Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-01-05
NOT YET DONE.
Congress Is Taking a Long Time to
to Get in Motion.
Value Of the Nicaraguan canaI-Canadian
Shir Washington Life.

congressman redSScmDleQ IlSLleSSly. NOtus
ing will be done until next week. 1t is al
ways SO just after the holiday recess. In
| fact, our congress Is cumbersome body,
and it takes long time to get in molten
About half Of every session is wasted in
getting under way, like suburban train
scheduled to stop every half mile. There
are only so days of this session, emitting
| Sundays and holidays, and the only i'm
portant legislation any one looks for is the
regular appropriation bills and possibly
some action on the financial situation
The proposition now most in favor is to
retire the legal tenders from circulation
as fast as possible by means Of an issue of
bonds. There are SO many conflicting
views and interests it is impossible to say
what will no done, and many observers
think nothing at all viii be accomplished
The Nicaragua Canal.
| 1t Is now hoped to get vote in the
senate next week ON the Nicaragua canal
bill. A curious feature of the situation
rs to this important measure is that while
almost every senator is in favor of the
government building the canal about half
Of tho senators appear to be suspicious
that this measure does not sufficiently pro
| tect the interests Of the government and
|
ators arc afraid of another Pacific railroad
| Credit Mobilix scandal.
Another curious fact concerning the
Nicaragua canal is the general belief on
the part of senators and representatives
| that the United States could own the
| canal and do with it as it pleased. Secre-
! tGry Gresham tells me this is not SO. He
! has had the matter looked up and finds
! tlo great nations OF the world tako :hc
stand that all these important water chan
! nels cut to connect the high seas must be
regarded as part Of tho seas so far as
! freedom Of 10 is concerned. In this way
| the European nations insisted tho Suez
canal should DO wholly neutral, and by Il
treaty concluded at ConstantinOplo Great
Britain, though owning a majority Of the
stocl, in tho canal, agreed to give all ether
nations tho same rights She enjoyed and
never to fortify tho canal Or to attempt to
| hold it exclusively in timo of war.
| Two othercanal ideas arc attracting the
| attention of the thinking men of the capi-
sal. Ono is the great channel which Chi
| cago Is now digging as Il drainage outlet
! for her sewerage system, but which is to
| bo n ship canal as well. In connection
with this enterprise comes q proposition to
so onlaraB tho Canadian ship canals as to
! give FREQ waterway from Chicago TO the
| Atlantic for deep draft ocean going YES
sells If this be done, when tho Chicago
canal is finished and tho Illinois river
shall have been deepenod there will be
| great waterway from the Atlantic to the
| gulf through tho lakes and the Mississippi.
| The other suggestion is to build system
of canals along the Atlantic coast, using
the Chesapeake and tho land locked Wa
tcrs in which President Cleveland recent
ly went duck shooting, SO that it would
be possible to send gunbOat from Phila-
delphia to tho gulf Of Mexico without
once going out into the ocean. This would
be q magnificent work for coast defense
and can be accomplished, it is said, at an
expense of about $50, 000, 900, CT the esti-
mated cost of the Nicaragua canal.
St. Mary's Canal.
A report to tho treasury department
shows that during the last year IL, 600, 600
tons of freight passed through the St.
Mary's canal which connects Lakes Su-
perior and Huron. No other ship canal in
tho world has SO great tonnage. Ihc
Suoz canal, according to the latest report,
handled only 10, 600, 900 tons in its most
prosperous year.
Tho population Of Washington, accord
! ing to police census just completed, is
26O, 900, showing an increase of 10000 in
two years. One-third of the population
! of tho capital is negro, but the colored
population is not increasing SO fast as the
/ whitc. This is due to the much higher
death ratio which prevails among the col
orod people. They arc much more subject
to lung diseases and typhus fevers than
! their whito noighbors. 1t is estimated tho
spasm of economy which has been going
| through the government departments here
! for year or more has cost 1900 people
! their employment in Washington and
driven at least 3, 600 people out of the city.
Ono of the attractions of Washington is
Fort Meyer, tho military post across the
Potomac near Arlington, the old home OF
tho Lee family. Here the Sixth cavalry,
famous for its campaigns against the In
dians, is enioying well deserved rest.
| There is n big riding hall at the post, and
in this winter season the cavalrymen give
exhibitions of their skill in horsemanship
on the sawdust floor. They show Cossack
riding, vaulting upon the backs of gallop-
ing horses, jumping six bar hurdles, bare
back riding, both single and double, and
many other feats of horsemanship. 1t has
become quite fashionable for society peo-
!
drills of tho famous Sixth.
| Personal Mention.
Senator Wolcott is sure of another term
of six years and has been receiving the
! congratulations Of his friends. The sen
ator was delighted to receive news of bis
good fortune, but he adds that seat in
the senate is an expensive luxury. Dur
| ing tho five years of his service in that
body he says his salary has been $4,000
year and his expenses S16 900 year. In
Guiding the $50, coo year he could make
IN the law, it is easy to see that the cost
to him of seat in the senate is just
| $4,000 year.
! Champ Clark, who has won considerable
notoriety as an eccentric orator on the
floor of tho house, is not only invading the
lecture field, but threatens to go into liter
ature. In q recent speech he ridiculed tsIe
novel writers, but it appears has suddenly
made up his mind to write few novels
himself.
The United States senate prides itself
upon having everything different from the
house of representatives. In the opinion
of tho senate, it is common" to be like
tho house in methods, appointments rules