Birmingham age-herald., 1894-11-23
GETTING IN READINESS. House Sub-Committees Hold Meet
 ings on Appropriations.
AN IMPORTANT CHANGE
In the Personnel of the Com mittee on Naval Affairs by
 Cummings Retiring.

WASHINGTON. Nov. 22.-Under the call of Chairman Savers the sub b-committee of the house committee on appropriations in charge of the pension and Qualifications bills met at the capitol today. The sub- committee in charge of the District of Co., lu umbia bill, which was also notified to u,eet at the same time, failed to appear, and it is said now that no meeting of this sub- committee will be held previous to the meeting of congress.
 General Cogswell of Massach usetts, one of the members of the last committee, has been dangerously i'll, but Representative O'Neill reported today that he was some better yesterday. It is the impression among his friends, however, that tue gen. eral will not be able to resume his seat in the coming session Of congress.
 The sub- committee on Notifications ad journed until tomorrow at 10 O 'clock, when General Casey, chief of engineers, and General FIagler, chief of ordnance, war department, will be interrogated respect ing the composition of the appropriation bill. The estimate of the secretary of war for 1895 has been submitted and amounts to about $7 ,000, GOO, the sum asked for several past years. For the current year the ap- populations were S7, 427 GOO.
 The sur committee on pensions will meet again at 12 o'clock, when Comms- sione- Lochren will appear before them. His innate for next year of the amount for tn payment of pensions Is $40 ,0o0 GOO, $20, 900 ,000 less than the estimate for the current year. Congress appropriated for this year S150, ,000, ,000, $10,000, 600 more than the commissioner asked. The com missioners Of the District Of Columbia ask congress to appropriate $7,217 ,934 for the expenditures in the district in the year 1895-6. The appropriations for the current year amount to B, 545 600.
 The appointment of Congressman Amos J. Cummings as a subway commissioner of New York city, and his consequent retire will make radical change in one of the most important committees of the house. Ever since the retirement of Secretary Her. bert from the house Mir. Cummings has been at the head of the committee on naval affairs. As such he has necessarily been in- fuential in directing legislation with re- gard to the construction of the new navy. He has been one of the most intelligent and enthusiastic advocates of the policy of con- struction pursued by Secretaries Chandler, Whitney and Tracey, and friend of every thing calculated to improve the efficiency of the navy or the comfort of the men. His impression has been left upon the naval appropriation bills, tbe bill for the current year having carried a total of $25, ,327 ,126. Of this amount s9, 955, ,025 was for the in- crease of the navy. ....s
 Representative Geisenh nhainer of New Jer- sey is the second member of the commit tee, and will doubtless be advanced to the chairmanship by Speaker Crisp upon the retirement of Mir. Cummings. Inasmuch as MT. Cummings' term expires with the expiration of congress, March next, 1t is probable there will be no election to fill the vacancy.