The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-26
INDIANAPOLIS BILL PERILED
DEBATE ON OTHER MEASURES MAY
PREVENT CONSIDERATION.
David CammacIx Appointed POstmas-
ter at Muncie and Judge Day Nom
mated to Federal Bench.
speoial to the Indianapolis Iournal.

Special to the indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.-The fight
against the Nicaragua rider" to the river
and harbor bill will begin in the House on
Monday. The bill has been referred to the
House committee on rivers and harbors, and
will probably go from there back to the
House to be considered in committee of the
whole. That will give an opportunity for
the opposition to develop and to give those
who are antagoniZing it a chance to ex-
plain why they can vote against the rider
and still be in favor of a ship canal Among
the conservatives of the House strong
feeling has arisen against the proposition
as it is now presented. They have not had
sufficient time to consider the Hepburn
rider" as they would like to, and are open
ly suspicious that Job is concealed in it
"a job which may result in their political
ruin at some time in the. near future. They
are indignant that the Senate should put
the House in a position of apparently op-
posing the construction of a canal which is
wanted by four-fifths of the people Of the
United States and which is generally recog-
nized as being a military necessity They
will nevertheless do their best to knock the
rider" off the bill. The river and harbor
committee is in arms against it, fearing it
There is. however, well-dehned feeling in
the House that the favors are so distrib-
uted among the members that the bill will
pass, canal rider and all. The Senate
very cleverly amended the river and har-
Dor bill to smother opposition, giving ap-
propriations for improvements in many To-
calities where senators and representatives
were making demonstrations of hostility or
where suspected of being secretly against
the bill itself and the Nicaragua canal
amendment.
A letter has been received here from On
tario saying that the Canadian members of
the high joint commission, when they again
meet, as 1t now is almost certain they will
intend to insist on free lumber. On the other
hand, Speaker Reed had practically agreed
to allow a resolution to come up in the
House. to be reported by Chairman Payne
Of the ways and means committee, to the
effect that any gov ernment province or de-
tendency which imposed differential duties
on American citizens owning property in
such dependency should suffer an additional
80 per cent. of duty on the importation into
this country Of the article involved This
would bring the duty on Canadian lumber
up to about 81 per thousand feet, which
would be prohibitive. This was intended as
terms. But before allowing the resolution to
come up, Speaker Reed desired an assur-
ance that it would pass the Senate This
assurance it has been found impossible to
get Certain men announced their purpose
of talking it to death. So the lumber situa-
tion will remain in statu quo until the com
mission gets to work on the subject again,
when, as before, it will prove an exceeding
ly troublesome question
The time which will be consumed in con-
sideration of the river and harbor bill may
be fatal to the chance for the passage Of
the indianapolis building bill. 1t has been
Mr.. Overstreet's hope that he could get this
bill up early in the week
Senator Fairbanks to-day secured the
passage of the House bill to reimburse ex-
Postmaster George w. McKinsey of Ko-
komo, Ind. for $62O21 expended by him be-
tween 1889 and 1893 in maintaining the post
office in that place. The report shows that
Mr.. McKinsey while postmaster, actually
paid this money out of his own funds in the
purchase of fuel, lights and clerk hire, over
and above the allowance made by the gov
ernment for that purpose. The fact that
he is an old soldier and in straitened cir
cumstances made it easy to secure congress
Slollai relleI.
Senator Fairbanks will endeavor to secure
time on Monday next for consideration of
the bill extending the provisions of the i'm
migration laws to Hawaii and thereby put
a stop to the further importation of con
tract labor.
Indiana postmasters were appointed to-
day as follows: Burnett, Vigo county, Bar
zilla Melton. vice William Z. Price, re-
signed; Majenica, Huntington county, John
j. Brown, vice A. l.. Shideler. resigned.
The funeral ship Roumania, which is en-
gagged in the sacred mission of bringing home
the remains Of the brave soldiers who lost
their lives in Porto Rico and Cuba, has
completed its work so far as Porto Rico is
concerned. The number of American dead
on that island was comparatively small and
their disnterment and removal to the trans
port occupied only about a weeks time A
telegram received by Colonel Moore. of the
quartermaster generals office, says that the
Roumania left Ponce yesterday for Santiago.
where the principal work of the expedition
will be done.
The President has made several amend
ments to the regulations governing the ex-
animation OF enlisted men for appointment
as second lieutenants in the army. Accord
ingly the usual preliminary examination Of
such applicants viii be made on March g.
of this year, instead Of Sept. l. as under the
former regulations. The advancement of
the date of examination is supposed to be
due 10 the pressing necessity for additional
officers in consequence Of the war. Soldiers
desiring to take the competitive examination
must have completed two years of service
prior TO March 80 next. and their age on that
date must not exceed thirty years The re-