The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-30
FROM THE NATIONS CAPITAL.
From Our Olcn Correspondent.

The ahin subsidy bill iii pass mt this
session or there will be an extra session
to'consider it. There is no longer any
--Saaaa doubt of this. : ne extra session,
however; will not be called to consider
this matter. If it is found that the
| ship subsidy bill cannot pass, one or
moro appropriation bills will probably
also be held up on one pretext OF an
other and permitted to fail and tho
extra session will be called to consider
oheiis, tnus freeing the President from
the unpleasant task Of summoning
Congress to give away Government
money. If it should be thought better
not to block an appropriation bill, the
extra session will be called to consider
the Cuban constitution or to pass laws
for the Philippines as soon as the sn-
pTeme Court shall have handed down
it's decision. There will be plenty Of
pretexts, and on whichever one the
call is based, Congress will be free to
take up the shipping bill. The eager
ness Of the subsidy hunters to get their
job voted on is discovered to be due to
the fact that it's chief beneficiary, the
international Navigation Company,
will get bounty on two vessels, ag-
grcgating 24,520 tons, now building, if
the bill is passed before the vessels are
completed, but will not get so much if
the ships are completed before the bill
is passed. Under the Act Of 1901, Sena-
tor Frye states, this company got an
nually an extra sum, of S757, GGHG GG4G Oil four
ships, but under the bill now being
pushed it would get on the same ships
81, 100000. On it's whole fleet of ships
the company would get, it appears, a
bonus of $9, 332, ,024 yearly for being SO
good as to continue in profitable
business-this. too, without undertak-
ing to give additional facilities to our
commerce. either in character Of SER
vice, number of trips or lower rates.
An obligation is imposed on the COM
pany in the bill to build 10000 tons of
shipping in this country, but this seems
to be sham obligation, since the yes
sells already under construction here
if not completed too soon-can be used
to offset the statutory obligation. Of
course the same end could be obtained
by delaying the completion of the ships
until the summer Of 1902 and passing
the bill next winter, but the company
is unwilling to let the extremely prof.
table trade of the next year pass with
out being able to use it's new ships,
although Mr. Hanna states they are
now run at loss.
The enemies of General Miles. who
in6lade pretty nearly all the members
OF the staE department. of the army
the men who were 80 bitterly scored
by him for derelIction in duty during
the Spanish War--as we'll as the men,
bers of the embaimed beef ring, re-
Gently congratulated themselves that
they were to have their revenge ut
last. The army bill had been sent to
conference 80 drawn that it would be
possible for the President acting under
it to degrade General Miles and appoint
the incompetent Otis as Lieutenant
General Of the Army. Unfortunately
fol. them, they talked too much of their
coming triumph and the conference
committee amended the bill SO &C to
block the little game. The bill now
reads: Nothing in this Act shall be
held OF construed SO as to discharge
any officer from the regular army or to
deprive him of the rank or commission
which he now holds therein" This
provision, as amended, will require the
appointment of General Miles as Lieu
tenant: General Of the United States
Army. The provision as originally
inserted in the act omitted the word
crank" As Lieutenant General Miles
has no commission as lieutenant gen.
eral," merely u certificate assigning
him to tho rank as the senior major
general, the President would have had
the power to have nominated any Off
Ger he saw fit 20 this Office as created
by the proposed law. The idea was to
appoint Generals Otis and Brooks, re-
tire them and then appoint General
Corbin Lieutenant General.
Another session of Congress is nearly.
mt an. end without any attempt even
being made to correct the outrageous
ills that the country is suffering from
the knocking out of the Interstate
CO mmerce Act by the courts some two
Oh three years ago. AS matters stand
now, the railways can mako and un-
mako rates ut their own sweet will, ana
they do not hesitate to exercise the
privilege. Statistics in the possession
of the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion show that 1,717 changes liz classifi-
cation made by carriers during the
year, 1850 produced raises and only
1913 reductions. In over half, the in
crease was over 40 per cent. and in
less than one twenty fifth it was as
little as 10 per cent. In number Of
cases the rates were doubled, while the