Middletown transcript., 1909-07-03
WASHINGTON LETTER

last been reported to the Senate b!
Senator Aldrich, and the present outlooI
/ is that it will be impossible to begin con
/ sideration Of this amendment until Wed
nesday next at the earliest. A wholly er
roneous impression has gained some Gre
dence and that is that there is some
danger of the amendment being killed in
conference or possibly of being rejected
by the House. As q matter of fact tile
Senate conferees are pledged to the Presi-
dent to preserve the measure in confer
ence, and 80, too, are Speaker Cannon
and Representative Payne, who will be
chairman Of the House conferess. All Of
the House leaders are committed to the
Presidents proposition and it is their in.
tentiOn to bring in rule which will send
the tariff bill, including as it will the cor
poFation tax amendment, to conference
with extremely little debate. Represen-
tative Dwight, the Republican whip, has
assured the President that the leaders
controlled abundant votes to adopt such
rule and carry ont the proposed pro-
gramme. However, a very interesting
report was going the rounds in inner
circles at the Senate yesterday to the effect
that one or two Of the most radical Re-
publican insurgents in the Senate who
have been unsuccessful in securing the
adoption of their views by that body, are
endeaVoring to organize an insuFrection
in the House and that they have secured
already the signatures of seventeen Re-
publican members pledging themselves
to do all in their power to kill the entire
tariff bill, and further, that they have in
sight the remaining twelve Republican
Representatives whose votes Would be
necessary TO destroy the work Of the
special session. assuming of course that
The Democrats would vote solidly against
the bill. Whether or not the Speaker
and Representative Dwight were cogniz-
ant OF this rumor when they assured the
President Of their complete control of
majority Of the House, is not known, but
sufficient credence was given the report
to set the leaders to counting noses. The
Senate leaders insist that Mr.. Cannon will
be able to control the situation in the
House and that a sufficient number OF
Democrats are interested, in the tariff bill
to prevent its defeat, even though some
Republicans turn against it.
~
Second only to the interest in the cor
poration tax is that taken in the Wright
aeroplane, flights of which are to be taken
at Fort Myer in a short time. The ma
chine to be used in these test flights is q |
little shorter but the propelIers are iden.
tical with those used last year. The pre-.
cautions, taken against similar accident |
to that which killed Lieut. Selfridge and |
severely injured 0rviIle Wright consist
simply in bracing the propeIlers more
firmly. The brothers decided, after thor.
oughly going over the wreck OF the old /
machine, that accident happened through
the propellers themselves working loose /
and getting in the way of the wires sup.
porting the rudder. With the new
framework in which the propellers are
set, it will be practically impossible for I
this to happen.
~
The passage Of the bill appropriating
$l0,O000O0, for taking the thirteenth
census has prevented the closing of the
Censes Office on Wednesday next because
of lack OF funds. 1t assures, also, that
the thirteenth census will start on sched-
ule time, whether or not the House passes
the measure now in conference governing
the administration of the Census. II fit is
not agreed to by both houses, the census
will be taken under the existing law,
which provides for non.competitive ex-
aminatiOns and is bitterly opposed by all
Civil Service advocates being similar to
that vetoed by President Roosevelt.
#4*
The medical officers of the army are
working diligently to have special instruc-
tion given to surgeons attached to militia
this summer. The occasion
will be the first opportunity members of
the militia medical corps have had to OBJ
serve field hospital There will be three
such hospitals this summer at Sparta,
Wis, Antistam, Md, and near San Fran.
cisco, respectively. Regular medical of
fcers will act as lecturers and explain the
field medical equipment adopted for the
protection OF the health of the soldier on
The march and in camp. The demonstra.
lion is destined to beef great value to the
militia medical officers IN connection with
their likelihood of being called on for ser!
vice with troops in the field in time of
war. The surgeon general of the army
has authorized contracts for the material
which will be needed, and for additional /,
supplies and apparatus that may be kept.
Naval medical officers have been engaged
n important investigations among the !.
members Of the fire room force on ships
II war in an effort to ascertain the cause
# what is known as heat exhaustion, n
'arious reports from naval surgeons have
'een received on the subject and there is
rope that q remedy will be discovered.
l. r