North Park union., 1900-04-06

to the arch OF triumph at Paris. con-
| nsmorating the ilinhtrious statesmen
A; resolution Wa6S passed askin9 the
secretary Of state for Information on
the .p0en Ahosr negotiations concern-
| Representative Shafroth last week
presented the petition Of the wool grow
ers' association and the cattle growers,
association OF Lincoln county against
the leasing or ceding the public lands.
While q humber of similar petitions
have been received by members Of
Congress from associations and indl-
viduals living in the arid states, the
great bulk Of the petitions with which
| Congress has been flooded have come
from persons not directly concerned In
public land problems, and from parts
Of the country where accurate knowl-
edge of public land conditions is not
likely to be In possession OF those
sending the petition. The form OF al
these petitions Is indentical and they
are mainly sent by labor and trade or
ganizations located in the eastern and
southern cities. That they are not
spontaneous bat are the work of Sc
creat bureau. is shown by the fact OF
the opposition to the ShafrOth bill,
L
| ton OF the Land to be ceded and for Its
distribution among actual settlers In
small tracts.
Representative Hay of Virginia fled
the report of the House committee on
military affairs on the bill establishing
a national battlefield memorial park of
5000 acres on the sites Of the battles OF
fredericksburg. Charlottesville, The
| Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court
House. The representative states that
more men were here engaged than In
any battle In the worlds history. num-
bering at least 100000, with losses in
killed and wounded on both sides
amounting to 129,S3S. The intrench-
ments all over the field are said to be
In a remarkable state of preservation.
At Fredericksburg also is the home of
| Washington still intact, monument
erected by the Daughters Of the Amer
lean Revolution. Here. too, Captain
John Smith anchored his little bark
and fought the Indians In 1908, and
within sight of the city were born
Washington, Monroe. Jefferson and
Madison, the Lees of both the 'RevOlu-
tion and Civil War, and Zachary Tay-
lor. The report adds that In Virginia
the great war began and ended, and not
an acre Of this soil, where more men
fell than on all the other battlefelds of
the war. has yet been dedicated as a
national park.
| The correspondent of the Chicago
Record, n Republican paper, says:
Representative Page Morris Of Mime
sofa and six other Republican members
of Congress have found 1t necessary to
| 60 home and explain to their constitu-
ents their reasons for voting for tariff
on Puerto Rico. and all Of them are
likely to lose their seats because of that
inexcusable blunder. One member
who Is similarly situated LAY right
down and let his constituents jump on
him." to use his own words. He did
not attempt to defend the bill. He
said that 1t would have been necessary
for him to change the opinion of every
Intelligent man In his district, md that
Is too big n Job SO he promptly entered
the plea of guilty" and threw himself
upon the mercy of his constituents,
asking them to take into consideration
certain extenuntIng circumstances. II
told them that l was led by party 10y
atty into voting against my own convic-
tion," lie said, but l promised never
to do so again. This seemed to please
the people. and think ap stronger
than ever In my district, but I had n
mighty narrow escape from political
oblivion" Those members who are ut
tempting to defend their action meet
with many embnrrnssments and only
| provoke a controversy in which they
come out second best. 1t Ia the gen.
eral opinion that the passage Of the
Puerto Ricnn tax bill will cost the Re-
publican pnrty the control Of the next
House of representatives.
II think the Cubans are getting to uu-
derstand that steady progress is being
made toward the establishment of their
government. do not think they wish
the present condition of affairs to con.
tinue, but they are not impatient about
taking over the government" Sec
tary Root made this statement after ho
had reported to the President on his re-
turn from Cuba. 1t was evident from
the secretary's manner that he does
not think the Cubans are yet ready for
self-government, though he would not
say so. 1.-THE strongest men In Cuba"
he continued, realize that the educa.
tion of the Inhabitants of the island IL
going on us rapidly as it can. The Gu
bans are capable of learning the art Of
| government and are very anxious to
learn. They have taken very kindly to
the business of education. The islnn6
Is In n very satisfactory condition, DO
| litically and otherwise. Everything Ia
quiet and serene. I would like to have
our people go to Cuba and look over
the island. The cities and towns are
clean and everything is in excellent
condition. The island is consequently
healthy. Very few of the troops ara
on the sick list. lit is the purpose OF
the department to withdraw troops
from time to time. but as result OF
my trip 1t is not proposed to accelerate
such withdrawal. 1t is intended to re-
duce the military force after a time,
Nothing is to be done now. have tak.
en- no action respecting the formation
Of Cuban battalions. We have no au-
thority Mt present to take such action
To do SO now would necessItate the
discharge of some Of the volunteers in
service"
Anticipating a favorable decision
from the courts on the suit now pend
ing to determine the validity of the vi
tai patent of the Bell telephone, the ri
walls Of the Bell company are consoL-
dating for fight that will be fiercA
and long. Negotiations now pending
contemplate an organization that will
embrace everything that is not in TIM
Bell company under the awkward titis
of the Telephone, Telegraph and Cabin
| - 10 IN haH n