The Elbert County tribune., 1900-03-15
WASHINGTON NEWS.
what Congress Is poinE.-sotes Prom the
white III use and tho departments

white III use and tho Departments
Representative Harmer Of Pennsyl-
xanIa- the father OF the House. Is
dead. He served in Congress Tor
twenty-six years.
The secretary OF war has lately ruied
that no more appointments wouiu "
made In the regular army from cish
life. Hereafter all vacancies VIII pe
filed by promotion
The House committee on public ianus
has reported favorably the bill ex.enu,
ing the provisions Of the soldiers
homestead act to soldiers of the spnn
ish war and Philippine insurreet'on'
The ratIfications Of the Samoan zfDi-
tration treaty were exchanged A. he
State Department on The Iih by secre
tary Hay for the United States, Lorn
Pauncefote for Great Britain ana Df'
Won Holleben for Germany.
The members Of the committee oil
ways and means still insist that the
Puerto Rlcan tariff bill is one OF the
best pieces OF legislation ever proposeu
yet at the same time they deny its hu-
thorshlp and claim that the president
was 10 blame for Its passage-
senator Davis of Minnesota has Of
fered an amendment TO the Puerto
Rlcan bill Ia the Senate. Its erect
is to have the tariff laws of the uhiteu
States applied 10 Puerto hico upon
foreign imports. but allows absolute
free trade between the United states
and Puerto Rico.
The President has commnted to I'M
prisonmen, for life the sentence OF
death imposed by court-martial IN the
cnse Of Private George Murphy, Com
pany @, Twenty-fourth infantry, con
ylcted of the murder of another sol
dIer of the same company in the fhii-
ipplnes.
The president has received beau
tiful copy In Wedgewood ware of the
bust of Houdln's Washington, the glit
of Merton Russell Cotes, cx-mnyor OF
Bournemouth, England. The bust
bears this inscription: This DUST OF
the great Washington. founder OF the
United States of America, Is presented
10 the nation through President NC
Kinley, Feb. %, 1900, by Merton hus-
sell Cotes."
Formal discussion OF the Puerto
RIcnn tariff and civil government plii
began In the Senate Thursday, ana con-
tlnued uninterruptcdly for four ana
half hours. The principal speakers
were Mr.. Foraker of Ohio. In charge OF
the measure, and Mr.. Pettus, Demo
crat, of Alabama. but at various times
during the debate lively colloquys oc-
Cured III which other senators were
participants.
The remains of sixty-six soldiers who
died In Cuba were buried at Arlington
cemetery Wednesday with military
honors. The bodies of about 900 sol
diers who died in Cuba now rest In TINS
historic spot. The officers at fort
Myer had charge Of the services, when
were very simple. A Protestant ana
Catholic clergymen read the Durihi ser
vice, taps We're sounded and voiiey
fired over the graves.
The Senate committee on Indian al
fairs has adopted in part Senator
Teller's amendments to the Indian ap-
proprintion bill and Incorporated In the
bill $4,000 for dormltories at the
Grand Junction Indian school; Sl2,OoO
for boys dormitories, $4,000 Tor NOUS
trial shops, $1,000 for laundry and So,-
600 for light plant at the Fort Lewis
school. The committee also adopted
Senator Warren's amendment appro.
priating $3.50 for repairing the Wind
river bridge on the Shoshone Indian
reservation, Wyoming.
Acting Secretary Melklejohn has
sent to the House of Representatives
a statement of expenditures by the
War Department covering the mill
tary operations In the Philippines, IN
Guiding outstanding liabilities. from
| May I, 1898. to November l, 1S99- The
total is given Mt S4S,92S. .00O, the prin-
cipal items being: Quartermaster's
department, S25, 15.901, of which S11.'
136.SG4 Is for army transportation
subsistence department. SS,9oo,ooo
medical department, S1,206, 1877; pay
department, $1O,s33. .13I; ordnance de
partment. $1,SGO,230
1t is proposed to amend the Hay
Pauncefote treaty so that 1t shal
conform to the Monroe doctrine ant
| justify the United States in controlling
and defending the Nicaragua canal by
any methods 1t may deem necessar,
and making this government solel,
responsible for Its naturalization. Thi,
| will be acceptable to the president ant
Secretary Hay. The right to fortif,
will be included, although it is th'
unanimous opinion among military ex
perts that battleships are much bette
than forts for the protection of tn
| canal.
Secretary Of State Hay has declare,
that there was absolutely no founda
| ton for the report that either Mica
ragua or Costa Rica had made an.
protest against the proposed neutarli
zation of the projected Nicaragua
canal. nor had there been the slightes
evidence of dissatisfaction on thei
part with that section of the Hay
4 Pauncefote treaty which deals witt
the subject of fortitications, otticia
| and otherwise, which had reached tn
State Department from the parties In
| tercsted, testified to their unqualifie'
approval of every line of the conven
tion.
As the authorship of the Puert
| Rican tariff bill has been ascribed {
| Secretary Root by n member of tn
ways and means committee, 1t may b
| proper to state that the secretary him
self drew up the bill. but only as a
| alternative measure, upon representa-
tions by some OF the Republican mem
| bers of the committee to the effec
| that it was the only possible legisla
| tion. While consenting to draft tn
| bill under these circumstances, Secre
tary Root declared he still held to tn
opinions ON the subject expressed i
his annual report and favored doin
all that could be done for Puerto Rice
These facts are from the highest at
thority.
Not probably in the history of tn
Senate was there ever shown so littl
real interest in the final vote on
great measure MS was manifested Tues
day In the vote on the conference II
port of the financial bill. The repoI
was before the Senate for nearly tw
weeks, yet only four speeches We're do
livered on 1t, including Mr.. Aldrich'
\ explanation of the changes made |
the Senate bill by the conferees. Dis
cusslon ceased on the bill fifteen miI
utes before the time fixed for the vot,
/ and the Senate actually began the ccr