The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-20
Charges Exacted by Express Conn
panies and Steamship Lines
Denounced as Ruinous.
DATE OF CUBAN ELECTIONS
GENERAL WOOD SAYS THE TINE HAS
BEEN FIXED FOR JUNE 16.
Census Returns and Electoral Law
Ready for PromuIEatiOn-POrtO
Rican Money to Be Retired.

Payne. of the House committee on ways
and means. to-day received a memorial
from the Merchants Association. of New
York, which will be presented to the COM
mittee tomorrow. 1t is an appeal for the
abolition of the stamp taxes on express
shipments, railroad and steamboat ship
ments and kilograms. The petitioners state
that they represent 1,4OO business firms in
New York city. giving employment to sew
eral hundred thousand wage earners, be-
sides a nonresident membership of 10000
other business firms distributed through
out the United States.
The memorial complains at considerable
length of the Oppressive charges exacted
by express companies, speaking of them In
strong terms "monopolies of quasi-pub-
lie function, beyond the reach of COMPETE
ton the control of the Interstate-com-
merce Commission to which other common
carriers are subjected" 1t is stated that
the charges exacted by the express COM
panies are runous to certain class of mer-
camille business and to this express COM
panies add the stamp tax, placing it on the
shipper with the sanction of the Supreme
Court. In this connection the petition
says:
1.-The express charges upon shipments in
some cases equal the value of the goods.
In an average of several thousand cases
collated by this association the express
charges were more than the profit upon the
article shipped: and were found to average
In the classes of goods most frequently
shipped by express from per cent. to 10
per cent. of the value Our Investigations
have shown wide Determinations in the
charges imposed; favored classes of ship
pers who are permitted lesser rates than
other classes; cumulative charges: differ
ming charges for identical services; and
other variations the effect of which is de-
Structive."
The petitioners. in conclusion. ask that
the stamp tax on express shipments be
either abolished or removed from the
shipper and placed in lump sum on the
express companies. and they further re-
quest the abolition of the stamp tax on
railroad and steamboat shipments and on
kilograms. s*s
The board of survey in the case of the
United States steamer Boston has reported
to the Navy Department that the ship can
be repaired at a cost of SITS, 0O0 or one-half
of the original estimate, and the work has
yard. -
The President to-day nominated Henry
Wood to be postmaster at Loogootee, Ind.
Senator Gallinger, chairman of the SEN
ate committee on pensions to-day intro
duced bill in the Senate granting a PEN
The bill gives the generals service that
of major in the Eighth United States In
fantry during the Mexican war, and makes
no reference to his connection with the
Confederacy. -
Representative Levy, of New York, to-
day introduced bill to repeal the war
revenue act.
The Navy Department has secured a
5000-ton steamer to carry the wheat and
other food supplies collected by charitable
organizations in New York to the plague
and famine sufferers in India. Secretary
Long was informed by telegraph to-day
by Pay Director Denniston that he had
found a suitable vessel, and he replied as
follows: ''Close option at the lump sum of
$4,000 If the Christian Herald approves,
subject to inspection under the comman-
dant (of the New York navy Yard with
whom 1 will communicate. Department
trusts donors will fill the vessel to her full
capacity. The last sentence was added
because the stores collected at New York,
amounting to $500 tons, are not sufficient
to exhaust the capacity. of the ship.
The following cablegram was received at
the War Department to-day from General
Wood at Havana: Census returns and
electoral law will be published late this
afternoon. Election June 16'' The COM
pilation of the Cuban census returns was
direction of General Sanger, who also is in
charge of the Porto Rican census. The fig
ures were dispatched to Havana by mail
last Saturday. The electoral law spoken of
by General Wood was prepared by him and
submitted to Secretary Root for approval
during the recent visit of the latter to the
island. The date set for the Cuban cleo
lions Is six weeks later than was originally
contemplated. the postponement being
made on account of the impossibility of
proceeding without figures
basis. General Sanger will begin the pub
LEGATION of the various census bulletins
next week and hopes to be able to have
the returns from Porto Rico complete by
October next, in which case the erection
there of municipal government by popular
vote can be effected before next winter.
General Sanger to-day made public the
compendious results of the Cuban census
taken under his direction. The figures are
very instructive and in the opinion or the
War Department officials fully justify the
decision OF the administration to allow
municipal suffrage in Cuba at this early
stage. The officials are gratiied to find that
the native Cubans constitute so large a
portion of the population: that the whites
SO greatly outnumber the blacks: and that
SO large proportion of the native popula-
ton can read and write. In their opinion
there seems to be no room for the objec-
ton that the proposed basis of suffrage
would result in turning the island over TO
the control of Spain. The total population
of Cuba is l.572. 1871 including s15.205 males
and 151 ,592 females. There 447,312 white
males and 462.9 26 white females of native
birth. The foreign whites number lis, go
males and 26.45S females. There are Ill 1898
males negroes and 122.740 female negroes.
The mixed races number 125.500 males and
1895 females. There are 1894 males and
163 female Chinese The population OF
Havana city is 235.9S1. and OF the province
of Havana 424.SG The population of the
province of Matanzas is 202,4f4: of Pinar del
Rio. 17306i: OF Puerto Principe IS pa: of
Santa Clara. 356.536. and of Santiago, 327,-
Il5. OF the total population OF the island
.10S.109 persons are set down as single
246,351 married, while 13l. ISL live to-
gether by mutual consent There are S.
liz widowed persons. OF the total popula-
ton. according TO citizenship. COATS are
Spanish. l.296. 367 are Cubans. 1851 are I'm
suspense. 1885 are of other citizenship. and
6l6 are unknown.
Indiana postmasters were appointed to-
day follows: Manila. Rush county. Jas
l.. Smith. vice Nora Thomas. removed
michael, vice Edgar Cornwell, deceased
Shields. Jackson county Edward Stuck
wish, vice Levi Killy. resigned
The Treasury Department has completed
the arrangements for the retirement of
Porto Rican money and the substitution of
American currency. James A. Sample the
chief Of the issue division of Treasurer
Roberts's office. and w. r. Watson, OF New
York, an expert accountant. have been
selected To go TO Porto Rico 10 make the