer
which contains tabulated statement of six
hundred tornadoes and some generalzations
from their facts, with some suggestions as to
the method that ought to be pursued in the
investigation of the storms.
The six hundred storms cover a period of
elghty-seVen years, and the whole country.
Their examination leads to the conclusions
that tornadoes occur most frequently in sum-
mer, and in the month of June. They
have occurred, however, more fire.
quently in April than in July, and
in May and September than in August
Kansas is the State that has been most affiict-
cd, and that Notwithstanding the fact that the
period during which tornadoes have visited it
has been comparatively short. The State has
had slxtY-two tornadoes from 1889 to 1881;
illinois has had fifty four from 1854 to 1881;
Missouri has had forty-fonr from 1914 to 1881;
New Yora has had thirty-five from 1881 to 1881;
Georgia, thirty three from 1904 to 1881; Iowa,
thirty-one from 1854 to 1881; Ohio, twenty
eight from 1898 to 1881; Indiana, twSnty-
tories that have had only one each from 1894 to
1881 are: Colorado, California, Indian Terri
tory, Nevada. New Mexico, Montana, Rhode
Island, West Virginia, Wyoming. The storms
occur most frequently from FIVE to SIX in the
afternoon, although there is no hour of the
day that has been entirely free from them.
The average width of the path of destruction
is 1,085 feet, and the storm cloud runs with a
velocity of from twelve to sixty miles The
wind within the vortex sometimes attains a
velocity of 800 miles an hour, the average We
loclty being 1872 miles,
Among the most valuable suggestions of the
paper are those with reference to the pecu-
liarity OF the movements of tornado clouds,
con aiming rules for arriving at their violence
tornado cloud always has a centre, and it
always moves forward from west to east. 1t
may, however, sway from side to
side in its progressive movement
changes IN motion are sometimes
very sudden. In the event of sudden change
the observer, who is east or soEth of east of
the storm, should move quickly to the south.
II he is northeast, ne should move to the north
If within very short distance of the cloud,
the observer should run east, bearing to the
south. This indicates the character of the di-
rections which have been given for the avoid
ance OF the disastrous effect of storms
The examination that Sergeant Finley will
make OF the recent storm will be very thor
ough, and General Hazen expects that 1t will
add greatly to the knowledge of tornadoes.
FLORIDA HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Yesterday in the Senate. Mr. Call, of Florida,
asked and by unanimous consent obtained
leave TO bring in the following bill, which was
read twice and referred to the Com
mittee on Military Affairs, which
will report it favorably to the Senate:
That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby
if he shall consider that the public
service will not be injured thereby, to lease to
l. F. House & Company, for the purpose of
.