The herald., 1898-03-04

1zluDouri moved ~ strike out the ont1Ep
section. He sal6 frankly tnGk ho doa1to0
to test the sense e the sensee e the psup-
ositfon to extend the houontead Lawn 70
the district of Alaeka- - fAR - the corl~
struction of railways wAs concorned, n
would be . nsoot difficult and Axpens1ve
undertaking. If constructors could md
valleys for their railroads. they would ~
met with all sorts of difficulties and dam
gers He thought that after tho 'ephemer-
al gold-seeking rush had subsided thsre
would be no possible reason for the con-
struction Of railways in Alaska. Vest ridi-
culed the report made by Rev. DR.. Sheldon
Jackson upon the agriculture of Alaska.
Alaska" declared Mr.. Vest, ITS not an
agricultural section and 1t can never be
made one. I speak from personal knowl-
edge and not from government reports"
He said that In that great section. two
and half times larger than the state
of Texas and ten times larger than the
state OF Georgia, there was not . single
farm, vet the report of DIR. jackson exten-
sively pictured the wonderful potatoes and
the remarkable cabbages produced there.
Mr.. Vest said he kenw something Of those
potatoes and cabbages. The potatoes were
large and full Of water, nothing else. He
saw, he said, cabbages that spread over
the ground like the blanket Of Sancho
Panxa, and caulidower that weighed
twenty-five pounds, yet when they were
cut they contained nothing but water. As
to the grasses which DIR. jackson referred
to so eloquently, 1t was vegetable BIAS
phemy" to compare them with the blue
grass 70 Kentucky, He thought the pur-
chase Of Alaska for $7.50O0O0 had made
recklessly and heedlessly. Since 1881 It had
cost the government $44l. 900 and the REV.
Sheldon Jackson, d. D. and Ill. D.. mis-
sionary to the Aleuts and manager of REIN
deer. $4,000 for spending his winters In
Washington and his summers in Alaska
The motion of Mr.. Vest to strike out the
first section was. by an aye and nay vote.
defeated-31 to Is.
Section two Of the bill was amended by
the insertion of a declaration that 'all
such rights (tide lands and beds Of navi-
gable rivers) shall continue to be held by
the United States In trust for the people
of any state or states which may here
after be created out of said district"
And 1t yas further amended by the
adoption Of the following provision Of
fered by the committee:
THAT all charges for the transportation
of freight and passengers on railroads in
the district Of Alaska shall be fixed, sub
ject to the approval of the secretary of the
Interior and when so approved shall be
printed and posted, as required by section
six of the act to regulate commerce. as
amended on March 2, 1889. and new rates of
charges may be prescribed by the secre-
tary Of the interior from time to time, as
he may deem necessary"
Without completing the bill, the senate
at $40 p. m. adjourned.
NOMINATIONS
The president sent the following nomina-
tions to the senate today:
Postmasters-Calfornia: s. j. Mcbride,
Dixon: Reuben Hunger. Livermore; Geo.
M. Francis. Napa.
NOT CONEJRMED
The senate committee on commerce to-
day decided by a unanimous vote adversely
on the nomination Of Henry Demas to be
naval officer at New Orleans.