El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-12-07
OF
CONGRESS-.
Matters That Will Come Up
This Session.
BUSINESS OF SENATE.
The Kansas Pacific Railroad Sale is
Already Attracting the Attention
of the Upper House and Western
Senators Want 1t Settled.

WASHINGTON, December 7.-Con
gress unds On It's bling that th'
few months whioh have passed since i
was called in special session by Presi
dent MIX niey have been extremely
Satisfactory in their developments
The tariff law, which WAS placed upor
the statute books by the a3tion OF the
spec al session, has fully justified the
| predic ion. of its trainers and upcort-
ers: the acministr ,tiOn has made
splendid prOare . in its work with
reference 30 foreign affairs, while the
repos which members of congr. S.
| bring from all par of the count y
snow va .tiy improved business condl-
tiOas.
Increased earnings among farmers,
increased eacnings by railroads and
railroad men, increased earnings
among mine operators and mine work
ers, incre .sed earnings among manu-
factu- rs,-these a-e the repo is which
mem bers bricg from every part of the
country. Ffom Kan as alone comes
an Official report placiog the value of
farm proc u Is 10 that state hi, year at
over S66 600, 900, an j. erase oi more
than 30 pc C. Mt as compared with last
year, the nrepOrts OF mortgages can
celled iu that and al of the farming
states are equally gratifying. From
the manufac.ur ng I'd mining sections
tn rspo: Is are quite as favOt able.
Mem be, fr IN the manufacturing sec-
tions of New England an the Ohio
valley report large increas g. in the
number OF people employed, aud that
an increase in wages is Low also being
had in mauy cases. Naturally the first
effect of a protective tariff is 10 in
crease the number of people empiOged.
and It is not until the second stage of
it's work has been reached thai the
effect is felt in the increase in wage-.
This is now making itself apparent, for
reports Cf increased wages come not
alOoe firm the NJ nufacsuring certers,
b from the great iron mines of Penn
sylvapia, Michigan, and elsewhere,
and fri IN other il duS:ries of this char
aclerin the Ohio valley.
One subject for which members of
coz gr7ss of both parties are looking
with interest rs the statements of Sen
atOrs Pc t.igrew. Mantle and Dubois,
who hurried away from Washington
at the close of The special session to Wis
it Japan. 1t was announced that their
object in making this trip was TO ex-
anime into the causes which led Japan
to abandon the silver standard and fall
in line with the progressive gold stand
ard nations of the world. Japan, it
will be remem bered, was shining ex-
ample of Ere e-silver prosperity during
the discussion OF 1896, and no single
incident since tie defeat of 1896 so
much disturbed the silver advocates as
the loss of japan FRI m their list Of ell
YER standard countries. Itwas because
of tbs fact that the silver advocates
scurried away to interview W these Yam
KEGS of the Orient and find out just how
they had been taken i'm by the gold
schemeri of Europe. These gentlemen,
although they returned IRON Japan
weeks ago, have been absolutely silent,
and their coming to Washington is
as there will be disposition on the
part of the members of both parties to
insist upon either definite report or
an explana alton of their silence. The
fact thai they have had nothing to say
since they returned is considered, to
say the least suggestive OF failure to
find in Japan snv sufficient argument
in support of their silver theory.
One subject which interests members
of congress much on their return is the
announcement that all American pri-
soners in Cuba have now baen set ct
Ii herty. 1t will be remembered that
this a6m nistration, when it came into
Office niue months ago, found that a
very large number OF American citi- |
zens we're confined in Cuban prisons,
and bad been SO confined, in many
cases, for months. Within less than a
single month many of these were re-
leased, and now congress finds, upon |
re assembling, that through the firm |
but conservative course of the admins |
tratiOn every American citizen who |
was thus confined in Cuban prisons, |
and had been so confined for months, |
if rot years, has been set at liberty. |
This fact is already having its effect in |
modifying the disposition on the part !
of certain people to criticise the course
of the administration IN regard to Cub
an affairs, and to lead to feeling that |
the president and his advisers, if per-
mitted to carry out their plans, will |
shape the matter in satisfactory wey. |
The operations of the tariff law dur
ing uhe four months since congress
p aced upon the statute books and left |
it to begin it's career in the face of ad-
verse conditions have been very sat-
isfactOry. With a hundred million |
dollars worth of surplus foreign i'm
7 rortations upon the markets of the |
country, the conditions in which it en-
tered upon its work were, of course. |
unfavor able. In the face of |
that fact, however, its earnings have |
s' eadily eased, beginning with g.
little over $4,000, 600 N its first month,
and now reaching mLre than $25,- |
600, 900 IN November. In ezch month |
since the tariff bill was paced uton the |
sta' ute books, the earpioes have ir-
creased, and the treasury officials who |
have been studying the new law care
fully are thoroughly satisfied with it's |
prospects as revenue producer. Pro-
badly 70 man in the treasury depart
ment is better capable to Judge Of |
these matters than Assistant s,ecret4rg
who has grown up in tee GU
toms service from subord mate posi- |
tion to the position which he now
secretary OF tie |
treasury. He says frankly that he |
thi k the ca nings of the new law will |
be suf;i int after the opening month |
of u Z cnm'Dr year to meet rurripg |
cxpanses. "Ihc enormous sock of |
sugac, rcol, AMI other articles which |!