Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-12-17

in open session, the senate going into
secret session on the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty. The senate spent almost five
hours considering the treaty. There
were five or six speeches made, some
of them by senators who had not
spoken hitherto upon the treaty,
others by senator's who had, among
them Senator Morgan, who returned
to his former speech celebrating
somewhat his position as to the effect
of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. He
took issue with Senator Teller as to
purpose of the first clause of that
treaty, claiming it applied only to
Great Britain's right to fortify the
Nicaragua canal itself Senator Teller
replied at some length, asserting the
provision was of more general i'm
portance as shown by President
Buchanan's views upon the subject
when he was minister to England.
The declaration then made showed
plainly, he said, that England had at
tempted to extend her rights beyond
the immediate vicinity of the canal.
Senator Teller then repeated his de-
claration that the United States
should construct the canal regardless
of the English position and without
going through the formality of ratify-
ing the pending treaty.
In the house the legislative, execu-
tive and judicial appropriation bill
was taken up and passed.
Washington, Dec. 11.-The first
speech in opposition to the ship sub
sidy bill in the senate was delivered
by Senator Clay (dem., Ga.,) one of
the minority members of the commit
tee on commerce which reported it
to the senate. He is recognized as
one of the most vigorous opponents Of
the bill and during nearly two hours
was accorded close attention by sena-
tors on both sides of the chamber.
Senator Hanna expects to reply to
Senator Clays argument and gave
him a particularly attentive hearing.
In the early part of the session live
ly collquoy was precipitated over the
reference to the committee of the
Grout oleomargarine bill, just passed
by the house of representatives 1t
finally went to the committee on agri-
culture. This is a victory for the
friends of the BILL
In antogonizing the subsidy bill Sen
ator Clay said the one definite thing
that was known about the operation
of the proposed legislation was that it
would take from the treasury of the
United States 100000 a year for a
period of twenty years and donate that
vast sum to the ship owners carrying
the foreign trade of this country. In
other words, "one mans business is to
be heavily taxed in order to advance
and to make more profitable the pri-
vate business of another citizen"
The senator pointed out that an adj
ditional amount was paid owners of
vessels Of greater speed, regardless of
freight capacity. He said that the
subsidy to be given vessels up to IL
knots, which are really our great
freight carries, is only IL cents per
gross ton, while the subsidy given to
a fast steamer, which carries chiefly
passengers and fine manufactured
good, is $40 cents per ton for 81
knot Ship
Thus it would appear, he contended,
that the 12-knot vessel which really
carried the products of the country,
would receive only a little more than
one-third of the subsidy paid to the
fast passenger steamers. He elaborat-
ed what he deemed to be the Unjust
ice and inequality" of the measure in
this respect, presenting a comparison
of cargoes carried by the ST. Paul, a
swift steamer of the American line,
and of the Manhattan, one of the
great freighters of the Atlantic Trans
portation company. The comparisons
showed that the Manhattan, a 14-knot
ship, carried immense quantities of
agricultural and manufactured pro-
ducts, while the st. Paul carried prac-
tically no manufactures or agricultural
products Of any kind; yet, contended
Senator Clay, the Manhattan will re
.ceive little more than one-third of the
subsidy given the st. Paul.
Washington, Dec. 1.-THE debate
on the war revenue reduction bill
opened in the house and a committee
was appointed to ascertain whether
ex-Cadet Booz of Pennsylvania was
killed as result of hazing at the West
Point academy.