Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-12-20
A LIVELY CONTEST
BETWEEN SOUTHERN RAILROADS
FOR THE MAIL SUBSIDIES.
Extra-compensation Fund-NorfoIk and
Western Railroad People Hard at
Work-Littie WicomIco River.
tFrom Our Regular correspondont.l

!
| House Committee on Post-Ofices
/ and Post-Roads commences after
the holiday recess TO prepare the
usual bill there promises 10 be o
/ lively competition among Virginia. North
Carolina. and other southern railroads for
! the mail subsidies and assignment
/ of funds known as extra compensation. II
/ is also understood that tha committee will
( fix a day, or days if necessary. for full
( hearing of the claims of all the interested
parties. Report has il that the greatest
rivalry is apt to be between the At
lantlc-COast Line and the Richmond
| and Danville Company, which are the
/ lyeliest competitors for these govern
/ mental favors. The Coast Line now re-
i ceives a heavy subsidy IN addition TO the
! regular compensation. The Richmond
! and Danville people do not receive any
/ subsidy at all, but If the thing IL to be
/ continued they want some of the extra
/ money. Several of the department
/ officials aud quite q number of the mem
/ bers of Congress are talking as If de-
| parture may be made and the subsidy fea-
/ ture entirely eliminated. However, there
/ is nothing certain on this point. The con-
/ test at any rate promises to be an interest
! ing one.
| HIS NEW SEAT.
! Senator Hunton will change desks in the
! Senate chamber. Ever since he took his
/ seat in that body he has been assigned to
! tue desk occupied by the late Dir. Barbour.
| II is in the back row by the desk occupled
/ by Senator Daniel. General Hunton wants
seat No. Is. 1t has been occupied by Mr..
! Villas. The latter gets the desk OF the late
/ Senator Gibson, of Louisiana, to the right
/ of the centre aisle near the main door,
and General Hunton's new seat is at the
/ front TO the right of the Nice-President,
/ and much closer to the presiding officer
/ than the former location of the junior
senator from Virginia.
TO RECoMMIT THE BILL.
! The friends of the Norfolk and Western
railroad bill were hard al work at the Capt.
I tol to-day. They have heard that a move
ment is on foot TO recommit the bill to
( the House District OF Columbia
/ so far as the present Congress
Is concerned. One Of the Norfolk and
4 Western hustlers said to-day. however,
| that he did not think the opponents of the
measure would attempt II and If they did
| they would be defeated. The war between
! the conflicting lines is rather gay and there
is no telling how the fight will END.
STRONG FOR FREE COINAGE.
Representative Grady, Of North Caro-
! lima, said to-day that an interview ap-
| peared IN the New York Press in which he
| Is made TO 60 clearly back OF hls record IN
regard 70 the free coinage of silver. He
! does not remember having eruresed any
such views. aud if he talked on the subject,
he saws, he meant TO say that while he - as
strong an advocate as ever OF the free
coinage OK that metal he does not regard
it as the panacea for the ills of the farming
case. He thinks tariff reduction and free
] in uyIl
condition of the farmers, but free silver
alone Will not do the thing.
UNWORTHY IMPROVEMENT.
A communication was sent to the House
to-day from the engineer corps stating
that the Little WlcomicO river, in VIZ
Cinia, was not worthy of Improvement.
The Engineer saws that, strictly speaking,
the river IS tidal estuary of the Potomac,
but the outlet is substantially on the
Chesapeake bay, and is exposed TO the fun
force of northeast storms. when OH the
mouth of the Potomac are very severe,
winds from this quarter having reach OF
some seventeen miles. The mouth OF the
Little WicOmico is obstructed by bar,
which is a part of the extensive ehoal ex-
tending from Smiths Point out mo
Chesapeake bay for a distance OF over
two miles, the width OF the shoai
beng nearly equal to its length
Major Davis, the engineer IN charge:
says that he tried to obtain estimates OF
tho value of the trade but could not.
There is good truck farming land IN the
vicinity and plenty of timber but be does
not think the government can ahord 10
undertake so extensive and expensive an
! improvement, because the commerce uoe5
not justify IT..
SOME CHANGES.
Mr.. Wise introduced ir the House bill
making some changes IN the present inter
state commerce law. Il provides that the
word Line" "a used in the present law
shall be construed to mean physl-
cal line, whether such line be one
Of railroad, or two or more con-
Meeting railroads. or part railroad anu
part water, when both are used under
common central arrangement, express or
/ implied, for continuous carriage or snip
ment. etc.
lie also introduced bill concerning the
/ testimony of witnesses before the Inter
! state Commerce Commission. This = 70
meet the decision of Judge Gresham VINO
| held the other day that the commission
under the law has no power to compei
| witness 20 testify.
Mr.. Herbert, Of Alabama, introduced a
! bill In the House to-day empowering the
! Secretary OF the Navy to define and estab-
| Iish suitable anchorage grounds IN tiaihp-
! ton Roads and IL New York harbor during
/ the naval review next year: ,-.
Hon. John Randolph Tucker. Of,Virglnla,
is st1lI here. and was among the prominent
/ men on the floor Of the House to-day.
Rev. DR.. John p. Haye, the head OF the
Methodist college at Winchester, was
| among the well-known Virginia visitors NJ
! the Capitol to-day. =,
Professor J. +. Kelley, of Cameron, n;
| c.. who has been in the city for several
| davs, left for home this morning.
POSTAL AFFAIRS.
The department has ordered post-Dffices
in North Carolina removed as follows:
NIilburnie, Wake county, three miles
north OF the old location, and the name
has been changed to PETIT, with Gaston L.
Powell as Postmaster
Lowe, Robson county, 1,l46 yards north
of the former location.
s. Al. Wood has been commissioned
Postmaster at Fort Defiance, Va.
Casualty and Crime.
IBy telegraph to the Dispatch.l