The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-05-10

there would be an extra session of Con.
gress, simply because he has not fully
decided to call one. He has talked the
matter over with prominent Republi
cans and has intimated his belief that
circumstances will probably make it
wise to call Congress together in adj
vance of the regular session in Deem
Der, and has advised Senators and Rep
resentatives to make their plans &C
cordingly. That is as far as the matter
has gone. There may or may not be
an extra session, but the probabilities
favor one. There is lots Of work ahead
of Congress, and if there is no extra
session, the House cannot hope to get
down to business before the first of
January, because the new speaker
could not get the committees arranged
before that date. An extra session
would enable all that to be done be-
forehand, and would undoubtedly great
ly expedite legislation of all kinds.
Many think, also, that it would be good
politics to call an extra session, not
only because it would shorten the
speakersbip contest, but because it
would give more time to act upon the
financial bill, which has been prepared
by the House caucus committee, aud
allow it to get before the country and
be fully discussed and understood be-
fore the excitement of the presidential
campaign begins. The need of legis-
lation for the country's new posses
sions, especially Hawaii and Porto
Rico, is also an argument for an extra
session.
American industry is emuating the
glory of American arms. Peace is
having her victories as continuous as
and no less renowned than war. The
JOURNAL has frequently reported these
industrial conquests. To the long and
brilliant list, from the Atbara bridge on
the Upper Nile, before and since that
remarkable triumph of America over
England's manufacturers of iron, has
recently been added the engagement of
the Phoenix Bridge Company, Pennsyl-
vania, to build twelve steel bridges for
the government of Russia, on the ex-
tension of her Siberian railway, run
ming southeast into China. Another
victory of the American iron and steel
industry is contract for $4,000 tons of
steel rails to be shipped to Melbourne,
Australia, for the transportation of
which fleet of vessels has been char
tered at Baltimore. Another home run
for the American protective policy.
1t sometimes happens that a verdict
of acquittal only serves to confirm the
popular condemnation. Many things
are sometimes admitted to be true that
it may not be possible to prove in le-
gal way; and sometimes, also, there
may be lacking the disposition or pur-
pose to prove charge in legal way.
In the matter of the beef inquiry YER
dict, the people at large will still be-
lieve Governor Roosevelt and the sew
enty-6ve out of every hundred who
testified before the beef board, and
they will still believe that General
Miles took the only sure way to get be-
fore the public the real facts of the
food supply to the army in Cuba
and Porto Rico. Among the great pub
lie there is no censure of General
Miles, direct or indirect.
IT is singular circumstance that
both in the West Indies and in the Far
East volunteer military organization,
led by volunteer officer, receives the
larger share of public notice. In the
East the reports rarely mention reg
ular military organization. 1t is al
most always the Kansas, Montana,
Washington or Dakota volunteer regi-
ment and the Utah battery, and lately
the Twentieth Kansas and Colonel
Funston have repeated the individual
distinction achieved by the Rough Ri
ders and Colonel Roosevelt at Santiago
de Cuba. And yet in the island of Lu.
zon, as in Cuba, the main strength of
the army is the regulars.
Demonstrations of honor, as fervid
as they are spontaneous, the express
ions OF the intuitive homage of mems !
hearts for the modest but superlative
hero of the Oregon's perilous voyage
and battle race, have attended Captain
Clark in his unheralded passage through
parts of Vermont and Massachusetts.
The captain must begin to understand
that, willing or unwilling, he is hero,
n nd .Ah l.