The San Francisco call., 1898-03-05
Special Dispatch to The Call.
Call Office, Riggs House, Washington. March 4

the Senate late this afternoon passed =. the bill extending the homestead laws and. providing for right of way for rail- roads in the district of Alaska Com parativeIy little discussion of general interest was created by the bill Sec ton 13, providing for certain bonding .-&6ncessiOns to Canada in lieu of privi- -leg6s to be extended by the Dominion Government to this country, however, induced a rather lively debate, as it . brought into the controversy the old fisheries question on the New England coast, which has been pending between the United States and Great Britain for a hundred years. The statement was nrade on the floor of the Senate that there was every reason to believe that by the passage of the bill the fish : cries question could be settled without great effort, as assurances to that effect had been received from a large and ln- 1iuential element in Canada.
 When the reading of the bill was re- stunned. Sewell of New Jersey offered the = following proYiSo to section 5, which was adopted:
 That where the space' Cfor the con- . structiOn of a railroad) ''is limited, the United States District Court shall re Quire the road first constructed to allow any other railway or tramway to pass over it's track, or tracks, through sucn :. canyon, pass or defile on such equitable .-l5itsis as the said court may prescribe, and all shippers shall be entitled to equal . accommodation as to the movement of . their freight and without discrimination in favor of any person or corporation
 The last paragraph of section 6, re serving the right Of the Government to purchase or take by proceedings of con demnation any railroad, tramway or . wagon road at its actual cash value, be- ing in line of Government ownership of railroads, was stricken out by an aye : and no vote. 4S to ', the seven votes cast NF asJe nh f.afTl hl- of Nebraska, Butler of North Carolina = Harris of Kansas, Heitfeld of Idaho, Nel- son of Minnesota, Teller of Colorado and - Turner of Washington.
 The reading and amending of the bill, while long and tedious, was accomplished without particularly important debate un- : til section l3 was reached. This provides for the extension to Canada of the bond " ing privileges on Alaskan trade with Can condltI0n that certain conceSSlohS are given this country by the Dominion Gov ernment, among them being the right of our fishermen to enter Canadian ports for the purchase of bait or other supplies.
 Turner of Washington moved to strike out that part Of the section which related to the entering of Canadian ports by make the tYatFcn because he was hostile to the New England fisheries, but because . he deemed 1t unfair to burden this meas ure with a demand upon the Dominion Government that 1t yield a contention 1t has made for hundred years.
 Hale of Maine inquired if Turner did not l United States to obtain the fisheries con- SesSiOn from Canada.
 4Turner replied that it would be of ad- '~ vantage if he could obtain it, but did not believe it could be obtained
 Hansbrough of North Dakota said that the Committee on Public Lands was in possession of information that Canada would accept the conditions imposed by o. the section. He was firmly of opinion that the Dominion Government would -- yield on the fisheries question in view Of the concessions made to it by the bill.
 Hoar of Massachusetts expressed the hope that Turner would not insist upon his motion. The fisheries question was not a local one to New England but a =. national questiOn-a question, too, par ticularly applicable to the people of the Northwest, where the fisheries interest was annually becoming greater. He felt = that the fisheries problem was one of im- mense importance to the people of the Northwest, and ought not to be stricken from the measure.
 In supporting and supplementing what : HOar had said, Frye of Maine said that the pending bill was of national import :. ance. He thought there was never a : better opportunity to secure concessions from the Canadian Government than at : the present time, when the Canadians wanted something from the United States. He did not think the motion ought ito prevail, because we have long been giving Canada much and receiving little ln return. Frye. believed that if it were not for the captiousness of Canada there would not be the slightest trouble be- tween this country and Great Britain.
 Wilson supported the contention of Turner and thought it the height of ab- % surdity to tack the fisheries question to a bill providing for the encouragement of railway construction in Alaska.
 Carter agreed with Hoar and Frye that the fisheries question, so far as it was considered in this bill, was of national importance. The fisheries industry in AL aska and the Northwest now reached $6,0O0 900 per annum, and was growing in importance every year.
 Turner's motion to strike out the fish OT O X1FoC 6afa xl by an aye and no vote-34 to 16 The sec ton was adopted without division. As agreed to, section 13 is as follows:
 That under rules and regulations to be pre- scribed by the Secretary or the Treasury the privilege of entering goods in warehouses and merchandise bond or of placing them in bonded warehouses; at the port of Wrangei district of Alaska, and of withdrawing the . Columbia or the Northwest Territory with payment of duty, is hereby granted to the its citizens citizens of the United States %Ehenever ana so long as it shall appear to states. who shall ascertain and declare the Tact by proclamation that exclusive privi- DC lege of transporting through British CoIumbia or the Northwest Territory goods or passen gers arriving from or destined for other ports poration by the Government of the Dominion Si, ST e'anaaa, and that the privilege has been porations operating transportation lines in British Columbia or the Northwest Territory
 making direct connection with transportation lines In Alaska; and that the Government of the Dominion of Canada has consented to and Is allowing on behalf of citizens of the limited States the entry free of duty of all miners outfits and supply of provisions and cloth ing. the whole not exceeding in quantity 1000 pounds for each citizen Of the United States proposing to engage in mining in British Co., lumbia or the Northwest Territory: and that the Government of the Dominion Of Canada has removed all unequal restrictions as to the issue of miners licenses to all citizens of the United States operating or intending to oper- ate in British Columbia the Northwest Territory. And further. that fishing vessels Of the United States having authority under the laws Of the United States touch and /: trade at any port or ports. place or places. in the British domnons of North America. shall have the privilege of entering such port or .-ports. place or places for the purpose of pur- chasing bait and all other supplies and out fits in the same manner and under the same regulations may exist therein applicable to trading vessels of the most favored nations. and of trans-shippng their catch to be trans ported In bond through said domnons without payment of duties in the manner as A other merchandise destined for the United States may be thus transported
 The bill was then passed without division. The Senate, at 5:05 D. m., held an executive session and at 5:20 p. m. ad- Journed until Monday