The Lamar register., 1902-03-05
LATE WASHINGTON NEWS AND
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS

The senate committee on foreign re-
lations authorized Il favorable report on
the bill reforming the consular service
The bill requires Il civil service exam
ination of applicants for consular
places.
Governor Taft continued his state
ment before the House insular com
mittee Tuesday. dwelling on the good
and bad characteristics of the Fill
pinos. He denied reports that they
We're cowardly and related an instance
in which n few Filipino scouts along
with United States troops saved the
day. AS to their treachery. he said
this was due largely 10 their being be-
tween two fires.
General Smith. in command of the
troops on the island of Samar, cables
that Lieutenant Strebler's scouts have
captured Lukban. the notorious leader
of the Samar rebels, and brought him
to Laguan. The officials of the War De-
partment regard the capture of LUX
ban as the most important military
event since Aguinaldos capture. He
was run down on the island of Samar.
The place of his confinement is n tiny
island in a bay on the north coast of
Samar. Lukban is one of the most en-
ergetic and ferocous of rebels. He is
Il half-breed, mixture of Chinese and
Filipino stock, and he has been an ir-
reconcilable foe from the first. He had
various Businesses in the mountains of
Samar from which he would descend
upon the coast towns, and his reign
of terror was so complete that the en-
tire population of the island paid trib-
ute to him as the price of freedom
from attack.
| In the course of his examination
Tuesday before the Senate committee
on the Philippines. General Hughes,
who was provost marshal general in
Manila during the American military
rule there. explained the establishment
of Il hospital in that city for lewd wo-
men. He said that he alone had been
responsible for this act, which had
been SO freely criticised in the United
States, and that he did not regret his
act. IF the evil had not beer,
checked" said he. fully two regi-
ments would have been disabled by
the time of the outbreak in the follow
ing February" General Hughes also
told of the condition of the civil pris-
oners turned over by the Spanish au-
thorities when Manila was surren-
dered. There were 1000 of these and
many of them We're cruelty ironed.
| The irons We're Immediately taken off
| the prisoners. and there was Il pile of
| half cord of iron.
The most important development
| Tuesday to the Tillmnn- McI.a epi-
sode was the act of Senator Frye. pres
| ident pro TEN. of the Senate. in order
| ing the clerk of the Senate to restore
the names of the two South Carolina
| senators to the roll. If this plan is
| carried out. this act will be followed
by the adoption by the Senate of
resolution before n vote on any other
| subject taken suspending the two SEN
atOrs for some definite time. The order
| of Senator Frye for the restoration of
the names to the rolls was issued al
| most Immediately after the Senate con-
| vened to-day. and was the result of
general conference among the Republi-
can leaders of the Senate. When
asked for an explanation of ;his order.
Senator Frye said: "In my rulings
yesterday l believe that I was strictly
within parliamentary laws: that sena-
tors in contempt are not entitled to rec
ognition either to spenk or to vote.
and that logically their names should
not be called. l still adhere to that
| opinion. but. desirous of shifting the
responsibility from the chair to the
| Senate, have directed the clerk TO re-
store to the roll the names of the two
| senators from South Carolina" At the
| conference of the Republican leaders
Senator Frye's ruling was exhaustively
discussed, the construction being that
the action OF the president pro TEN.
in striking the names of the South Car
olina senators from the rolls and his
refusal of request to have their.
names called was beyond precedent in
the Senate. and not entirely justified.
| On this account 1t was decided that
| this particular phase of the question
should be Immediately taken up by the
committee on privileges and elections.
The attitude of the Civil Service
| Commission towards the political ac-
tivity of government employees has been
defined in letters Commissioner Foulke
| has sent to Postmaster McMichael and
Il. Francis Wood. both of Philadelphia.
In his letter to Mr.. Wood. the sub
| stance of which also Is stated in the let
| ter to the postmaster, Mr.. Foulke says:
1--WE object to certain solicitations for
contributions, made by those in authori-
| ty, because they are, in effect, cOercing
the political action of employees; Jbut
| would it not also be coercing their po-
| litical action to tell them that they
| should not contribute and that they
must take no part whatever in Il cam
paign? For myself I have in years
past always given q modest contribu-
tion for political purposes and 1 shall
not cease to do so in the future because
hold office; but l do not intend to
give any more or less on that account,
and do not want my example to be
construed as an intimation to any en-
ploye of this office that he is to give or
not to give or that he is not as free to
give to the Democratic fund as he is
to the Republican fund, or that he may