The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-01-19
F AT WASHINGTON

III u rcccut SpeeCH III lHc TlouSc,
urged that his bill for the relief of
settlers in the burnt over district Of
Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Washing
ton and other western states, be given
prompt consideration as an emergen-
cy measure. While the Pray bill
is specifically designed to cover
homesteaders, yet it deals with the
entire subject of burned timber over
which the government has any con-
troll whatever. The secretary of the
interior is authorized to dispose of
all burned timber damaged by forest
fires previous to Decembr l, 1910,
under such rules as he may adopt.
The secretary is also further empow-
cred to permit the sale of fire-killed
timber on lands held by homestead
ers, the event to be paid to the
settler in proportion to the total
amount received from sales of timber
from his claim as his residence bears
to the total residence required by
law. The balance is payable when
patents are issued. congressman from
the states mentioned above are aiding
this legislation, but it has been very
difficult to convince members of the
House having no timber lands, to re-
cognize the Importance of immediate
action in order to save the value Of
the great fire-swept timber districts.
The Committee on Expenditures in
the Interior Department was before
the House asking for an appropria-
ton for a junket among the White
Earth Indians, of Minnesota, and
there was a further inference that an
other side-trip included a visit to the
Roosevelt dam in Arizona. A number
of congressman declared that the
committee was running wild, and
we're wandering afar from the scope
of the work laid out for them. Rep
re%sentative Humphrey of Washing
ton, made a sharp attack upon the
Democrats for abandoning the inyes-
tigation of the "Dick-to-Dick' episode
in which it was intimated that Pres
ident Taft was influenced by his
brother in the governments action ON
claims in the Controller bay region,
Alaska. He declared it was the COM
mittee's duty to expose these "as-
sassins of the character of public
men," Mr.. Miller, of Minnesota, de-
clared that the Investigating COM
mittee' was simply trying to hatch
up "a piratical cruise throughout the
United States" He stated that the
White Earth matter had already
proven a fizzle in the hearings given
witnesses last summer. Stevenson of
Minnesota, Greene of Iowa, Mondell
of Wyoming, and Mann of Illinois,
helped the Republicans to make the
position uncomforta' lie for the DEM
ocratic managers of the committee,
whose record so far appears to have
been devoted to looking after polit-
ical capital, without much regard to
real Investigations of expenditures.
Senator Hepburn of Idaho, attacks
the measure providing for investiga-
ton of delinquencies of children as
"pestiferous interference" and says
that the policy is one of theorists, and
intended to deprive parents of their
natural rights, to which that other
distinguished Idaho Senator, Mr.. Be-
rah, retorts: eff we have the consti-
tutional power to gather statistics
and facts with reference to diseases
Of hogs and cattle and sheep it
seems to me we have the constitu-
tional power to gather the data with
reference to diseases of children.
The constitution was not made for
hogs alone, but for men also. If we
are devoting, as we are and properly,
100000 a year to the gathering
of statistics with reference to the
treatment of diseases of cattle and
hogs, and similar matters, which in
deed is proper, it occurs to me that
we can afford $4,000 to put in the
possession of organizations caring for
dependent children such information
as will enable them to deal intelli-
gently with this question"
The correspondent of the Republi-
can was in one of the elevators in
the House of Representatives office
building a few days since, and as the
car started upwards the affairs of the
great home newspapers filled his
mind. Someone was saying: "This is
indeed a fine building never have
been in it before" Attracted by the
question and a friendly tap / looked
straight into the ayes of Andrew Car