The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-02-01
Government will Determine High
Tide Mark.
AFFECTS TITLE TO GOLD SANDS
Government Distribution of Documents
Last Days Of Roberts Case.
Special Washington Correspondence to Signal.

Special Washington Correspondence to Signal
AS soon as the weather moderates
sufficiently party Of surveyors will
be sent to Cape Nome, Alaska, by
the Coast Survey to determine the
normal high water mark along the
beach there On this settlement
hangs the ownership of millions of
dollars The situation is most
singular one. Most of the gold is
washed out Of sea sand that lies along
the beaches. Below the normal high
water mark this sand belongs to
the United States Anyone can
wash it, but no one can secure title
to it. Above high water mark, how
ever, claims can be staked out in the
usual fashion, so that it is obvious
that the settlement of the line is of
the greatest Importance But there
are difficulties in determining it.
AS in all northern localities the
heights of the tides are very irregular,
and Director Pritchell of the survey
says that the only way to determine
the exact line will be to take observa-
fA, ,1 .
it arbitrarily
There are 22 vacancies in the list
of repositories for public documents,
and until they are filled any public
library having 200 volumes in ad-
dition to the government publications
has the chance Of being named one
hy applying to the representative
from the district The government
presents to each Of the 500 authorized
repositories about 800 volumes a
year Last year they were presented
in all 153, 254 new volumes, and
1876, 9S3 old volumes to complete
sets Any document that is avail.
able for distribution gratis is prompt
~ supplied to any public library upon
application, for the purpose Of COM
pleling a set The value of these
documents to the libraries cannot be
overestimated, as most Of them have
been out of print so long that they
are practically unobtanable else
where.
The reports of the committee hav-
ing in charge the Roberts case, were
submitted to the house on Saturday
last and were taken up for considera-
ton this afternoon. Three days
have been allowed for debate, in
which all members of the committee
are expected to participate. Two re-
ports were submitted, majority re-
port in favor Of excluding Roberts
all ogether, and O minority one hold
ing that lie ought to be seated and
then expelled. The committee is
unanimous that he should not be
permitted to remain in the house.
but opinions differ as to the constitu-
, tionality of excluding him except by
formal expulsion agreed to by two
, thirds vote. The majority report
! says that "not only is the proposition
of expulsion as applied to this case
not against precedent, but exclusion
is entirely in accord with principle,
authority and legislative precedent,
and not antagonistic to any legisla-
tive action which the house of repre-
sentatives has ever taken Accord
ing to the report, three distinct
grounds of disqualification are assert
ed against Mr. Roberts: al BY
reason of his violation of the Edmunds
law. 2. BY reason of his notorious
defiant violation of the law of the
land, of the decisions of the supreme
T. court and of the proclamations of th,
$ presidents, holding himself abov'