'"SyyggflgrpffSiutgl'BH?! V' The Commoner. VOLUME i. NUMBER jg W k. i ( i if a- Week At Washington Representative 'Spalding of North Dakota has introduced a bii; provid ing for tho appointment of a commis sion from civil life, no member to be ongaged in the manufacture of pro tected articles, or a member of either branch of congress after March 4. It is provided that the commission should take testimony regarding tho tariff and to investigate the subject of agricul ture manufacturing, mining, and other Tho house passed tho legislative, judicial and executivo appropriation bill as soon as it came from the com mittee and adjourned thereafter. Mr. Baker of New York arraigned the department of commeice and labor in a strong speech delivered before the house, an Associated Press report of which contains the following: "The li ronn rf nnrnnrnHnns Mr. Rfllfnr RRif industries, so far as may bo necessary thafc Wa complaillt was not tliat to0 to bring about a readjustment of exist ing schedules. Tho commission will Tjg expected to inquiro particularly in to tho existence of monopolies and con sider tho tariff question from this standpoint. Another bill providing for a com mission has been iLtroduced by Rep resentative Fordney of Michigan This bill provides for the appointment of a commission of ten members of the house to report the result of its delib erations not later than tho first day of the next session. Representative Baker of New York nas introduced two resolutions direct ed at the steol rauroad pool. After re citing that fhe tariff on steel rails is imposed ostensibly for the purpose of permitting the domestic manufacturer to overcome the advantage the foreign er has by reason of lower wpges paid by him, tho resolution declares: "This despicable fraud must be stopped until members of the steel rail combination furnish conclusive proof to the secretary of the treasury that the pool is paying its men more than the foreign manufacturers are giving their employes." The Wasnington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune says Mr. Baker gives Char'es M. Schwab as authority v-rfor his declaration that the foreign '"""manufacturers are required to pay $7 moro per ton for steel raPs than it costs the American manufacturers. From this ho concludes tho tariff of $7.84 per ton is a despicable fraud. The other resolution recites that it is a notorious fact that the manufac turers of steel raib havo formed a pool. It is provided that the attorney general be requested to give his opin io as to whether or not the laws are l)oing violated by such a combination. If the attorney geneial is of this opin ion, Mr. Baker wants him to tell the house what, I anything, has been done toward bringing about criminal prosecutions, much money had been appropriated for the pay of special attorneys, special examiners and special agents, but that no use had been made of the money. There had been, he said, a demand to investigate what had come to e known as 'the trusts.' " 'What is the result? Absolutely nothing.' "He had been assured by a friend In the department that an investigation had been made of one corporation whoso books were so kept that it could not be ascertained whether that cor poration had made $109,)00,000 or $1, 000,000. It was. he said, a notorious fact that a steel rail association existed and yet he had been informed that the house judiciary committee would re port adversely on his resolution to in vestigate that association on the ground that it was a rumor. In sten torian tones he declared amid demo cratic applause that it 'was a rumor so strenuous, so terrible, that it can take the American people by the throat and exact an undue tribute of $30,000,000.' " In his annual report Secretary Mor ton suggests that merit rather than political influence, determine assign ments. An Associated Press dispatch, under date of Washington, Dec. 8, says: "The hearing by the supreme court of tho United States in the case of Swift ver sus the United States, popularly known as tho -beef trust' case, .was today passed to an unfixed futuro date, at the request of tho government. Tho qase was on the courts call for today and at tho opening of the day's ses sion Assistant Attorney Day appeared and moved that the case be passed un der the twenty-sixth rule of the court, which rule provides that upon agree ment by counsel any case may bo postponed and restored at a future time, to be agreed upon. Mr. Day stated that the purpose of tho motion was -to serve the convenience of the attorney general, who desires to par ticipate In the argument and who was not prepared at this time to proceed. He added that counsel on the other side had consented to the postpone ment. Under the arrangement the ar gument may be made at any time upoa which counsel and the court agree." Secretary Hay has recommended an increase in salary of a large number of consulates. Washington dispatches say that President Roosevelt is Conferring daily with members of both the senate and the house on the subject of tariff revision. The estimates of appropriation sub mitted for the territory of Hawaii by Governor Carter and forwarded to con gress by Secretary Shaw are as fol lows: Dredging Honolulu harbor, $250,000; refunds to territory, $175,622; federal building for Honolulu, $1,000, 000; federal building at Hilo, $1,000,-000. i f Jat5 Pres3 di0Patch, under date of Washington, Dec. 6, says "Representative Hill (Conn.), todav introduced a bill providing for tho re demption of United States treasury notes, known as silver certificates in gold coin and directing the secretary of the treasury to set apart $15U,000 000 in gold and bullion for the purpose The act makes it the duty of