Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-02-22
Names Interest In the For
est Reserve Bill.
Third District Pension Claims
Are Being Pushed.
Asher C. Kinds As a Possible Men,
Der Of Congress.

Washington, d. c., Feb. 21.-(Spc-
Clad THE Maine members of the
House are taking a lively interest in
oil from the agricultural committee
For the creation of forest reserve in
the White Mountains. 1t is having
pretty hard shedding. but has been ia
vorably reported, will probably be IA
vorahly considered in the House in the
course OF the next two weeks and has
d fair chance Of becoming law before
President Theodore Roosevelt retires
to private life.
AS the Androscoggin and the Saco
rivers have their rise in the White
Mountain regions, it is expected that
the conservation of the forests at their
hrsdwaters will not only prevent foods
but eventually assure q more even flow
the ycal round. That means some
thing industrially for Maine, for men
believe it Will not tie long before Maine
assumes Il commanding place i'll the
New England states for its develop
nlent Of water power. incidentally II
was q Maine man, former Representa-
tive Charles E. Littlefeld, VINO worked
out the constitutional argument by
Wllicn it was shown Congress could
appropriately buy forests lands that
protected rivers for the purpose of i'm
proving their navigability. Mr.. Lit
tlciields argument is accepted around
The Capitol nowadays US q standard
authority. The friends of the pending
bill. drawn by Representative Weeks
OF Massachusetts, rely solely upon Nj
Littlefields report, as formulated in
the House Judiciary committee, to JUS
| l.
tional standpoint.
The bill will have to go back to the
Senate FOR further action before it car
become law. The Maine senators and
the New England senators generally
will be behind it at that end of the
Capitol. Once the House disposes OF
the bill these senators will try to rush
it through the Senate in time to get
the Presidents signature. The law, if
it is completed, will represent a hard
ard long fought struggle. New Eng
land men. including 4 few from Maine,
have been here again and again to APP
pear before committees of Congress 10
urge the necessity of Congressional ac-
ton.
otherwise Congress is enacting at
this session Of Congress little general
legislation of special interest to Maine.
The total of appropriations to be spent
in the State. however, will be quite UP
10 normal. There are numerous items
scattered through the divers appro-
rrjation bills. As matters look now
he appropriations for the Soldiers
Home may not be enacted till the eX-
ira session of Congress, but that will
make no difference, as far as the Home
itself is concerned. The items there
for arc carried on the sundry civil bill.
one Of the largest of appropriation
bills. Because If the rush of work in
the closing days of the session and the
provisions House and Senate might
put thereon regarding the Secret Ser
vice and which might be offensive to
President Roosevelt, the bill will pro-
hably go over till the extra session,
when there will be a new President in
the White House.
But +he funds already appropriated
for Soldiers Homes throughout tho
country will keep them running up to
July / next and long before that time
the new sundry civil bill will become
law.
Representative Burleigh in recent
days has been handling at the Pension
Office number Of claims for third dis
trict veterans. He has long made
point CT his work before the pension
office, doing everything in his power
TO clear UP the cases Of ex-soldiers Of
the Civil War pending there. Many
members Of Congress believed that
when the general pension law was
passed il would reduce the NUMBER of
special applicants and therefore that
the amount of work for congressman
at the bureau would fall off. This has
not proved altogether true. The old
soldiers are growing older and more
infrm every year, their claims for in
creases become more pressing and they
still have need of good congressional
friends to call their cases up, see what
the causes of delay may be, make sug-
oaCtionc q a III ~c