Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-05-28
CONGRESSIONAL NEWS.


the attention Of the senate during the
greater part of the session Senator
Bacon (Ga) spoke at length on his
resolution directing the committee on
relations with Cuba to make investiga-
| ton Of the conduct of financial affairs
in the island. He said it was due the
people of this country to know just
| how affairs there were being conduct
| ed; since the disclosures of the past
| few days had been made with respect
to alleged misrepresentation of funds in
| the postal service, the obligation upon
| congress to make investigation was
| doubly heavy. He urged that the
honor of the country depended upon it's
being able to clear away the fraud and
corruption which it was charged had
been discovered. He insisted that the
government of the United States had
no authority in Cuba. and demanded
to know how soon it proposed to re-
deem it's pledge and leave the govern
ment of the island to it's inhabitants.
The following measures passed: The
house bill repeating the provision Of
the law allowing merchandise passing
through the United States from any
foreign country to be transported free
OF duty so far as the Mexican free zone
was concerned; the resolution calling
upon the secretary of the treasury for
information III regard to the influx of
Japanese laborers; granting a pension
of 500 to the widow OF Gen. Lawtcu:
to facilitate the entry of steamships en-
gagged in coasting trade between the
United States and Porto Rico and Ea-
wall. This pill is intended to restore
the privilege co9sting vessels enjoyed
before the annex ion O. those islands.
Other bills passed were: Providing
that where an unmarried woman set
ties ON a tract of land and marries be-
fore making entry her rights shall not
be forfeited by marriage; providing
that all honorably discharged soldiers
civil war, Spanish war or Philippine
war be given preferment in civil SER
vice appointments, age or loss of limbs
-notTbeing regarded as DISQUALIFIED
tons.
Washington, May 16.-The house ac-
complished little beside passing the
senate bill to incorporate the American
National Red Cross association. The
conference report of the District of Co
lumbia appropriation bill displaced the
Alaskan code bill After a debate upon
the proposition to appropriate 100000
for municipal hospital at Washing
tcnsand over the question of appropri-
ations for sectarian institutions the re-
port was voted down and the bill sent
to a conference. The naval appropri-
alton bill was sent to a conference.
Washington, May 18.-The postofice
appropriation bill was considered in
the senate. The committee amendment
for extension Of the pneumatic tube
service created some debate, and was
under discussion when the measure
was laid aside for the day The amend
ment of Senator Butler IN Co. to re-
duce by 10 per cent. the amount to be
paid to railroads for the transporta-
ton of mail was rejected, IL to H. A
committee amendment was agreed to
providing that the annual rental for
cancelling machinery shall not exceed
Is per cent. of the cost thereof. A sec
ton of the bill providing for the con-
tinuance of the commission to investi
gate the question whether or not ex-
cessive prices are paid to railroad COM
panies for transportation of the mails,
was agreed to without division. Sen
atOr Butler made point of order
against the committee amendment
appropriating $4,000 for the trans
portation of mail by pneumatic tubes,
on the ground that it was new legisla
ton, but the point was Overruled by
chair Senator Wolcott (Col) spoke
in opposition to the amendment. He
said the entire scheme of sending mail
by pneumatic tubes was covered by
patents, except the hole in the ground,
and that had to be obtained from mu-
nicipal authorities. The scheme, too,
New York, Brooklyn, Boston and
was very limited The
cost in the four cities for the service
varied greatly. In New York it cost
$37, 500 a mile per annum; in Brook
lyn, $12,400; in Boston, $4,000; in
Philadelphia, $4,000 The service.
Wolcott declared, had made a saving
of neither expense nor of appreciable
time. He declared the pneumatic
tube people had "swarmed the senate
corridors all winter like bees in hiv-
ing time. They did not want merely
the $250,000 necessary to support the
present service, but an additional ap-
preparation of half million dollars.
He pointed out that the company con-
trolling the pneumatic tubes had fig
ured upon putting down 80 miles of
them in the city of Chicago, and yet,
he said, the postmaster at Chicago, I'M
til recently was opposed to the service,
hit now was met uin1ont1u in foror