The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-12-09
SMALL ROPE YET
FOR WAR CLAIMS
Committee Announces That It
Will Not Meet Until After
Christmas.
AND WHAT HE KICKED
Humorous Story Going Rounds
About Happening in One
Of the Departments.
From our Regular Correspondent

(From Our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. c., December 81
Tho prospect OF any legislation looking
to payment OF claims against the gov-
eminent for property taken during the war
between the States or property destroyed
during the war or used by the govern
metn after peace was declared. is not
good. Chairman Nrallon, OF the Commit,
tee on War Claims, has told Representa-
tive Lamb that there would not be q meet
ing OF the committee until after Christ
mas. This makes 1t certain that there
will be no action taken on these claims
at this session. Captain Lamb has nu-
merous claims Of this character, as have
all the Virginia representatives, which
have been dragging on for years They
will have to drag for awhile longer.
Ownership of Railroads.
Representative Gaines. OF West vlr-
ginia, said to-day that the resolution
which he introduced last winter. direct
Ing the Interstate Commerce Commission
to Investigate as to the ownership of tho
Norfolk and Western the Chesapeake
and Ohio and the Baltimore and Ohio
mittec. would be adopted.
1T Is reported and commonly believed
that the Pennsylvania controls these
three coal carrying lines, 2 said Mr.. Gaines
to-day. "The resolution proposes to dis
cover whether this is a fact. 1t is not
! right that ono road should have Il
monopoly Of carrying all tho coal from
West Virginia fields. =
1t is charged that the Pennsylvania will
not. allow the coat from the fields OF
Virginia and West Virginia to go into
northern markets, which II wishes to re-
serve for the Pennsylvania mines. It
accompanies this by charging freight,
rate for coal from the Virginia mines
shipped to the North that is practically
prohibitive. am informed by the gem
3eral counsel Of q coal forwarding COM
pany of Virginia, that eventually the.
piers Of his company would have to be
taken out OF New York harbor, owing to
the policy OF the Pennsylvania OF pro-t
hibiting the Shipment of coal from the
mines OF the two 5Virginias to northern
ports It Is said that the officials Of
the three roads which are said to be
controlled by the PENNSYLVANIA have not.
expressed the slightest opposition to the
Investigation, which Is proposed by Mr..
Gaines's resolution. It is believed they
would like to gee markets for the coal
mined along their lines made more nu-,
merous.
But Lamb Declined.
Members of the Committee on Agricul-i
TURF wanted Representative John Lamb;
the senior Democrat on the committee
TO go as one Of the repres entatives Of the
committee to the convention, which will
one min Shreveport Monday, to consider
<,fl IN ia i.
which is ravaging the cotton fields Of
Texas. But Captain Lamb declined.
Virginia is not cotton State any
more, he said. Some other mem bers
Of the committee had better attend. There
are blu three counties In the State In
which cotton is raised now. but can
recall the time when the cotton patch
was found on every farm in Eastern Elr-.
GINA
when asked about the days when cot
ton was one OF the staples of Virginia,
Captain Lamb indicated that he had not
exaggerated the extent to which cotton
was grown In the days before the war.
when Dor was plentiful and the demand
for cheap cloth was great
There is plenty Of land in Charles City
county. where I was born, that used to
produce bale Of cotton%to the acre
he said. IT see you laughing, but It's
true. There Is Il great deal of highly
productive land In Charles City There
is plenty Of land there right now that
would produce a bale to the acre, and In
the other counties, contiguous. cotton
could be growHgat profit. Thntiti is not
grown in those counties is due to the fact
that labor cannot be obtained when pick
ing time comes. The farmers have to
depend on tho negroes for help, and that
means no help. If labor was ne plentiful
as III other OF the Southern States, YOU
would sec cotton grown in Eastern Vr-
gdnia as extensively as 1t is in North
Carolina. =" n
Chairman Burton, Of the Rivers and
Harbors Committee has asked Captain
Lamb to prepare brief outlining the
need OF James River Improvement. and
the benefits which would accrue to Rich
srond from the deepening of the channel
to eighteen and twenty-five feet Captain
Lamb Is now engaged in the preparation
Of the brief. and will have 1t ready for
submission to the committee on Monday
or Tuesday. S
A Department Incident.
An incident, which occurred in one Of
the departments here q few days ago,
is probably absolutely without a paral-
lei, humorous yet mighty serious. il
looked MT from certain vlewnoInt. 1t