The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-03-30
NOTES FROM WASHINGTON
Especial Correspondencs.)

the Troy Times. Is 20 be the next am
bassador to Austria.Hungary. TO sue
ceed Bellamy Storer. His appoint
ment has just been sent to the senate
for confirmation by President Roose-
welt. Mr.. Francis was formerly Amer
| ican minister TO Greece. a position
held in 1861 by his father. the late
| John NJ. Francis. The new ambassa-
| dor was former athlete Of note and
his record as single scull champion
of America, made while a student at
Cornell. is still standing
An Immense Appropriation-In less
than 20 minutes time the senate on
March 20 voted away 100000 600 OF
the public funds. The sum is carried
by the pension appropriation. which
being brief document. was made the
subject OF very little discussion. The
railroad rate bill was laid aside for
the day, and the major portion Of the
time was devoted 10 the consideration
Of the fortifioations appropriation bill.
In that connection the question OF the
necessity for seacoast Notifications in
the Philippine islands was discussed
at considerable length with the result
that all provisions for such fortihca-
tions in those possessions was elimin-
ated from the bill.
New Mexico's Luck-SenatOr FL.
kins recently told why New Mexico
was not admitted as state Of the
Union 80 years ago Mr.. Elkins at
that time was a Republican delegate
from the territory, and the bin to ad-
init New Mexico was about 10 be
passed when Senator Burrows, then a
member Of the house, made a speech
which aroused Democratic ire. Mr.
Elkins had been called out of the
and when he returned one OF his
friends told him that Burrows had
made a strong speech in favor Of
statehood and Elkins should congratu-
late him. Elkins warmly thanked Bur
rows. The Democrats noticed and
made a note Of il. When the time
came to vote they al voted against
the bill.
Booth Rode His Horsc-Onc Of the
last survivors, even in an indirect
connection, in the assassination of
President Lincoln. is dead, James w.
Pumphrey, a livery sable keeper,
rented the horse upon which John
Wilkes Booth rode the night he killed
the president, on which horse Booth
jumped after the murder and made his
hurried flight into Maryland. Pun
phrey did not know Booth, who bor-
rowed pair OF spurs. This put Pun
phrey under suspicion and led to his
arrest. but as it was clearly estab-
lished that his connection with the
great tragedy was quite innocent he
was released. Pumphrey never recov-
cred his horse.
No Federal Control-That there is
no constitutional authority for feder-
al control OF insurance or other state
corporations other than railroads, is
to be the conclusion reported to the
house of representatives by the judi
ciary committee. The report has been
drafted 10y Chairman Jenkins. and is
now in the hands of members OF the
committee for their perusal An un-
official poll indicates that with practi-
cally no exceptions members concur
In the corr0Ctness of this conclusion.
The report collates all the important
court decisions on the questions iii.
volved. treats each exhaustively and
reduces the whole problem to these
two principles: "The supreme court
of the United States has declared and
has never been shaken or weakened
in maintaining. first, that insurance is
gress cannot impair the police powers
of the states"
Pension Committee Making Record
The committee on invalid pensions
Of the house of representatives, and
the committee on pensions of the
senate, is making record this con-
grCss. Up TO the present time they
have acted favorably on nearly 1000
private pension bills where the bene-
fCiaries n the same have been either
blind, paralyzed, bedridden, or praCtf
Cally hopeless wrecks. To show some
on, no less than - have died during
the progress of the passage of the
bills covering the same. one member
of congress came in 10 Congressman
Sulloway's committee room few
days ago and he stated that he had
five private bills passed during the
tlfty.eighth congress. and four OF the
five men were now dead. II has been
the aim Of the committees of both the
house and the senate TO select the
most meritorious cases that could be
found in each congressional district,
cases where not only the beneficiary
is a physical wreck. but also without
means of support, and in practically
every case the soldier has nothing but
his pension TO live upon.
A peculiar feature of these cases is
the large number for those that are
totally blind. Blindness seems TO be