The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1884-05-02
In the interest of the Iaporing Man.


election being in progress, congress, within
two weeks, has shown disposition to leg.
islate in the alleged interest of the laborinR
men. Over week ago the house passed
Hopkins bill to establish and maintain a
bureau of statistics, and Senator Blair re-
ported the same bill from the senate COM
mittee ON education and labor, giving notice
that at an early day he would ask It's con-
sideration. Senator George has reported
favorably from the same committee the
bill prohibiting the importation of foreign
labor. This is called "an act to protect
American labcr." George also gave notice
that he wanted the senate to take it up very
soon. Both these bills are in the line of
restrictive legislation sanctioned by con-
gress in the passage of the Chinese bill in
1882. The first named requires the COM
missioner, among other things, to collect
statistics about the number, character, con-
dition and classification of Chinese laborers
in the United States. Such statistics, as
Sumner of California pointed out in speech
made week before last, would do much
towards inducing the east to join with the
Pacific coast in forever excluding Chinese
The bureau of statistics bill will probably
become law, but the chances of Georges
bill, under which coolies could be excluded
are slim.
Shipping Bills.
WASHINGTON, April 90 Dingley of
Maine, who is engaged in genuine attempt
to revive congressional interest in shipping
and shipping laws, succeeded recently in
suspending the rules and passing his bill es-
tablishing bureau of navigation in the
treasury department.. This bill, which will
probably encounter no opposition in the sem
ate, marks the first step toward encouraging
new mercantile marine. It's object is to
duplicate the British board of trade by con-
solidating the dutiesnow performed by three
divisions of the treasury into one person to
be called commissioner of navigation. Upon
this man, who is to be appointed by the
president, will devolve the duty of sugges-
ting amendments to the present antiquated
navigation laws and carrying on general
investigation in the disappearance of Amer
lean ships from the seas. For few years
of course, the commissioners labors will be
theoretical, but afterwards, Mr.. Dingley
says, he may have importanv functions to
perform.
On Saturday the house supplemented this
legislation by passing Dingley's bill to re-
move burdens from the merchant marine,
and among other things adopted an amend
ment by "Sunsut" Cox allowing the i'm
portation of vessels of less than 5000 tons
free of duty and admitting all such vessels
not used in the coast wise trade to Ameri.
can registry. This provision, however, it
is feared, will be struck out by the senate
but the bill will surely pass.
George of Oregon succeeded in amending
it so as to allow ships loaded with coal,
salt, railroad iron, etc., to unload within
collection districts at place designated by
the secretary of the treasury. This is in
the interest of commerce at Oakland, Cal.
Portland Or, and other Pacific coast cities
where unloading is restricted to certain ex-
tent,
The Pension BILL.
WASHINGTON, April 29.-Last week the
house passed two pension bills, making i'm
portant changes in the existing law. The
general pension appropriation, which set
apart $S, 800, 900 with which to pay pen
sions during the ensuing fiscal year, con-
tanned some of the important changes re-
ferred to. Besides reducing the number of
pension agents to twelve, it cuts down the
fees allowed pension attorneys to $40, ex
cept where, by the stipulated approval of
the commissioner of pensions, $25 may be
allowed. An amendment by General Rose
Grams turning the payment of pensions over
to the pay masters department of the army
was defeated. 1t was resisted ostensibly
because of inutilityy but really because it
would have provided work for idle army
paymasters, and have cut off pension agents
from employment. Although there are not
two dozen pension agents in the United
States, they were sufficiently influential to
the change. Thisbill will probably
pass the senate without much amendment.
Warmers bill, however, which passed the
house under suspension of the rules, is not
likely to go as smoothly through the upper
body. 1t is called an Omnibus bill. It
enacts, first, that every man who served
three months or more in the army, and suf-
cred wound or disability, shall be pensioned
according to the extent of his injury: also
that the regular muster in shall be prima
facie evidence that the volunteer was sound
when he entered the service. This provis-
on, coupled with the former, will practical
y pension all the soldiers of the rebellion
lot now on the rolls. 1t is an immense bid
or the soldier VOTE
Signal Service Observer in Danger.
CHICAGO, April 2S.-Daity Nesos' Col
'rado Springs special: Considerable anxiety
s felt for the fate of Signal Service Observer
Ramsey who has been on Pike's paak