The state herald., 1900-03-16
WASHINGTON NEWS.
What Congress Is DoinE.-Notes From the
White House and tho Departments.

Representative Harmcr of Pennsyl
vania, the father of the House, IL
dead. He served in Congress Tor
twenty-six years.
The secretary of war has lately ruled
that no more appointments would DC
made in the regular army from civli
life. Hereafter all vacancies Will DC
filled by promotion.
A stock company has been formed to
establish telephone system at Whlte
Oaks. The company further plans TO
light the town and the principal mines
with electricity.
The House committee on public lanus
has reported favorably the bill extend.
ing the provisions of the soldiers
homestead act to soldiers of the span
ish war and Philippine insurrection.
The ratifications of the Samoan arbi-
tration treaty were exchanged at the
State Department on the 7th by Secre-
tary Hay for the United States, Lord
Pauncefote for Great Britain and DIR.
Won Holleben for Germany.
The members of the committee of
ways and means still insist that the
Puerto Rican tariff bill is one of the
best pieces of legislation ever proposed
yet at the same time they deny Its au-
thorship and claim that the president
was to blame for its passage.
Senator Davis of Minnesota has Of
fered an amendment 80 the Puerto
Rican bill in the Senate. Its effect
is TO have the tariff laws of the United
to nrtA
foreign imports, but allows absolute
free trade between the United States
and Puerto Rico.
The President has committed to i'm
prisonment for life the sentence Of
death imposed by court-martial in the
case of Private George Murphy, Com
pany c, Twenty-fourth infantry, con-
victed of the murder of another sol
dier of the same company in the Phil
ippines.
The president has received n beau
tiful copy in Wedgewood ware of the
bust of Houdin's Washington, the gift
of Merton Russell Cotes, eN-mayor of
Bournemouth. England. The bust
bears this inscription: This bust of
the great Washington. founder of the
United States of America, is presented
TO the nation through President Nc
Kinley, Feb. %, 1900, by Merton Rus
sell Cotes.'
Formal discussion of the Puerto
Rican tariff and civil government bill
began in the Senate Thursday, and con-
tlnued uninterruptedly for four and
n half hours. The principal speakers
We're Mr. Foraker of Ohio, in charge of
. Air n.
crat. of Alabama, but at various times
during the debate lively colloquys oc-
cured in which other senators were
participants.
The remains of sixty-six soldiers who
died in Cuba We're buried at Arlington
cemetery Wednesday with military
honors. The bodies of about 800 sol
diers who died in Cuba now rest in this
historic spot. The officers at Fort
Myer had charge of the services, which
Were very simple. \ Protestant and a
Catholic clcrgymen read the burial SER
vice taps We're sounded and a volley
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 100000 for dormitories Mt the
Grand junction Indian school; Sl2,OO3
for boys dormitories, 5000 for Indus
trial shops, $1,000 for laundry and $S,-
coo for light plant at the Fort Lewis
school. The committee also adopted
Senator Warren's amendment appro-
prlnting $50 for repairing the Wind
river bridge on the Shoshone Indian
reservation, Wyoming.
Acting Secretary Melklcjohn has
sent TO the House OF Representatives
statement of expenditures by the
War Department covering the mill
iary operations In the Philippines, In.
Guiding outstanding liabilities, from
May ], 1S1s, TO November !. 1899. The
total is given at Sis,02s, ,0J0. the prin-
cipal items being: Quartermaster's
department. s25,,i5,9Ol, OF which SlI,-
l3G,sGi is for army transportation;
subsistence department. ss,9J0,OO0;
medical department, sl,2o6, 1877; pay
department, Slo,S33. 1884; ordnance de-
partment, Sl.sG0. 80.
II is proposed TO amend the Hay
Paunccfote treaty so that 1t shall
conform to the Monroe doctrine and
justify the United States In controlling
and defending the Nicaragua canal by
any methods It may deem necessary
and making this government solely
responsible for It's naturalization. This
will be acceptable to the president and
Secretary Hay. The right TO fortify
Will be included. although II IL the
unanimous opinion among military cx-
pcrts that battleshlps are much better
than forts for the protection OF the
canal.
Secretary OF State Hay has declared
that there was absolutely no founda.
ton for the report that either Nlcn.
ragua or Costa Rlca had made any
protest against the proposed neutarli.
zation OF the projected Nicnrngunn
canal, nor had there been the slightest
evidence OF dissatisfaction on their
part with that section OF the Hay
Paunccfotc treaty which deals with
the subject of for,i1cations, official
and otherwise, which had reached the
State Department from the parties In.
tcrcstcd. testified TO their unqualified
approval OF every line OF the conycn
ton.
As the authorship OF the Puerto
RlcnD tnrin bill has been nscrlbed so
Secretary Root by member OF the
ways and means committee, II may be
proper 10 state that the secretary him.
self drew up the bin. but only as an
alternative measure, upon representa-.
tions by some OF the Republican mem.
bcrr OF the committee To the cfrcc,
that II wns the only possible lcglsln-
tlon. While conscntlng TO draft the
bill under these circumstances. Sccre.
tnry Root declared hc still held TO the
opinions ON the subject expressed In
his nnnnnl rcport nnd fnNOrel doing