The Elk Mountain pilot., 1899-01-17
CONGRESSIONAL NEWS
AND WASHINGTON GOSSIP.

! $50, ,057 ,6oS, reserve, increased from
| S14,617, ,532 to SIT ,GS1 $50, of which the
| gold holdings increased from $4, 1872
$50 to 81, ,224,12 The deposits in
and the average reserve held increased
from 41.39 to 1862 per cent.
/, The President on Thursday sent
| these nominations to the Senate: State
| -Charlemagne Tower of Pennsylva-
mia. now minister to Austria Hungary,
to be ambassador to Russia; Addison
| c.. Harris of Indiana to be minister to
| Austria Hungary. Treasury - James
| G. Monahan. collector of internal rev
| enue, Second district of Wisconsin.
| War-To be brigadier generals: Col.
John b. Castleman, First Kentucky
| volunteer infantry; Col. Thomas III.
Barber, First New York volunteer in
| fantry. Also n number of promotions
and appointments in the volunteer in
| fantry.
The Court of Claims has just render
| ed a decision which probably means
| the payment by the government of sew
| eral millions of dollars to the Choctaw
| and Chickasaw Indians. Involved in
the case is the question of title to over
| 100000 acres of land in the Indian
Territory. The decision is to the eff
feet that the lands in the Wichita res
ervation are held in trust by the gov
ernment for the benefit of the Choc-
taws and the Chickasaws. This sus-
tains the claim of the Indians. But
while the decision applied only formal
ly to Wichita reservation it stands as
the precedent for much larger bodies
of land.
The delegation of visiting New Mexi-
co Republicans has given up all hope
of admission by the present regime.
The gentlemen may remain here until
adjournment to look after other terri
torial matters, but they all fully ap-
preciate that the JIG is up. Their
chagrin has been greatly increased by
the fact that the only definite promises
of support they have received came
from Democratic senators and mem
bers. Notwithstanding the fact that
Mexico went wholly Republican at the
last election, the Democratic members
of both houses have assured Delegate
FERGUSON in his canvasSes that they
are fully prepared to support an admis-
sion bill.
The Senate committee on foreign re
lations on Wednesday authorized SEN
ator Davis to report the peace treaty
favorably without amendment. The
committee was in session for only an
hour, and the greater part of this
time was consumed in waiting for
quorum, the senators meantime dis
cussing informally the provisions of
the treaty. There was no suggestion
of any amendment in committee. Sen.
ator Davis was instructed to press the
treaty upon the attention of the Sen
ate with a view to securing as early
action as possible. The committee al.
so authorized Senator Davis to report
favorably upon the proposition to re-
move the injunction OF secrecy.
Senator Mason of Illinois occupied
the attention of the Senate for nearly
an hour and n half Tuesday with
speech in support of his resolution de
claring that the United States should
never attempt to govern the people of
any country without their consent. In
many respects the speech was one of
the most notable utterances in the
Senate thus far this session. Rugged
in language, pointed and effective in
Illustration, Mr.. Mason commanded
the attention of the Senate and CALLER
les from the first sentence of his
speech to the apostrophe to liberty
which formed his peroration. Several
times spontaneous applause swept
over the galleries, but under the
stringent rules of the Senate it was
quelled quickly.
The President to-day sent these nom.
nations to the Senate: State, Joseph |
II. Choate of New York to be ambas- |
sador extraordinary and plenipoten.
tiary to Great Britain. Treasury, |
Charles H. Brickenstein of Colorado. |
TO be surveyor of customs at Denver, |
Colorado. Postmaster, Colorado, Jo- |
seph II. Miller. Trinidad. Joseph |
Hodges Choate was born in 1882 in
Massachusetts, and is the son of DIR. |
George Choate. He was graduated in |
1854 from Harvard law school and |
was admitted in 1855 to the bar. He |
formed partnership with William II. |
Barnes, but in 1859 became II member |
of the firm of Evarts, Southmaid &
Choate. For the last ten years Mr. |
Choate has been generally acknowl |
edged to be the leading lawyer of the |
New York bar.
The guides who show strangers
about the capitol these days point out
with great gusto on the floor of the |
Senate two statesmen who are under |
indictments for felony. accused of hav. |
ing made free use with funds belong. |
ing to other people that We're deposited
in banks managed by their friends |
One of them is on the Democratic side, |
Richard r. Kenney of Delaware. who |
has been twice tried, by hung juries.
The other, on the Republican side, is
Matthew Stanley Quay. who is now |
awaiting the verdict of legislature as |
well as n court. Mr.. Kenney is almost |
stranger. Very few of the members |
of the Senate know him, but Mr.. Quay |
is great favorite, and If his col |
leagues could vote he would be acquit |
ted almost unanimously. His most in
innate friend is Senator Vest of Mis-
souri,, Democrat.
While Senator Caffery of Louisiana |
was making his great constitutional |
arguments against expansion the 9th
er day there were exactly six senators |