Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-12-27
CAPITAL CHAT.
Continued from page ~

been removed. to enable navigators to
appreciate what has been done by the
expenditure of a total of $411, $4,000 up
to June 30, 1899.
When the river and harbor bill and the
'apportionment bill are passed the Maine
/ members of the House Will have complet-
ed their work on the most important
matters of the session to their conStitu-
ents. The two Maine senators. however,
have two months of very hard legislative
work before them. Senator Hale is al
ways much overworked, especially at a
short session of Congress, where the rush
and jam over appropriation bills is great t.
Chairman Foss of the House naval com
mittee will not be able to complete the
great naval appropria ton bill before the
beginning of February and at best it will
hardly reach the Senate before the mid
die of that month. Then. besides his ar
duouS work on other appropriation bills
that are framed by the committee on APP
propria tons of which he is one of the
leading members, Senator Hale has to
take entire charge of the naval bill in
the Senate committee on naval affairs, OF
which he is chairman. In recent years
there has always been terrific struggle
between the two houses in the closing
hours of the session over this bill but
that may be eliminated this year on ac-
count of the letting of contracts for ar
NOR plate. But at best there will be DIFF
fercnces and it takes deal of wear and
tear upon the conferecs to come to an
agreement The Senate is now way be-
hind with its work and the rush when
that body begins to move vigorously dur
ing the last month of the session will be
great.
Names two senators have attained
such a wide influence in the proceedings
of the Senate that il is almost impossible
to contemplate legislation without rcck-
oning their part in it. Senator Frye,
who will come back to Washington with
the sympathy of every man IN the Senate
because of his recent great bereavement,
Will he pushed quite hard nv his OK
acting duties. The river and harbor bill,
mentioned above as of much interest to
Maine, will be considered before his; com
mittec. Such a bill always takes consid-
cradle time and some changes will I'M
doubleday be made in il, some of them,
perhaps, advantageous to Maine. Fur
Their than that Senator Frye is deeply
concerned in the fate of the ship subsidy
bill. which was framed in his committee
and which, its opponents say. IS now
safely driven on the rocks for this seS
sion Of Congress. The senator however
will probably make some vigorous eff
forts to get the measure back into clear
water again and if h" does succeed it
will he Il great triumph. Then in a way.
besides continuing as presiding officer of
the Senate, Mr. Frye has charge of all
the important treaties brought from the
committee on foreign affairs. He is nom
inally the acting chairman Of that COM
mittec. although much of the work is
done by Senator Lodge Of MaSSa chuscttS,
who will become chairman of the next
Representative Marsh of Illinois. who
will in all probability, be succeeded by
Representative BUrlcigh in the next Con
sress as chairman OF the committee on
military affairs recently played a shrcwd
card from the standpoint of western pol
itics. lie introduced sixteen public build
ing bills i'll the House. giving Il public
building to every town and city Of amy
prctcntions in the district. Col. Marsh
was defeated for reelection by a Demo-
crat ana the task will be upon this Dem
ocrat in the next campaign to tell why
he did not get all those public building
bills enacted into law. OF course ii is
known here that such an achievement
would be impossible for even Il veteran
member of the House but such little
things as that are not taken into account
in the heated political campaigns of the
country districts of Illinois.