Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-17
Prospects for Settlement Of the
Grade Crossing Question.
BOARD OF TRADES COOPERATION
Four Thousand Bills introduced in
the House.
MR.. HOBART'S NEW GAVEI

Senator Mcmillan, chairman of the COM
mittee on the District of Columbia, will ar
rive in Washington the Friday before the
| assembling of Congress and the committee
will probably have a meeting during the
! nrst week of the session. Mr.. Charles
Moore, the clerk Of the committee, has re-
| turned to Washington from Detroit, where
ne mad atalk with the chairman upon Dis
| trict matters before leaving
senator Mcmillan is very much encour-
aged over the prospects of settlement of
the embarrassing question, as far as it
applies to the Pennsylvania railroad, at
| this session. He has received the reports
and papers in the case from all the parties
at issue The senator is much gratified at
| the cooperation of the board of trade in
| the matter, and thinks that the board of
trade will be of great assistance to the
committee by recommending action upon
affairs Of local interest. The program of
the board in this respect ecelI es his hearty
commentator.
Mr.. Moore will have all the data upon
charities ready to submit to the spe-
clai joint committee on charities as
sheets of the history of hospitals
have been corrected. and that matter is
well in hand. DIR. Chaplin and DR.. Hurd
have paid visit to the insane asylum, and
| tItlT report upon IQal 1nStltutlOn Will be
embodied.
Getting the Bills in Readiness.
The journal clerk of the House, Capt.
Thos. H. Mckee. is at work getting the
bills which were introduced at the extra
session of Congress in readiness for the
| committees as soon as the next session be-
gins. There were 1000 of these bills and
they will be scattered through the various
committees.
Capt. Mckee is asserting the bills ac-
cording to the committees to which they
belong, and will keep in his office list of
the bills by committees, so that members
can ascertain at any time the titles and
numbers of bills relating to the subject
over which any committee has jurisdiction.
He will also keep an index by titles, in
ORDER to expedite the finding of bills and
their reference. These are new plans and
are expected to be of much service to every
one having business with the House.
Bill No. l, of the last session, which is
the first House bill of the Fifty-fifth Con-
\ gress, was introduced by Mr. Mccall of
Massachusetts, and is TO amend the i'm
migration laws Of. the United States"
New Gnvel.
Vice President Hobart will call the Sen
ate to order with a gavel which has Just
been forwarded to him. 1t is made of a
piece of oak from an American vessel that
for one hundred years laid under water
The vessel was the American schooner
Royal Savage, sunk by the British off VAL
cour Island in Lake Champlain October H.
1916, eight miles south of Plattsburg The
schooner was commanded by Capt. Wyn-
keep, and Benedict Arnold was the COM
nander of the American squadron The
gavel was sent by Mr.. John Martin, special
equity collector at Plattsburg.
The decoration of the interior Of the cor
ridors in the Senate and House wings OF
the Capitol has been completed and has
wrought wonderful change in the ap-
pearance of the place. The Senate decora-
tlcns are considered more appropriate than
the House. although both are tasteful
Lighter tintS are used in the Senate corri-
dors, and brighten the passages to an ap-
preciabie extent. In the House corridors a
yellowish tint prevails, with panels of
darker color. These bright and fresh colors
OF the corridors accentuate the gloominess
OF the rotunda and call attention to the ne
cessity OF some renovating there.
The Old Library Rooms.
There is still speculation as to what will
be done with the rooms vacated by the
Congressional Library in the Capitol build
ing. No disposition can be made of them
until bill is passed or provision made in
an appropriation bill. There will be a
scramble for the spaces by the House. the
Senate and the Supreme Court, and some
tflnk 1t Is quite likely the matter will be
settled by continuing the use of the rooms
Tor library purposes. 1t Is claimed that
time will soon show the necessity for a
reference library Of some kind in the Can't
tol.