Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1906-04-12
WASHINGTON LETTER.
PROMO Ass-l.r oqrre..pooaept,

that anyone who thinks he was hint
ing at tariff revision ia his remarks
out west the other days has another
think coming and had better get 1t
to operating quick. Tariff revision
will come, he says in his usual firm
but kindly manner. Ii will come
when be is ready for it and not be-
fore. And tina: viii not be at the
present session. Mr. Cannon in-
Inmates that when he subject OF
tariff revision il preached there
viii be all sorts Of people -
ties 70 be heard from and "a 80
revision is out Of the question.
When the tariff is revised at all it
will have TO be as a whole which
probably is true. and he does not
propose to have anyone toying with
the throttle while he can make any
sort of q pretense at being busy
elsewhere.
Meanwhile Mr.. Rainey of Illinois
took occasion the other day to read
the stand pat Republicans a lecture
on that very subject. He aroused a
good deal OF amusement and some
indignation in the process. He said
that American watches were being
sold abroad so cheap that they were
bought on the other side, Shipped
back to the United States to be sold
second time. He had q number OF
watches in his various pockets TO
prove the assertion. He also spoke
OF the Watch Trust. This brought
out protest from Mr.. Gardner of
Massachusetts who said he was a
stakeholder in one OF the largest
watch companies and he knew oil
no such thing as watch trust. Mr..
Rainey raised laugh by saying Mr..
Gardner would probably have a
chance to explain his negative in
formation before the Committee on
Ways and Means. Mr. Painey added
that while there was evidently no
such thing as a watch trust the
number OF employees in the watch
making factories has greatly in
creased in the past decade, and there
were now in the country only 13
watch companies against twenty
seven in 1880. He said that there
were fifteen per cent. more men en-
ployed in the factories than in 1889,
but that there were 600 per cent.
more woman and 200 per cent. more
children. He said that this alone
was a state of things worth enquir-
ing into.
None the less there is not going
to be any tariff discussion at this
session. Mr.. Dividson's arrange
ments for having the Ways and
Means Committee sit during the
summer to take testimony will pro-
baby satisfy the conscience of the
majority and quiet the inquiries of
the constituents. And the tariff
will be allowed to drift till there
is Democratic House or till the
House can stave off the question no
longer.
-
The rate situation is about as clear
as it has been IN the past fortnight.
That is about as clear as the wake
of cattle stampede on a dusty day.
No one dares oppose the legislation,
but the railroads are dete rmined to
have the rate bill shaped to suit
their ends, and those ends of course
will be served by any provision for
a court review that will enab,a theu
to take the unlucky shipper into
court and wear him out mitigation.
Some OF the supposedly Opposition
Senator'S have come out so strongly
for the rate bill since the incorpora-
ton OF a review amendment seems
assured, that one is tempted to won
der whethea after all that was not
the thing they were waiting for and
that loophole being once assured
they were willing to overwhelm the
Hepburn bill with all sorts OF drastic
provisions, knowing quite well from
the start that they would never be
apt to get in the way of the rail-
roads.
The question OF fortifyiug the
Panama canal has come up again.
The General Staff got suddenly busy
last week and announced that they
had scheme Of fortitications already
to submit to Congress. As to the
right OF this country to fortify the
canal, there can be very little ques-
ton. The prohibition in the Clay
ton Bulwer treaty against fortifica-
tons was not mentioned in the Hay
Pauncefote treaty aud it is assumed
by those interested that the silence
gives consent. At the same time
the War Department has been in
communication with the State De-
partment and it has been decided to
lay the matter before Congress to
get q ruling on the mint