The Springfield herald., 1902-01-24
LATE, WASHINGTON NEWS AND
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS

committee Friday.
Rear Admiral Crowninshield says
that 5000 additional men are needed to
man the new war vessels.
The postal authorities have refused
to admit the Railway Guide to the
mails as second-class matter on the
ground that it contains no news.
Secretary Root has called the atten-
tion OF Congress to the need OF pro-
viding for the fifty companies of Phil
ippine scouts, comprising about 5,Ooo
men. A deficiency appropriation is re-
quired of S515,OOO.
Representative Lowering of Massa-
chusetts has introduced n bill provid-
ing salary for ex-presidents OF the
United States at the rate of S2o,OOO an
nually from the date of retirement from
the presidency.
The project of giving national as
pect to the Chicago drainage canal,
making 1t n link in water connection
between the Great Lakes and the Gulf
is being considered by the House COM
| mittee on rivers and harbors.
| Secretary Long has detached Rear
| Admiral Wildes from his present duty
as commandant of the Pensacola navy
yard and ordered him to relieve Rear
Admiral Louis Kempff. the junior
squadron commander on the Asiatic
station.
| Oscar S. Straus of New York, for
| merly United States minister to Tur-
| key, has been appointed as a perlna-
nent member of the committee of arbi-
| tration at The Hague. The appoint
ment is to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of eX-President Harrison.
| 1t is now said that all members of
| the Isthmian canal committee except
| Professor Haupt are in favor OF recon-
| mending the Panama route to the Pres
| ident in the light of the new offer OF
the Panama company to sell. Rear
Admiral Walker, Mr.. Pasco. Colonel
Haines and Mr. Noble are all said to
have come over to Panama.
| Representative Southard of Ohio,
| chairman of the House committee Oh
coinage. is about to send invitations to
II number of the chief manufacturers,
! merchants and others engaged in mer-
camille pursuits, to appear before the
coinage committee February 9th con-
cerning the bill for the adoption of the
metric system of weights and meas
ures.
The Senate committee on commerce
has authorized II favorable report on
Senator Frye's ship subsidy bill. The
report will be made by Senator
Frye. The committee made several
amendments to the bill. The most I'M
portant were: Allowing mail carrying
vessels under the bill to be either iron
or steel, instead of steel only, ms orig
inally provided. and reducing to 1000
ing bounty under the bill.
The Chesapeake Beach railway, eX-
| tending thirty miles from Washington
| to Chesapeake Beach, Il resort on
Chesapeake bay, and owned mainly by
Colorado investors, is to be improved
| before the summer season opens, by
| the expenditure of S5OO,OOO on track
| age and equipment. The steam, loco
motives will be replaced by electric
motor engines capable of speed OF
sixty miles an hour. Hon. Otto Mears,
president of the company, who re
Gently returned from Denver, Will take
charge of the work.
The Senate Thursday for brief
time, had under consideration the bill
creating n department of commerce,
and the discussion tended to show that
the measure will have to be amended
in many particulars before 1t can re-
ceive the approval of the Senate. Ser,
ious objections We're raised to the
transfer to the proposed department of
several important bureaus now a part
of other departments of the govern
ment. 1t was pointed out that If the
bill as reported became law it would
create the greatest department Of the
government, and that the secretary of
commerce would have more power
than even the secretary Of the treas
ury.
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 shane Recent changes made from
previous drafts of the bill give settlers
under proposed government irrigation
works the opportunity of taking up l6O
acres instead of eighty, as originally
proposed The fixed charge of $5 an
acre for government irrigated lands Is
withdrawn, and the price charged Will
be the pro rata cost of irrigation, ana
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 Il proviso that the
commutation clause of the homestead
law shall not apply to entries of lands
irrigated by government works.