The Elk Mountain pilot., 1900-03-13
WASHINGTON NEWS.
What Congress is Doing Notes From the
White House and the Departments.


light the town and the principal mines
with electricity.
Senator Davis of Minnesota has of
fered an amendment TO the Puerto
Rican bill in the Senate. Its effect
~ to have the tariff laws OF the United
States applied to Puerto Rico upon
foreign imports, but allows absolute
free trade between the United States
and Puerto Rico.
The remains of siXty-six soldiers who
died in Cuba were buried at Arlington
cemetery Wednesday with military
honors. The bodies of about 500 SOL
diers who died in Cuba now rest in this
historic spot The officers at Fort
Myer had charge of the services, which
We're very simple A Protestant and n
Catholic clergymen read the burial SER
vice, taps We're sounded and yolley
fired over the graves.
The Senate committee on Indian af-
fairs has adopted in part Senator
Teller's amendments to the Indian ap-
preparation bill and Incorporated in the
bill S2OOOO for dormitOries ut the
Grand Junction Indian school; $1,000
for boys dormitories, 5000 for indus
trial shops, $1,000 for laundry and So
600 for light plant at the Fort Lewis
school. The committee also adopted
Senator Warren's amendment appro-
priatng $3.50 for repairing the Wind
river bridge on the Shoshone Indian
reservation, Wyoming.
The Paris peace commission cost the
government S155, 1922. The Philip
pine commission cost S136, ,420.57. The
investigation of the conduct of the war
by the commission of which General
Greenville NJ. Dodge was president
cost S10J, 144J4. The work of the Sc
cret service during the war cost SlS,-
$50 .96 The investigation of conditions
in Cuba and Puerto Rico by Robert r.
Porter and GonZalo G. Quesada, which
resulted in the dissolution of the insur-
gent army. cost S13, 3,2T3.35. The inves-
tigation into affairs of Puerto Rico cost
S12631.5T.
Acting Secretary Meiklejohn has
sent to the House of Representatives
a statement of expenditures by the
War Department covering the mill
tary operations in the Philippines, in
Guiding outstanding liabilities, from
May ], 1898, to November l, 1899. The
total is given at S4S,92S,0 ,06O. the prin-
cipal items being: Quartermaster $
department, S25, 15,901, of which Slf.-
136,S64 is for army transportation !;
subsistence department, SS,90O,OOO;
medical department, S1,2O6, 1877; pay
partment, S1,SG0, 80.
Secretary of State Hay has declared
that there was absolutely no founda-
tion for the report that either Mica
ragua or Costa Rica had made any
protest against the proposed neutarli-
zation of the projected Nicaraguan
canal, nor had there been the slightest
evidence of dissatisfaction on their
part with that section of the Hay
Pauncefote treaty which deals with
the subject of fortitications, official
and otherwise, which had reached the
State Department from the parties in
terested. testified to their unqualified
approval of every line of the conven-
ton.
Secretary Root expects to turn over
the municipal affairs of Cuba to Off
cials chosen at an election to be held
some time in May, which after all mil
itary officers now engaged in municipal
offices will be recalled. AS this 10 an
experiment, the provincial govern
ments and the general control of af-
fairs in the island will remain in the
hands of Governor-General Wood ana
hs subordinates until such time as the
President and secretary of war coDsid-
er the people of Cuba able to maintain
order and discharge their international
obligations without the supervision of
the United States.
As the authorship of the Puerto
Rican tariff bill has been ascribed to
Secretary Root by member of the
ways and means committee, 1t may be
proper to state that the secretary him
self drew up the bill, but only as an
alternative measure, upon representa-
tions by some of the Republican mem
bers of the committee to the effect
Il Loo In
ton. While consenting to draft the
bill under these circumstances, Secre-
tary Root declared he still held to the
opinions on the subject expressed in
his annual report and favored doing
all that could be done for Puerto Rico.
These facts are from the highest au-
thority.
Not probably in the history of the
Senate was there ever shown so little
real interest in the final vote on II
great measure as was manifested Tues
day in the vote on the conference re
port of the financial bill. The report
was before the Senate for nearly two
weeks, yet only four speeches We're de
livered on it, including Mr.. Aldrich's
explanation of the changes made in
the Senate bill by the conferees. Dis
cussion ceased on the bill fifteen min
utes before the time fixed for the vote
and the Senate actually began the con
sideration of minor bills on the calen-
dar to consume time The conference
report was agreed to by II vote of A
to 26, the report thus having a ma
jority of IS.
Representative Shafroth has intro
c..ced n hill of much interest to several
of the western states. 1t provides for
segregation from the public lands con
tanned in tracts in Colorado, Utah, Ari-
zona and New Mexico, upon which are
found ancient ruins and evidences OF
the existence of prehistoric people. The
bill directs the secretary of the inter