Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-03-09
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular correspondent.

Washington, ID. g.. March The
death in committee of the Pay ne
Philippine Tariff Bill can be horne by
the country with considerable equa
nimity for two reasons. 1t was an APP
parent without being an actual step In
the direction of free trade The ad
yOcates of the measure. the Secretary
OF War and the officials of the Insuar
Bureau and the Philippine govern
ment claimed that it would not hurt
either the rice, tobacco or su gar indus
tries In the United States If it was
not going to affect the export Of these
crops, all of them by tine way southern
crops, enough to hurt these Industries
at home, it was not likely to do the
Filipinos much good. 1t it was going
to build up the islands materially, then
1t was going to do so at the expense Of
the United States SO either the bill
was obviously not worth passing or
else it was good one to Kill. But
the larger interest in the fight lay in
the shadow it casts On the progress OF
the Statehood Bill. This is and al.
ways has been a party measure of the
most partizan kind. Il means if it
passes, not only linking Arizona and
New Mexico in dlstasteful union, but
it means substituting four Democratic
Senators for eight ID the probable line
up of the southwest. 1t was intimated
some time ago, intimated too plainly
for mistake, that the fate Of the tariff
bill and the statehood bill was one.
Since the combination In the Senate
has been strong enough to kill the first
measure. it may be strong and recfp
rocal enough to kill the other. Such
an outcome could be viewad by almost
anyone with degree of resignation
approaching jollity.
Three amendments to the Hepburn
Rate Bill are scheduled to be tackled
TO the measure in the Senate. 1t Is
strongly protested by the covert OPP
ponents of the rate bill that the amend
ments are nothing serious and that
they will not affect the spirit and in
tent of the bill But the very lnsis'
tence of the Senate on amending the
bill raises the suspicion that there is g.
Joker hidden in one of them somewhere
and that iG will develope when the
judicial review" which is being
s rongly urged commences. Senator
Deliver has come out as a strong aC-
vocate of the unamended bill aud i'll
the course of a long speech on the sub
ject paid possibly unnecessary tribute
10 the industry aud executive ability
os the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion. No one who has lived i'll Wash
| ington and watched the Commission
at close range would think the su nj -ct
called for very fervid tribute. But
if the Hepburn bill succeeds, as is It's
alleged intent, in Installing q little
80 int rho
Commission. nobody will grudge the
tribute even if it was little premature.
The bill "for the increase torture of
| live stock in transport is ready TO be
reported from the committee to the
House. This measure it will be recol-
lected provides an extension of from
2S to 81 hours in tue time that cattle
| being shipped to market may be trans
ported in cattle cars without food, or
water. The measure is being urged by
the cattle shippers and Is opposed by
the Humane Society which declares
that the time in transit should be cut
down inttea d of being extended. II e
% hour law mas been on the statute
books for twenty years Or so. But it
is only within the past two years that
it has really been enforced. Since
then the shippers have felt the pinch
and they are now trying to iegallze
the wrong they formerly perpetrated
in defiance of what they fondlv hoped
was a dead law. They have v en- over
Secretary Wilson to their side and he
is actually advocating the extension of
the shipping time. But the Humane
Society declares that % hours is too
long to starve anything or any body
and that the time ought TO be
shortened or the cars fitted with feed
ing and watering attachments. There
are two other ways of meeting tue
difficulty without further torturlng the
cattle. One is by moving the slaugh-
ter houses closer to the point of origin
of their living freight. This would
nscessitate some initial expenditure Oh
the part of the Beef Trust, but that
would be quickly made up, for it is
notOriously cheaper to tranrpOrt dress
ed meat than it is to ship live cattle.
And the Beef Trust makes enormously
on every mile one of it's refrigerator
cars is run. But In this particular case
the Trust is lOath to see that it could
save money by spending money. The
| other method would be make compul-
sorry the shipment of live stock at q
greater speed instead. as is now done,
of frequently side tracking the cattle
trains for hours in favor of some inani-
mate freight. The run OF cattle
train in this way could easily be in
creased from $50 to 500 miles per day
and everyone would be better off for
the cattIemen themselves say that the
steers lose weight terribly in shipment.
ANY of the plans mentioned would be
cheerfully accepted by the opponents
of the bill as ground for compromise.
But If the thing is to be fought out to
vote the people who are interested In
seeing humanity triumph, can help
the cause a great deal by appealing to
their members OF Congress and Sena-
tors in person or by letter.
Local Notes of Interest