The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-03-01
c. THURSDAY MARCH
ais failure to be assigned to any recent

the service, has forwarded to the Comp
trolier of the Currency petitions looking
! 10 MS retention as an Examiner.
/ Although Congress made Washing
tens Birthday legal holiday in the
! District of Columbia and the other Ter
ritories. it seldom observes its own
child. In the Senate, on Feb. %. the
| Farewell Address was read by some
| Senator, and little later the Senate
adjourned. but not because IL was
Washington's Birthday! Bless you.
| no! 1t adjourned as mark of respect
| to the death of Member of the House
from Pennsylvania. Over in the House,
4 Mr.. John Sharp Williams. leader of the
| minority, moved to adjourn: but. no,
| indeedy. Capt Hull. Chairman of the
Committee on Military Affairs. wanted
| to get on with his Army appropriation
| bill, and Mr.. Payne. of New York. had
some excuse. and SO did several others.
and so the House went right on doing
| business at the same old stand. Some
| body wanted to hear the Farewell Ad-
| dress. but the majority would not have
| IT, 1t isn't very patriotic. to say the
| least. Congress will adjourn for we'd
| dfngs and for funerals. for receptions.
and for various junkets of more or less
| official character. but it cannot stop for
a few brief hours to discuss the life and
character of the man whose name stands
out in letters of fire before every mau,
woman and child who loves and vener-
ates this country and its history.
i 1t is difficult matter to teach pa
| triotism to child whose father has
none, Or If he has, is in too big hurry
! to say so, or too indifferent to give ex-
, preston to II. 1t is by bringing to the
| notice Of the children the heroic deeds
| OF those pioneers in the making of this
Nation that we hope to rear a new Ma
| ton or heroes. If we fail in our duty
to the older heroes. how can we expect
to nave the children emulate their vir-
4 tues? OF course, the members Of Con-
gress plead 1.-The countrys business"
Bosh! II we had not had Washing
| ton we would not have had country.
and 1T cannot be in better business than
| taking brief rest and barking back to
| those days when the widest dreamer
never visualizei a Nation such as we
have grown into. No! Congress was
just about 100 years from being pa
| triotic. 1t will probably act the same
way about Memorial Day.
/ George A. Castor, Representative from
the Third District (Pa.) died last Tues
day week after long illness. He was
! 81 years old.
Representative Castor has not been
in Washington this session. He was one
of two men who had not yet taken the
| oath of office. Mr.. Castor was born In
Philadelphia, Aug. 6. 1855. He was
member OF the Republican City Com
mittee Of Philadelphia for Is years, and
was candidate for Congressman-at-
| Large before the Republican State Con-
| vention in 1892, and failed Of a nomi-
nation by only IL votes. He was elect
ed to the 58th Congress Feb. Is. 1904.
to fill vacancy caused by the death Of
Representative Henry Burk, and was
reelected to the seth Congress.
Oh. dear. how the fur did fly i'm the
House the other day, when the Hon.
Marcus Aurelius Smith, Delegate from
Littlefield, Of Maine-they are all hon
orable northumberland each other
on gambling in the Territories of New
Mexico and Arizona and prohibition in
Maine. Judge Littlefield began the bat
/ tie by introducing bill to prohibit
think Of that just for second. To pro-
| hibit gambling in the wild and woody
| West! Now, honest, you know, that is
| very funny; but it struck the Hon. Mar
Gus. etc. very harshly. and he got mad.
He surely did. He just foamed at the
4 Mr.. Littlefield had prOhibitive laws, in
Maine. one prohibiting saloons, for in
stance, and that in Bangor alone he
was Informed there We're $50 saloons
| He declared that If the bill became a
| law 1t would only serve as a bluff to
drive all the gamblers into supporting
joint Statehood should that be submit
ted to q vote of the people. For the
| State would not for moment counte-
nance such a law. In fact, he talked
like man whose constituents were
about to be deprived Of life, liberty AMI
the pursuit of happiness.
| or course, Mr.. Littlefield came back
| at him. He said that he had tried to
| treat Mr.. Smith as gentleman, and In
y~nts, 1nnl l.
said that he had information that gam
bling in the two Territories mentioned
was carried on flagrantly and openly.
and that young men going there from
| the East were corrupted and degraded
| by contact with the gamblers and their
| environment He thought that such 4
| law was necessary, and then to show
| Mr.. Marcus, ETC.. what he could do he
i called for q vote, and the House was
wild i'm. He passed the bill by big
majority. there being only two or three
dissenting votes.
The President in a lengthy message
| presented to Congress last week ap-
proved lock canal. 1t will be remem-
bered that the foreigners on the Canal
| Selection" Commission voted for sea-
| level canal, and the Americans a minor
ity voted for the lock canal. The Pres
| ident thus approves the minority re-
| port. 1t Is not worth while to go into
detail about it, because there will be
a thousand plans perfected, and then
torn to pieces before that canal is built.
|
! w. B. Poland, of Seward, Alaska,
Chief Engineer Of the Alaska Central
Railway, has appeared before the House
Committee on Territories to urge the
Lowering bill, which aims to assist Alas
kan railways by guaranteeing the inter-
| est on their bonds. He declared that
projected railways, which are now par
| TALLY built, cannot be completed with
| out Government assistance. John E.
| Balaine, Of Seattle, Wash, told the COM
mittee Of the mineral wealth Of Alaska,
| and said it could not be developed with
out the assistance of the railways.
|
| During the Centennial Celebration at
Colorado Springs on Sept. 9 to 16 of
the discovery of Pixies Peak by Gen.
Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Government
! troops are to play war in the mountains.
Secretary Of War Taft has consented,
according to Secretary Wray, of the
| Colorado Springs Chamber of Com
merce. to hold the Army maneuvers dur
| ing Centennial week, and one of the
| features of the celebration will he a