The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-08-27
CONGRESS CLOSES
MANY RESOLUTIONS ON yApn,,.
sUBJEcTs.
Single Statehood for Indian To-.
tory and Oklahoma and ra..
toriai Government for Alaska
Lake Washington Canal =.
dorsed--Other Resolutions.

Seattle. Aug. 22.-When the Tron.
mississippi congress finally got down -
work yesterday, the delegates pronnS
out the business in hurry, and befora
adjournment they lad furnished tbs
next national congress with sucoes
tions and advice sufficient to las, ..
least through the long session. II will
not be the fault of this congress II tba
members of the real congress of ths
Unietd States are OF kept hard at worL
this winter.
With the utmost dispatch the CON.
gress disposed of the matter of terrific.
rial government for Alaska, with tho
vexing problem of the merchant ma.
rine, and closer trade relations with
Canada The consular service Of tba
United States was put under civil serv.
ice, and even before leaving the pavil.
ion the members could notice a vast
improvement.
Without dissenting vote thew Ar.
ranged for irrigation of the arid lands
the improvement of rivers and harbors
and the disposition of public lands.
They tossed off a, million to the Lewis
and Clark exposition, and they favored
building lot of roads and bridges in
Alaska, without ever pausing to inquire
the cost. The roads are needed, SO cav
the delegates, and they must be built.
The congress will be we'll pleased if
men living in the transmississippi re.
gion are chosen to fill places in the bu
reauo t manufactures and on the inter.
state commerce commission.
Seattle benefits from the congress by
resolution favoring a canal connect.
ing Lake Washington with Puget sound,
though no specific route is named. Also
a resolution favoring differential of 4
per cent on the bids of Pacific coast
bioders on battleships and cruisers, and
a protest against taking more of the
timber lands Of the state and putting
them into forest reserves.
More stringent pure food laws are
wanted, and the congress would like to
see the Hague tribunal made the court
of last resort when war is threatened.
The congress voted in favor OF single
statehood for Oklahoma and Indian
Territory combined, but not until alter
a flood OF oiatory on both sides of the
question. The congress also decided
against allowing big corporations to
grab big slices of the Philippines upon
which to work coolie labor, but again
not until after big fight had been
made, and the original resolution was
laid on the table.
The original resolution said it would
not do to allow the people of the islands
to raise tobacco and sugar, for the5
would be competing with the people in
the United States, and the chairman
ruled that that was political question,
involving the tariff, and ordered it cut
out.
After lot of speech making tie en-
tire resolution was tabled by count OF
noses, and later in the afternoon, when
most of the delegates had gone down
town the resolution was resurrected'
and with everything cut out except the
preamble and that part relating to the
size of the plantations and the employ
ment of coolie labor, it passed without
a dissenting vote.
Not voice was raised against any
of the resolutions except those relating
TO the statehood question and the con-
ditions in the Philippines. The chair
man simply read the resolutions oy
title, asked if there were any oolec'
tons, and, amid storm OF mo" DE-
clared them passed.
A fight was expected when the RESP
luton asking for territorial governmeh.
came up, but it went through withou'
hitch, the delegates from Aiass@
shouting loudly, so as to make up IL
volume what they lacked in numbers,
The people of Seattle were warm
thanked for the manner in when wv
delegates had been entertained, anu Wv
press for the manner in which the PiO
ceedings of the convention had po'D
handled. =,
The display of Washington proou','
was great surprise to most OF Tue W,
egates, especially to those from VA S
South, who had an idea that WOODS ah ~
water were about all that were !" L.
found in abundance here. when wv.
saw prodcuts supposedly only grown =.
the "Sunny South, growing mere -
luxuriantly and in as great perieo'.v
as in their native soil, they were So Sa.
prised indeed. They could hardy ;ble
lieve, even with the products 'if'''