Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-22
Nebraska Delegation Fsvon Secretary Will
sons Plans,
OPPOSITION TO EIGHT-HoUR LAW
Senator McComRs of Maryland MAX
ing the Fight of His Life in Favor
of This Bill, to which Manu-
facturers object.
tFrom a star COrrespondent.l

~ uiNulc " stamp OuI lHb lOOl-dnu-
disease, which threatened to spread to
every state in the union. The secretary
will do this by destroying hundreds of cat
tie in New England, and already his agents
are engaged in the work OF slaughter.
the committee on appropriations and the
committee on agriculture have been con-
sdering bills to destroy diseased cattle in
the east the western members, and par
ticularly Chairman Lacey of Iowa and the
committee on public lands, have been busy
devising means for feeding healthy stock
in Nebraska.
The controversy which has arisen in that
state over the alleged illegal occupancy Of
the public lands by the cattlemen has at
tracted national attention. year or two
ago Secretary Wilson made a personal in
vestigation of the conditions which exist
in western Nebraska. The secretary found
that thousands OF sections OF land had
been denuded OF their pasturage through
the system Of grazing them in common.
When the secretary Of the interior and
the commissioner Of the general land ONCE
came to look into the subject they re-
ported in favor Of leasing these lands, and
at the same time to provide for reseeding
them with grasses which will thrive in the
arid regions. 1t is reported that no method
acres Of western Nebraska, and the only
hope of preventing the further destruction
of pasturage rests upon a plan for curtail-
ing the number of animals pastured on
each square mile, thus giving the grasses
time to grow again. The Nebraska dele
cation in congress is practically a unit in
support of the idea that the lands in con-
tBoversy are useful only for range pur-
poses. II will be decades before they can
be used for agriculture, and they are con-
sequently working together to secure the
adoption OF the plan recommended by the
secretary Of the interior two years ago
namely, to lease them to responsible per-
sons at a fair rental which will assure
their preservation, or at least prevent
them from being cropped so closely as to
give the young plants no chance to recu-
perate.
Inasmuch as the lands in controversy are
valuable only as range lands, because the
sandy character Of the soil makes irriga-
tion practically impossible, It is claimed
that some plan should be adopted which
will bring about returns to the govern
ment. 1t is proposed to do this by leasing
tracts large enough to feed few hundred
head only. in order to prevent monop-
oily, and during the remaining days of the
session the western men will devote their
attention very largely to this object.
Gigantic Railroad Betterments.
Almost on the same day that congress
provided for grand union station in the
city OF Washington the municipal authori-
ties of New York City adopted an ordinance
giving the Pennsylvania railroad the right
to tunnel through the borough of Manhat-
tan and both the East and North rivers. In
one week legislative bodies have taken ac-
tion which will assure enormous progress
in facilities for travel between the north
and south. During several years past the
Pennsylvania company has been engaged
In practically rebuilding the greater part
OF It's roadway between the capital and the
metropolis Millions of dollars have been
and are being expended In betterments and
millions more must be spent before the
gigantic work contemplated can be COM
pleted When this work is done, however,
1t will be possible to shorten the time be-
tween New York and Washington by a full
hour. The work will also Join Long Is
land and New Jersey with Manhattan is
land In such manner as to assure constant
communication in spite OF the storms and
the ice which so frequently hamper and
delay traffic. Washington will benefit in
other ways, too, for the tracks which now
deface the beautiful parkway known as
"the Mall" will be removed and the first
step toward the plan for making the CANT
tai the most beautiful city in the world
will be taken. The Pennsylvania railroad
has been working to this end for years.
and the successes of the past week are as
gratifying to the people OF Washington as
they must be to the officers of the com
pany.
Oppose EiEht-HOur Law.
According to declarations made by the
conservative element in the senate, there
are breakers ahead for the eight hour bill.
which has passed the house three times
and afterward been killed in the senate.
The senator who is championing the cause
OF this measure with intense zeal and per-
sistence is the chairman OF the senate com
mittee on labor, Louis E. McComas of
Maryland McComas wishes to succeed
himself in 1906 and there is no doubt IL he
can get the eight -hour bill through the
senate after the three disastrous defeats
1t has suffered in that body the labor lead
ers and agitators viii recognize him as
their greatest champion. It might be said
that the manufacturing interests in Senator
MeComas' state are arrayed solidly against
/ him In his effort to place this bill on the
statute books OF the United States. II such
/ an event should happen, according TO rep
resentations made by representatives Of the
/ great shipbuilding and steel manufacturing
! plants OF this country, as we'll as the Ma
| tional Association OF Manufacturers, those
! interests would positively refuse to bid on
/ government work. The contractors argue
that they could not at the same time obey
/ the provisions OF an eight-hour law and
meet the rigid specifications prescribed in
| government contracts. They also maintain
/ that II would work great injury 10 the
4 discipline and commercial output Of their
| plants in having In the same establishment
one force OF men working eight hours on
| public work and another ten hours on pri-
vate jobs. Many OF the senators are de-
| batting in their minds the remark made
| the other day before the senate committee
| on labor by Edwin s. Cramp. who said that
/ II an eight-houT law had been enacted
/ twenty years ago, the battle Of Santiago
/ would never have been fought. because Il
/ would have been impossible for his works
/ TO have turned out the battleships which
destroyed CerveFa's feet. number OF
workmen from the Cramp shipyRrds and the
/ Homestead Steel works testified on one oc.
casion that they considered the bill cur
/ tailment Of their privileges TO work a.
/ long as they pleased and a menace to their
4 (Continued on Second PaRel