Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1907-12-26
KS 81
congressman Are Active

2 The fol iowing bills have been intro
dnced By Nh Hall In the House:
g Il. k. No. 1ss5, entitled CA bill re-
n glllating the settlement Of accounts be,
tween the United States and the several
states relative to the disposition Of
public lands, and for other purposes. Z
The main purpose of this bill is to
obtain rs fer the public land states tof
which South Dakota Is one) the Ave
per cent authorized by the United
States statutes admitting the several
states into the Union on the purchase
+ price of lands sold by the government
where the payment was made in bounty
& land warrants or other land scrip
/ Heretofor the government, under ad
mlnistrative construction, has only
been paying to the states the FIVE pei
cant where the sales were made fol
cash and has not been paying it where
I the payments we're made in bounty
land warrants or other land scrip. The
aggregate amount which under this bill
Will go to the twenty six public land
states is over $8, 600 600, and the amount
which South Dakota will be entitled to
is about $500 1000. South Dakota will
receive the third largest amount Of any
Of these states, the only. two receiving
larger amounts being California and
Iowa. Mr.. Hall has secured the CO
operation of his colleagues who are
similarly situated and are naturally in
terested in seeing his bill carry
Also a bill Gel. r. No. 1867 for public
building at Brookings, carrying an ap
preparation of 100000.
Also q bill (H. r.. No 1877 Tor pub
lic building at Huron, carrying a like
preparation.
Also bill I'll. R. No. 6O93) placing
Oil lumber on the free list and repeating
those sections Of the United States
Statutes imposing tariff on lumber.
This measure will have many advocates
a the present session Of Congress as
It's Importance is generally appreciated
not only because it will reduce the
price Of lumber, but also because & it
will tend TO preserve our forests, which
& are being SO rapidly cut down and de-
stroyed. Canadian timber, which we
need 80 badly for these reasons, will
when the bar of the tariff is removed,
seek our markets 1t is important that
action be taken at this session of Con-
gress because according to estimates
made by the Bureau OF Forestry and
I the Department OLA gricnlture it is
only matter5of twenty or thirty years
at the present rate Of consumption
when our commercial supply of timber
will be exhausted.
The following bills have been in
trodnced by Col. Parker in the house:
a bill providing for pensions to
widows and minor children Of soldiers
and sailors who served during the War
of the rebellion, Understhis bill, Ii it'll
should become q law, the rate OF pen
sipns which widows will be increased
from eight to tWel We arrives at the age
OF seventy years, when she will receive
4 pension of fifteen dollars per month.
When che reaches the age Of seventy
i've years, under its provisions she will
receive twcnty dollars per month. The
bill in effect places the widow Of the
deceased soldier orsailor in the same
class, 30 far as her pensionis concerned,
as the act Of February 8, 1907, places
the soldier or sailor.
Col Parker also introduced, "a bill
1or; the erection Of Q public building at
Rapid City toycost, together with the
site, the sum Of ss175, 600.
jeff Davis, the new demo-