The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1906-11-08
QQasbtngton Chat

When Congress resumes its sessions
next month, it will doubtless be sur
prised to learn that during the recess
period, non-political, but business
meaning, organization has been
formed, and which is even now en-
camped in offices almost under the
dome Of the Capitol, to watch its every
movement as legislative body and to
spy upon the public acts OF each
individual member. This newly
formed organization, known as the
Peoples Lobby, lis composed of prom
inent journalists, lawyers, bankers
and few former government officials,
all residing in different large cities of
the co. ny. At the first meeting
held in Washington last week, the
scope of Hhe work to be performed
was outlined thus:
First-The collection and dissemina-
ton OF information regarding pending
national legislation and the attitude
of members thereon.
Second-The keeping OF an accur-
ate record of the official acts and votes
of members of Congress together with
other information pertinent to their
official records, and from time to time
the making public of these records
and securing for them the widest
possible publicity in order that the
people may have the real inside in
formation regarding public questions
and how their Representative or
Senator are voting on those questions.
AS far as can be learned, the
publicity is to take the form of
pamphlets and circulars which are to
be mailed to names of persons Sc
cured from county tax sheets, but just
how and from where the money is to
come for all this watching of Con-
gress," has not been divulged and
whether Congress will sit up and
take notice of its self appointed
guardians, or what effect, if any, the
Lobby will have, are questions that
time only can answer.
Officers of the War and Navy de-
partments are becoming alarmed over
the deficiency in the country's coast
defense and are looking about for
means to remedy the existing condi-
tons.
Attention is drawn to the fact that
when it became necessary to send a
few troops to Cuba several weeks ago,
the greatest difficulty was experienced
in finding ships to transport the
soldiers and vessels flying the flags
of many nations were chartered be
fore an adequate number were secured.
Forty thousand men are needed to
properly man the guns at coast forts
and torpedo stations, yet only fourteen
thousand men are available. To fill
the vacancies caused by those whose
terms Of enlistment expire, it requires
constant advertising with posters,
space in newspapers and a resort to
every other means to bring the army
and navy service before the public,
but even with all this the number of
enlistments fall far short of the neces-
sary number.
In the navy conditions are not much
better. At present, almost the re-
quired number of men are enlisted
but as soon as the ships now build
ing are completed, the naval authori-
ties will be at loss to properly man
them all. Officers are now at work
upon several schemes which they
hope will have pulling power to at
tract able bodied men into both
branches of the service and with the
granting of increased pay for the men,
already asked of Congress. it is likely
that conditions at coast defense points
will change for the better.
Considerable progress has been
made by Treasury Department
officials in their undertaking to pro-
vide a greater abundance of clean
paper money, especially OF the small
There is no longer
any doubt but that the public health
has long been in jeopardy by the old
and filthy money which is permitted
to circulate until it hangs in shreds
before being redeemed by the Treas
ury. but up to the present time Con-
gress has not provided a sufficient
appropriation to remedy this trouble.
The matter received some considera-
ton in the House Committee on
and Currency during the
first half of the present session and
Treasury officials have since been
pushing the matter with such relent-
less zeal that from what they know
now, their efforts will be crowned with
success early during the coming
session and as a result, new, crisp
paper money will be obtainable at any