Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-02-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, D. c., Feb. 18th, 1901

/ CORRFSPCN
President Mckinley very frankly
tells the senators and representatives
J who call on him that if the Cubans
complete and forward their constitu
ton to Washington within the next
few weeks, as they are expected to
do, he will call an extra session Of the
fifty seventh congress to deal with
the matter, as he most positively de-
clined to accept the responsibility Of
deciding it himself. This is regardless
of whether the present session fails to
dispose Of all the important pending
legislation. Only two weeks of the
present congress remains and there is
lot of work to be done to dispose Of
| the regular appropriation bills, not to
menti on the oleomargarine bill which
is now before the senate; the ship
subsidy bill, which the opposition has
openly served notice shall not be vo
ted upon; the revenue reduction bill,
now deadlocked in conference, owing
| to the refus al of the house conferees
to accept the senate amendments,
| and other measures of more or less
Importance. The work of the present
| week will go far towards showing
whether an extra session will be made
necessary, aside from the Cuban CUES
ton.
Following precedentit has been de-
cided that President Mckinley will, as
he succeeds himself and there will be
no out going president to ride with
him, be accompanied by members of
the joint congressional committee, in
the inaugural parade. Members Of
that committee will also ride with
Vice President Roosevelt. While
many unique features have been an
nounced by the committee in charge,
it is doubtful whether any single feat,
ure will attract more attention than |
the battalion of Porto Rican troops I
which will march in the parade.
Senator Elkins is trying hard to get
the committee on commerce to agree
TO the Morgan amendment to the
river and harbor bill, providing
for the requirement from Costa Rica
and Nicaragua Of a right Of way for I
the Nicaragua Canal. The committee
has adopted amendments providing
for storage reservoirs in some Of the 1
arid sections. The bill will be report
ed co the senate early this week.
Senator Perkins has offered an 4
amendment to the sundry civil appro-
priation bill, providing for the laying :
of & cable to Hawaii, and appropriate !
ing $780, 900 therefor. Z
In ordering that a counter vailing
duty equal iE amount to the export
bounties paid by those countries be
collected on all sugars imported from
Russia and Belgium, Secretary Gage {
was merely carrying out the law as t
interpre ted by his legal advisers. It t
is understood that ar appeal to the
courts will be taken in the case of
Russian sugar, on the ground that
Russia does not pay an export bounty. :
Meanwhile Russia has got back at us :
by raising the tariff on all steel and
iron products 80 per cent.
There is a rather persistent and
apparently we'll founded rumor i,
around the Capitol that, owing to the
large total Of appropriations by the =,
fifty sixth congress, no bills provid- ,
ing for public buildings will! be allow ;
Cd to go through at this session. This )
will naturally cause much disappo1nt- =
ment ESPECIALLY among those interest
ed in public buildings that have been :
favorably reported. =
Surgeon General Sternberg said of !;
the statements made by Senators
Teller and Pettigrew, that there were
ten thousand more men in the Philip
pine hospitals than could be properly
taken care of: ''The report is prepos
ferrous. The number OF sick has +
ranged from seven to eight per cent.
Ample hospital accommodations and Il
plenty of medical officers have been \
provided for the troops in the Philip
pines" Y
How our navy stands in Europe may '
be judged from the following remarks e
Of Captain Hovgaard, of the Royal
Danish navy, who has just arrived in z
Washington: envy government has {
sent me here to study American ship a
ing. The American navy is recognize v
ed on the European continent, as the {
best without any exception, the most =
modern, and SO far as the engineering
is concerned, it is looked upon as a
marvel Of perfection. While in this
country I will try to make arrange
ments to have our cadets take courses