The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-12-06
WASHINGTON LETTER.

Il nnaDCe com mlttee OF the senate. Qrlited
into town this week and discussed the
outlook for currency legislation. Oh
yes, of course, he said, there would be
currency legislation, but not immediate.
There were number of plans to be con
sidered, and it might be some time before
the combined wisdom of the party made
itself manifest in perfect bill that could
be subscribed to by all interests in the
| party and passed as an administration
measure. That gives the keynote to the
situation. The majority party wants to
draw bill and pass it as party meas
ure, claiming all the credit for it without
respect to whether the country is waiting
and needing legislation or not.
There are about as many minds as to
just what is needed in the way of cur
rency bill as there are men in both
houses of Congress. There are all sorts
of measures, from free silver to green
backism. But there are about four pos
sible solutions Of the problem that will
be seriously considered. Indeed whether
any one of them is really solution is a
question that time alone can determine
There is proposition for central bank
of issue, more or less on the plan of the
bank of England or the Imperial Bank
of Germany. There is another scheme,
less intimately associated with the gov
eminent, of an organization among the
existing banks with sort of general
clearing house and bank with supervisory
powers. Then there is the scheme for
largely increased note issue based on
securities other than government bonds,
and finally scheme for note issue based
on the assets of the banks with govern
ment guarantee behind it. Probably
none of these schemes will be adopted
outright. Each of them is a definite plan
and any of them might work more or less
well. But there are number of lead
ers" who will want to have finger in
the pie of final settlement, and it is easy
to see now that the ultimate bill will be
compromise measure, trimmed to sui,
various interests and to satisfy individual
and personal vanities In the end the
measure probably will be neither fish,
flesh or fowl, and the only thing assured,
if there be legislation at all, is that it
will be party measure in the worst sense
tof the term 1t is wished by the party
managers that the bill may be framed in
committee and brought TO the House and
Senate ready TO be damned through
under the party whip. That is the only
way that it ever will get through, and
there probably will be lively fight over
it even then. II is quite as likely that
the bill will be endlessly amended on the
floor of the House and Senate, banded
back between conference and floor, and
possibly in the end talked to death, end
ing mp the session unpassed under the
warning of the leaders against "hasty
and ill-considered legislation"
49,
There is another record breaking re.
port of wireless achievement on the Pa
cifc. The western ocean seems for some
reason to be better adapted to long dis.
lance wireless work than the Atlantic.
There is no particular explanation Of
why this should be but there are SO many
things about wireless telegraphy still
unexplained that perhaps this is not
remarkable. The fact remains that one
lof the naval vessels when about 400
miles off San Francisco was in communi-
cation not only with San Francisco but
picked up wireless message from Sitka.
This was distant 2.2oo miles air line.
making a record for wireless communi-
cation.
~
The War Department is going in for
dirigible balloons at once without waiting
for next spring. Army officers have been
detailed to watch the tests of new motor
in which the Department is Interested.
Without saying just what the motor is,
it may be said that it has been brought
down in weight to four pounds to the
horse power for the larger sizes. It is
the most powerful motor of its weight
that the Department has been able to
6ud in this country. and several of them
have been ordered for the several airships
that will soon be under construction. A
ship built by the private frm that man.
ufactures the motor was tried out the
other day in the presence OF some repre-.
sentatives Of the War Department. 1t
was something OF departure in the line
of dirigible balloons. 1t used the gas
bag to lift the bulk of the weight of the
ship, but was slightly heavier than air
When fully loaded and depended ON the
thrust of its propellers for part of its
bouyaucy, as well as for its driving power.
1t made an ascent of several hours