, 1900-12-13

executive departments. He did not,
however, clap the manuscript into MS
message as most of his predecessors
nave done with n few erasures and In
terl'neations, hut he carefully rewrote
every line submitted by his Cabinet
ministers and other officers of the gov
IN
Representative Brosius of Pennsyl-
vania, chairman of the committee on
banking and currency, has introduced
in the House n resolution to authorize
the control of the currency under the
limitations of the act of July II, $
to extend for n further period of TWEEN
ty years the charter Of any national
banking association which shall desire
to continue its existence after the eN-
piration of its present charter.
The battIeship Iowa, flagship Of the
Pacific station, in company with the
Philadelphia, has been ordered to cav
San Francisco for the usual winter
cruise southwark. 1t is stated that
there is no particular political purpose
in the cruise, but conditions along the
isthmus are disturbed, and 1t is regard
ed as good policy to have h United
States flag shown in that quarter at
comparatively short intervals.
Senator Wolcott's bill, which he in
trOduced in the last Congress to create
n tenth United States judicial circuit
has been |reintroduced by Senator
Thurston. The bill proposes creating
n judicial circuit to include Kansas,
Nebraska. Colorado, Wyoming, Utah
and Montana, with two circuits and
three district Judges. The measure Is
strongly urged by all the representa-
tives from the states interested.
In his annual report to the secretary
of the treasury, the supervising special
agent states that during the season of
1900 22.410 sealskins We're taken, and
is has been reported that h lessees
took smaller seals than have ever be-
fore been taken, which. it is thought,
will result in a diminished catch during
the neXt year. The seal life in 1899 is
reported to be twenty per cent less
than in 1898. which is attributed to the
effect of pelagic sealing.
The first formal social function of the
season at the White House occurred
on the night of December 9th, when
the President and Mrs. Mckinley gave
n dinner to the commissioners of the
United States to the Paris exposition
and their ladies. The table was set in
the state dining room. which, with the
east room and the red, blue and green
parlors. had been appropriately deco
rated for the occasion. The Marine
band furnished the music.
Representative Mondell of wyoming
was given n hearing by the suh-com-
mittec on rivers and harbOrs and urg-
ed the incorporation in the river and
hnrbor bill of m amendment appropri-
ating funds for surveying reservoir
sites in the arid land states and for
D -LV,aNr,,,Ngl,. 80 -,.Dr,--g.. moon tI.
sites already surveyed and approved
by Captain Chittenden, United States
engineer corps in Wyoming and Colo
RADIO. The amendment carries an APP
preparation of S1G5,O0 and provides
that the waters, when impOunded, shall
be under the control of the states as
at present.
The bill of Mr.. Shafroth of Colorado
for the adoption of the metric system
by the United States was f%avOrably
reported by unanimous vote of the
House committee on coinage, weights
and measures. The bill as reported
provides: THAT on and after January
], 1903, all the departments of the gov
eminent of the United States in the
transaction of all business requiring
the use of weights and measurement,
except in completing the SURVEY of
public lands, shall employ and use only
the weight and measure of the metric
system. and on and after January l,
1908, the weights and measures of the
metric system shall be the legal stand
ard weights and measures of and In
the United States"
The report of the canal commission
makes the following comparisons: The
Panama canal, after completion, would
] hn ghnrinr hn We faNEnF. lnpIgs nnI InGg
%urvature thai the Nicaragua canal.
The measure Of these advantG Ees is
the time required for a vessel to pass
through, which is estimated for an av-
eraEe ship ut twelve hours for Panama
and thirty-three for Nicaragua. On the
other hand the distance from SAL Fran
cisco to New York is 377 miles, to New
Orleans so miles and to Liverpool 1856
miles greater via Panama than via
Nicaragua. The time required to pass
over these distances being greater than
the differences in the time of transit
through the canals, the Nicaragua line,
after completion, would be somewhat
more advantageous to tho United
States, Notwithstanding the greater
cost of maintenance of the longer ca
nal.
The report of the Isthmian canal
COMMISSION submitted ny the lTCSluent
to Congress gives ms the unanimous
conclusion of that body that the most
practicable and feasible route for an
lsthmian canal, under the control, n
agement and ownership of the United
States, is that known as the Nicaragua
canal route" The commission estimates
the cost of this route at 5000, $4,000.
The commission also estimates the cost
of n canal by the Panama route Mt
S142. 342, 80, according to one route, or
S15G,3TS, 25S, according to another
route. As between the Nicaragua and
and Panama rOutes the commission
sums up n number of advantages IA
vorablc to the former. 1t states also
that under the concessions given by
the Colombian government to the Pan
ANA canal company that government
is not free TO grant the necessary
rights to the United States except up
on conditions made by the company.
1t is estimated that the bill lntroduc.
ed by Chairman Payne Of the ways and
means committee TO reduce taxation