The Springfield herald., 1904-01-29

Cuban minister. have signed a pro-
tocol extending for six months the pc
| riod allowed for the exchange of rati-
fications OF the Cuban general treaty
embodying the Platt amendment.
The House committee on public
lands issued q favorable report on a
bill to modify the forest reserve lien
land law SO that land chiefly valuable
for timber cannot be taken in exchange
for private holdings in forest reserves.
The Senate committee On Pacific is
lands and Porto Rico has made favor
able report on Senator Blackburn's bill
| to pay Liliuakalani, former queen
| of Hawaii, 100000 in full satisfaction
; of all claims to the former crown lands
In Hawaii.
Surgeon General Wyman of the
| public Health and Marine Hospital
service has returned from Mexico.
where he secured the cooperation Of
that government in measures intend
ed to prevent the recurrence of cpl
| denies in the yellow fever region.
A protest which for intensity might
| be styled an uproar goes up from the
| 10000 clerks working in the govern
ment departments in Washington. who
have been required to add one-half
| hour each day to the six and one-half
| hours of labor heretofore required.
The House committee on merchant
marine and fisheries by strict party
| vote, ordered a favorable report to be
made to the House on the Gardner BILL
| providing for commission to investi-
| gate the whole question of ship sub
| sidy The commission consists of five
members each of the Senate and House
and its report must be made on the
| first day of the next session of Con-
gress.
The executive board of the National
| Congress of Mothers. at recent meet
| ing strongly denounced Mormonism
and urged the diplomatic corps in
| Washington to advise their govern
ments that Mormonism embodies po-
| lygamy and to take action to prevent
| emigration to Utah. Measures to af-
| ford p'otection from alleged false rep
presentations or Mormon missionaries
| were advocated.
The House public lands committee
| authorized Representative Mondell to
report favorably his bill providing that
| public lands chiefly valuable for tim
| Der shall not be subject to location or
| selection in lieu of tracts relinquished
| within forest reserves, and that selec-
| tions made or sought to be made on
lands chiefly valuable for the timber
they contain in lieu OF lands within
forest reserves shall be void and of
no effect.
| The following bills have been passed
by the Senate: Creating port of deliv-
cry at Salt Lake, Utah; establishing an
Indian agricultural school at Wahpe-
ton. N. D.; providing depot for the
| revenue cutter service in the harbor
at Oakland. Cal; and extending to the
supports OF Spokane. Bellingham,
Blaine and Sumas. in the state of
Washington, the privileges of the act
of June 10. 1880. governing the imme-
diate transportation of dutiable mer-
chandise without appraising
In closing his speech on the Pana-
ma canal treaty Senator Patterson of
| Colorado charged that the efforts to
| displace the Nicaragua canal with the
Panama canal was in the interest of
those who want no canal at all. and
at the worst one whicn would give the
least competition to trans-continental
railroads. He believed the Nicaragua
canal could be completed in fifteen
| years less time than the Panama ca
nal He therefore would vote against
the ratification Of the treaty.
| L ne ftOuSt paSSeu lHe I1epDuln pulc
i food bill on a rising vote, 201 to 6S,
| it's opponents being unable to secure
| a roll call on the bill The amendment
of inserting the word 'wilful' with
reference to persons who sell aSul-
| terated or misbranded goods and which
would have compelled the government
| to prove intent to violate the law by
| the yenders was stricken out on a
! yea and nay vote in the House. Sew
| eral attempts We're made to amend the
bill, but no material changes were
made. The bill fixes the standards of
foods and drugs as to their purity,
strength and character. and defines
what shall be considered authorizations
or misbranding of foods and drugs. 1t
also prohibits interstate commerce. i'm
portation and expectation of such mis-
| branded or adulterated articles.
The Senate committee on Philip
pines gave a hearing on Senator Frye's
bill extending the coastwise laws of
the United States to the trade with
| the Philippine islands so that all com
merce between the islands and the
United States shall be carried by
| American vessels. The hearing was
ordered by Chairman Lodge, on arpli-
| cation of eastern cordage manufac-
turers. The bill already has been re-
ported favorably by the Senate com
| mittee on commerce and the Philippine
islands, but the protests caused fur
ther consideration of the measure. A.
p. Loring president of the Plymouth
Cordage Company of Plymouth, Mas
sachusetts, said American vessels
should be given the business between
the United States and the Philippine
| islands as soon as they are prepared
to take care of it. He asked that the
| time the bill take effect be extended
to April Il. 1909. when the Spanish
ships lose their right. under the treaty
with Spain. to engage in the Philippine
trade on a par with American ships
1t was brought out that the eastern
| cordage manufacturers fear the pass
age of the bill would build up the
twine manufacturing on the Pacific
coast and wreck eastern industries
Present freight rates on Manila hemp
amount to about 45 cents per 100
pounds and it was estimated by manu-.
facturers that the freight rates. by the
passage of the bill. would be advanced
fully 81 per 100 pounds. Under these
conditions they represented that the
| trade in hemp would return to London