Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-01-24


to take things comparatively easy,
but in the senate public business is
far in the lag, and it would seem, if
some of the rumors current are true
that little will be accomplished in
"the greatest deiberative body in the
world" beyond the necessary passage
of the great appropriation bills. There
is even some reasonable doubt as to
whether these will be squeezed
through before the clock strikes the
closing hour on March 3.
In the senate the only important
measure disposed of is the Hay
Pauncefote treaty, and even this is
not finality. because the concurrence
of Great Britain-hy no means as
sured-is essential to its adoption. All
the other great measures, such as the
war revenue reduction bill, the army
reorganization bill, the Nicaragua
canal bill and the shipping bill, yet
remain to be acted upon-these apart
from the annual appropriation bills
and the myriad of other bills of lesser
importance. At the rate that the SEN
ate has already proceeded, it would
take several years for the bills named
to secure consideration and final ac-
ton. 1t must be apparent from all
this that the senate must wake up,
and abandon its drowsy dallying and
begin to work in real earnest.
\
Senator Pettigrew, of South Dakota,
has lifted himself again into the pub
lie eye. He is quoted in the columns
of the New York Herald as saying
that he has perfected an alliance with
Senators Allen, of Nebraska, and But
Ter of North Carolina, to talk the
shipping bill to death, in order to
either prevent its passage, or prevent
the passage of sufficient other impor-
tant legislation to compel the presi
dent to convene congress in eXtraor-
dinary session Immediately upon the
close of the present session. The only
reason advanced by Senator Pettigrew
for the course he has mapped out
for himself and his colleagues. is Sen
ator Hanna's identification with the
bill for the upbuilding of our ship
ping.
Senator Pettigrew, without a shad-
ow of foundation, alleges that Senator
Hanna has promised that the shipping
bill will be passed, in order 10 repay
certain contributors to the republic
an campaign fund during the last
campaign. who are interested in the
bill in question. Senator Pettigrew
concocts his own story, wholly out of
his Imagination. then declares it TO
be true, and proceeds to act upon
that theory. The yarn has absolute
ly no kind of basis in fact. 1t is a
pure invention and utterly without
substance. The democrats may just
as we'll be charged with having re-
ceived contributions from the foreign
shipowners. whose powerful and veal
thy lobby is actively and determined
ly at work here in Washington at this
minute, to defeat the shipping bill,
because the great bulk of the opposi
tion in congress to that bill is on the
democratic side.
The reason that this foreign ship
ping lobby is so active is because their
principals well know that the passage
of the shipping bill means a long
drawn-out war of ocean freight rates, |
in which the reduction that the fierce
competition will compel will wipe out
profits for a long time to come, and |
they greatly fear, give American ships |
an impetus that will equip them to
nt11a llNy ha 10 nj nf
the carrying of American imports and |
exports from the foreign ships now
monopolizing it. Senator Frye has said |
that so fierce will the rate war on
ocean rates become, as soon as the |
shipping bill gets into operation, that |
reduction of 25 per cent, or $50, |
100000 year, will result in the single |
item of charge for carrying away our |
exports and bringing hither our inn
ports.
Such a reduction in freight rates |
would enormously increase the sum |
the farmers of the country would re-
ceiye for their entire products. The |
price paid for our great wheat staple, |
for instance, is the Liverpool price, |
less the cost of transportation to Liv~
erpool. The price thus paid governs
not alone in the quantity exported,
but also in the entire quantity con-
sumed at home. If, therefore, the |
war of ocean freight rates predicted |
by Senator Frye should be precipitat-
ed by the passage of the shipping bill,
and saving to the farmers of only |
five cents a bushel on wheat should |
follow. in this one item alone our
farmers would receive about $3.000,-
900 more than they will receive other
wise-based on total crop of 6Ga,-
100000 bushels.
But this is only one item. Take our
cotton nroIurtinn- nNnraUinp say. To-