The Nevada County picayune., 1912-04-19

small statue to Capt Charles Wilkes. who Is chiefly celebrated In popular recollection for taking Mason and Slidell. the Confederate commission CTS, from the British mail steamer Trent in 1861. The United States government did not back up Captain Wilkes in his act of taking the Con- federate commissioners of the Brit ish vessel. In fact, nearly all diplo- mats thought, and think today, that Wilkes acted without proper authority under International law and that the Confederate and the British govern ments had a perfect right to protest. and that the United States authorie ties could do nothing else than to dis ayow the naval officers act.
 Admirers of Major Andrew 8. Ro- wan, U. s. A, who Is still living. have put in bill appropriating s5,000 for some fhyrn6riai of his famous exploit | in 1898. when he was sent by Presi- dent Mckinley to Cuba to communi- cate with General Garcia, the leader of the Cuban revolution. He made landing from an open boat near Fur quino Peak and with much difficulty | succeeded in reaching Garcia.
 Mann Is Friend of Poultry.
 Representative Mann of Illinois, who Is the leader of the Republican minority on the floor of the house, has introduced a bill to require all common carriers engaged in inter- state commerce to provide food and water for poultry in transit. and to prevent suffering from over-crowding by providing crates of sufficient size to be humane and to be open on at least three sides so that proper yenti- lation may be assured.
 Congress has acted before this on behalf of cattle In transit and now 1t is proposed to extend the humane effort to chickens. One congressman said that because chickens wore feathers 1t was supposed that they were not susceptible to cold. He added, however, that feathers, while warm. did not provide food and drink. The bill has gone to the proper com mittee and there Is fair chance of its passage.
 House "eabes" Have FroIc. At one of the Washington res taurants the other night there was frolic of the "babies" of the house of representatives. Men to the number of one hundred serving their first terms in congress gathered for a dinner at the restaurant. They formed a house of representatives Of their own and passed the time mak- ing fun of the methods of their older colleagues and the personalities or some of their own number. h the main, however. they pointed with pride" to themselves as the real statesmen and referred to members of longer service as being entirely out of date and belonging In the pigeon holes with the archives rather than on the floor of the house with the live ones"
 No party lines were drawn at this gathering Republican and Democrat ie babies had fun together. The tar 1 if came in for bit of by-play.
 Protective Duty on Cats.
 high protective duty was put on cats in order to protect the homo industry. Every feline, whether wildcat polecat or domestic cat imported into the United States or it's island possessions, 1t was decid- ed, must hereafter pay S1 head in order to be admitted to full American catizenship. AS rider to this bill catnip was placed on the free list.
 A prize was offered to the member who could make the most stirring ora tion on the American flag. Repre- sentative Littleton, was chosen as judge, but the oratorical flights of Representative Cornell of New York and Witherspoon of Mississippi were so nearly equal in grace and distance that the judge gave each the first prize.
 The senate galleries broke out into applause the other day when the name of Theodore Roosevelt was mentioned. The senate gallery has applauded at times the names Of VII. liam Jennings Bryan and of many other well-known Americans without regard to political party. but 1t must be understood that it Is against the rules of the senate to allow applause in the gallery.
 Mustn't Applaud In Senate.
 It makes no difference who 1t is that is receiving the applause, the vice-president must bring down his gavel while the noise is continuing and say with all due solemity and severity that all demonstrations of ap. proval are not allowed and that fl they do not cease the galleries will be cleared"
 This word from the vice-president has been said thousands of times in the senate and It's effect has never been visible for more than an hour at a time It is only rarely that the senators themselves laugh and 1t is only once in lifetime that they ap- plaud. The cases where senators have broken tho applause rule can be count