The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-02-25
Letter from Washington.
The Maine Senators. The Dingley Tariff.
Survey for Harbor of Refuge at Isle au

The Maine Senators. The Dingley Tariff
Survey for Harbor of Refuge at Isle al
Haut.
Correspondence of The Journal.]
WASHINGTON, D. c., February g. Senate
Frye has just put quietus to the talk abou
his successor, which was heard all the way tt
Maine and echoed back here to the Capitol
Washington heard his emphatic statement tina
he would not resign till he died, which wa!
about as forceful as the English language per
mitted. He intended it should silence the littl,
politicians who might be jockeying over the
selection Of man to wear his mantle AS {
matter of fact the Senate would seem quite a.
strange without Mr.. Frye sitting grimly il
that front seat at the right hand corner of the
center aisle, as Maine would seem strange
without the name of William P. Frye upon hel
Senatorial roll The Maine Senators are toe
much engaged with their duties in Washington
to think about resigning or even about re-elec'
TONS Neither of them has the slightest in
tention of quitting the job, and it is taken fol
granted here that State with such two dis
tinguished names right at the top of the list
would not seriously think of allowing either OF
them to quit.
Senator Frye's health has improved greatly,
so that he has not even been contemplating a
fishing trip to the Rangeleys this spring. He
expects that about the time the fish begin to
bite there the Senate will be in the throes OF
tariff revision and he wants to have something
to saw about it. If he continues to feel as well
as he is feeling now, he will stay in Washing
ton right through the muggy May days and
into June, when the temperature rises to a
good warm figure. When the last word has
been said about the tariff revision he will
'.hike" off to New England and naturally will
want to wet line in some of the Maine
waters.
The "junior' Senator does very little speak
ing in the Senate nowadays because he does
not want to endure the physical exertion, but
he still has the speaking power. If Maine has
an important cause to be pleaded there, she
may have in the course of the tariff discussion,
Senator Frye proposes to be Johnny the
spot.
The Maine men here, to a man, regret to see
the fine old tariff law that the late Represen-
tative Dingley built destroyed. Most of them
have vivid memories of the days and nights
that the eminent Representative from the
second Maine district, then chairman of Ways
and Means, put in, not only to frame good
tariff law for the Nation, but also that
would take care of the interests of the Pine
Tree State In spite of all the hard things
critics have said about that law-and no laws
are so severely criticized as tariff laws-the
Treasury officials say, that from the revenue
stand point it was most wisely made, and in
mat regard has been the best tariff law this
country ever had.
Mr. Dingley did much of the hard work of
framing that tariff bill in the sitting room of
his apartments at the Hamilton Hotel. His
Republican colleagues used to come there in
the evening to work with him. Although it
was only twelve years ago, that was during the
days when there were no magnificent offices at
the Capitol and it was cosier and more COM
Portable to work at the hotel. Probably no
member of either branch of Congress was ever
better informed than Mr. Dingley in tariff and
fiscal problems. He made tariff a matter Of
daily study for many years. So now the prepa-
rations to discard the Dingley law seems to the
Maine folks here as like the tearing down of a
fine old historic mansion. They know, of
course that desirable as changes in schedules
may be for some sections of the country, the
law is still as beneficial for the various indus
tries of Maine as the day it was signed by the
late William Mckinley.
A Maine man who has made good in Wash
ington-Dr. George o. Smith of Skowhegan,
director of the Geological SURVEYS in fine
feather these days because Congress has been
taking care of his bureau. He has been ap-
pealing for a new building for the survey.
Thus far it has been occupying rented quarters.
The House has listened to his appeal and there
is now good chance that the appropriation
will be voted before the fourth of March. In
it might be mentioned that the Maine
men in Congress helped him to get the appro-
priaton.
Gov. Burleigh has been enjoying joke with
Chairman T. f. Burton, of the Rivers and
Harbors Committee over Maine item in the
Rivers and Harbors bill, just taken up by the
House. 1t is the item providing for the sur
vey of Harbor of Refuge at Isle of Haut, off
the Maine coast. The island has no more pub
lic-spirited citizen than Miss Teresa Damon
of New York. She spends several weeks of
every summer at her cottage there. Further
more she owns an adjoining island, where she
maintains large flock of sheep and other
domestic animals. Miss Damon has consistent
ly urged various federal improvements in that
vicinity and Gov. Burleigh has done all he
could to help her programme along. She was
one of those who urged the establishment of a
lighthouse on Isle of Haul Gov. Burleigh Sc
cured the passage of bill appropriating $14,
800 for that purpose year or two ago.
Usually Miss Damon comes to Washington
for spell during the winter. On one of these
visits some years ago Gov. Burleigh took her
around to see Representative Burton, who is
bachelor. The latter was interested in the
Miss Damon made about the
island and ever since then has been making
occasional inquiries about her. Meanwhile
Gov. Burleigh has been seeking the establish
ment of harbor of refuge there. But year
after year Mr.. Burton has been doubtful about
putting it into Rivers and Harbors bill, be-
the army engineers reported that the expense
was not warranted by the benefits that would
accrue.