The Somerset reporter., 1902-04-03
Our Washington Letter.
Duty on Pulp. Senator Frye's Corner.
Pension Affslrs Garden seeds, etc.
Especial to the REPORTER.

The large pulp mills at Skowhegan,
Madison and Scion have undoubtedly
been hardening somewhat to the ru-
mors from Washington about a redue-
ton Of duty on wood pulp and paper by
Congress. There will be no reduction
this year nor next year, That much can
be said with certainty. But the time is
coming and Is not far away when the
forces that are fighting the duty on these
articles will make strong showing and
very likely win. Bills to remove the
duty have been introduced by Republic
cans at this session of Congress, notably
by Representative Heatwole of Mimi,
owner of one Of the largest weekly pa
pers 10 the northwest. He has the moral
support of large number of Republi-
cans in the House and unquestionsby if
the matter could be put to vote it
would be to take the duty all off. But a
vote on such things can not be had in
the House at a moments notice.
The Heatwole bill was introduced
largely as club to hold over the adyo.
Gates of the bill for reciprocity with
Cuba. But it was brought forward as
such club because of the large strength
In votes which such a measure could
command. The Democrats are always
ready to vote a reduction in tariff and
with the Republicans Joined with them
could easily command a majority. How
ever, the skllful work of Speaker Hen
derson 10 quelling the fight has put
aside all contingencies of revising the
tariff by this Congress. However when
tariff revision comes and Representative
Littletield warned the House Republi.
cans in caucus the other evening that a
tariff revision was coming before long,
there will undoubtedly be great strug-
gle over the duty on paper and wood
pulp. The Maine men here only hope
that the revision, when 1t comes, will be
done by Republicans, so that the inter
ests of the Pine Tree State, not only in
pulp and paper, but also in agricultural
products will be protected. With the
tariff bars let down the farmers and
| traders in SkoWhegan and all up and
down the Kennebec valley would feel
the effects of cheaper prices for hay,
eggs, potatoes, lumber and lots of other
kindred products.
In one of the large top rooms of the
Senate, in the northwest corner, over
looking most OF the city of Washington,
Senator Frye spends much time these
days, when not presiding in the chamber
below, working out the River and Har-
Dor Appropriation bill. Off to one side
| there is cozy little room, which the
junior senator uses for his office. The
NstN kahl to ,,th
paper covered books, most of them
copies OF reports on various river and
| harbor projects In different parts of the
| country. At that end OF the capital only
| senators are heard In behalf of different
appropriations desired. AS Somerset is
an inland county, the interest 10 river
and harbor appropriations is never very
keen there but the generous expendi.
| very near home, because the Kennebec
is being improved by the government as
far up as Gardiner. Maine men have
long had much 70 do with framing river
and harbor legislation.
The change 10 Pension Commissioner,
now assured according to bulletin from
the White House, has been the most i'm
Grams of the Civil War. There has been
much clamor and complaint from differ
| ent sections OF the country, because of
| the methods of administration in the
| pension office. Some of these may have
| had foundation but the chief cause of
friction was at first the Commissioner IS
refusal to prepare and furnish for G..
| A. X. publication in this city a list of
veterans, which that journal wanted for
the prosecution of pension claims. The
| Commissioner steadily held out against
that demand and the publication attack
ed him fiercely and continuously, being
backed by other pension attorneys who
were not given all the privileges they
desired. The Maine regiments saw
such hard service in the Civil War that
the number of pensioners and pension
claimants from the state is very large.
rhe interest in the new commissioner
will also be very great for all the Maine
men in Congress have more or less work
to do in The Pension bureau at every
session of congress.
Congressman Burleigh has had some
thing like 1000 packages of vegetable
and garden seeds addressed to different
people in Somerset county, all of which
will begin arriving in the mails within a
few weeks, surely before planting time
! There are also many flower seeds, which
the ladies will find useful in identifying
the front yard. They are all seeds in
tended TO be adapted to the soil and
climate of that section Of Maine.
Gov, Burlegh does not confine his
distribution of seeds to members of one
political party. Packages will be sent
out to everybody whose name and adj
dress in the county Gov. Burleigh is
able to get hold Of Probably n few
seeds from Senator Hale's quota will also
get up into somerset county, but he is
sending many If his packages this year
! To the postmasters with directions 70
| distribute them where they will do the
most good All told probably 900
| packages of different kinds Of govern
ment seeds will be distributed In the
| different Somerset towns.
Representative Ernest w. Roberts, of
Chelsea, Mass, whose boyhood home
was at East Madison, Me, is assured
that he will have a denomination for a
| third term In the House. He often
catches up with your correspondent
around the corridors Of the House aud
talks about the early days In Somerset,
what he knows of Scion and South Scion,
about Hayden Lake and Madison. Rob
erts is still young man and is making
his mark ia the House. He ia member