The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1900-12-06
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our rsgulaf 90 ''pondeT'J

vance knowledge Of the fact that adjourn
msnt WAS 10 Immediately follow the open
ing Of the session, in honor OF the memor!
Of the late Senator Davis, OF h'nn'' anu
crea, If Iowa. served to lessen attendance
ho,b on the floor of the House and Senate
and In the galleries and consequently 10
lesscn interest in the short proceedings
Congressional interest is strongly CEN
,arad in the Isthmian Canal question
Rightly or wrongly, the announcement
,ha, Tho Canal Commission had cut out oil
;,s renort its original recommendation ID
favor Of the Nicaragua route, and ie't
to Congress to decide between that ana
the Panama route, from the facts anu
figures presented, is taken to have nee"
brought about by the shrewd work oil 'ne
LOBBYISTS employed by the Panama Canal
Company, and to presage fight whicn
may cause scandal before it is ended; the
LOBBYISTS are also credited with pushing
forward the Ship Subsidy bill, which Is
likely TO he the bitterest fought measure
Of the session, for the purpose of dIspiac-
ing the Nicaragua Canal bill, which ny
resolution adopted by the Senate at the
last session, should be taken up on
Wednesday Of this week. This last may
have been partly the case, but there are
other reasons why Senators will not opJec'
to seeing the Canal bill go over Tor a
while The Hay- Pauncefote treaty, has
not vet been ratified, and Secretary hay
has lust made treaty with Nicaragua,
giving the U. S. all the rights and PRIV
ilepes needed to construct the Canal
MANY of the strongest supporters OF the
Nicaragua Conal bill think that both OF
these treaties should be ratified before
the Canal bill is seriously taken up oy
the Senate.
There is constant watchfulness OF the
part of Senators to get better seats LOT
themselves Applications are often hleu
by Senators, several years In advance OF
the date of their retirement, and Tor q
Senator who has a good seat, to get s,cS'
is always the signal for applications to he
filed for his seat, in case 1t should DC
vacated. Senator Hanna, who has had
less desirable seat, filed a claim for the
seat occupied by the late Senator Davis
.bout two years ago, and it is now his
He did not dream, however, that the seal
would come to him through the death Of
Senator Davis. The claim was filed be-
cause Senator Davis had filed one for the
seat of Senator Hoar, who at the time
talked of retiring on account of hi
health.
Representative shafrOth, of Colo, is al
enthusiast and an expert oH The suhJec'
of irrigation. lie has introduced M
providing for the construction OF reser'
yoirs in the arid sections OF the West an(
for the disposal Of the public lands re
claimed thereby under the homestead
law. He thinks it an erroneous idea tina
money spent in irrigation only benefti
the state in which it is spent. In his owl
words what benefits one state l@gel.
profits another. Thus epFjching now idl'
and useless ground would result in tn
providing for homes and great future u
thousands and thousands of homeless
helpless and penniless men in every STATE
in the Union"
Capt. Carl. Reichmann, L. S. A.. VIII
has just returned from South Airlc'
where he was sent lay the War Department
to observe the military operations of thu
Beers, said of the Boer commander, who's
recent successes have revived hope
among the friends of the Beers: "D'
Vets dandy. He is little man with
clear, fierce eye and stern visage. ant
wears small black hat. One would no
: pick him out in a company Of men as I
warrior: and he's butcher, or his brOIhe
was, hut he knows how to fight" Capt
Ricbmanp says that although the Boer
are fine hunters and good n1arksmen, the.
are not good soldiers, becaase they arr
not susceptible to discipline.
The story is very persistently asserted
around Washington, although denied b.
War Department officials that the Presi
dent has promised to set aside tat
sentence of the court martial, suspendnt
him from duty for six years, and restor'
Gen. Eagan to active duty as COmmissar!
General OF the army. Eagan is in Wash
ington, but he declines TO do any talking
about his case.
! No one seriously doubts that there vii
EVENT., ally be practical flying machines
but that doesn't prevent money being in
vested in railway an. steam ship l'pes
Yet, level-headed man like 'ua''~"'
Hepburn of the House Committee on In
terstate and Foreign Commerce, who al
the last session reported and urged action
on bill for Pacific cable is quoted as
expressing the opinion that the claim OF
Marconi, whose previous experiments with
wireless telegraphy have not been entirely
satisfactory even for short distances, TO
have discovered a system by which mes
sages can be sent across the ocean, with
out cables, will prevent action on the
cable bill.
There may be some significance in the
remark of Senator Allison, who is in the
front rank Of the majority leaders, that
the only legislation which must absolutely
be disposed of at this session, in order to
| prevent an extra session Of the next Con-
gress, outside of The fourteen regular APP
preparation bills, and that all the other
proposed legislation was subsidiary and
could, if necessary, he laid aside until the
next Congress meets.