The Alaska citizen., 1913-12-22

| graph and cable system to the iuri~- ttctton of inc postofffcc dcrartmrnt
 as agreed upon several months ago. ] Congress will he asked to consent 1t | the change and to make the necessary 1 provision for the transfer
 Senator Gilbert NJ Hitchcock of Ne 1 hraska was treated to another defeat l in the upper house of congress today
 when he attempted to amend the cur
 rency bill hy fixing the salaries of | the members of the reserve board at | S12.o07 per annHm The amendment
 was voted down by substantial
 majority
 Referring tn request which had
 been received by the navy depart ment relative to the christening of | hatticships. Secretary Daniels stated to-
 to prevent the use of champarn" on | such occasions II" stated further | rolIcagucs that he had no intention of accepting nomination for thr 1 presidency three years hence The 1 declaration was made in reply to a request that he accept the leadership
 of the party. with the understandin., | that he would accept the nomination ] at the proper time. Senator Root stated that he had no desire to dwell
 in the White House. hut he promised
 to give literally of his time and mon ey to assist in the reorganization of i the eparty.
 | The name of senator Root was 1 prominently mentioned as a desirable
 candidate hy Andrew Carnegie several | days ago. and the suggestion met with | immediate favor among party leadets | that he did not feel called upon to | attempt to ahroeatc custom which 1 is as old as the navy itself | WASHiNGToN, D. C, Dec IT, ! In the opinion of those who watched | the debate on the Alaska railroad bill l there is every reason to believe that
 the measure will be approved by the 1 lower house before the end of January
 The preliminary skirmish which took l place in the house today showed that
 there is q strong sentiment in favor
 of the bill, and very little opposition | to it, Fifteen requests to debate the 1 question have been made by friends of | the measure, and thus far only six
 members have manifested a desire to oppose the passage, This Is regarded | as most ehcouraging sign | Representative William c. Houston, 1 of Tennesse, chairman of the house l committee on territories. opened the
 debate on the bill. which was taken l up for discussion under the regular order of business. The speaker ex-
 tolled the great development which would follow the construction of ], 1 government railroad in the Northern l territory. He expressed the belief
 that, with q trunkline connecting Fair | banks With the coast, private capital
 would build the necessary feeders to
 the districts on either side tu the main
 road
 Representative Joseph w. Fordncy, 1 Republican. of Michigan. opened the
 debate for the opposition, He declar-
 ed himself opposed to the principle of 1 government construction and owner | ship of railroads. but said that he
 would gladly lend his support to a
 bill providing federal aid only
 Representative Irvine l. Lenroot, of l Wisconsin. another Republican. took l the same view of the question. He
 said. in addition, that he agreed with i Delegate Wickcrsham and John Bal laine with +Saard to the Alaska syn
 dicate, which, he declared, controlled
 the transportation situation in the
 North and prevented promoters from | securing capital for railroad enter prises
 At the opening of the debate, Re l presentatiye Houston tried to secure l consent for ten hours continuous i discussion of the bill, with the under | standing that vote would he taken
 at the end of the debate, but he was | unsuccessful The bill is already down | on the Calen lar fer debate every Wed | nesday, and his colleagues refused to | hasten the conclusion of it's cnnsidera-
 tion. The indications are. however, 1 that the bill will reach vote on the | second "Wednesday in January, as it is | believed the debate will be concluded | 'ery soon after congress reasSemhles
 after the holiday recess
 Among those who are working for
 house are Representatives Falconer i Humphrey and Johnson, of Washing
 ton. In the senate, Senator LaFol-
 lctte, of Wisconsin. is supporting the 1 measure.
 | " "-tSf1lNtT oN, l). t-, Dec. lS.- | There is the probability that the long | winded debate on the currency reform i bill will come to an end tomorrow in | the senate A tentative agreement has | been reached by Democratic and Re publican upper house leaders for a | vote on the pending measure, and a determined effort is to be made to | dispose of the question without furth- | CT delay.
 | Democratic senators express the be-
 lief that the bill will pass by sub | stantial majority
 i The Alaska railroad bill was the | principal business before the lower house of congress yesterday after noon. practically all of the afternoon session being occupied with debate on | the question. Delegate Wckersham was the chief speaker. ample oppor- | tunity being given him to explain the | measure and to inform the members regarding the need of a trunkline rail road from the coast of Alaska to the Interior
 No serious opposition developed dur ing the discussion.
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