Mexico Missouri message., 1912-08-29
Congressional Notes

commerce court and limit the tenure
Of office of civil service employees to
seven years. Both those provisions
had been eliminated and the com
merce court was provided for until
March 4, 1913.
Senator Sutherland of Utah urged
President Taft to appoint Arthur +.
Holder OF the legislative board Of the
American Federation OF Labor a men,
Der of the industrial committee re-
Gently authorized by congress
Minority Leader Mann secured
unanimous consent to insert in the
! Congressional Record a history OF the
! ceremonies incident to the unwilling
of the statue of Gen. Baron Won Steu-
ben in Berlin last year. Representa-
| tive Bartholdt, who was the special
ambassador of the United States on
this occasion, prepared the history.
In serving notice on the house that
| he proposed to advocate sweeping re-
/ forms in the manner Of appropriating
| funds, Representative Sherley OF
/ Kentucky (Dem.), member of the
appropriations committee, attacked
| the present method of drawing on the
public funds for the conduct of the
| government.
Tn ehouSe passed the Lever bill to
| provide for federal appropriations for
state agricultural colleges for extern
sion of farm demonstration work.
! An item of 100000 to reimburse con
tributors to the ransom fund for
Ellen NJ. Stone, the American mis-
sionary kidnapped by Bulgarian bril-
gands in 1901, was added to the gen
pral deficiency appropriation bill.
which was reported to the senate by
the appropriations committee.
Representative Rainey of Illinois, a
Democrat, and Representative Austin
Of Tennessee, Republican, fought a
wordy battle in the house, and ex-
changed bitter personalities. Each
had flfty-four minutes allotted under
a special rule. Mr. Rainey charged
that Mr.. Austin was personally inter
ested in water power legislation.
The conference report on the Alas.
ka administration bill, providing for
bly, and a railroad commission was
adopted by the senate. Its approval
by the senate and the presidents sig
nature will provide home rule" FOR
Alaska.
A far reaching amendment was
added TO the pure food law when the
senate passed Representative Sher-
81. i l..
term misbranding, as used in the law,
any false statement, design or de
vice regarding the curative or thera-
peutic effect" of the contents of a
package.
Representative Norris of Nebraska
introduced a resolution requesting the
president to send to the house all in
formation he has regarding the case
of James Wood Rogers, a Californian,
who was killed in the Central African
jungles as the result of a hunt of
British soldiers, who we're ordered to
kill or capture him.
Senator Pomerenes bill providing
q uniform system of bills of lading
and regulating the transfer of such
bills was passed by the senate after
brief debate without a dissenting
vote. 1t contains a complete code OF
laws governing the issue and use of
bills of lading and is practically iden-
teal with laws in several states.
Conditions in Mexico were related
to the senate by Senator Fall OF New
Mexico, who declared absurd and ri
2 Iifn1ptc OF 70
have come from President Madero to
the effect that Fall had caused the
failure of peace negotiations between
the Mexican government and Gen.
J Orozco
President Taft sent TO the senate
the nomination of Clinton W. Howard
OF 'Bellingham, Wash, to be United
! States judge for the western district
of Washington, succeeding Cornelius
H. Hanford, who resigned while his
conduct on the bench was under in
vestigation by a congressional COM
mittee.
The bill introduced by Representa-
tive Shirley of Kentucky (Dem) =,
which would make more drastic the
pure food and drugs law as applied to
patented and proprietary medicines,
was passed by the house.
President Taft closed day OF CON
ferences on the Panama canal bill
with a special message to congress
suggesting the passage of legislation
which would permit American ships
to travel the canal toll free and which
would also allow foreign nations to
test the legality of this provision by
suits in United States courts.
A comprehensive inquiry into the
inter-relationship of steamship lines
has been instituted by the house com
mittee on merchant marine and fish
cries.
The Mann bill to permit the use Of
coloring matter in oleomargarine for
export was unanimously agreed to by
tho house committee on agriculture.
A division of markets In the agri-
cultural department to act as the
clearing house for farmers and con.
sumers in distributing farm produce
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