Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-08-14
WASHINGTON LETTER
Weekly Letter From Our Special
Correspondent.
NEWS FROM THE CAPITAL
Brief Items of Interest to Iowa PeO.
pie, Written by an Iowa
Man.

tV uSlol, " u, aug. Il, l3l q
70 far is Amageddon from the
Salt N country?
.ThatH. hooze discovery is going
to be blS> st to the back to the
president ~. partahen of ar
other possum q Is he train
ing for the crow ,me?
Those biologist PERSONS holding a
congress at Boston with the object
of abolishing noise have their work
cut out for them during this cam
paign.
By a vote if "A to II the senate
las given its support to that pro-
vision of the Panama canal bill fGr
free passage of American coastwise
shipping.
Officers of the army and navy who
risk their lives in the aviation branch
of the service will hereafter receive
double pay, if bill passed by the
house becomes a law
There's absolutely nothing in that
Keokuk idea that the frequent blasts
in the dam construction have caused
the seasonable rains in that vicinity.
| Otherwise, Chicago would have been
deluged.
The department of agriculture is
worrying over the question of what
makes the holes in Swiss cheese.
Now if they'd only stop the grocer
from charging us for said holes, we'd
be content to let their origin remain
mystery.
Investigation of the patent Office is
provided in a resolution adopted by
the house and an appropriation of
$4,000 is made for the purpose. The
president is authorized to instruct
the economy commission to make the
inquiry with a view to suggesting re-
forms.
Requests for troops to attend fairs
and celebrations throughout the
country have come in to the war de-
partment in such numbers as to
cause embarrassment. While the de-
partment has endeavored to grant
these requests so far as possible the
general staff has decided that no
more troops can be sent without in
terfering with the fall maneuvers.
The house has passed 156 to ",
the cotton tariff revision bill, which
the democratic majority claims will
reduce the duties on cotton and cot
ton manufactures by approximately
81 per cent. The measure is identi-
cal with that vetoed last year by Pres
ident Taft on the ground that it was
not based on official information.
After giving it full trial, secre-
tary of the treasury, MacVeagh, has
approved the plan of laundering old
paper money, and more than half
million dollars of washed and ironed
currency will soon be put in circula-
ton. The first batch of laundry
will be sent to sub-treasuries and
banks in the middle west. Three ad-
ditional washing machines have been
ordered and saving of hundreds OF
thousands of dollars is looked for.
The case of Federal Judge c. W..
Hanferd of the Western District of
| h &;,,o hoc haan G,o lu dicnnSa6
of. Upon the recommendation of At
torney General Wickersham and Rep
resentative Graham chairman of the
Subcommittee of the house judiciary
committee which investigated the
charges against the judge, President
Taft has accepted his resignation.
William Lorimer, erstwhile sena-
tor from Illinois. Jared the investi-
eating committee by filing a bill for
something like $125,0O0 for reim-
bursement of the expenses incurred
by him in his fight for the retention
of his seat in the senate. 1t is prob
able that the bill will be pruned to
the neighborhood of $4,000 or $4o,-
900 and allowed.
The fight to pass the $3.50, 100000
pension appropriation bill was lost
by one vote in the senate and the
measure was sent back to the house
for further conference. After mo-
ton to agree to the house amend
nent to abolish the seventeen outly-
ing pension agencies had been lost ny
8 tie vote the senate agreed to stick
10 its demands that the pension agen-
cies be retained This is the olly
point in the bill in disagreement be-
tween the two houses.
The pure food law has been
amended by the house so as to re-
lieve packers of foodstuffs from the
existing rigid enforcement OF that
section of the law providing penal