The Elbert County tribune., 1900-03-29
WASHINGTON NEWS.
what Congress is Doing.-Notss From the
white House and the Departments

$500
The Senate committee on naval AZ
fairs has agreed to report the bill for
Pacific cable which Senator Hale was
authorized to draft ut the last session
Of the committee and the report was
later presented to the Senate. Inc OH
provides for a present cable only 10
Honolulu, but declares purpose 70 e4-
tend 1t In the future.
Under the currency act recently
passed 1t is possible TO refund SSlO.ooo,-
900 Of bonds. More than 200 charters
have already been applied for Tor
banks Of $4,000 capital In towns OF o.
600 population. and comptroller Dawes
thinks the total Will go up to 500 before
the end OF the month. The applications
come mostly from agricultural towns
In the middle west. Iowa leading.
Ex-Governor McCord of Arizona,
who recently came to Washington al
the request of the Arizona Press Asso-
clation to further Arizonn's claim to
statehood. states that there Is no pros
pect of securing Arizonn's admission
at this session of Congress. Il have de.
cldcd to give up for the present, saiu
Governor McCord, "and will advise the
people OF Arizona not to press the mat
ter until after Congress gets Puerto
Rico, the Philippines and Cuba on It's
hands,
The House committee on public lands
has reported bill abolishing the pay
ment OF SIPS nm acre ON land taken VI
by settlers under the desert land act.
The committee also reported fnvornDiy
bill to refund $1.25 per acre to per
sons who have located under the pre-
emptIon or homestead laws, and who
have committed their entries by cash
payments to $3.50 per acre where the
lands located were within n rallroad
grant and the railroad was never
built.
The Senate committee on appropria-
tions has reported the urgency def
cheney bill, carrying an appropriation
of $4,000 for continuing the work OF
the geological survey in stream gaug
ing In the nrid and seml-nrid states
This work has been suspended by rea'
son Of the exhaustion of the appro
priatlon caused by extra work of the
survey during the drouth period In Cal
Ifornin. photographer Newell OF the
survey states that when the new ap
preparation Is available considerable
work will be done In Colorado and wy.
oming.
After n spirited discussion, extending
over three days. the Loud bill relating
to second-class mail matter was recon-
mended by the House to the committee
ON postofiice and post roads. The ma.
jority In favor of the motion to recon-
nit was so decisive that II il regarded
as unlikely that the measure will ap
pear again during the present Con
gress Mr.. Loud said after the vote
wns announced that this was the third
time md out. so far as he was con
cerned. The vote on the motion was
14S to 90, with 10 present and not vot
ing. The bill Is intended TO exclud,
from the second-class postage rate al
books and pamphlets.
The division of issue OF the comp
troiler OF the eurrency's office Is send
Ing new currency to national banks N
the rate OF more than n million dollars
n day. and will continue to do so unit
the full amount which the banks ar,
entitled under the new law has beer
furnished. Under the old law national
banks were permitted to take out cir
culation to the maximum OF ninety pei
cent. of the par value of the bonds de
posted with the Treasury Department
The amount OF bonds to secure circu
lation Is about $4,000. The new aci
permits the banks TO take out circula
tion 10 the par va1rie or THESE Dond-
thus emitting them to about S2i 900, ,00t
in excess of that they have heretofore
enjoyed.
Ellis II. Roberts, treasurer of the
United States, says that under the new
currency law nearly S12,0OO.OO0 of sill
yer bullion must be Immediately pur
chased by the mints for the coinage oil
10. % and 50-cent pieces. The new law
requires that the subsidiary silver shal
hereafter be kept at 800, 100000, whicl
is an increase of S2I. COCOON CS24,5 4,574,
$50, for the amount outstanding ON tn,
1st of the month was $40, 49, .413. Tn,
same law provides that hereafter al
currency under the denomination oi
$40 shall be standard silver dollars ol
certificates issued upon them. There
fore all greenbacks and other notes o
81, 50 and S5 are to be retired and sill
yer certificates substituted for them
This will require the coinage of abou
120,000.00O new silver dollars within
the next year or two.
The conference on the Puerto RicaI
appropriation bill have agreed upon
compromise measure, The Senate con
ferees receded from the Senate amend
ment limiting the appropriation to tn,
revenues collected on Puerto Rican i'm
portations until the first of last .Janua
ry and restored the clause in the Hous,
bill applying to future revenues, read
ing as follows: Together with an,
further customs revenue collected oil
importations from Puerto Rico sine,
Januray l, 1900. or that shall hereafte
be collected under existing law" Tn,
provision in the Senate amendmen
specifying the purpose for which th
money shall be used is retained. but al
addition is made declaring specificall,
that 1t shall be for the 'aid and relic
of the Puerto Ricans."
The Republican peace committee me
after the adjournment of the Senat
Thursday and practically ratified tn
offer of Senator Foraker in the Senat
to separate the House Puerto Rico tar
In bill from the Senate governmental
bill, and to take vote on the Hous
measure. The peace committee is will
ing that n vote should be taken upol
the House bill as first passed by tina
body, provided 1t becomes apparen
that 1t is impolltic TO attempt to amen,
1t, but an effort will be made to ascer
tain whether the House will consent L
any modification. Some of the Repuh
lican senators think the bill should b
so changed as TO provide for the con
tinued exemption from duty of the ar
ticles which were exempted by tn
Presidents order. They also find tn
House bill deficient In that 1t falls t
provide any means of collecting tn
duty which 1t imposes.
Mr.. Foss of Illinois, who is acting a
chairman of the committee on nava
affairs during the disability of MI
Boutelle. has prepared the biggest AZ
preparation bill ever offered to tn
House of Representatives for tina
branch of the service. Its total is SIS
100000 In excess of the highest prev