Milford chronicle., 1901-12-06
WASHINGTON NEWS.

Congress is now in session, and
will remain for at least six months,
into which will be crowded some
of the most exciting political ex-
periences that this country has wit
messed for many a day. The Re
publicans have, of course, a great
advantage, not only from their DO
sition as majority party, but also
from the extreme weakness of the
opposition. Not only are the Dem
ocrats withoutleaders, but they have
not even chosen the best of those
whom they have, to manage their
battle for them. Slippery Jim"
Richardson, who was renominated
for Speaker by the Democratic eau
Gus on Saturday, and received the
complimentary vote of that side of
the House Monday, and was thus
made the tactical leader of the mi
nority i'll the House, is pretty nearly
the weakest man of all those who
aspired to the honor. Not for
nothing did he receive his nick
name above; his regular mode of
warfare is to compromise with the
enemy whenever possible and to
light only when it is impossible to
avoid doing so. Far different is
Representative DeArmond, of Mis-
4puri, yNo would have cent ed
les sship will Inn, had he
v sasslhington. Unfortu-
an. both for him and his party,
wv Successive mishaps to trans
ports on which he has been travel
ing-at government expense-in
the Philippines, have resulted in
delaying his arrival in this city;
he is somewhere on the bosom of
the broad Pacific, wondering what
IS going on here. In his absence,
his campaign for the post failed al
together.
The Democrats in the Senate are
nearly as badly off. Mr.. BRYAN
has insisted that Senator Jones, of
Arkansas, shall again be leader of
the minority in that body, and the
contemplated revolt by those who
object to further dictation from the
Nebraskan and who think that Mr..
Jones failed them woefully by not
the army bill and other
measures put through at the last
SESSIONS indefinitely postponed to
await the return of Senator Bacon.
of Georgia, who is afloat somewhere
with Representative De Almond.
The stars certainly seem to fight
against the Democrats nowadays.
Senator Knute Nelson, of Mime
sofa, has prepared bill (which he
will soon introduce, to establish the
new Department of Commerce and
Industries, recommended by the re-
cent reciprocity convention and bv
a number of similar bodies in the
past. Senator Nelson has dis
cussed his bill with the President
who has approved it and will urge
1t upon Congress. The bill, as
drawn, creates a Secretary, with an
Assistant Secretary and a Chief of
the Bureau of Manufactures. To
it will be transferred from the
Treasury Department, the Light
house service, Life Saving service.
Marine Hospital, Inspector of steam
boats, Bureau of Navigation, u. S.
shipping commissioners, Bureau of
Statistics, and Coast and Geodetic
survey; from the Interior depart
ment, the Commissioner of railroads
Patent office, Census office and Geo
logical survey; and from the State
department, the Bureau of Foreign
commerce. To these are to be
added the now independent Bureau
of Labor and the Fish commission.
The Secretary of Commerce will
be cabinet officer, raising the num-
Der of the President S advisers from
eight to nine. The government
began its existence in 1880 with
three departments-that of State,
War and Treasury and two indie
pendent bureaus, whose heads were
not cabinet oficers-those of Post
office and Justice. The Navy de-
partment was added nine years