OCR Text |
Show WEEK IN CONGRESS. December 7. House Representative Kahn of San Fran-risco. Fran-risco. who represents, the district in which Chinatown is located, introduced a Chinese ex" rlusion bill. ' Representative Hepburn introduced the isthmian isth-mian canal bill which passed the house last session, but was not acted upon in the senate. It calls for an appropriation ot Slf0,000,000 810,000,000 of which is to be made immediately-available. immediately-available. Gardner, of New Jersey, introduced a resolution resolu-tion authorizing the state department to purchase pur-chase the Danish West Indies for 14.000,000. A bill providing a pension of $5,000 a year for Mrs. McKinley was introduced by Representative Representa-tive Tayler. House adjourned until iuesday. Senate The senate heltl an executive session ses-sion on the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, and other executive matters. Senate adjourned to Tuesday. Tues-day. December 10. House Speaker Henderson announced all the house committees, which is not usually done until after the holidays. It is thought this will facilitate legislation. A resolution to adjourn from the 19th to January Jan-uary 6 was adopted, and the ways and means committee authorized to sit during adjournment. adjourn-ment. . Mr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, delivered an address, ad-dress, contending that the constitution con- ' tained two grants of power authorizing congress to govern according to its discretion territory such as the Philippines. The house adjourned to Friday. Senate Senator Lodge addressed the senate at length on the Hay-Pauncefote treaty. He contended that the new treaty does away with all the objectionable features of the treaty of the last congress, and enumerated the particulars particu-lars in which the revised agreement conforms to the action of the senate in the last congress when the old treaty was befoie it. Heanaljzed the new treaty from beginning to end, showing that in specific terms it abrogates the Clayton-Bulwer Clayton-Bulwer treaty of 1850, which, he said, had stood constantly In the way of the construction of an isthmian canal. The abrogation of this treaty, he contended, was a most important achievement, achieve-ment, and he did not believe the United States should or would lose an opportunity to make secure that concession . Senator Lodge also called attention to the omission in paragraph 1 of article 3 of the words "in time of war as in time of peace." He said that in the old treaty the paragraph read tha the canal shall be free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to the vessels of commerce and of war of all nations on terms of entire equality," etc. He urged that the omission of this phrase had the effect practically of leaving the United States to do with the canal in time of war according to its own pleasure. He also referred to the fact that rule 7 in the treaty of the powers regulating the control of the Suez canal, which had been embodied in the original Hay-Pauncefote treaty, had been omitted in the revised draft. Be Quoted this rule, which provided, -no fortifications shall be erected commanding the canal or the waters adjacent." etc. This, he said, was a material concession to the United State and was quite sufficient to meet the objections made against the agree- ment. that the United states would have nq power to protect its property. It practicallji left the United Stales free to fortify the canal in ease it should be considered desirable to do so and was in line with the ommissios of the restriction kctping the canal open in time of war. Tbe fact that the invitation contained in the old treaty to the various powers to give their adherence to the agreement had been eliminated from tho new convention, he said, was another compliance with the action of the senate on the original treaty. Dei-ember 1 1. Senate Senator Mors.-. introduced a bill providing for tho construction of the Nicara-guan Nicara-guan canal. The bill provides an aggregate of 1180,0 0,100, of which $;,u, ,,xx is made immediately immedi-ately available an.! of which aggregate sum such am.iunts as are necessary are to be appropriated appropri-ated by OLgre.ss from time to time. The control con-trol of the canal and ot the e;:nal belt is vested in a board of eight citizens of the United States in addition to the secretary of war. who is to be president. These members of the board are to be paid a salary of &-000 a year each, and they are to be chosen reg: rJless of political affiliation. affilia-tion. The chief engineer is to receive a salary of $6,000 and his assistants SS.uuO. |