Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-12-20
FEDERALLAW MAKERS.

FEDERALLAW MAKERS.
Washington, Dec. 10.-Chas. A.
ToWne, recently appointed successor
to the late Senator Davis of Mime
sofa, attended the session of the
senate and took the oath of Office. No
business of Importance was transacted
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 senators 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. 1.-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 Clay's argument and gave
him a particularly attentive hearing
In the early part of the session live
ly collquy was precipitated over the
reference to the committee of the
Circuit oleomargarine bill, just passed
by the house of representatives. 1t
finally went to the committee on agri-
culture. This is 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 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, zone 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 ad-
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 carriers, is only 1 II cents per
gross ton, While the subsidy given to
a fast steamer, which carries chiefly
passengers and fine manufactured
goods, is 8 $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
portatlon company. The comparisons
that the Manhattan, a 14-knot |
snip, carried immense quantities of |
and manufactured pro-
1ucts, while the ST. Paul carried prac-
lcaily no manufactures or agricultural
products of any kind; yet, contended
senator Clay, the Manhattan will re-
ce1ve little more than one-third of the
subsidy given the st. Paul
washington, Dec. 1.-THE debate
IN the war revenue reduction bill
opened in the house and a committee
vas appointed to ascertain whether
Booz of Pennsylvania was
lilled as result of hazing at the Westi
Point academy