Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1902 — WASHINGTON GOSSIP [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON GOSSIP

( Congress Acts Adversely on An Interesting Indiana Claim. MR. HEMENWAY’S SUPPLY BILL Likely to Pass the House Before the Holidays—Mr. Quay May Talk the Statehood Bill to Death Senator Fairbanks and the Immigration Problem—Rural Free Delivery In Indiana. (Special Correspondence] - r Washington, Dec. 16.—Back of the action of the house last week in vot- ; lng down the Smithmeyer-Pelz >50,000 claim for architectural work done in connection with the library of congress is an interesting story. Thirty years ago Oliver P. Morton, then senator from Indiana, secured for a young Indianapolis architect, John L. Smithmeyer, an appointment in the office of the architect for the treasury department. Later this young man resigned his government position and opened an office of his own in Washington. Within a few years he had become one of the best-known architects in the country. When the joint committee of the house and senate having In hand the erection of a suitable structure for the library of congress,, with' Senator Voorhees of Indiana as chairman, decided to make this building the most notable in the national capital, plans were for from all the leading architects of America and Europe. Among all the designs submitted those of Mr. Smithmeyer received the of the committee, not only in the first competition, but in two or three which succeeded it. ' The splendid building which commands the enthusiastic admiration of all visitors to Washington is in large part a monument to the architectural genius of Mr. Smithmeyer. The original plans have been modified only in small part. Yet Mr. Smithmeyer's name does not appear conspicuously on < the entablature reciting the history of the structure. Brigadier General Casey was superintendent of construction and superintendent of in-' scrlption, with the result that his name stands out boldly at the top of the list, while that of Mr. Smithmeyer straggles along toward the bottom. Yet General Casey only “bossed the job” of putting into stone and marble the conception of Mr. Smithmeyer. I Mr. Smithmeyer and his partner, Mr. Pelz, lost a case brought for additional remuneration in the court of claims owing to a legal technicality of which the chairman of the committee on claims said, in presenting the Smithmeyer bill to the house, the government should not seek to take advantage. The claimants had unwittingly surrendered their legal right to the amount claimed by accepting salaries from the government, but, Chairman Graff said, the justice of their claim was admitted by all familiar with the circumstances. But it was voted down in committee of the whole.

A Warm Retort. I During the debate on this bill Champ Clark, the well-known member from Missouri, and Mr. Graff had an interesting colloquy. “Do you know any place on the face of the earth,’’ asked the Missourian, “where a man can come in and plead his own negligence as an excuse for a new trial, except in the congress of the United States in the case of a claim against the government?*’ i “That may be true,” replied Mr. Graff, "but I think it is well known that men who have the genius to design great structures, or deliver magnificent speeches, like those delivered by my friend from Missouri, seldom have any business sense.”

Mr. Hemenway’s Bill. Representative Hemenway’s plurality of nearly 4,000 in a district considered exceedingly doubtful by both congressional campaign committees, with the chances against Republican success, has not ceased to be a subject of congratulatory comment by his colleagues. Mr. Hemenway has been designated by Chairman Cannon of the appropriations committee to take charge of two of the most important appropriation bills of the session—fortifications, and legislative, executive and judicial. The tetter is one of the largest of the supply bills, and as it carries the salaries of most of the clerks and officials in the departments, it makes Mr. Hemenway an object of unusual Interest to the employes of the civil service. If Mr. Hemenway’s sub-committee were to act favorably on all the requests.ter increased compensation which come to it from year to year, the surplus would not long trouble the government Mr. Hemenway plans to have this bill adopted by the house before the holidays, and will then take up work on the fortifications bill, which is one of very great Importance to the country—especially the seaboard states. Senator Hanna Talka. To Indiana visitors Senator Hanna speaks of his triumphal trip through the state in October as one of the most pleasurable experiences of a busy life. It will be remembered that Senator Hanna referred frequently in his Indiana speeches to the work accomplished by the Civic Federation, of which he is a prominent member, in bringing capital and labor together la a mutually profitable partnership. Senator Hanna has returned from a

