The Elk Mountain pilot., 1900-02-06
WASHINGTON NEWS.
What Congress Is Doing.-Notes From the
White House and the Departments.

President Mckinley was nfty-seven
years old on the 29th. having been
born at Niles. Trumbull county, Ohio,
January 20, 1913. He received many
congratulations from visitors and
large number of cablegrams and tele-
grams felicitating him upon the occa-
sion. Many floral remembrances We're
sent him.
In answer to Senate resolution,
Secretary Gage has sent to the Senate
report upon the coast and geodetic
survey with special reference to the
new island possessions of the United
States. He says the resources of the
surveyor are inadequate to complete
the survey of Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
He says the problems of the Philip
pines are much larger and recommends
the establishment of a sub-o office at Ma
| Mia.
The United States Supreme Court to-
day witnessed the unusual spectacle of
| the admission of n lady and her
| daughter to the bar upon motion of
another daughter. The ladies admitted
We're Mrs. Kate =. Pier and Miss ii.
| II. Pier of Milwaukee. The lady NOV
ing for their admission was Miss Kate
| IL. Pier of the same city. Another
lady member of this family was ad-
mitted a few years ago, making four
of the twenty female members of the
Supreme Court bar members of one
| family.
Representative Bell is making in
| quiry of all the state treasurers in the
| United States regarding the interest
paid upon deposits of state funds and
will use the information in presenting
arguments upon his bill requiring de
positories of government funds TO pay
| interest on the same. Mr.. Bell says
| the interest on government funds held
by the various banks of the country
under the rates proposed by his bill,
would yield an income of upward of
| S3.00O,0OO per annum to the govern
| ment.
The record in the open door" matter
is almost complete. All the nations in
| volved except Italy and Japan have
submitted in writing the guaranty re
quested by Secretary Hay that the mer-
| chants and manufacturers of the Unit
! ed States shall have equal rights and
privileges in the Chinese markets. 1t
| ally and Japan, the only nations TO be
heard from. have also responded, al
| though the communications have not
been received. This completes one of
the most notable and important
achievements in the diplomatic history
of the United States.
The report of the House committee
on agriculture on the bill TO reorganize
and improve the United States weather
| bureau, states that this measure is de-
| signed to inauguratc an ideal merit
system. ITO briefly summarize the
| salient features of The proposed law,
it may be said that it apportions ap-
pointments among senators, represen-
| tatives and delegates without regard
| to their political faith, and 1t provides
| that candidates sGall be nominated
under such conditions as will render ii
| difficult, If not impossible. to effect
the permanent appointment or the pro
| motion Of an unfit person.
All western senators are In receipt of
petitions from .arious parts of the
country urging them to use their in
| fluence to prevent the cession of pub
| lie lands by the states. one resolu-
ton adopted bs several subordinate or
ganiZations of the Brotherhood of Car
penters and ioiners has been forward
ed to senator's reading as follows: BE
1t resolved. that all the remaining pub
lie lands of the United States should
be held for the benefit of the whole
| people and that no grants of the title
to any of these lands should be made
to any but active settlers and home
| builders on the land. We consider this
a matter of great Importance to labor
and home-scekcrs."
For more than three hours Tuesday
Mr.. Bacon of Georgia occupied the at
tention of the Senate with Il discussion
of the Philippine question. His argu-
ment, which had for its basis his own
resolutions declaratory of the govern
ment's policy toward the Philippines.
was listened to carefully by his fellow
senators, and by a large gallery audi
ence. He maintained that the United
States owed as much to the F'ilipinos
as 1t does TO the CubHns, to whom by
resolution of Congress self-government
| had been promised, and he strongly
urged that his resolutions declaring. it
| 10 be the intention OF this government
to confer the right of government upon
the Filipinos be adopted as "A means
not only of terminating the war. but of
extending TO n strugglig people justice
and freedom.
A report prepared by Frank ii.
Hitchcock of the Agricultural Depart
ment shows there has been Il great
development of our trade with China
and Japan during the past decade. In
the fiscal year 1899, the value of the
merchandise exchanged with these two
countries, including the port of Hong
Kong. reached SST .3O5.GSS. against
only SAG. .29i, ,16T in 1899. Figures given
show that in the decade there was a
gain of 1898, 1856. or 256 per cent.
in exports, while the increase in i'm
ports amounted to only S12,61S.3G5, or
thirty-siX per cent. During the last
few years. in fact. the imports dis
closed an actual falling off. the value
for 1899 being S1.164, ,131 less than that
for 1Sg6 which was recorded mt S4S-
9T9, ,16G. Our exports, on the other
hand, more than doubled during the
three years succeeding 1896.