The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1904-02-11
Letter from Washington.
Maine Customs Collectors Threatened.
"The Beautiful Snow" The Service
Pension Bill. A Kansas Senator on the
Maine Delegation.
r Correspondence of The Journal.

those at Belfast and Castine, out of
their jobs, was successfully repealed
in the House last week. 1t was met
by the Maine members with argument
showing that the cost OF admlnlStra-
ton as compared with the receipts was
not fair. as the Maine customs officers
do vast deal of work intended to
prevent smuggling. The benefits In
dollars and cents appear in the larger
receipts of such offices as Bangor,
Portland and Boston.
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Armstrong prepared some figures of
the collections, expenses and number
OF employees, in 25 different customs
districts of the country. Nine OF these
were in Maine. He claimed, for in
stance, that it costs the government
S1.09 for every dollar in customs re-
ceived at Belfast Here there are six
persons employed and the receipts or
collections for the last fiscal year were
81. 73S. so and the expenses S2,9S5.45.
At Wiscasset the cost of collecting is
500 per cent, the receipts or collections
for the fiscal year having been S966.94
and the expenses S3,3SS.96. f15 York,
the cost of collecting dollar is a, IA
per cent. Representative Hemenway,
who made the attack, did not realize
until it was explained to him by the
Maine members Of the House that it
would cost more to maintain deputies
I'D these places than to keep collectors,
as the latter receive fees in compensa-
ti0u. whereas deputies are Civil Ser
Tioe officials and must be paid SO much
PEI diem.
Washington city is enjoying a pro
fusion of snow storms this winter, for
the first time in many years, More
SLOW has fallen during the month of
January Just passed than in the last
decade For the natives of northern
and colder climates it is like their
hemes to see snow coming down every
rNgo N three days But there is moth
ine Ike a snow fall of five or six inches
~ a couple of feet here. Rain quickly
succeeds the snow and then the streets
are rivers OF slush.
The cid soldiers of Maine are show
lue 2 good deal of interest in the ser
wee pension bill, pending before the
senate and House There is a lot of
serious talk around the Capitol about
passing such a bill at this session of
Congress. The chief objection heard
is that it will involve too large an eX-
pense. The effort all along the line has
been to hold down expenses in this
Congress, for it is felt that during the
present fiscal year the expenses of the
government will be larger than the
receipts.
Ex-Goy Burleigh has presented the
petitions of numerous grand army
posts in every county of the Third Con-
rressional district, asking for the en-
actment of such legislation. They have
been referred to the House Committee
uu invalid pensions, which committee
bas several service pension bills under
consideration.
Generally there is lot of legisla-
tIQu in preparation before the various
committees of Congress. This winter.
however very few of the committees
ale al work save on the appropriation
bills and they are distributed to only
about half dozen committees in the
respective branches of Congress. The
delay iii ratifying the Panama Canal
treaty is growing very wearisome, al
though it is recognized that the debate
Oh various phases of that convention is
not without good effect.
Gov. Burleigh has had conferences
with United States Fish Commissioner
Bowers about the quota of little fishes
which will be furnished to the Third
Maine district this year. The governor
is prosecuting steadily his work of
abundantly stocking the streams and
lakes of his district. He regards this
iust as much his duty as attending to
the requests of his constituents. AL
ready he has accomplished great deal
in that direction. Senator Hale has
done a lot of work in the same line.
Each year both these gentlemen send
large quotas of different kinds of fishes,
propapated by the United States Com
mission, to responsible persons in diff
ferent parts of the Third District to be
placed in waters frequented by sports
men.
Senator Chester /. Long of Kansas,
who had d long service in the House of
Representatives, was one of group in
the long corridor of the Capitol the
other day that fell to discussing Names
strength in Congress. 81 had an OPP
portunity a few years ago." said the
Kansas Senator, ito see how cleverly
the Maine men mere can conduct a
fight. | have reference to the struggle
we made to enact the present appor-
tionment into law
Those Maine men are great fellows
to cover ground. The State has splen-
did delegation of workers here now in
The Honse headed nv Gov. Rurleiph Of