Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-13
LIVE WASHINGTON WAITS.

Committee OF the House will make one very
! radical departure from the past practice OF
the committee. This will be in declining to
afford prolonged hearings to those various
Interests that are likely to be affected by
| proposed legislation. The sense of the
| Democratic majority is clearly in favor OF
limiting the work of the committee to the
preparation of less'th a dozen bills Aaffect-
ing only that number OF articles of import,
and they hold that the articles affected have
! been the subject OF so much public discus
| sion that no special information is necessary
| to enable the committee to act intelligsntly
| upon the bills to be considered. Those dele
| cations and those interests which desire to
be heard will, it is said be invited to reduce
their statements to writing and present
them to the committee, where they will re-
| ceive careful attention and probably be
ordered printed for the information of the
committee.
| Daniel McKeever, Secretary of the New
york Association of Importers, and Peter B.
Worrell, member of that association, to-
oay applied to Chairman Springer for a
| nearing before the committee in order to
correct what they characterize as ga general
erroneous impression" In regard to the work
lngs of the Mckinley act. To Chairman
| springer these gentlemen stated that there
| was much larger falling off in the importa-
! tons of wooden goods under the operations
! OF the Mckinley law than appeared by the
by the Treasury Departmenti They cited the
TACT that the Mckinley law provides that all
goods in bond on or prior to the first day of
october, 1890. could remain in bond until
| February i, 1891, and on being taken out
would be subject only to the duties imposed
| by the act of March 3,lsS3, which was the law
IN erect previous to the enactment OF the
mckinley act and which imposed a less duty
than was imposed by the Mckinley law.
| Hence these gentlemen maintained, the
| OASIS OF determining the decrease in the
| lmportations of woolen goods under the Nc
hlnley act was to make statement dating
| from February l, 1891, to the present time.
Ihat statement they said, would show
Ialling of of more than 90 per cent in the
| imports of woolensgoods. Except as to
sugar and tin plates, the receipts OF customs
since the passage OF the Mckinley bill should
GATE from February !, 1891, for purposes of
comparison with previous duties.
Comparisons from that time, it was as
serted, show very large reduction in Gus
toms duties as compared with the previous
law. They also asserted that while under
the Mckinley law there uasan apparent in
| crease on women's and children's dress
goods valued at not exceeding Is cents per
square yard of from 6S to IS per cent yet
there was an actual increase upon that grade
of goods of over l25 per cent, the lower aver
age having been secured by COM
bining the average upon the cheaper
with the higher grades, and thus
crease upon the cheaper goods worn by the
people. At the suggestion of tie Chairman
1t was agreed that the New York Association
selves, should reduce their statements and
comparisons to writing for formal presenta-
t1on to the whole committee.
A BILL introduced in the House to-day
by Representative Harter, of Ohio, for the
consolidation of customs commission dis
tricts authorizes the Secretary of the Treas
distr hot
their number shall be reduced and fixed as
follows: In the State of Maine, districts;
New Hampshire, district; Vermont, l dis
trict; Massachusetts,, districts; Rhode
Island, l district; Connecticut, 2 districts;
New York, districts; in New Jersey, Penn
syivania, Delaware and West Virginia, dis
tricts, Maryland, l district: District of Co.
lumbia and Virginia, 8 districts; North Caro-
lima, district; South Carolina, l district;
Georgia, l district; Florida, districts;
Alabama and Mississippi, l district each;
Texas and the Territories OF New Mexico and
Oklahoma and Indian Territory, districts:
Arizona, l district; California and Nevada, 2
districts; Oregon, district; Washington, l
district: Alaska, l district; Montana and
Idaho, district; North and South Dakota, l
district; Minnesota ! district; Wisconsin i
district; Michigan, districts; Illinois, Miss
ouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, districts;
Indiana, district: Ohio, 8 districts; Ken
lucky, district: Tennessee and Arkansas
district; Colorado and Wyoming and the
Territory of Utah. district The bill
abolishes all commissions, emoluments, etc.,
and provides for annual salaries to customs
collectors naval officers and surveyors at
certain of the larger ports. The smaller
collection districts are to be divided into
five classes, according to the amount of
business transacted.
THE Secretary OF War has granted the
request of Major Lewis C. Overman, corps
Il.
by court martial at Cleveland until Feb
ruary3.
THERE was full attendance of members
to-day when the House Committee on the
Columbian Exposition organized. No bills
have reached the committee, so that no
work could be done beyond fixing Monday
as the regular day OF meeting.
The Bering Sea question was before the
Cabinet meeting to-day. 1t is understood
the case has taken favorable turn within
the past few days, and that Secretary
Blaine has been advised that Lord Salisbury
will agree to his suggestion as to the method
of selecting three of the arbitrators from
the countries which have no interest what
ever in the question at issue. When these
three neutral arbitrators have been agreed
upon there need be no further delay in de- /
Gliding on the personnel of the tribunal, it
ALREADY having Deen arranged that the
United States and Great Britain shall each
have the appointment of two members.
Another point settled is that one of Great
Britain's representatives shall be 4resident
of Canada. The prospects are that one of
the arbitrators on the part of the United
States will be selected from the Republican
party and the other from the Democratic
party Hon. Edward j. Phelps, ex-Minister
to England is mentioned as most likely to
be one of the arbitraters on the part of the
United States.
A COMMITTEE representing the Lake
Vessels Association has had a conference
with the officers OF the Lighthouse Board,
with view to the establishment of addi-
tional lights for signals and light ships at
the western end of Lake Erie, in the De-
troit, st. Clair and st. Mary's rivers, on the
three upper lakes and in the Straits of Mack
inaw. The committee was informed that
the board would willingly increase the aids
to navigation at the points indicated if Con-
gress would give the necessary authority.
THE following bills for the erection of
public buildings, with the amount appro-
priated in each case. were reported favorably
to-day by the Senate Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds Hastings, Neb. $780,
600: Mansfield, O.. sl0o GOO; Reno Nev s75, COO;
Jacksonville ILL.,, s75, 000 Fergus Falls, Minn
$50, 600; Fresno. CAL, $4,000: GAINESVILLE, o.,
S75, ,0OO Grand Haven, Mich, $50 600: Alameda,
Cal, $50, ,0OO Deadwood. S. D., 5000, 600; San
Diego Cal, $500 900; Saltwater, Mimi, slO0. |
600: Oakland, CAL, 500, COO; Norfolk, Neb.. |
slOO, 600; Salem, Ore, 100000.
JUST one bill got through the House |
Committee on the Judiciary to-day. 1t was |
a bill by Henderson, of Iowa, providing that |
hereafter terms of the District and Circuit |