Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-10
WASHINGTON NEWS.


 Judges-Cases Assigned by the Su-
 preme Court-The Railroads and
 Carrying Trade of Colombia.
 WASHINGTON, D. C., March 9-The Chattanooga excursion party left Wash ington this afternoon on special train of yestibuled sleepers over the Richmond and Danville line. The trip is given for the purpose of showing Secretary Proctor and a number of congressman over the battle fields of Chattanooga and Chickamauga, where park is to be established by the government, for which appropriation have been made. A number of newspaper men accompanied the party. The itinerary of the tripis as follows:
 Leave Washington, March 6, 430 p. m.; arrive at Roanoke during night; breakfast Bristol, Tenn, 1:30 p. m.; dine and leave Bristol at p. m. arrive at Knoxville at , D. m.; leave at 5:30; at Chattanooga at 8 p. m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, visit to Chickamauga battlefield; Wednesday even ing, reception at Staunton house, Thurs day, visit to Lookout mountain, Mission ary Ridge and other points of interest; Thursday night, banquet at Reade house; Friday morning, start for home; reach " dsuluSGOu odIuIudy luOIuluS.
 The party was made up as follows: Sec retary Proctor, Attorney General Miller, Quartermaster General Batchelder, Assist ant Adjutant General Williams, Major Hill and Lieutenant Woodbery of the war department; Senator and Mrs. Sanders, Senator Cary, Senator Hawley, Represent ative and Mrs. Mckinley, Representative and Mrs. Coggeshell, Representative and Mrs. Hooker, Representative and Mrs. Evans, Representative and Mrs. Post, and Representatives Cannon, Cutcheon, Clements, Henderson, Osborn, Perkins and Baker; Commissioner Raum, Colonel Kellogg, Major Davis of the war department, Major Boyd of the coast sur vey, Major W. P. Huxley, J. c. Courts, Thomas P. Cleaves, General R. D. Mussey, General H. N. Boynton and long list of other newspaper men.
 Secretary Proctor will continue south ward from Chattanooga on tour of in spection of the military posts in the south west; it is expected that all of the posts along the southern border of the country will be visited. The secretary will be ab sent several weeks.
 THE NEW CIRCUIT JUDGES.
 It is stated on the highest authority that the nine circuit judges provided for at the recent session of congress will not be appointed for several months yet, the president being of opinion that each of the new courts can be organized at the time fixed by the fact (the third Wednes- day in June) by the associate justice of the supreme court, the regular circuit judge and the district judges in each of the respective circuits, regardless of the fact that the new circuit judges may not then have been appointed. The same authority said that this disposed of the re- port that there would be an extra session of the senate for the consideration of these appointments.
 SUPREME COURT ASSIGNMENTS.
 The supreme court to-day advanced and assigned for argument on the fourth Mon day in April the cases of Boyd, Sutton & Go. and Sternback & Co. against the col lector of customs at New York, brought for the purpose of testing the constitu- tionality of the Mckinley tariff law. The government and the counsel of the inn porters were both united in asking this ac- tion Solicitor General Taft in behalf of the government opposed similar motion made by counsel for Marshal Field & Co. of Chicago on the ground that the cases as made up did not fairly represent the ques- ton involved, at least so far as the inter ests of the government were concerned. JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
 The United States supreme court to-day affirmed the judgment of the circuit court of the United States for the eastern district of Louisiana ill the case of James Wallace Peak, ct al, appellants vs. the city of New Orleans. This is the New Orleans drainage case, in which ex-Presi- dent Cleveland was one of the counsel for the appellants. The decision of the court was against the parties whom MT. Cleye- l land represented, though Justice Harlan, Chief Justice Fuller and Justice Lamar l dissented in the opinion read by Justice Harlan.
 RAILROADS OF COLOMBIA. The United States minister at Bogata has submitted to the department of state some information with respect to the present and prospective railroads of Colom- bia His report states that Colombia is | among the most mountainous countries of | the world. Communication is most diff | cult and expensive and nearly all freight l must be transported by mule as it leaves | the great rivers. Five to twelve days are re- quired to carry a bale of cotton eighty l miles, and for bringing consignment ot 250 pounds from Hondo to Bogata one must pay from SIP to SIS. The exporter is subject to the same restrictions, and is unable to compete with the products of more favored countries. The minis | ter says that the people realize their difficulties caused by the tedious methods now employed. For one reason or another the contracts have not been productive of great results. So that to- day (excluding the Panama railroad) there are only nine railroads in the country, az gregating in length 290 kilometres. Two of these covering about forty-two kilome tres were built by native companies. There is no general system, but only isolated short lines. The minister says the need of better roads is keenly felt. An Amer ican citizen has a concession to complete the Conca railroad to Coli and Magizaics and is carrying on his work with vigo1 and success. A contract has also beer made with Americans for railroad from Carthagena to Calamer on the Magdalens river and several concessions have beer granted to Englishmen and liberal subsi dies have been granted all of the proposed roads.