Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-04-26
CAPITAL CHAT.
The Work Of the Permanent
Census Bureau.
The Congressional Record--An Ex-
odus for St. Louis.
Petitions from Maine, and Maine visi-
tors to the Capital.

session Just closing. towards perfecting
the permanent census bureau here in
Washington. Judge Crumpacker, of
Indiana, and Gov. BurleiSh. the former
chairman and the latter the ranking
Republican next to the chairman. have
labored together to amend the law Gre
ating q permanent census bureau and
in their efforts have had the co-opera-
ton of practically all the other MEM
bers of the committee. The taking of
the Thirteenth Census is still long
way off, but in the meantime there is a
vast amount to do in the way of prep
aration and also in collecting statistics
that will be of value. A recent in
stance of the use of the permanent
census bureau was in the publication
of n special bureau. giving the popula-
tons of all large cities and also of all
the states. estimated up to June l. 1908,
by competent experts.
One OF the measures which Judge
Crumpacker and Gov. Burleigh have
been pressing at this session of Con-
greSS is for the collection of birth and
death statistics in the various states.
These will be of large importance in
showing the growth in population and
it is proposed to collect the data from
county and municipal offices through
out the land. There are good prospects
that the bill will become a law before
the close Of the Fifty Eighth Congress.
Such an enactment would also aid i'm
mensely in verifying the official re-
turns of the ten year census. Senator
Hale has been giving some attention
also to census subjects at the other end
of the Capitol. as he occupies Il posi-
ton. similar to that of Gov. Burieigh.
sitting next to the chairman of the
Census Committee of the Senate.
Congress has just received copies of
the reports of the Agricultural Expert
ment Stations iii the different states
and has ordered these printed They
make Il bulky document. of several
hundred pages, and will appear in
printed form sometime during the sum-
mer. The report Of the work OF the
experiment station ut Oronu Is includ-
ed.
Within Il few days the great daily
published by the government will sus-
pend. an event which always brings
out Lot of superannuated jokes in
W ''.'iiiAi - WI. i'ut Tic
daily, the Congressional Record, con-
tinues to be issued for Il while after
Congress adjourns. for there are bar
rels of helated speeches to be pub
lished. Not infrequently certain of
these speeches are of general interest
and so there are many readers who
scan the columns of the Record long
after Congress has gone home. How
ever, the Record ceases to be Il daily
as soon as Congress adjourns and it
comes out irregularly till all the
speeches have been gathered and the
leaves to print have been exhausted.
A number of Republicans and a
number of Democrats in the House are
always careful by hook or by crook to
secure leave to print before Congress
adiOurns. That enables them to have
articles inserted in the Record which
may be of use in the campaign. The
suspension of the daily means the loss
of work for several hundred compost
tors, for the government daily is the
only paper of its size in the country
which is set entirely by hand. A good
many of the compOsitOrs. however. are
transferred to other work.
There will be quite an exodus of
statesmen from Washington late this
week to the Worlds Fair at st. Louis
10 witness the opening. The attraction
will not be as well attended by public
officials as the Fair people would like,
because most of the Democratic Con-
gressmen hope to see the great fair
during their attendance on the Demo-
cratic Convention of July next. Then
IN ppnuhIicnno Nrh
ing to the Republican Convention at
Chica go reason that they can run down
to ST. Louis in a night after the Re-
publican candidates have been nomi-
mated. A good many of the Senators
and members, who live west of the
Mississippi river, however. will stop at
ST. Louis on the way west, for it will be
little Inconvenience to them.
The volume of petitions that are
pouring in upon Congress in it's closing
days is exceptional this year. They are
still coming by hundreds daily, when
ut this season they generally come only
by scores. There is still quite a sprink-
ling in the bunch Of petitions from
Maine for the determination of dog
fish. Representative Littlefield has
Just presented fresh consignment of
these petitions from many towns along
the Maine coast There are also many
petitions from all parts of the coun-
try for the passage of the Hepburn
Dolliver bill, to restrict the sales of
liquor through interstate commerce in
prohibition states. good many of
these petitions come from Maine. 1t is
much regretted by temperance advo-
Gates that that bill could not have been
considered by Congress at this session.
but the opposition was SO great it was
plain the bill could not become law. at
least till after long debate and neither
house of Congress had the time to de-
vote at this session to extended discus
sion Of such measure.
The Maine Daughters of the Ameri-
can Revolution. who have been in
Washington the past week. had a very
on ioyable time. They did a great deal
of sightseeing and visiting. besides
attending the sessions Of their Conti-
mental congress. and all Of them will
CONTINUED on page g.