The Springfield herald., 1902-12-12

| House committee on military affairs,
has introduced bill creating general
staff corps of the United States army.
| The bill provides that the staff be COM
posed of officers detailed from the army
at large, under such rules as the Pres
ident may prescribe. The proposed du-
ties of the staff are to prepare plans
for the national defense and for the
mobilization of the military forces in
time of war; to investigate and report
on all questions affecting the efficiency
of the army and its state of prepared
ness for military operations; to render
professional aid to the uecretary of war
! and to general officers and other supe-
| rior commanders. and to act as their
agents in forming and co-ordinating
action of all the different officers in
carrying out their orders. 1t is pro-
posed that the general staff corps con-
| sist of one chief of staff of the army,
with the rank and pay of lieutenant
general; one major general and one
brigadier general. to be detailed by the
President from officers at large not be-
low the grade of brigadier general;
four colonels, six lieutenant co!onels
and twelve majors, to be detailed from
the corresponding grades in the army
| at large; twenty captains mounted.
Following suggestions of the Presi-
| dents message, a bill was introduced
in the Senate by Mr.. Quarles of Wis
consin. and in the House by Mr.. Pow
ers of Massachusetts, to repeal the law
| providing for the sale of timber and
stone lands under the desert land law
and the Communication clause of the
| homestead law. Friends OF the meas
ure claim that the Senate public lands
| committee will report the bill favor
ably and that there is reasonable hope
of it passing the Senate. A brief can
| vass of the situation in the House re-
veals the fact that the measure has no
chance of favorable action by the
House public lands committee, all the
western members of the committee be-
ing opposed to it. Passage of the pro-
posed legislation would at once cut off
the greatest source of supply of funds
by which irrigation of lands is to be
accomplished under the new irrigation
act. Western members state that re-
ported violations of the land laws are
| due in great measure to laXity In
| methods of administration in the gen.
eral and local land Offices; that the
land laws themselves are not obJec-
tionable, and under strict administra-
ton. especially by local land Office Of
ficials, frauds would be reduced to a
minimum. 1t is expected the secretary
of the interior will submit the form OF
bill to the Senate committee on pub
lie lands, providing for the repeal OF
the timber and stone act.
| Representative Bell of Colorado in
troduced bill which he intends to
press at the present session making
certain amendments in the irrigation
law of the last session. The changes
are intended primarily to meet condi-
tions in Colorado, and do not seriously
alter the intent or character OF the
present law In fact, says Mr.. Bell the
amendments rather carry out the orig
inal intent of the legislation, filing in
omissions, as it were. The first amend
ment permits acquisition of reclaimed
lands under cash entry, as we'll as
under the homestead law, in cases
where the land is part of former In
dian reservations open to SeL.lement
under treaties which stipulate that the
Indians shall be paid so much an acre
for their lands. In the region to be
reclaimed by the Gunnison river prof.
ect there is a considerable area form
erly included in the Ute Indian reser-
vations, which could hardly be acquired
under the homestead law on account of
the payment insured to Indians An
other amendment permits the secretary
of the interior, at his discretion. to
lease for mechanical. manufacturing.
electric or general power purposes
water which is used in irrigation sys-
tens for periods of not exceeding
thirty years, when such use of water
VIII not materially injure or decrease
the efficiency of the water for irriga-
tion or domestic purposes. 1t is es-
timated that the water power of the
Gunnison is worth at least 100000, and
Mr.. Bell believes the government
should be allowed to acquire this addi-
tional money. especially as the use of
the water for power will not injure the
work of reclamation.
Practically the whole policy of the
Postoffice Department in its recent
classification reforms is involved in
three decisions rendered to-day by the
District Court of Appeals. In two OF
the cases the decisions are against the
Postofiice Department, and in the 9TH
er the government is sustained. All
three cases will be appealed to the
United States Supreme Court, pending
whose final action the classification re-
form policy, under which many publi-
cations have been excluded from the
second-class privileges, probably will
remain in suspension. The two cases
decided adversely to the government
are those of the National Railway
Publication Company, and the Rail-
way List Company. The department is
upheld in the case of the Chicago Busi-
ness College. The lower court is sus-
tanned in each of the three cases. The
courts opinion in the railway publica-
ton cases holds that Congress has not
committed to the postmaster general
or any one else the determination OF
what should be carried in the mails as