Gilpin observer., 1899-01-26
CONGRESSIONAL NOTES
AND WASHINGTON GOSSIP.

gacific cable company.
The President has appointed Fred
erick C. Perkins to be register of the
land office at Durango.
President Mckinley took n day off
Monday and took a trip down the Po-
tomac with Il few friends.
Mr.. Bacon of Georgia delivered an
address in opposition to Philippine an
neXation in the Senate last Wednes-
day.
Senator White of California deliver
ed an eloquent plea for granting in
dependence to the Philippines last
Monday.
| Senator Gray. in charge of the
peace treaty, says he will let it go
over to another session rather than ac-
cept an amendment relinqushing SOW
ereignty over the islands.
Seventy young people were enter
| tained ut dinner at the White House
last Friday night, and the evenings
entertainment ended in dance. The
affair was given in honor of several
young lady guests, who are visiting
Mrs. Mckinley.
The use of voting machines has been
approved by the House committee on
| the election of President and Vice
| President and n favorable report order
| ed on the bill to amend the. statutes as
to permit machine ballots when the
state laws so authorize them.
Secretary Long has discovered that
he will be unable for an indefinite pc
riod to carry out his project for the
re-establShment of the United states
naval stations abroad which were
abandoned before the war. owing TO
lack of ships, officers and enlisted men.
Mr.. Ross. the new senator from Yer
mont. appointed to the vacancy caused
by the death of Mr.. Morrill,, has IL
| bunch of whislers that surDasS any
| thing of the kind seen in Washington
since President Dole of Hawaii was
here. They are almost rs fine as PEI
fer'S.
The State Department is in posses
sion of facts which warrant the asser-
ton that the Spanish government
caused the recent cutting of the ca
bles in the Philippines in order to EN-
barrass General Otis. Vigorous steps
will be taken to prevent Il repetition
Of the outrage.
The death rate in Washington last
week was unusually high. being 24.12
| per thousand of the population For
the whites the rate was 1914 and for
the blacks 35.T3 The average was
brought up much beyond normal by
| twentythree fatal cases of grip out of
a total of 130 deaths.
When the Nicaragua canal bill was
taken up Wednesday all the amend
ments offered We're voted down, with
| the exception of one offered just be-
fore adjournment by Senator Allison,
which went over. It provides that the
| money for building the canal shall be
raised by selling United States bonds
at three per cent.
The opponents of the treaty state
that there will be no objection to the
extension of the law until June 30,
1900, which allows the regular army
to consist of 62,0OO men. This propo-
sition, it is said, will be placed upon
the army appropriation bill as an
amendment and relieve any necessity
for an extra session to pass an army
bill.
Chemist Wiley of the Department of
Agriculture has rnnorted to Secretary
Wilson that an examination of sam
pies of canned meats secured both in
the open market and from the War
Department to determine the presence
of any chemical preservatives failed
10 disclose any traces of boraX. boric
acid, sulphites, sulphurous acid, sail
oylic or benzoic acids.
The secretary of war has completed
the colonial advisory commission by
the selection of Curtis Guild of Bos-
ton. The other members are Gen
eral K. p. Kennedy of Ohio and Major
George c. Watkins of Grand Rapids,
Michigan. They will constitute an ad-
Visory board to the secretary of war
for the consideration of all questions
regarding the civil administration in
Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip
pines.
/ The entire executive session of the
senate last Monday was devoted to the
discussion of the promotion of Admir-
ais Sampson and Schley and other
naval officers engaged in the Santiago
campaign, over the heads of officers
who were their supcriors in rank. The
controversy was then postponed for
twenty days after II vote had been
taken to call for the records of the
navy department bearing upon the con
duct of all affected by the advance
! ment.
Fifteen hundred contract nurses
We're employed by the medical corps
during the war ana there were about
$50 volunteers. The exact number is
not known. because their names were
not upon the rolls. Twelve of the con
tract nurses sacrificed their lives and
three volunteers died in the harness.
This is n remarkably small percentage,
only fifteen ont of II total of / $50 who
endured the climate. the hardshlps and
exposures to contagious diseases.
The Senate last Thursday passed the
Nicaragua canal bill decided to make
the ant-scalplng bill the unfinished
business and continued without com;
iln IL nLu lLil Of Iln InlInI.