Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1886 — WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON.

Washington dispatches indicate that there is a prospect of alien land legislation at this session of Congress.... The report of the engineers on the Hennepin Canal has been made public. Generally it is favorable to the scheme.. . .The Congressional committee appointed to attend Congressman Price’s luneral decided not to make the journey to Wisconsin, chiefly because of Mr. Price’s opposition to Congressional funeral trips. Delegate Toole of Montana appeared before the House Committee on Territories and made an argument in favor of the admission of the Territory as a State.;.. The Commissioner .of the General Land Office has recommended that proceedings be commenced to compel the removal of fences unlawfully inclosing public land in Colfax County/.New Mexico, amounting to about 105,000 acres. The Commissioner also recommends that the fences inclosing about 22,000 acres in the public land strip •south of Kansas said to have been built by the Western Cattle Company, be removed by the military. The report of the Comstock Board of Engineers on the Hennepin Canal is in the main acceptable to the friends of the project, says a Washington telegram. But there are some parts of it that do not suit them. The report presents in a very strong light the commercial importance of the canal, and shows that there are no serious difficulties in the way of its eonstruction. The board makes no estimate of its cost. Its cordial indorsement of the canal on commercial and military grounds will prove a material help to tlie friends of the canal. The board, however, leans to the Marias d'Osifer route. This is the shortest and cheapest, but much of it lies through Such low flooded lands that when Major Bonyaurd mode his survey of it three years ago in the dryest month of tho year the surveyors were unaule to pa-s over a good part of the line. Besides, there are no commercial lines at this end Of this route to make use of the canal, and the mouth of the canal w ould be in the middle of a long reach of rapids. Boats might easily go down these rapids to enter the canal at Rock Island, but they would hardly cure to go to the rapids to enter the canal at Marais d’Osier. In his report Maj. Benyaurd, without strongly deciding in favor of any of the routes, plainly gave the Rock Island route the preference for commercial reasons. The Handbury report, made a year ago. preferred the Marais d'Osier route on account of its lesser cost, but the commercial reasons for having the canal end at Rock Island were so obvious that Gen Newton, then chief of engineers, prefixed to the HAndbury report a strong argument for the Rock Island route, and Gen. Benet, who was then Actin I Secretary ot War, transmitted tho recoils with a very eiuVhaOc jndorsenicaL.QGthe Rock Island route. There is good reason to expect that Gen. Duane, the present chief xd tngineers, and Secretary Endicott will both cast their influence in favor of the Rock Island route.

It is believed in Washington that President Cleveland intends to appoint Judge Church.” of the Dakota Supreme Court. Governor of that. Territory... .M-nister Tree reports to the State Department that the government of the Independent State of Congo has contracted for a regular line of Belgian steamers between .Antydrp and the Congo. • • ' i - Rear Admiral Jovett,who has inspected the guns of the United States war vessel Dolphin, reports that they proved highly s itisfactory. Although the speed of the Dolphin was not tested, the Admiral reports that she readily made thirteen,knots, with little motion, and gives promise of going over fifteen.... The" Hennepin. Canal Committee believes tha' they will succeed in getting the Board of Engineers to change their reports in-favor of The Rock Island roi to and accept the canal from Ghic.v o to La Salle, instead cf from Chicago to Joliet, as at present.