Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-03
CAPITOL TOPICS.
A RELIEF STATION IN THE ARCTIC.


A petition was presented to-day by Senator
Stanford from the Chamber of commerce of
San Francisco, calling the attention of Congress
to the urgent need of permanent relief sta
ton in the Arctic ocean. The petition says
the whaling fleet fitting out at San Francisco Is
steadily increasing and that many hundreds of
lives and millions of dollars worth of property
are exposed to unusual danger in the pursuit of
whaling in the Arctic. A relief station sup
heavy clothing and life-saving apparatus, the
petition says, would be a great boon to our
Arctic whalemen.
TO REFUND INCOME TAXES.
Senator Stewart introduced a bill to-day au-
thorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to re-
fund all income taxes which, upon principles
subsequently settled by decisions of the Su-
preme Court are shown to have been illegally
and unconstitutionally collected and which
money is to be paid out by the commissioners
OF internal revenue. provided application for
refund is made within two years from the pas
sage of the act.
OUR GLORIOUS CLIMATE.
The two large weather maps which hang in
the House lobby, one showing the state of the
weather throughout the country yesterday and
one indicating the weather to-day. were curl
0usly scrutinized this morning, and great
deal OF comment was made upon the fact that
IN the wide United States not a drop of rain
nor flake Of snow fell yesterday; and if the
indications for to-day are verified by the facts
Northheld, Vt, will supply the only snow
storm and the gulf coast Of Texas the only
rainfall which will visit the country within the
current twenty-four hours.
PAY OF THE SUPERVISING sURGEoN-GENERAL OF
THE MARINE HOSPITAL SERVICE.
A joint resolution was introduced in the Sem
ate to-day by Mr.. Cullom. providing that here
after the supervising surgeon-general of the
marine hospital service shall receive the same
, salary and allowances as are now allowed by
law to the surgeon-general of the army. The
resolution was referred. The salary OF the
supervising surgeon-general of the marine
hospital service is now $4,000 a year. The
surgeon-general of the army receives So, 500 a
year, with an increase of 10 per cent after the
first five years of service and 20 per cent after
the first ten years.
CHART OF THE SKY.
The Speaker presented to the House yester-
day communication from the Secretary of the
Navy, recommending an appropriation of S5O,-
600 to be used by the naval observatory in join
ing in the international project of making a
chart of the sky by Photographic process The
communication isaccompanied is by a letter from
Capt. X. l.. Phythian, superintendent of the
naval observatory, speaking of what foreign
governments had done in that direction.
MEDALS FOR GALLANT SOLDIERS
Senator Cockrell, from the committee on
military affairs, to-day reported favorably Sem
ator Hales bill directing the Secretary of War
to procure a suitable medal to be presented to
the survivors of the 'forlorn-hope storming
party" against the works at Port Hudson, June
Is, 1868, in fulfllment of the promises made by
Maj Gen. Banks, commanding the department
of the gulf, and contained in general order
No. 40.
NAVAL OFFICERS RETIRED FOR DISABILITY.
The Senate to-day passed the Senate bill to
provide for the retirement of certain class of
officers in the United States navy. The bill
provides that any officer who. after twenty
years or more of service has been or shall here
after be placed on the retired list of the navy
by reason Of physical defect which defect was
not disqualification for service under the
regulations at the time of such officers original
entry into the service, but has subsequently
been made 30. shall, upon the certificate of the
retiring board to the said state of facts be held
to be retired for disability incident to the SER
vice, and shall receive the rate of pay estab-
lished by law for officers of his grade retired
under such disability.
NOTES.
Senator Henderson was yesterday the recipient
of great many congratulations from fellow
Senators and from large number of other
friends over the notification sent him from
Nebraska that he would be reelected without
his troubling himself to go home.