Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-02-23
CAPITAL CHAT.
All Members Busy as the Ses-
sion Nears the End.
Senator Hale Expects an Extra SEES
sion of the Senate.
Some Maine Members Will Go to
Southern Resorts After Adjournment.

washing ION, -. ~, Il eD.. -NopeCldl)
Members of the Maine delega ton in
Congress have their hands full of work
in the closing days of the session.
Some of them will be busy right up to
the last Gay. In addition to appropria-
tons for sites for Maine public build
ings which Senator Hale and Governor
Burleigh and other members of the
delegation have been working so hard
to secure, there are of course lots OF
minor matters in which the Maine
members of the House are interested
at the closing of a session. They want
to get their departmental work finished
up in shape to be left for the summer,
as the Maine members very rarely
come back here during a recess of Con-
greSs.
Representative Littlefield has the
antitrust task off his shoulders, after
months of very diligent application. He
has done his duty very conscientiously
and it is by no means his fault that
the opposition in the Senate made it
necessary for the President to shift
his antitrust program. There will be
trust agitation before the next Con-
gress and it will be no surprise if Mr..
l@IlllSHClu dSdlll lido etI lililIS etuu
with a more successful issue. He has
had lot of other committee work to
do, including several hearings before
the House committee on merchant
marine and fisheries, where, among
other things, there are numerous APP
plications for American registry for
foreign built ships.
Representative Powers is helping
clear uD some odds and ends of busi-
ness before the House Committee on
territories. That committee has sew
eral minor measures, which it is try
ing to get through before Congress
comes to an END. One of these is a bill
to allow delegate for Alaska, which
has passed the House. The members
of the committee are now walking
over towards the Senate frequently
trying to expedite the measure there.
Representative Allen is engaged on
District of Columbia matters, where
there are several bills to be disposed
Of before the end of the session. He
has just returned from trip to Port
land with Representative Gardner of
Michigan, who was the orator there OIL
the evening of Feb. IL, Lincoln's birth
day.
1t is the two Maine senators, how
ever. upon whom fall vast amount Of
work at the end of the session. par
ticularly Senator Hale, who has in his
keeping two or three big appropriation
bills, with a total of over 100000 900.
The House is going to dispose of the
naval appropriations bill, this week,
when it VIII be hustled over to the
Senate and UP into the little room in
the southeast corner of the Senate
wing. There Senator Hale's COM
mittee will go over it and make the
changes they desire and forthwith
bring it to the attention of the Senate
for there will be no time to spare. The
senator's committee may get to work
on the bill late this week but by the
time it reaches the Senate there will be
hardly a week of the session left and
quite as soon as the Senate has passed
it the conferees will have to get
busy" else March will find them with
their task uncompleted.
Meanwhile Senator Hale has 81 hand
in still other appropriation bills, which
are being prepared in the room of the
appropriations committee. He car
rias his burdens lightly and would put
many younger man to shame by the
amount of physical and mental strain
he can stand without complaining.
Senator Frye is winding up the ses-
sion with comparatively little to do,
except presiding over the Senate He
has some work, however in the COM
mittee on commerce and in the foreign
relations committee, all of which keeps
him busy. He enjoys welding the
gavel and frequently cracks q joke
from the rostrum where he presides.
The opponents of statehood have
been looking to Mr.. Frye for weeks to
help them out in their fight against
the unholy alliance Senator Quay has
made between the solid Democratic
minority of the Senate and a few Re-
publicans, as an important parlia-
mentary question must be decided by
him as to whether the statehood bill is
germane as a rider on the postoffice
appropriations bill. Mr.. Frye, it has
been known for some time. will decide
to the statehood people, as
the rules are clear on that point but
CONTINUED on page 81