The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-22
1t Provides that the senior Major GEN.
eraI BE Given the Rank of
Lieutenant General.
AN EIGHT-HOUR LABOR BILL
SEVERAL AMENDMENTS MADE BY
THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE.
No Report by the Nicaragua Canal
Commissioners Before December
-Washington Miscellany.

WASHINGTON April Ex-senator Proc
tor, from the Senate committee on military
affairs, to-day reported substitute for the
original army reorganization bill. The bill
provides that hereafter any vacancy in the
staff officers, except in the position of
chief of staff. shall be filled by details.
which are to be for four years. Vacan-
cies in the line caused by transfers to the
staff are to be returned from staff to line
duty with the actual rank held by them.
When none of the present staff corps are
left to choose from the President is author
lied to select chiefs of staff from
the officers of the army. not below the
rank of lieutenant colonel. The artillery
arm of the army is designated as the ar
tillery corps, the regimental organization
being discontinued. There are to be two
branches of this corps. to be designated
as the coast and the field artillery. The
chief of the artillery corps is to have the
rank Of brigadier general and there are
to be thirteen colonies of artillery. The
aggregate number of enlisted men for the
artillery is placed at 17.44s. The senior
major general is given the rank of leuten-
ant general and the adjutant general the
rank of major general.
The House committee on labor to-day
took up the Gardner eight-hour bill as re-
Gently completed by subcommittee and
after making several amendments put the
measure in form for final vote on it's
adoption at the next meeting. The amend
ments struck out Sections / and 3, making
IL unlawful for any officer of the United
States to employ men over eight hours, as
it was deemed best to rely a recent
court Interpretation of the eight-hour law
of 1892, so far it applies to officers. This
leaves Section as the main enactment.
This applies TO contracts and requires that
every contract made for behalf of
the United States or any Territory or the
District of Columbia, which contract may
involve the employment of laborers, work.
men or mechanics, shall contain stipula-
ton that no laborer, workman or mechanic
i'm the employ of the contractor or subcon-
tractor doing or contracting to do any part
of the work contemplated by the contract,
shall be required or permitted to work
more than eight hours in any one calendar
day" The penalty was charged so as to
make it s. for each day each laborer is
required to work over eight hours An
exception was made of contracts for trans
portation, and a new provision was inserted
that the act shall not apply ''in time of
extreme emergency caused by fire or flood
or danger to life or property nor upon pub
lie military or naval works In time of war
or when war is imminent
The isthmian canal commissioners have
concluded that with all possible expedi-
tion they cannot complete their report on
their examinations of the various isthmian
routes for a canal before next December.
They could. of course. make the toughest
kind of preliminary report earlier, but
they would do this only on absolute direc-
tions and instructions. The discussions
that took place between the heads of the
Central American governments and the
commissioners during the visit of that
body to that part of the world did not COM
NIT any of the Presidents to a relinquish-
ment of sovereignty over any of the
projected canal routes in favor of the
United States, according to one of the
commissioners But this point of
sovereignty is after all inconsequential
at this stage in the belief of the commits
sion, the members of which do not see that
any particular benefit is TO arise from
any assertion of sovereignty over the soil
to protect the canal line is conserved in
the treaties. The proposed action of the
House of Representatives in amending the
pending Nicaraguan canal bill by striking
out the provisions for the erection of forti-
fcations along the route of the canal is
regarded as making the measure far more
acceptable by the administration but Ii Is
still believed that it is absolutely necessary
to make the ratification of the Hay
Pauncefote treaty condition precedent to
the adoption of any canal bill.
1t was said at the State Department to-
day that Mr.. White, the secretary of the
United States embassy at London, sailed
to-day from Southampton for New York
on leave of absence from his post Mr..
White has been at the embassy steadily
for the past two years without the Gus
| tomary leave. 1t is stated positively that
| his visit to the United States has abso-
lutely no official significance. and particu-
| larly that it was not connected in any man.
ner with any proposition looking to media
ton between the British government and
the BQer republics, has been suggested
| in SOME quarters. Mr.. ChOate. the Amer
lean ambassador, who has been making a
visit on the continent, has returned to Lon
don. and will himself conduct the business
of the embassy during Mr.. Whites abb
sence. $ss
To-day's statement of the treasury bal
! ance in the general fund, exclusive of the
| s150.0Oo,O00 gold reserve in the division of
| redemption, shows: Available cash bal
ance. $l4i. 1885: gold, sSS,42S.SSO.
| Senator Culberson to-day introduced a
| resolution in the Senate requesting the
| President to supply the Senate with infor-
nation concerning the various commissions
| appointed by him I'm reference to the for
eign relations or the territories of the
| United States, or TO inquire into the con-
| duct of the war with Spain, giving the
| compensation paid each commissioner in all
cases and the total amount paid each and
| all of them.
/ Senators Burrows to-day introduced, by
| request, bill directing the secretary of
| war to refund the duties on the flour rice,
pork. bacon, Goldfish and lumber imported
A N he "a nf he
occupation by the United States and held
| in stock by importers on Oct. q, 1899, when
those articles were placed on the free list
| Representative Corliss, of Michigan, to-
| day filed the minority report Of the COM
rnittee on interstate and foreign commerce
| against the substitution of the Sherman
/ Pacific cable bill for the Senate measure.
/ The report follows the lines of that hereto
| fore made on the original House bill urg-
| ing that the cable can best be constructed
| by the government
/ The conferees of the two houses to-day
| reported a second agreement on the diff
ference on the bill providing government
| for the Hawaiian islands In this agree
i ment all provision in reference to taxes
| previous to registration are stricken out.
/ and Imprisonment for ordinary debt or on
account of taxes is prohibited. provision
| was also agreed TO. making IL certain that
| the laws OF the United States in relation to
sea be extended to Hawaii.
/ Representative Livingston. OF Georgia,
- H. <x~<- H.