Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1910-06-16

washington, June IL. - Large
amounts of politics were mixed up
with the debate on the sundry civil bill
today, and it was all over the tariff.
In the sundry civil bill was pro-
vision for $3.50, 900 with which to en-
able the president to investigate the
operation of the present tariff law.
Many senators took part in the dis
cussion precipitated, and Senator Clay,
of Georgia, started the fireworks by
charging that the measure was intend
ed to delude the insurgent Republicans
into the belief that there was to be an
other revision of the tariff, which he
tried to prove by Republican senators
with some measure of success.
By approving the latest step in the
re-classifcation of the national forests
and public lands today, President Taft
increased the public domain available
to homestead entry to 1,182,816 acres
and increased the national forests $751;
094 acres. The proclamation which
the president signed eliminated IL, 154
arces from the Gunnison forest; 5,640
acres from the Cochetopa forest and
as, 489 acres from the Uncompahgre
forest, all in Colorado. All these
lands will be available to settlers.
The re-classification is the govern
ment's hope of stemming the tide of
emigration from the United States
to the Canadian Northwest. With
more than a million acres now avail
able for homestead entry. it is de-
clared there will be no need of settlers
going over the border to gain the ad
vantages of virgin homestead.
Secretary Ballinger also made some
additions to the lands available for
homesteaders to day, when he desig-
mated 875, 900 acres in Wyoming and
nearly 1000 acres in Colorado as avail
able.
Washington, June 10.-The bill au-
thorizing the assignment of homestead
entries on government irrigation pro-
jects, which passed the senate today,
was reconsidered by the house irriga-
tion committee today and after an ar
gument by Representative Hamer, the
amendment, previously adopted by the
committee, providing that assignments
could only be made to qualified home
stead entrymen, was stricken out.
Hamer objected to this amendment, de-
claring it restricted opportunities for
disposing of the lands, and on his mo-
tion the committee reported the bill
exactly as it passed the senate.
Assignments may now be made to any
one.
The Oregon senators have lost an
other opportunity to get government
headquarters established at Portland.
The civil service commission on July
will create new district, comprising
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana
and Wyoming, all but Wyoming being
carved out of the old San Francisco
district. Through the efforts of the
Washington senators the headquarters
of this new district is to be located at
Seattle, Notwithstanding that Portland
is more centrally located.
Insurgent senators practically reach
ed an agreement today to support the
house provision in the sundry civil bill,
making an appropriation for the ex-
penses of the tariff board. Speeches
will be made in the senate expressing
preference for tariff commission but |
acceptance of the house
provision.
Charles B. Merrick, at present reg
lister of the Portland land office, was
this afternoon nominated for postmas-
ter at Portland, to succeed the late
John C. Young.