the sec retary of the treasury to maintain a gold reserve corresponding to not less than 35 per cent of all United States notes in circulation. For the debt in curred by the redemption of the notes the secretary of the treasury is to is sue bonds of $50 or any multiple there of,' bearing interest at 3 per cent." WMOMMMMMMMM4 Representative Hull of Iowa has in troduced a bill providing for an annual appropriation of $1,000,000 for the pro motion of rifle practice. The Chinese minister has been con ferring with Secretary Hay in regard to a treaty with China, which treaty will be considered by the senate. w r accui KFRUITBOOK 8110W8 in AT UKAL COLO. ml accurately describes 2lfl vnri .ti of fruit. Send for our terms ' f distribution. WetrantworeialMMCB. Stark Bro'.l,onslant. Ho. 0 HEALTHY TREES wwmmmmmm . An Associated Press dispatch, dated Washington, lec. 9, says: "Tho house committee on rivers and harbors de cided today to send for some of the dis trict engineers, as they desire to hear from them on the reeds of rivers and harbors in their respective districts." Major William Warner of Kansas City has declined the proffer of the of fice of commissioner of pensions. He is a candidate for United States sen ator from Missouri. Representative Lovering has pre sented three bills designed tc encour-ag- the export trade of the United States. These bills provide for an ex tension drawback system as suggested by Secretary Snaw. By a viva voce vote the amendment introduced by Mr. Hepburn of Iowa, cutting off appropriations for the civil service commission, was lost. h President Roosevelt and Postmaster General Wynne have commenced an investigatio into the rural free de livery service. This investigation win be made for the purpose of relieving rnemoer or congress of a "hold-up1 system through which it is claimed they have been "terrorizedlor years.-' Some of the postal associations are said to be organized for the purpose of compelling congressmen to raise their salaries or else drive the congressm n out of public life. In some cases it nas actually heen done. The belief is strong in administration circles that some of the postal associations exist for no other purpose than that of holding up congressmen, or at least that that 1 Hiiro of their existence is getting to bo the overshadowing one. mere is some talk to the effect that the association will have to be broken up and that the present investigation is the first step toward that end. In the house of representatives, Dec. 8, Mr. Hepburn of Jowa moved to strike out the entire appropriation for the civil service commission. He de clared that the civil service, had not improved since the days of the spoil3 system, but, on the contrary, grows less and less efficient. Itmtlhrl 1inr)ii. 4c;Iiud(Icd Cherries, 15c eachj good varieties, Concord U runes. 2 nor loot Anii it nmi tr in. cust, low price; 1000 Hub. Mulborry et. We pay frelcht. -.-.wfc ..,. uaimaiin nurssriss, doi , ratroury, HID, ""'""'"""iiOMMBBBBrOB WANTPfl 10 won In each State to travel, taclc IvHlllLU signs nnd distribute samples find cir culars or our goods. Biliary $75.00 per month, S3 per day lor expenses. KUHLMAN CO., Dept. D6 Atlas Block, Chicago. ftPIUM IWoulluy,!!.., Atlautu.Gu., 1U3 N.Iryor St nnd WhUlcey Ilnblta on rod nt ligino without pnin. Book of particulars sent Fit KB. IS. 91. An Assoc' ated Press dispatch, under date of Washington, Dec. 9, says: "That there may be- changes in the diplomatic service and possibly in the cabinet is evident from a statement made by a high official of the state department to day, replying to an inquiry, in which lie said that the president expects 4ill the members of his cabinet and all ambassadors and ministers to send in their resignations between now anti March 4 next." Alien's Lung Balsam I will positively break up a cotntfMjjastrjellefbyotl deeD. ractdntf oiner means. J Representative Norris of Nebraska introduced an amendment to tlm con stitution so as to provide for a term of eight years for the offices of president and vice president. He also recom mended that United Slates senators should be elected by a direct vote of the people. Among the bills introduced in the house was one to amend the home stead laws of Nebraska by Congress man Kinkaid. The text of his measure is as follows: "Be it enacted that per sons who, prior to the first day of No vember, 1904, made entry under the act entitled An Act to amend the hoine stead laws as to certain unappropriated and unreserved lands in Nebraska, ap proved April 23, 1904,' shall not be re quired to establish or maintain resi dence on the lands so entered by them prior to the first day of May, 1905." Judge Benjamin T. Baker of New Mexico has been summarily removed by the president. The house interstate commerce com mittee is 'Considering several hills along the lines suggested bv:rhft,mw J I dent in the-matter of railroad rebates. There is considerable talk of a spe cial session for dealing with the tar iff question. The general opinion is. however, that no special session wili be called prior to October, 1905. Senator Piatt of New York has in troduced a bill providing for the re duction of the representation of the southern states in congress. Senator Piatt says that this bill originated in the republican club of New York city. He also says that tho bill affects some northern states, particularly Massa chusetts, and that it is therefore a'non partisan measure. The bill provides that the representation of the state shall bo based on the male voting population, according to the last of ficial census. The reduqtion in the1 southern states is estimated at six teen members. . 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