The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1900-12-21
Washington Letter.
From our regular Correspondent.

Washington d. c., Dec. Is, 1900
The house set a rapid pace during
the first week of the session and it has
started the second week with the evil
dent intention of keeping it up. The
army reorganization was passed by the
House substantially as reported, ex-
cept the amendment prohibiting the
sale of lntoxicants at army posts, and
is now IN the hands Of the Senate Mil
itary Committee, which promises to
push it along. The Grout Oleomarga-
rine bill was passed by vote Of 1913 To
w. The programme Tor this week in
cludes the passage of the legislative,
executive and judicial appropriation
bill, which was taken up today, ana
the Revenue Reduction bill. While
the Senate has not accomplished as
much in the way of actual legislation
as the House, it has bv no means been
idle, although it followed its usual Gus
tom of adiournirg from Thursday
until Monday. 1t made the Ship Sub
sidy bill the regular business, which
operated to prevent the taking up of
the Nicaragua Canal bill today, as
provided for by a resolution adopted at
J the last session, bnt what will rot re-
suit.in delaying action on the Canal
nil, which would in any event have
had to wait for the disposition of the
Hay-Pauncefot treaty. The Demo-
Gratis have SO far shown no disposition
to retard legislation.
] That there is to be no DELAY in the
Senate in disposing of the Hay Paunce-
fote treaty, which many friends of the
Nicaragua Canal Bill wish to see rati-
fed before that measure is taken up
by the Senate, was shown by the ease
with which unanimous consent was
secured to vote on the Davis amend
ment to the treaty on Thursday of
this week. This amendment, written
| by the late Senator Davis, merely de-
clares that nothing in the treaty shall
apply to anything this government
may see fit to do to protect its interes-
is or TO maintain order, is certain to be
I adopted, and it is believed that the
, ratification of the amended treaty will
l speedily follow.
, Secretary Long was right in declar-
, ing of bids for the construction of six
, armored cruisers and five battleships,
, at the Navy Department, the greatest
industrial event that this or any other
country, had ever seen, involving as it
: will, the expenditure of a sum aggre-
, eating in round figures $50,000,000.
, 1t spoke volumes for the industrial
progress of ship building, that there
should have been quite numbe, of
J bidders for these contracts. In no
country outside of Great Britain are
there as many establishments equipped
for the construction of these big fight
ing vessels. Most of the bids were well
within the amount appropriated by
i Congress for the ships.
i Chairman Payne presented the re-
\ port of the Ways and Means Commit
te on the revenue reduction bill, now
before the House, which cuts off about
I$4O, 600 year of the taxes imposed at
the opening of the war with Spain.
The report says: "In making the re-
duction, the Committee have sought
to remove the more annoying taxes,
| by the entire abolition to those which
which were most vexatious, and by
reduction of those which seemed to
have proved great burden upon the
several branches of trade to which
they are applied" OF the net reduc-
ton of % cents barrel on the beer
tax, the report says "The Committee
recognize that the manufacturers of
beer have some claim in the general
reduction of the war revenue, and they
believe that the bill gives them all the
relief to which they are entitled 1t
adds OF the reduction of sixty cents a
thousand on cigars :'It has been I'M
possible to distribute any of this sixty
cents in making price to the con-
sumner, and the factories have had to
bear the entire tax to over three mil
lion dollars last year" The bill will be
promptly passed by the House this
week.
representative Taylor, OF Ohio, who
led the fight on Roberts, has introduced
IN the House measure for constitu-s
tlonal amendment prohibiting po'
amy and providing for unifo
tenn Of Federal marriage ars'
laws. This matter is To-
fagitated in Washire
a public anti-polyo
held under the
Interdenomi
purpose Of
favor of
lamT