Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-12-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
rAL oonREsposDHxoH OF rHH xosr Or



Both houses of congress have
the past week and ~ a result there
vii be some i'm port tnt legislation en-
| acted before tue Christmas recess.
| In the senat. a large amount of time
has been devoted TO the discussion of
| the Hay -Pauncefote treaty and hnal
vote will be taken to-day. That the
treaty will be ratified is assured.
Senator Lodge and Senator Foraker
have both spoken with much ability
| in favor of the convention and have
shown them elves familiar with its
details from every point of view. The
consensus of opinion of the senator's
/ sup porting the treaty, is that the
United States will, by its terms, be at
liberty to fortify the canal, and will
have the privilege of making special
tonnage rates to her own vessels en-
gagged in the coastwise trade and that,
while obligated to maintain the neu
| trality 0. the canal when other nations
are at war, she will, If involved in
war herself, be at liberty 10 suspend
its provisions of ne utrality, in SO far as
her enemy is concerned and, if neces-
sary to her military success, she may
even close the canal and as peace is
declared, the treaty, which would
have been merely suspended during
the war, will again be in force.
1t is unlikely that further legislation
will be taken up by the senate before
the holiday recess with the possible
exception of the consideration of the
House tariff bill, which will pass the
latter body on Wednesday.
December 10Th has been fixed by
both houses as the date of adjourn
ment and it is quite probable that i5
will be impossible for the senate to
take up and enact the tariff bill on
the one day remaining after it's pas
sage by the house, but some of the
friends of the measure tell me that,
inasmuch as the bill was practically
completed on FIR day, they are trying
to get the senators to consider it's pro-
visions before it's formal passage by
the house so that they may be ready
for immediate action on Wednesday.
If the senate consents to such hasty
action it will be unprecedented and
will be taken only as a result Of the
pressing need of the government of a
bill providing revenue for the defray
ment of the expenses of the Philip
pine Islands.
On Friday the ways and means
committed reported "a bill to provide
revenue temporarily for the Philip
pine Islands," In explanation tf the
provisions of the bill and the neces
sity of lis passage, Chairman Payne
said thu United states has found itself
confrontt d with the necessity of
making extensive public improve
mems ia the Philippine Islands,
that schools have been established
roao- built and repaired and a large
amt unit of work in improving the
the han Dor of Manila has been already
performed, that the continuance CT
such public improvements will be
necessary for an indefinite period,
that the treasury department has
been collecting the duties scheduled
in the Dingley tariff bin on goods i'm
ported from the Philippines and the
Taft commission has carefully pre-
pared a tariff bill for the islands cal
culated to afford the needed revenue.
BY decision of the supreme court,
the duties provided for by the meas
ures mentioned could no longer be
collected and, therefore, the present
bill became necessity to the contin
ued administration of the affairs of
the Islands.
The bill provides for the collection
of the same duties as were formerly
collected under the Dingley and Taft
commission bills and converts all du
ties collected on Philippine goods i'm
ported iuto the the United States into |
the Philippine treasury. t permits |
foreign vessels to engagein commerce |
between the Philippines and the Uni
ted States on pa, ment of the same |
tonnage dues as are paid by vessels |
entering the United States from for |
eign countries and it further provides |
for drawback of 80 per cent. on i'm
ported goods manufactured in the |
United States and shipped to the
Philippines.
The minority also presented re-
port, denouncing the bill as imperial
ism, Directing to the general course
of the United States in her treatment
of the Islands and dissenting from
practically all the provisions Of the
bill owe onnosa the whole nnlicv of |