The Republican journal., 1906-02-15
Letter from Washington.
The Shipping and Statehood Bills. Mr.
Keeqan,s Mission to Washington.
Correspondence of the Journal

WASHINGTON. d. c., Feb -. Much has
been done in the last few days TO dispatch
the necessary business OF the present ses-
sion of Compress. MetaphOrically speak
| ing the Senate has not yet taken Of Its
coat. 1t continues to discuss a lot OF topics
of more or less interest to the country
which. however, do not directly affect the
program of legislation. The delay Is due TO
negotiations between the President and
leading senators about the terms OF rail-
road rate bill. Most of the Senators want
! more conservative bill than the PRESIDENT
wants. But Senator EIkins has already
taken off his coat, and the bulky and genial
| West Virgnian is laboring daily at the
head of his committee on Interstate COM
| merce to bring its members to an agree
ment as to what the rate bill reported TO
the Senate shall be. The bill has already
| passed the House with remarkable unanlm-
| ty.
| The Senate has agreed to day for vote
on the shipping bill. 1t will pass, and then
go over to the House for action. AS innings
look now, the House will bury the Dill IN a
| pigeon hole for while. But then the Sen
ate will go about a discussion of the double
barrelled Statehood bill, which the House
passed some two weeks ago. In the course
of two or three weeks, probably. the Senate
will reach vote on statehood, SO that thaI
question will be removed from the Con-
gressional forum. But it is unlikely that
the Senate will pass the bill in the same
shape as it passed the House. so that there
will be a long task ahead for the conferees
| of the two houses. The Philippine tariff
bill, another administration measure, over
which Senator Lodge of Massachusetts ana
Senator Hale of Maine are locking horns
the first being for the bill as it passed the
House and the latter against the enactment
of any Philippine tariff at all-wlll soon be
reported from the committee and placed
before the Senate. Its passage there is
| still problematical, for Mr. Hale is very
resourceful in fighting bill. The Philip
| pine tariff is already through the House.
| The House, it should be remarked, has
| cleared away the important measures of
| legislation and will now enter upon the
| consideration of appropriation bills. Those
are feature of the work of every session
of Congress- By the time the House is well
along with the appropriation bills, the Sen
ate will have advanced its consideration of
the important legislative measures which
the President is urging. Although the
business of the session is much behind,
| speedy work can be looked for from now
| on.
An interesting Maine visitor here the
past week has been Hon. Peter c. Keegan
! Of Van Buren,. He came hoping to encour-
age legislation that would correct the injuS-
! of lumber free of duty cut in Maine but
manufactured in New Brunswick. Mr..
| Keagan has consulted with all the men,
bers of the Maine delegation relative to the
matter Congressman Littleheld took him
to Chairman Payne of the Ways and Means
committee for a consultation. Mr. Payne
was interested to hear from Mr.. Keegan
the details of the situation on the New
Brunswick border. During their converse
tion Mr.. Payne recalled the memorial of
the Maine legislature on the subject, which
Senator Frye presented in the Senate and
Gov. Burleigh presented in the House
earlier in the session. A few days ago Gov.
Burleigh took Mr.. Keegan up to the White
House offices, where President Roosevelt
gave them glad hand. The President ex-
pressed his pleasure at seeing Mr.. Keegan
and recalled how he used to tramp around
in the woods of Aroostook county. Then
the Two went over to the White House,
where Gov. Burleigh took Mr.. keegan.
/ Usually visitors are allowed to see only the
East room, but as courtesy to Gov. Bur
/ leigh he was permitted to conduct his
visitor through the living rooms, including
! the State dining room and the several par
! lors, impressive with the portraits of former
! presidents.
"The Presidents reminiScencies about
/ his stay in Aroostook county," said Gov.
| Burleigh today, 'reminded me how he first
went to Maine. | believe it was while he
was "a student at Harvard, or at about that
time He was in poor health and wanted
to get into some healthful country to recu-
perate. He went up to Bangor, where he
| inquired for a good place to get into the
, woods to live for while" SO up to Isl
/ and Falls with" Bill ewall," some one sug-
| gested Gle is great woodsman. The future
President adopted the suggestion and found
"Bill' Sewall a good fellow. From that
sprang their long time friendship. 1t will
be remembered that the Pres idententer-
tanned him and his family at the White
House for a week two years ago. Mr.. Kee-
gan also informed Gov. Burleigh that his
son, Clarence b. Burleigh, has been having
good time recently with Chill" Sewall
! among the lumber camps in Aroostook.
Governor Burleigh has been presiding at
several meetings of his subcommittee on
public buildings during the last two weeks
A recent meeting was that the Governor
called to give hearing to about forty rep
reSentative citizens of Columbus, the capt.
tai city of Ohio. The people out there are
very DESTROYS of an extension to their public
building, SO as to secure better facilities
for handling their mail. The case seems to
be an urgent one and Gov. Burleigh will
try to frame up "a measure to give them an
appropriation ON the forthcoming omnibus
bill. He is chairman of the subcommittee
that has charge Of bills from all the New
England States and from Alabama and
Ohio. After several consultations with the
President, Speaker Cannon and pr. Bar
tholdt, chairman. of the entire committee OF
public buildings, Gov. Burleigh knows
about what Congress should be able to do
III. Lot 81.