Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-12-21
CAPITAL CHAT.
Great Interest in Pending Ship
Subsidy Bill.
The Loud Postal Bill Expected to Die
a Natural Death.
Customs Receipts in Maine Amount Expend-
ed on Our Rivers.


Those people who want to see the ship
subsidy bill passed al this session of Con
gress and they include numerous Maine
men, are watching with no little anxiety
the congressional developments. Senator
Fry has delivered yeoman blows for the
bill at the north end of the Capitol and
Representative Littlefield is preparing to
do likewise whenever the bill shall be
taken up at the south end of the Capitol.
The recent unfavorable prophesies have
originated in a knowledge of what some
of the Democratic senators are prepar-
ing to do. They have not sought to de-
lay the bill as yet and there is no sign
that they intend to immedia tely Repub-
leans have done most of the talking up
to date and now the holidays are near.
After the Christmas recess the remain
der of the session will be only about two
months and the Senate will soon have
pressing appropriation bills. Senator Al
lison the chairman of appropriations Will
insist that appropriations must be taken
up and as the Democrats expect, Il
month more of the session will have
passed without a vote on the subsidy
bill. But in the meantime the Democrats
are laying in store of material for talk.
Some of the local bureaus that make Il
business of looking up data and collect
ing material for speeches have been
working busily Of late. Their employers
are the same Democratic senators who
plan to lift the flood-gates of eloquence
towards the end of the session and talk
the ship subsidy bill to death There will
be much skilfll maneuvering and threats
of cloture may be raised by Senator
Hanna. However these circumstances
and the clash of other interests, as we'll
as the Indifference of Republicans from
the central section of the country, prom
Use to give the snip subsidy bill hard sled
ding.
The Loud bill for restricting the
amount of second-cass mail matter
seems to have been entirely forgotten
this session. 1t is on the House calendar
the amended bill which was prepared
and reported soon after the first bill
was defeated at the last session of Con-
eress Chairman. Loud shows little dis
position to press ii and said a few days
days ago that he could tell nothing about
it's prospects The bill will probably die
with the present session. for there is too
much work to do in the House to war
and Furthermore the Senate certainly will
not have time to tackle it at this session.
so that the work, should it be done in the
House. would be fruitless. The poStoffice
committee has not yet prepared the an
nual appropriat ton bill and will not at
tempt it til after the first of the new
year.
The struggle over apportionment con
10, b..
outcome. since the House census com
mittee is SO evenly divided The arGH-
ments against increasing the membership
of the House are numerous, one OF the
most cogent of which is the lack Of room
for seating thirty more members, as orc
posed in the Burleigh bill At present
there are 357 seats and desks in the han
of representatives. 1t is an ono:moLs
hall but is nevertheless entirely filled,
save Tor a small space along the north
ern portion. Even the architect" do not
know lust where more seats and desks
could be placed. There has been much
talk of taking out the desks catrely and
having only benches, after the system in
the English House of Parliament bat
that. it is said, would involve an eXpeh'"
Of perhaps Il million dollars.
NDn the other hand there are soma good
arguments for increasing the membership
of the House. The House OF Parliament
in Great Britain is much larger body
numerically than the House of Rcprcsen-
tatives and the same is true of popular
bodies in other countries. There is great
safety in numbers. from leglsiatlN"
point of view. Without impusning the
character of any one man, IL rs never inc
less a recognized fact that II Is always
easy to get jobs through the Senate of
the United States. one must know the
ropes ana be able to accomplish Things
ate is 50 small body that matters can
be arranged in one fashion ana another
But the House of Representatives. Is 50
large that it is absolute!Y incorrupt:b"
and the larger it gets the less dlffl"ule
il becomes to arrange combines 70 Sc
cure any kind of legisla ton.
Early in the new year the senate ana
House will assemble in the hall of repre-
sentativeS to count the electoral vote for
President and Vice President. 1t is only
a formalty to be sure but NAry lmpoT-
tant one and also very impressive one.
Ii will be Senator FryeS duty TO JrcSiG@
over the joint assembly. to appoint tel,
erS. two members from each House, ana
after the ballots of each state have been
opened and read to announce the result
That is the only formalitN that now M
terveneS between the inauguration OF
President Mckinley and Vice President
Roosevelt.
The Inauguration committee which has
charge of the preparations Tor Inducing
Mr.. Mckinley into his second term mas
forty prominent residents of Washington
1t is interesting to notice that three OF
tnem are Maine mcn-Gen. Ellis Spear.
formerly of Kockland; Mr.. John L. Cot
ton formerly of Lewiston, and Mr. >. ".
Woodward. a native of Damarscotta.
A statement of the receipts and eNpen-
ditureS of the government during the
past fiscal year, just published, shows
that the customs collections in Maine
were A12 S7l.g6. This was more than any
other New England states. except Massa-
chusettS. Connecticut and Vermont. The
amount paid out for improving different
harbors OF the State was: cape PorpOiSe
$4,000; breakwater from Mount Desert to
Porcupinc Island, S20.WoG; Camden Har-
Dor, $2a3. 81: Sullivan Falls, $1,000: Carver
Harbor AT Ninalhaven, Me, Sl5,Wo:
MooSebec bar at JoneSport. Sll,Oo; Port
land harbor $1,000; Rockland harbor,
1886 900.
RockIand harbor. as is generally under
stood, is being improved extensively as
a harbor of refuge under a project au-
thorized several years ago. The amounts
paid out for improving Maine rivers dur
ing the past fiscal year We're:
Bagaduce Recommendations. $1,000 Oh
Georges Observation-Disclosures. 10000 VI
Narraguagus .... 5000 o.
Penobscot ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 5000 0J
Saco Observation-Disclosures. 800 o,
Union IA 500 on
When potatoes were first brought