The Elbert County tribune., 1899-01-12

natural gas is not dutiable.
Representative Dingley. who has
been very sick, was reported better on
the 3rd.
SO many Of the members of Congress
are sick that the attendance Is very
small at the sessions.
President and Mrs. Mckinley gave a
| brilliantly successful New Years re-
ceptIon on the 2nd.
The receipts nj Manila custom house
during November averaged 100000 n
day i'm gold, and the report states that
the shipping Is on the increase and
that the possibilities are unlimited.
senor AgoncIllo. who is in Washing
ton as the representative of the Philip
pine government has asked to be rec
ognized by the United States as such
| and to be accorded the same rights as
the other diplomats. His request Is
now In the hands OF Secretary Hay.
Governor Leedy OF Kansas has
signed the bill reducing telegraph rates
and placing telegraph companies un-
der the supervision of the court of
| visitation" The rate fixed in the bill
ON messages Is 10 cents for the first
| ten words, day or night and l cent for
| encl additional word. On newspaper
| reports the rates are reduced TO one
| third of Il cent for each word during
the day. and one-ssxth of cent for
each word at night. 1t provides that
no lower special rate shall be granted
to anyone.
The grippe. and the ailments attend
ant upon It. that are now included In
its train of ills. have prostrated an un-
| usual number Of residents of Washing
ton. An observant pharmacist esti-
mates that ten per cent. of the districts
population is suffering in one way or
another from the new generic grippe
Three members of the Senate commit
tee Oh appropriations are so i'll that
they will not be able to leave their
homes for several days.
The revenues Of the government dur
Ing the half-year ending December
3ist. were larger than for any six con-
secutive months since 1867, aggrcgat-
ing S2l5. .961 500 against S2OI.TGO,5i
for the corresponding period last year.
The receipts from customs amounted TO
| Sq6.OI5. $50. MS compared with ST.. .S2o,
o21 last year. The receipts from Gus
toms for December amounted to $16.-
Tgl.325. which were the largest month
| ly total since the Dlngley tariff bill was
passed and the largest since 1892, when
under the Mckinley tariff act they
reached S1G,3GS,33i.
orders have been sent General Mil
Ter to avoid hostilities mt Iloilo Mt all
hazards. but If he Is compelled to fight
he IL instructed to deal such blow as
will he felt by all the Insurgents in the
Philippines, In order that they may see
they are not dealing with Spain any
longer. but with II power that is capa-
Bile of enforcing its policy. Aguinaldo
| and his associates are so elated by their
success thus far that IL is impossible TO
reason with them, and they are rapidly
running their own cause by exactions
und blackmail imposed upon their fel
| w-countrymen. who are suffering
| from these causes much more than mt
any time during the Spanish rule.
The time of the House viii he fully
occupied from this time forward until
| the conclusion OF the session. Appro-
priation bills. which are already in an
unusually advanced stage. are to be
kept to the fore, but there is a deal of
| other important legislation which will
press for consideration Mt every oppor-
tunlty. Perhaps the most important
single measure is the bill for the reor-
/ ~
general understanding before the recess
that this bill would be given considera-
lion Immediately after the holidays.
but the Illness of Chairman Hull Of the
military affairs committee will delay
this measure until he Is sufficiently re-
covered to attend the sessions of the
House. His illness will also delay the
military academy and army approprla-
ton bills.
An important suit, involving the va
lidity of county bonds in Arizona. was
decided in the Supreme Court of the
United States Tuesday. The case val
idates S2S9.0G1 worth of bonds. issued
by Pima county. In aid of the Arizona
narrow gauge railroad. 1t was based
upon petition for mandamus upon
the governor and other territorial off
GERS TO compel them to issue bonds In
lieu of those originally issued in 1883
The Supreme Court of the territory
denied this petition. but the opinion of
the federal Supreme Court, which wos
handed down by Judge Brown, re-
verses this decision and renands the
case for further proceedings in compli-
nnce with the original petition. The
opinion of the court is based upon the
authority of the act of Congress of
June 6. 1896.
Senator Lodge has introduced. by re-
quest, bill TO provide for n subma-
rine cable between the United States
Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan. China
ana Australia. The postmaster general
Is authorized TO contract with the Pa
cific Cable Company of New York for
the payment of S125.O00 n wear for
twenty years for transmission of Off
| cial messages from San Francisco Ia
Honolulu, the line to he laid by Dpcem-
Der 81. 1900 Before December 81. 1902
the company shall construct line
from Honolulu to Manila with an ad-
ditionnl sum of Sl25,O00 TO be paid bv
the government. Within four years Tho
company shall lay connecting lines 10
Japan, for which S125,OoO n year for
twenty years shall he paid. The rates
fixed between San Francisco and Hon.
olulu are 30 cents a word and to the
further points 81 word.
The War Department has finally de-
clueu TO continue In force. for time
at least. the system of collecting tnxes
In Cuba practlced by the Spanish nm
thorities. The burden of collection
amounting to per cent. of the tnx. Is
now assumed by the government. in
stead of being imposed upon the tnx
payers, while the 10 per cent iucrenso
III taxation, which was levied MS onl
or the last acts of the Spanish admin
istratlon. is remtted. MS well ms MI
nccrued penalties. The order desipnat'
Ing the Spanish Bank of the Island NJ
| Cuba MS the governments arent for
the collection of taxes in all parts of
the island, the bank also becoming ems.
touian OF the funds, but it is provided