The record-union., 1897-03-01

statute books all laws imposing the
death penalty for other crimes than
murder, rape, treason or piracy, and
endowed juries with the power to stip-
ulate whether or not capital punish
ment shall be inflicted for these crimes.
An agitation by dramatists, compos-
ers and theatrical managers has re-
suited in securing law fixing heavy
penalties for public performances of
copyrighted dramatic or musical COM
positions, and empowering all United
States Circuit Courts to enforce the
orders of any such court regarding
these performances.
The interstate commerce laws have
been extended to prevent traffic in OBJ
scene literature.
The shipping laws have been amended
to enable yachts belonging to Aneri-
can or foreign clubs to enter or clear
without tonnage taxes; also to require
naphtha or electric boats of more than
fifteen tons burden to be subjected to
all requirements for inspection AMI for
pilots and engineers. A new law COM
pels the name and draft of every regis
tered vessel to be marked on the stern
and bow.
New regulations have been made for
the compensation of inspectors of
steam vessels for their travelling. All
persons who make signal exertlons in
rescuing a wrecked ship or a drowning
person are, under a law of this session
eligible for the life saving medals,
which formerly were given only to the
life saving crew men.
The friends of the Tennessee Centen-
NAL Exposition of 1897 have succeeded
in securing an appropriation of Sl40, ODD
for a Government building, while the
Nebraska delegation is working To Sc
cure a like recognition for the Omaha
Exposition.
One of the most important pieces Of
land legislation permits the patentlnS
of lands containing petroleum or other
mineral oils under the mineral land
laws Another extends to January l.,
1899, the time in which purchases may
be made of the railroad grant lands
forfeited to the Government under the
Act of 1890, and another confirms cash
entries which have been declared in
valid because the lands entered were
never offered for sale.
lating to the courts We're these: Fixing
the fees in the Circuit Court of APP
peals; Withdrawing from the Supreme
Court jurisdiction of crimes not CAPT
tai, and giving it to the Circuit Court
of Appeals.
An Act was passed providing heavy
penalties for selling intoxicating liquors
to Indians; An Act authorizing the
Secretary of the Interior to use the
abandoned Fort Bidwell, in California,
for an Indian training school, and one
to enable the town of Flagstaff, A. T.,
to issue S65 900 per cent. bonds to
construct a water system.
Military Acts were passed authoriZ-
ing the comforting on officers of the
regular army of the highest brevet
rank held by them in the volunteer
service: to authorize officers who served
in the regular army during the re-
belIion to bear the official title, and on
ceremonial occasions to wear the uni
form of their rank; for issuing certiti-
Gates of service to members of the mil
itary telegraph corps; for the State OF
Colorado, to use the Fort Lyon military
reservation for a Soldiers Home; to
permit the appointment as medical oft1-
GERS of Soldiers Homes of others than
those who have been disabled in the
military service.
A life saving station has been pro
vided for at Point Arena, Mendociro
County, Cal, and a survey has been
authorized for a water route from the
mouth of the jetties at Galveston, Tex,
through the ship canal and up Buffalo
Bayou to Houston.
Right of way has been granted the
Muskogee, Oklahoma and Western
Railroad through the Indian Territory
and Oklahoma, and the Eastern Ne
braska and Gulf Railroad through the
Omaha and Winnebago Indian reserva-
ton in Nebraska.