River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-02-12
WASHINGTON LETTER
By Congressman James A. Frear

dLL0uu0u a. ITduQ ATuly DduquOI a.
which were present several hundred
veterans including Gen. Nelson Miles,
National Commander Gordon, and a
number of senators and representa-
tives. At my side sat the most fa-
nous private soldier who ever wore
the blue, Corporal Tanner, formerly
He was introduced as the man who
mad intimately known every president
from Lincoln to Wilson and he re
sponded to the toast, "The President.
Both his legs were lost in battle and
he now walks with two canes. He
expressed to me his warm friendship
for Gen Weissert of Milwaukee, who
is known to every Wisconsin G. A.
man.
Speaking of the value of money
during the war Corporal Tanner saiG
ne received BIB a month in green
backs, that were only worth thirty
eight cents on the dollar in gold.
asked him the comparative value Of
confederate money then and he re
piled that once when a southern
cracker" was trying to sell his horse
TO nortnern soldier, during the war,
$4,000 in confederate money was Of
fered which the southerner indig-
nantly rejected with the exclamation,
why hades and places, | paid $4,000
last week just to get that horse shod."
Gen. Miles gave some figures in his
talk which were interesting and ]
quote them for the information OF
those who forget that Vicksburg and
Gettysburg were won by boys. OF
the 2,.o,304 who enlisted in the
north, 104,987 were fifteen years
or under, S44,S91, were seventeen
years or under and 2,159,798 or eighty
per cent of all enlistments were
twenty-one years or under. Less thai
two per cent of the federal army were
over twenty-five years old. The boys
in blue were boys in fact. Gen. Miles
discussed Japan and also said we
could clean up Mexico in less than six
months, but we would have an eleph-
ant on our hands that we could not
give away after we got 1t.
The immigration bill passed by the
house provides for the exclusion Of
pie and requires immigrants over six
teen years of age, who have no rela
tives here, to be able to read few
words in any language of their own
selection This provision was added
because the steamship companies
have been scraping Southern Europe
with a fine tooth comb, as is shown
by the government report that out
of 1 All $50 immigrants received from
southern Italy from 1900 to 1910, fifty
four per cent were unable to read
or write. BY way of contrast, all the
immigration from northern Europe
within the same period was less than
one-third that received from south
ern Europe while the rate of litter.
acy in one northern country was onlg
four-tenths of one per cent, or about
one in every $40 persons. That is a
better rate than exists in any state
and eight times better than Wiscon-
sin, one of the best states, with a
rate of three and two-tenths per cent
according to census statistics.
Customs reports are becoming in
teresting in view of the predicted eff
feet of the new tariff law, in impOrta-
lions. During October and Novenl-
Der, 1912, it shows corn $136,363; cat
tie $1,408,201; oats $2,238; bread
stuffs covering wheat and flour $685.
405. The same importations for
November and December, 1913, under
the Underwood law, show, corn,
$1,56O,6S3 cattle $6,7O4,99O; oats ST..
6OS,7S3; wheat and flour $7,529,558.
An associated press dispatch says
that @the influx of foreign butter from
all parts of the world due to the re
duction of the tariff, has caused a
price of ten cents pound since the
first of the year" This is hard to
understand as the tariff item was
only reduced to two and one-half
cents a pound. The statement con
tinues, 100000 pounds of butter came
to New York from Australia by way
Of San Francisco and Siberia. The
dispatch also adds, THE American
demand for butter has caused rise
Of two to three cents pound in some
of the foreign markets. On the
same day these facts were presented
in the house, / walked thru the Cen
trail Market where butter was selling
at SIC and 40c a pound.
The Japan scare was discussed !:
in the House when Mann, rebub-
lican floor leader, refused to :;