West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-06-21
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Meat Inspection Bill Hating
Between a Balk and a
Breakdown
The Pure food Bill as Dead as the
Case or Reed Smoot
ttom oul Regular coIre.ponden,.

"HShlNSIoN june 10, 1900. -
1t is At present impossible 10 Fix a
d tie for the al Iurnmcn' IT Con-
gress in.S VS. th- dec ,inn "f1ie
steering comm Uee VI ,Le Rrpubl'-
eau party wnc CO n.t IN. ~, lie ut
thu eek IA 1sI.tDs \ ,.s Com.
miNee room SerAt.r Alliso. w;s
not present, lhis Is e noie III n
common interest, Tor Ni Ahsuo is
in point of service the oldest
member OF the Senate, 10 fact the
Oldest member in point of service in
any previous senate. He is sick at
his home and has been ever since
the German funeral though this has
not been generally known. He was
absent from the meeting. as has
been said, but the other members of
the committee were present and
they decided that until the House
got further along with its work, it
would be impossible for the Senate
to set date for dissolution. There
is no question of course that the
rate bill will be passed. Beside
the appropriation bills, that is
almost the only bill remaining that
is certain of passage.
Action of the meat inspection bill
will depend largely on the shape in
| which that measure comes from the
House. If measure passes the
House that is palpably satisfactory
to that body, it may be given a
chance on the floor of the Senate.
But if it passes the House by a
small margin and promises lengthy
| conference and discussion, 1t may
fail altogether. This would be a
nice outcome after all the row and
disturbance that has been raised
over it. But it is an outcome that
would precisely suit the managers
of the packers campaign in the
| House.
1t is thought that there must be a
vote on the Panama Canal Bill
owing to the threat to attach il in
the shape of a rider to the Sunday
Civil appropriation Bill. r h e
Senate may pass the canal bill
providing for the construction of
sea level canal and in this shape it
will 60 over till the next session.
Meantime work on the Isthmus will
limp along the best it can, and if
there is any definite plan followed
in the digging of the canal, it may
be entirely upset by the subsequent
decision of Congress as TO the type
of waterway. The Statehood bill
may come to vote or it may not.
The probabilities are that il will,
owing to the fact that Congress will
not lose this chance of eliminating
two Democratic Senators from all
future reckoning. The Pure Food
bill is as good as dead and so is the
case of Reed Smoot. He came as
near getting the creased toboggan
as man can come and mss it, but
there are so many lengthy speakers
on his side that il would mean hold
ing Congress here till it was time
for ear muffs and Christmas gifts if
the case had TO be settled at the
present session.
OF course the appropriation bills
will have to pass aud when they are
well out of the way Congress can
adjourn. There is little else that
will hold the statesmen Of the nation
in Washington during the hot
weather.
The meat inspection bill, as has
been minated, is halting between
balk and a break down. The com.
mittee met to consider it in con.
ference on Wednesday with all the
points settled except who should
bear the cost of inspection. AS has
been pointed out, this is the only
pc int of the whole measure worth
considering for a moment. If the
House wiDs and the inspection is put
on the government, it,means that the
packers win and that the law might
as we'll not have been passed. The
packers and their friends will work
to this end and If they find that they
cannot pass the inspection legisla
ton as they want il, and the
chances in favor of decency are
that they cannot, then they will
fight to have the measure 20 over
I'LL the next session.
The show that decency stands in
Congress is shown by the action Of
the Senate this week passing the
bill, that ought TO be allied TO the
meat inspection measure, extending
the time during which cattle being
shipped 10 market may be kept on
the cars without food or water. As
The L. a.. Al