Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-11-22
The 57th Congress and Its Work.

Inc 51th Congress will assemble a
week from Tuesday, Dec. 2. The
House of Representatives will contain
1877 Republicans, 152 Democrats and
8 Populists and Silverites. The Re-
publican strength will exceed the com.
bined opposition by 81 votes. and with
Is in excess of a quorum, they should
have little trouble in having present at
all times a sufficient number of their
members to control the House. OF
the 357 members, 81 only were not in
the last Congress, and of these five
have had previous service in the
House. 1t may, therefore, be said
that only Sc new members will ap-
pear before the bar to answer the in
itial roll call. New chairmen will be
appointed to only two first-class com
mttees, the banking and currency.
of which the late Mr.. Brosius of Penn
sylvania was the head, and the Pa
cific railroads, over which Judge Pow
ers of Vermont presided.
The three leading subjects which
will come up for consideration are the
Nicauraga canal, ship subsidy and rec
iprocity. The ratification of the re-
vised y-Pauncefote treaty, which
was signed Monday, will undoubtedly
be followed by the passage of a canal
bill. The Isthmian canal commission,
which completed its work Saturday, es-
timated the total expense of the Pan
anna canal at $3.50, 100000 including
Sl09,0 100000 for the canal as it stands
today, with franchises, and $144,OO0,-
600 to finish the work already begun.
The estimate for building the Nicar-
auga canal has been scaled down to
S1S9,000,000. making a difference of
$64,0O0,000 in favor of the latter route.
The ship subsidy bill will be shorn
of some of the features which pro-
voked strong opposition in the last
Congress, but there are many Con-
gresmen who are opposed to the prin-
cipal of granting a subsidy in any
form, and who do not believe it would
be effective permanently in building
up our merchant marine, nor that ben
efits would accrue in the way of re-
duced freight rates. 1t is believed,
however, that the advocates of the
measure have sufficient strength to
pass the bill.
There is a wide divergence of opin-
ion as to how far reciprocity should
go, and the subject is likely to be
prolific in contentious. Many Re
publicans think that we now face new
conditions, and that the time has come
to carry into effect in broad and gen.
eral way the great scheme in which
Blaine took the initiative, and to re-
place a fixed, arbitrary tariff with one
which will give to the different coun-
tries rates based on the trade con-
cessions which they are willing to
grant to our country. Many law
makers look askance at the propo-
sition Of tackling the reciprocity ques-
tion through fear that any proposed
reduction in the war taxes will pave
the way for endless tariff tinkering,
and thus unsettle business conditions
and deal a blow to prosperity. Both
parties know bv ter experience in
recent years the .culty of harmon
izing conflicting interests satisfactorily
when tariff revision is fairly entered
upon, but when we are piling up a sur
plus and certain great corporations
are enabled through the aid of the
present taft laws, to sell their prod
usts in this country for 25 per cent
more than they receive when making
a reasonable profit on the same goods
in foreign markets, it is time for a
change.
President Mckinley, in his last pub