Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1901-01-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
THE PAST RECESS ceNTeRs OF IN.
rERES1 ~ CONGRESS.

'eHES' w GONSNeSS.
River and HarbOF. Appropriation.
Army REORGANIZATION and Shipping
| Dilis-Eoretsn Steamship influence
| Against Last Named Measure
| WASHINGTON, jan 3-TEe holiday re.
cess Is nearing its close. and % Elm be"s
OF congress are returning to tie city
| to take up anew the details OF national
i legis ation IL the house interest VIII
center during the 6rst few days sue.
ceeding the holidays III the great river
and harbor biIl-tbe S6l.O0O.OOO omnis
bus measure which has somewhere. by
some one, been characterized as the
greatest piece OF log rolling in the world.
The members of the committee which
drafted the bill have done some heroic
work in pruning down Its unwleldy
proportions from an $s0.00o.0O0 to a
$G0,O00 900 proposition" After it has
run the exciting but brief gantlet OF
the house it must be sent to the senate.
where It Is referred to the committee
Oh commerce. '
-
There is some significance 10 the tact
that the same committee Of the senate
which has favorably reported the ship
ping bill Is the one that the river and
harbor improvement bill Is referred to
when it reaches the senate. Ii takes a
long time to carefully study the pro,
visions Of such d vast measure as tile
river and harbor BILL and 1t would not
be at all surprising If the senate COM.
merce committee did not Interfere wit!s
the fullest consideration of the ship
ping bill in the senate while 1t was
giving in committee the fullest consid..
Grafton to the river and harbor i'm.
provement bill. Meanwhile. Of course.
IL the senate precedence will be given
to the appropriation bills and, It Is ex.
pected, to the army reorganization bill.
Considering the bitter partisan feel.
ing that has run so high on the subject
of army reorganization and the dIspo-.
sition of the senate to debate indefinite
~ any measure Of national Importance
on which the great political parties
take sides In opposition, there is Il
growing feeling that the outcome Of
the whole discussion may, after all, be,
a continuance OF the existing law for q
couple more years, leaving for congress
in the long session and in the light Of
subsequent developments the perfec-
ton and passage Of just such q meas,
ure as our military needs in our chang
ed conditions indicate as desirable. f.
80.
Next in Importance and Of consum-
ing interest is the shipping bill. Re-
Gently there has arisen, very general
feeling of confidence in the ultimate
passage Of some kind of q shipping biA
before the close of the present session.
It would be a strange thing, but not
entirely out Of the range Of probabili-
ty, to find the provision admitting for
eien built ships to American registry
either eliminated or vastly changed
before final passage. This has been
regarded as one of the features most
likely to attract and hold the votes
of Democrats, as the free admission
Of foreign built vessels to American
registry is in line with their demands
for long time back. And vet If this
provision is stricken out it will not be
by Republican votes.
/ - .
The real facts seem to be that the
opponents Of the bill find it much easier
to get into communication with Demo-
Gratis than they do with Republicans,
and, as the former are prone to believe
statements that are made to them in
apparent good faith and with seeming
piausibility, they have absorbed an im-
mense amount Of misinformation con-
corning the provisions and objects Of
the bill. The opponents Of the bill are
most happy when they are mystifying
people concerning it's provisions. And
so it is that men are working at cross
purposes in perfect good faith and are
! doing precisely what the enemies Of
the bill desire to have them do-divide
on all kinds Of points to a degree that
will make it impossible for q majority
to unite upon the entire features Of any
proposed measure. [f&
IT,. -
If the most dangerous congressional
opponents Of the bill are not led by the
foreign steamship lines in their oppo-
sition to the bill, they are, at least to a
great extent, guided by the line of ar
gument that has been put forth in the
interest of these great foreign lines.
The lines of foreign steamships that
have as their American terminus the
port Of New York alone receive in
freight and passenger tolls from the
American people considerably over
$1OO,OoO,OOO each year. These people
know that the passage Of the shipping
bill means long period Of fierce COM
petition with American ships and q
consequent reduction in the rates of
transportation that will wipe out prac-