The Lamar register., 1901-12-18
WASHINGTON GOSSIP


has introduced bills for the repayment
of % cents per acre paid on all desert
entries not completed. and for a pub
lie building ut Laramie, to cost $780,
900.
The statement of gross postal re-
ceipts ut the fifty large postotlices in
the United States for November, COM
pared with November of last year
shows u net increase of SlS2OlS, %.
over eleven per cent. as whole. All
but six of the offices showed increased
receipts, the largest of the exceptions
being II decrease of twenty-five per
cent at Jersey City, New Jersey.
Tie Red Cross Society held its an
nual meeting in Washington Decem-
ber 10th, and unanimously reelected
Miss Clara Barton president of the so
ciety. John NJ. Wilson was elected first
vice president, Mrs. John A. Logan
second vice president. Lyman j. Gage,
treasurer, Richard Olney, counselor,
and S. w. Briggs secretary. The treas
urers report showed receipts for the
year $5,3lO and expenditures 5000.
The annual report of Governor Otero
of New Mexico rencws the plea for
statehood and says the federal census
returns for 1900 do the territory q
great injustice. He says the popu-
lation of the territory, based o;i care
full estimates. should be ut this time
313, ,191, including Indians. He also
takes exception to the census statistics
for mining, agriculture, horticulture,
timber, coal and iron industries, and
attributes the alleged discrepancy in
the figures to inadaptability of the
present system to sparsely settled
mountain sections of the country.
Senator Teller has introduced n bill
defining the judiciary circuits or the
United States. An additional circuit,
the ninth. is added. and under the pro-
visions of his bill the eighth circuit will
be composed of the states of Montana,
South Dakota. Wyoming, Colorado,
Utah and Idaho, and the ninth of
Washington Oregon, Nevada and Cali
fornia. He also introduced II bill grant
ing the state of Colorado twenty-five
per cent of the mineral land sales in
Colorado, not exceeding $4,000 per an
mum, to aid the School of Mines at
Golden; also setting apart lands for
cemetery purposes for the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows of Central City;
also granting lands in Alaska to the
Women's Home Missionary Society of
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Senator Hansbrough also submitted
the bill introduced by him in the Sen
ate December 4th. The committee con-
sidercd the two measures conformity
and agreed upon section l of the pro-
posed new bill, constructing it from the
two measures submitted. 1t is: THAT
all moneys received from disposal of
public lands in Arizona, California, Col
orado, Idaho. Kansas, Montana. Ne
braska, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dh-
kota, Utah. Washington and Wyo-
ming, beginning with the year ending
June 30, 1902. excepting moneys set
aside by law for educational purposes,
shall be appropriated as special fund
known as the reclamation fund, for ex-
animation. construction and mainte-
nance of irrigation works for storage.
diversion and development of waters
for reclamation of arid lands"
At meeting of the subcommittee of
western members of Congress, Sena-
tors Warren, Hansbrough, Gibson,
Dietrich. Kcarns and Dubois. Repre-
scntatives Mondell, Newlands, Shaf-
roth. Reeder and Jones, Delegates
Smith and Rodey We're present. bill
drawn by Senator Warren was submit
ted by him for consideration. 1t Is n
modification Of the state engineers bill
and is intended as n compromise meas
ure between the plans offered by the
advocates of national control and those
favoring state control of irrigation. 1t
provides that the states having engi-
neering departments shall control the
distribution of water from works con-
structed at government expense, but in
states which do not exercise public con-
troll over appropriation and distribution
of water. distribution shall be made
under regulations made by the secre
tary of the interior.
In discussing the isthmian canal
treaty before the Senate, Mr.. Lodge
contended that the new treaty does
away with all the Objectionable feat
ures of the treaty of the last Congress,
and enumerated the particulars in
which the revised agreement conforms
to the action of the Senate in the last
Congress, when the old treaty was be-
fore it. He analyZed the new treaty
from beginning to end, showing that
in specific terms it abrogates the Clay
ton-Bulwer treaty of 1850 which, he
said, had stood constantly in the way
of the construction of an isthmian ca
nal. The abrogation of this treaty, he
contended, was II most important
achievement, and he did not believe
that the United States should or would
lose an opportunity to make secure
that concession. Senator Lodge also
called attention to the omission in par
agraph one of article three of the
words "in time of war as in time of
peace" He said that in the old treaty
the para. raph read that the canal
shall be free and open, in time of war
as in time of peace, to the vessels of
commerce and of war of all nations,
on terms of entire equality" etc He
urged that the omission of this phrase
had the effect practically of leaving
the limited States to do with tho canal