The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-03-24
Chat.
Washington Gossip, Political and
Otherwise, for ere Readers
OF the Globe.

| tlon TINS rail- will give the Republicans
at least fifty majority in the lower house
in the fifty-aoVenth congress
Chairman Richardson, OF the Demo-
cratic NATIONAL campaign committee,
seems TO be3equally certain that the out
! come next November will be favorable
to the Democrats. He places the Demo
cratic majority in the house in the Fifty
seventh congress anywhere from thirty
to fifty.
Both the Republican and Democratic
committees are already engaged in the
preliminary work necessary in the ma
tlonal congressional campaign. The Re-
puplcans have opened their headquarters
and are sending to the four winds liter
AZURE which they think will benefit their
cause IN the present campaign. The Dem
ocrats are preparing to flood the country
with documents which they believe will
work to the detriment OF the opposition
party and to their benefit.
Inc contest between the Republican and
democratic national congressional COM
mittees will be second only to the fight
| which Will be made between the Repub-
hcan and Democratic presidential COM
mittees.
As l have stated heretofore in tele-
grams to this paper the work of the
presidential and congressional committees
VIII be separate and distinct in every pos
s1bie way. The Republican national pres
idential committee will have its princi-
pal headquarters in Chicago. AS was
the case in 1885, this committee will have
branch headquarters in New York city.
The Democrats will pursue similar
course. The headquarters Of the national
presidential committee of the Popuiist
party, however, will be in Washington.
The headquarters Of both the Democratic
and Republican congressional committees
Will also be In The national capital. Ger
fafY faio
associates, believe that all the parties
will be wise in having their principal
headquarters located in the capital. An
effort will be made by the citizens in
Washington to bring about such a result
| They may or may not succeed President
Mckinley will be consulted by the peo-
pie Of Washington regarding this matter
as Will Col. Bryan There Is a bare pos
sibility that both presidential candidates
in the 1900 contest may yet be induced to
have their campaigns conducted from the
national capital.
G. Bic Ravndal United States consul
at Beirut, Syria, has furnished the state
department an interesting statement re-
garding the receipt of American COOS in
Syria. He says his report entitled Sam
pies of United States Goods Wanted in
Syria has brought offers Of a variety of
samples and a great quantity CT CORE
spondence. His statement says:
'Messrs. Hummel and Mommaas. man
ayers of the house of FIR. Wehner, take
much interest in this sample collection,
aud answer all letters of inquiry fully
and conscientiously. For their own ac-
count they 90 not intend to handle 9TH
Ell articles than flour and cotton goods.
They hope to sell at least 1000 sacks of
-four per month when they get fairly
started. AS to cotton cloth, they will
make big effort to introduce these sturs
In opposition to Manchester.
"Messrs. Sabbag e. Fills are the largest
exporters to the United States in this
country. They send our country wool,
| licorice root and bitumen to the amount
of nearly 81, 000 600 per annum. 1 have sue
ceeded in interesting them in general
irrigation scheme, and, as a result OF the
report above alluded to, company In
Indiana offered to send here free CT
| charge, as a sample. a. complete wind
mill outfit. MessTs. Sabbag & Fills have
ordered from the same company a we'll
! drilling plant. We shall look for these
machines In February and, if our eXp2rt-
ments prove successful, Syria will be-
come good market for our we'll drills,
wind mills, pumps, hand tools. etc. Mr..
! Ibrahim Sabbag will visit the United
/ States this spring, and may become the
! sponsor of other American products.
Russian oil having gradually risen in
! price during twenty months from 81 cents
! to $1.57 per box (sixty-f1ve pounds, there
| are hopes or reintroducing the American
! product into this market, where. fifteen
| years ago, American petroleum was sold
| to the amount of $200,00 to $250,000 an
nuaIly A prominent local merchant is
| at present in cable communication with
! the United States on this subject.
Negotiations are being carried on be-
! tween Mr. Michel Ghalie, of the firm of
Pharaoh &, Co. and houses at home con-
| corning the question of coal. This firm
| disposes annually of about 100000 tons
! of patent fuel Cardiff briquettes) and
| Cardiff coal (sofU, of which about a fifth
| is sold in Beirut, while the rest goes to
! other Syrian ports and to Port Said. Mr..
! Ghalie informs me that nearly all the
coal consumed in the interior consists
of Cardiff briquettes Rectangular pieces
Of pressed coal and pitch Weighing five to
! eight kilograms each), as they can be
| carried more safely and without much
| waste on camels. This patent fuel used
! to cost E. o. b. Cardiff 9s to los ($219 to
! $24S) per ton. Last year the price was
increased to lis to 14s ($2.68 to So ~. and
now it is held at 1Ss to 22s (s4.SS to $3.50.
| The freight used to average S1ss to los
(s2.O7 to $2.43) per ton. but has gone up to
| rs to las (s2.92 to SID. Coal, Mr..
| Ghalie says, that has been bought at
! Cardiff for lis to lis per ton Is now
| hardly obtainable at S0s ($7.3O), on ac-
count Of the spreading coal famine In
| Europe Cardiff dealers would allow 2la
per cent discount for cash. American
coal companies should quote prices C. i.
! T. Beirut
PHILIPPE Turkel & Co. have during the
last three months sent in several i'm
portant orders for American hardware,
glassware and beer.
! 'Letayf Bros. ordered a few weeks ago
| q supply of canned provisions, prepared
cereals, and whisky from New York.
| affairs are moving in the right direc-
ton and we would make fairly good
progress if we had regular direct steam
ers plying between the United States
and these ports, calling here once every
six or eight weeks
The state department has just re-
ceived from w. r. Holloway, United
States consul general at st. Petersburg
some very important Information re-
garding the merchant marine in Russia.
This report is especially valuable at this
| time because of the bills now pending
in congress which have in view the up
building of the merchant marine in the
! United States. 1t is not yet known
whether these measures providing for
| subsidy for American ship builders will
! become a law or not. The report from
Gen. Holloway will, however, be of in
terest for future congresses and will
supply valuable information regarding
this important question.
Mr.. Holloway states that the mer-
chant marine of Russia on Jan. l, 1898,
consisted Of Goa steam and 1924 sailing
vessels. The tonnage of these two
classes of vessels on the White. Baltic
J BLACK and AZOf SeaS which are