The Nevada County picayune., 1918-08-08
1 this means large. fat fee for the at- tcra .-. .I.,ir

tpihty UT Cluin uStnl-
 Congressman Harold Knutson of Minnesota reud q letter in the house showing that certain attorneys had been In correspondence with one of his constituents in regard to the back pay of soldier who died in France Tho amount was $200, not very large, but the Washington attorneys wanted to get a rake-off of 20 per cent, which would mean that the relatives of the soldier would receive $160 instead of S200, and these attorneys would get $40 for services of no account what ever. as In due course of time the pay ment would be made to the estate of the soldier. to his next of kin, or who ever was designated as the person to whom 1t should be paid. Congress- man McClintic of Oklahoma also pre- sented letters showing that the same sort of n game was attempted upon soldiers from his state.
 It is not likely that the exposures of knutson and McClintic will have the effect of preventing victims from be- ing held up by attorneys and claim agents, but 1t may result in deterring many people from becoming dupes of these leeches In Washington who would pick the bones of dead soldier and de- prive his relatives of their just due in order to fatten their own pockets.
 With perfect confidence the treasury department is making arrangements for the fourth Liberty loan and no doubt Is expressed about putting this over with the same success that has attended every other loan thus far. It is believed that the people have been getting the habit" of doing whatever Is necessary to make the war sue cess. Money Is one of the chief req uistes. and while we may have moro than a million men in France now, with possibly 100000 year from now. 1t Is absolutely necessary to pay their expenses and see that they are sup piled with everything necessary to beat back the German army. That the fourth Liberty loan is going to be success there cannot be the slightest doubt.
 When John J. Fitzgerald was chair man of the committee on appropria- tions at the time the United States en- tered the war he rather startled the country with the statement that the war would cost the United States S25,- OOO,000,000 year. Many scoffed at the idea, but 1t was only the other day that Senator Shoot. who Is an authority on all kinds of figures, told the senate that for the first year of the war we had appropriated $24,OOO, ,OOO.- 900. Fitzgerald was in Washington a short time ago and referred to his pre- diction and the comments that 1t caus- ed. "I observe that I was not very far wrong," said the New Yorker, "and if the war goes on we will find that the average cost will be around the figure gave. But we are a rich country and can find the money"
 There Is possibility of water power legislation. judging from the discussion that took place in the house before the adjournment, al- though the adjournment has tended to postpone action on the bill. But 1t does seem as if the special committee on water power had prepared meas ure which might get through. At all events less opposition was manifested to 1t than to any other such bill that mas ever been presented. This was noticeable in the discussion of the measure by Western men. AS a gen. eral thing In the case of representa- tives of states where there are vast forest reserves, Indian reservations and other large bodies of land with held from development and settlement, there is nearly always strong opposi- tion 10 any water-power legislation satisfactory to the representatives of Eastern states. Western men as a general rule claim that the resources of a state. even If they are on public lands, are to large extent state prop erty and ought to be handled and de- veloped independently of the national government But the large majority of members of the house have never acqulesced in that view,
 At present there Is considerable doubt as to what will happen when the bill reaches the senate. The bill now pending in the house Is substi- tute for one which passed the senate and was agreed to with some reluc- tance on the part of Western senators. and the changes which have been made may make 1t obnoxious to them | to such an extent as to cause them to use all possible efforts to defeat it. l The condition in the senate possibly will make water-power legislation doubtful at this session.
 In the senate one day during the consideration of various bills on tne calendar the body received a rude shock when the clerk read the title