The Daily Missoulian., 1909-11-13
VERY BUSY SESSION
WILL BE NEXT ONE
and Congressman Will Return the Big White
Building Capitol Hill the First Monday in December
to Take Up Their Work-Many Important
Questions Be Settled

carry the commerce Of America in the
seas. such IA fleet would increase
commerce and be nucleus To the
war craft in the event, af war. They
declare that the only way to get this
merchant marine is to give bonus
or subsidy to the shipnulaers. The
opponents of the measure have be-
labored the proposition with charges
that it would be diverting public
money t. ship combines and that it
is an ugly form of paternaliSm
President Taft has strongly urged. in
his recent speeches, the uphuliing
of the merchant marine. and ii will
be interesting to watch the renewal
of the fight for this measure.
Next in Importance Is the postal
soyings bank bill For many years
this plan has been urged upon CON
sress but the opposition Of the private
savings banks has so far prevented
its establishment. The president has
Also come out strongly for this meas
ure. Its friends claim for it that ii
will afford a safer deposit Of their
funds. but the opponents declare 1t
will ruin the savings bank business
senator Carter of Montana has been
in charge If the measure i'm the SEN
ate and Will vigorously press it. He.
together with Senator Enrkett. and
former senator and now Secretary Of
State Knox, drafted the measure
which has met general approval in
official circles here.
Financial System.
The congressional currency commits
sion, composed Of senators and mem
bers OF the house, who have been in
sestigating financial systems abroad
with Il view Of formulating a COM
prehensive system for this govern
ment, is expected to make its report
this session. Session before last. fol-
lowing the 1907 panic. an emergency
currency law was passed after a bit
ter struggle. marked by a fiiibuster
in the senate. 1t caused bad feeling
all around, especially in the house
where Representative Fowler's bin
was rejected. Fowler and Cannon
have been Il loggerheads. the speaker
removing Fowler this past session
from the craftsmanship Of the banking
now attacking each other. and the
quarrel is almost certain to bob up
again this winter.
Conservation of national resources
and inland waterways and river and
harbor improvements are also sub
jects which will be considered All
have the backing of the president and
1t is expected that steps will be taken
on an extensive scale in these di-
rections. Bond issues have been sug-
gested and the whole subject will be
threshed over. A congressional Wa
terway committee is now returning
from Europe where the summer was
spent i'm examining river and harhor
works there, to gather pointers for
extended work here. Senator Dixon.
of Montana, is the chairman of the
conservation committee i'm the senate,
and being westerner familiar with
the great resources there, will be the
leader in legislation following out the
suggestions for their conservation. In
this connection also, the question of
irrigation of arid lands will come up.
1t seems as though "A little too much
was undertaken without the neces-
sary funds and the interior depart
ment having tabooed the script"
congress will be called upon to provide
for the carrying on of this great work
which has been of such an uplifting