Middletown transcript., 1907-02-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.

~ WAsHISGroS, y. c., Jan. 26th,i 1907.
The coal report nf the Interstate Con
merce Conmissinn was this week sut
mitted TO Congress in compliance Wit
the Tiiiman-Giilespie resolution Of las
March. 1t is an important report ant
covers tl:e Inquiries made By the Commis
SION into the operations oil tie bitlininou
coal-carrying roads throughout the easter
part of the United States. Many Of the
details irought ont in the testimony were
: printed in the pspers at the time. Itwas
known that the Pennsylvania in iparticu.
lar along with the q. & o., the New York
Central, the Chesapeake & Oh;u, the
Noit1lk Il Western and number Of other
roads we're hotbeIs OF graft tie roads
themselves owning the coal mining com
pa1ies a'oEg tmir lines, While officials
both high and low i'll the employment Of
the roads were owners If railroad and
coal company stock, some of " hicil they
had bhnght and paid for, but inrch Of
which had been gwen to them in obvious
| payment f"r favors that had been granted
| in distribution Of coal cars to the various
mines. The report Of the Interstate Com
merce Commission says that there should
be nn"wnership uf coal. mining stock al
lowed lay either the railroads or the effic-,
iats OF the railroad companies that trans
part the coal. After making an elaborate
review IT the whole system of coal car
distribution and the unjust and unequal
methods of rating mine capacity now in
vogue the Commission recommends that
the carriers hereafter be compelled to
make public their sy stem of coal car dis
tribntion showing how the equipment is
divided between the various mines along
the railroads. Further it recommends
that fair and equitable rating OF the coal
mines Ill regard TO their output be in
force, that the carriers after reasonable
time shall he forbidden to have any inter-
est in the coal mines alcns their lines, ex-
cept SO far as these mines are exclusively
for furnishing fuel to the railroad them
selves.
Chairman Shont7 Uf the Isthmian
Canal Commission has resigned his posi-
tion 10 take management OF the New
York subway at salary approximately
three times as great as the $4,000
he was getting as President Of the Com
mission. For some reason this action on
his part has not brought down OH him
the wrath of tle Administration and
the War Department as was the case
with Chairman Wallace, who resigned
the same job for the same reas.
ons about year before. Instead Of
that the President has sent Chairman
Shonts friendly letter wishing him well
in his new undertaking and Chief Engi-
neer Stevens OF the Panama canal has al
ready been selected to fill Mr. Shonts
place. 1t is understood that Mr.. Stevens
will very soon be rated as the whole COM
mission. He is perfectly capable of filling
the bill and it is believed to be the inten-
canal hereafter one man power insttu-
ton with the authority centered in the
engineer. Mr. Stevens was
before the 1sthmian Canal Committee &C
the Capitol this week and had something
to say ON the subject OF the mRclI dis :
cussed Gatun dam. He said that on the
site OF the dam ali area of 1900 by 1900
feet Eiai bee, marked nut and l27 borings
had beeu made over this space. They
have al OF them shown good and suffi
cient soft rock foundation which in Mr..
Stevens opinion was amply satisfactory
for the projected dam. He saId that
were lie paying for the canal out OF his
own pocket he would be perfectly satis-
fled with the conditions the borings have
displayed. This was the strongest en-
dorsemsut that the Congressional COM
mitteee had 90 far received.
~
A river and harbor bill will be put
through at the present st ssion oil Congress
and it will carry in the aggregate larger
appropriation than has ever been made
before for, this bill. The total will
amount to $S3, ,466, l3s A little less than
half of this will be made available for the
coming fiscal year and the rest will be re-
served for the completion of current con-
tracts without any time limit on its ex-
penditure. This bill will be OF interest to
almost every section OF the country be-
cause while the bulk OF the work will be
done OIL the coastal harbors. there will be
immense amount done in improving in-
land navigation OIL various streams
throughout the country and on the land
locked lakes.
~
Arrangements have been made for the
investigation by the Senate Committee Oh
Military Affairs vi the recent fray at
Brownsville, Texas. The Senate COM
nittee will begin its session on February
4th, and will be empowered to issue sub
poeras for the commissioned and nom
commissioned officers of the discharged
negro Dattailoh anu PosSioiy ioi souue vi
the enlisted men also. In view of the
fact that the Court martials of some Of
the men involved will be held simultane-
ously in Texas, il is possible that pre!imi-
nary hearings may be begun in Washing
ton even earlier than the date named.
No counsel will be permitted to appear
at the hearings, but it is probable that
some member ii the committee, probably
Senator Foraker, Will appear as counsel
for the enlisted men. 10 decision has
been reached on the question OF sending
a subcommittee to Brownsville to prose-
cute an investigation there.