Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-09
WORK IN COMMITTEES
Favorable Action Taken on the Vioksburs
Park Project
Deiesatton Representing DIstflIine
interests Given Hearing-Con-
tracts for Armor Plate.

Inc OIL TO establish national military
pain 10 commemorate the campaign. siege
and defense of Vicksburg, Miss. was ia
Vorabiy acted upon by the House commit
| tee on military affairs yesterday. The al
| iowance for the purchase of land was re-
ouceo from S5o.oW to $4,000. making a
| total for land and improvements of st5ooo
Inc measure has been championed by the
| leading army organizations of the coun-
| try. 1t provides for securing the lends w.
| ing around the city of Vicksburg where the
| memorable campaign took place. and the
preservation as far as possible Of the orgf-
nal earthworks and defenses. The work is
to be under the direction of the Secretary
of War. assisted by a commission of three.
two of whom shall have served under
Grant at the siege and one In the army of
General Pemberton.
Disabling Interests Heard.
A delegation representing the distilling
| and wholesale liquor interests of the coun-
try appeared before the ways and means
committee yesterday to urge an amend
| ment of the internal revenue laws SO that
outage" shall be allowed on liquor held
in bond beyond four years. The delega-
ton included representatives of the Ma
tional Wholesale Liquor Dealers Associa-
ton. the Kentucky Distillers' Association
the Eastern Distillers' Association. Under
the present law, when whisky is taken out
OF bond at the end of four years, the govern
ment allows nine gallons of evaporation and
leakage. but no allowance is made beyond
that period. The distillers urged that the
same evaporation and leakage continued
beyond the four years and should be de-
Quoted from the quantity on which the
S1.1o tax is levied. 1t was argued that the
practical effect of the present law was to
discourage the aging of whisky and to
make the tax greater on old whisky than
that held only four In The
of the hearing Chairman Dingley remark
ed that he thought this subject should he
considered in connection with the general
question of fixing just rate of taxation
on spirits, although he said IL unde-
sirable to take up the general question of
tax until it was clearly established what
the revenues of the government were TO
be under the present law.
The hearing will continue tomorrow.
Armor Plate.
The Senate committee on naval affairs
has agreed to recommend amendment
| to the naval appropriation bill authorizing
| the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a
contract with existing armor plants for
supplying armor for the three battle ships
the Alabama, Illinois and Wisconsin, now
in course of construction, if proper terms
could be secured. In the matter of terms
the committee was guided by the sugges-
tion of Secretary Long that a contract
could be secured at the rate Of sIo9 per
ton for armor, including the nickel in IL,
and this rate was fixed the maximum
Previous TO the taking of the vote there
Was some discussion of the subject, some
of the members holding to the view that
the government should proceed with its
own plant Senators Tillman and Butler
cast the only votes cast against the pro-
vision. There is an informal understand
ing that the question of a government
plant Will be taken up at the next meeting.
Committee Notes.
The plan advocated by Surgeon General
Wyman for a national quarantine service
will be given hearing by the House COM
n;ittee on commerce next week, Friday.
All of the bills proposing additional
United States judges have been referred to
special committee of the House judiciary
committee, which will take up the indi-
vidual cases and the needs of various To-
calities. The subcommittee is headed by
Representative Henderson of Iowa.
The bill to reimburse the state of Penn
| sylvanfa for the balance of $4,000 paid the
| militia called out in 1863 has been favor
ably acted on by the House committee OIL
war claims.
The House committee on patents yester-
day acted favorably on the bill amending
the patent law of March 3. 1897 so as to
limit the restrictions against patenting an
article on which foreign patent has already
been issued or previously described in a
foreign publication. The bill provides that
the restriction shall not apply to applica-
tions made within sixty days from the pas
sage of the proposed amendment
The new pneumatic service for the i-ans-
mission of mail will be opened in New
York Friday, and members of the House
committee on post offices and post roads
have accepted an offer Of private car to
| take them to New York that day for an
inspection of the system.
The House naval committee has taken
up the question of dry docks and in this
connection hearing was given yesterday
TO President Dykeman of the New York
Dry Dock Company on the subject of dock
construction. Other dock experts will be
heard during the next few days