The Elk Mountain pilot., 1902-01-28
LATE WASHINGTON NEWS AND
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS

The irrigation bill, as completed by
the committee of seventeen western
members, and which will be reported
to a general caucus of all western
senators and representatives, while not
conforming to the views of all western
members, it is believed will be adopted
by the caucus practically in Its pres
ent shape. Recent changes made from
previous drafts of the bill give settlers
under proposed government irrigation
works the opportunity of taking up 100
acres instead of eighty, as originally
proposed. The fixed charge of So an
acre for government irrigated lands Is
withdrawn, and the price charged will
be the pro rata cost of irrigation, and
may be made in ten annual payments,
which shall be returned to the govern
ment reclamation fund. The commit
tee also struck out the proposition to
give the secretary of interior authority
to sell water from government works
for irrigation of lands in private own
ership, and inserted proviso that the
commutation clause of the homestead
law shall not apply to entries of lands
irrigated by government works.
At largely attended meeting of Pa
cific coast Senators and Representa-
tives final determination was reached
as to the course to be pursued on
Chinese exclusion legislation, and the
following resolution was adopted: RE
solved, That the Pacific coast Senators
and Representatives approve the pol
icy and general provisions of the bill
which they have requested Representa-
tive Kahn to introduce in the House
and Senator Mitchell in the Senate;
but this shall not affect the privilege
of any member to perfect the same by
amendment" The bill thus to be in
troduced was agreed upon at the meet
ing. AS finally adopted the insular
section reads os follows: THAT from
anG after the passage of this act the
entry into the American mainland ter
ritory of the United States of Chinese
laborers coming from any of the in
sular possessions of the United States
shall be absolutely prohibited. and the
prohibition shall apply to all Chinese
laborers as well as to such as were In
insular possessions at the time or times
of acquisition thereof respectively by
the United States, or to those who
have come there since and those who
have been born there since and those
who may come there hereafter and
those who may hereafter be born
there" The decision arrived at is the
result of six weeks consideration of
the general subject of Chinese exclus-
ion. the purpose being to bring all the
Pacific coast interests together into
united support of one measure.
Orders have been issued by General
Miles involving an extensive move
ment of troops between the United
States and the Philippines. Troops to
the number Of about 5,233, stationed in
the United States. are ordered to SER
vice in the Philippines, as follows: Sec
ond squadron, First cavalry; second
squadron, Fifth cavalry; first battalion,
Second infantry; headquarters, band
and companies A, B, E, F, G, l, X and
l.. Seventh infantry; first battalion,
Eighth infantry: headquarters, band
and first battalion. Tenth infantry:
second battalion, Eleventh infantry;
second battalion, Fifteenth infantry;
company l., Twenty-ninth infantry.
The second battalion, Fifteenth infan-
try, and the Twenty-niHh infantry are
ordered to San Francisco in time to
embark respectively on transports sail
ing February 10th and March list. 1t
is ordered that all these organizations
be recruited to the maximum and their
baggage reduced to the lowest possible
limit. Regiments recently relieved
from duty in the Philippines have been
assigned 30 departments as follows:
Fourth infantry to department of Tex
AK; Seventh infantry to Department of
the Columbia: Twentieth infantry to
Department of the Lakes; twenty-sec-
ond infantry 10 Department OF the Mis-
souri,; Ninth infantry to Department of
Dakota. This general movement of
troops is for the purpose of replacing
the men who have had long service in
the Philippines with an equal number
of fresh troops from the home stations.
The President has sent to Congress
with n message simply of transmittal,
the supplemental report of the Isthmi-
an Canal Commission in which it is
unanimously recommended that the Of
fer of the new Panama Canal Company
to sell all of its rights, property and
unfinished work to the United States
for $40. 100000 be accepted. The Sen
ate ordered the report printed in the
Record and also as document. After
quoting the correspondence which
passed between the commission and the
officers of the Panama Canal Company
in Paris, the report says: THE total
ity, without exception, of its property
and rights on the isthmus," mentioned
in the cablegram of January 9th, in
cludes the following classes of proper
ty: Lands not built on, buildings,
plant, work done, Panama railroad,
maps, records, etc The value of work
done is estimated as follows: Canal
excavation. 21,O2O,6S6; Chagres diver
sion, $17S,1S6 Gatun diversion, 81, &c.,
456; railroad diversion -four miles),
100000; total 500, 2,S95O2S. Contin-
gencies, twenty per cent, S4,5I9,OO5.
Aggregate, S27.4T4053. OF the exist
ing shares of the Panama railroad the
canal company will transfer to the Un-
tied States all but about LOO shares.
1t owns three passenger and freight