convention of this organization held tn New York. am glad to be able to say," says the senator, “that our’ experiences In the last year have proved to, those who are charged with the responsibilities of this work, the fact that the great masses of the American people are in sympathy with the organization and its work. It is a very Important factor in the evolutions 1 which are now taking place in this ' country. This great industrial question has come to the surface and is demanding due and careful consideration by the people of the United States. No more Important question claims their attention than this one, which seeks to bring about a better relationship between capital and labor. The object of the meetings of the federation is that thoughtful men, men of experience, can lend their advice, their efforts and their sympathy to the cause.” , No Spanish-Speaking States. As foreshadowed in this correspondence, one of the strong points made against New Mexico and Arizona by Chairman Beveridge of the committee on territories in his report is that the English, or, better, the American language, is not generally in use in these territories. It is a practical impossibility to develop a good American citizen on the Spanish language. Interpreters are necessary in the conduct of the business of many of the courts, and there is stubborn opposition in the territorial legislature to any effort to compel the use of English in the public schools. It is not expected that the senate will take final action on the statehood bill before the holidays. Senator Quay is very active in his opposition to the bill providing for the admission only of Oklahoma as a state, and would probably be ready,' as a last resort, to talk until March 4 before permitting it to go through. ( Hearing on Immigration. Senator Fairbanks was formerly chairman of the committee on immigration, and is still an influential member of that Important body. The com-' mittee has recently been holding hearings to parties interested in the bill to regulate the immigration of aliens into the United States. " Goodwin Brown, representing the New York' state lunacy commission, testified that in the course of ten years the foreign born insane in this country will cost the United States >50,000,000. Most of these persons, he says, should never j have been permitted to land, almost all coming from the pauper class. It is not deemed improbable that further restrictive immigration legislation may be had. For a long time labor organizationa were Inclined to oppose measures of this character as interfering with the standing of this country as the haven of the world's 1 oppressed. The last bard times period, however, showed the disastrous effects of a glutted labor market when employment becomes scarce, and as a measure of self-protection organized - labor everywhere throughout the coun- 1 try is urging an educational qualification for immigrants seeking entrance at ports.

Joe Cannon’s Story. “Speaker-elect Cannon,” we might also say, resembles Abraham Lincoln in other respects than that he was born in the South, was raised in Indiana, and came into political prominence in Illinois —he is able to answer a question with a story. Asked about his speakership campaign the other day, he said: “While Payne, Littlefield and Dalzell were floundering around for votes, I just went up to Chicago and did nothing. One day a Chicago scribe came to interview me. “’Young man,’ said I, ‘this is for your private ear, not for your newspaper ear. When I was a boy the circus came to the county seat, thirteen miles away. I wanted to see that circus the worst sort of way. My father had a negro hand named Eph. He wanted to see the circus, too. We scraped enough money together to pay our way in, and I had a little change' to spare for ginger snaps and peanuts. Eph carried me on his broad back a part of the way, and at last we paid the entrance fee and were under the big tent. We proceeded past several cages till we came to a big cage containing an enormous ape. There Eph stopped stock still. “ ‘ “How is you?” said the old black man, bowing before the monstrous ape. “ ‘No answer. “ * “How is you?” Eph repeated, with another profound bow, and still no answer. Then after a long pause Eph exclaimed: ** * “You’s right, ole man. Keep yo’ mout shet or dey’ll put a hoe in yo* hand and make yo* raise cotton.'* *" The - reporter considered the answer sufficient

Rural Free Delivery. A. W. Machen, superintendent of rural free delivery, has prepared a tabte showing the number of routes in operation in the United States during the fiscal year ending June SO. In all there were 8,413 routes, on which were delivered during the year 348,804.211 pieces of mall. Indiana with 654 routes stood fourth in the list of states, being led by lowa with TH, Ohio with 741, and Illinois with 706. On the Indiana routes 29,833,584 pieces of mail were delivered during ths year—a million more than in Illinois, with 52 more routes. The general average in number ot pieces per mail delivered per day throughout the country was 132, while in Indiana it was 145. Since June 30th many routes have been established in Indiana, and the number will soon approximate, 1.000. When the new appropriations become available, the development of ■ the service will go on with uapreol dented rapidity.