Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1905 — WASHINGTON GOSSIP [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WASHINGTON GOSSIP

Finding it impossible to secure the early ratification of the Santo Domingo treaty, President Roosevelt consented to let the matter drop for the time being. The treaty will be up for consideration at the special session of Congress next fall, when another effort will be made to secure its ratification. Meantime, as a result of the inability or unwillingness of the Senators to adopt any rational and Intelligent policy, the whole case of the nation’s relations with Santo Domingo remains in a hopeless tangle. In accordance with the award made by a court of arbitration last year the United States will continue to collect the revenues of the Dominical government in liquidation of the claims of an American company, but its status there will be vague and uncertain and it will be powerless to do anything toward satisfying the claims of Santo Domingo’s European creditors. In declining to permit the President to form treaty relations with the Dominican government and take full charge of its custom houses without first’ securing the assent of the Senate, the opinion seems to prevail that the members of that body acted well within their prerogatives. However, they have failed to substitute any rational plans or outline any intelligent course of action in ■ the premises. The Senators simply have tied the President's hands and left him to muddle through the situation as best he can. The Census Bureau has issued a report on the condition of irrigation in the United States, showing 33. 115 systems, with 59,311 miles of main canals and ditches, were irrigating 9.187,077 expWJhd in constructing all th so systems was $93,320,452. The average construction cost per acre in the arid region was $9.14 and average per irrigation system $2,710. The great ohstable of development of Irrigation in Texas and New Mexico is the present treaty between Mexico and this country, which prohibits imponi.ding of waters of the Rio Grande.

The use of the tejephon ■ in this country is increasing at a marvelously rapid rate. In 1990 there were less than 1,000.000 telephone subscribers in the United States; now there are 3,000,000 or more. To provide for this growth requires the expenditure of many millions of dollars each year.- In the past twelve months the big companies have spent over $35,000,090 in extending their service, a large share of this enormous total going to carry the telephone lines to small towns and through rural districts. One Sunday recently President Roosevelt stood in the pulpit of a Washington church and made an inspiring address. On the following Sunday ex-President Cleveland was the chief speaker at a great meeting of the Young Men’s Christian Association in Philadelphia. "Good preachers, good preaching,” is the comment of a religious paper, and it is gratifying to reflect that these, our most honored 'citizens, can with propriety, because wiTh sincerity, direct our thoughts to the higher life. The final steps in the recession to the federal government of 4he Yosemite valley and the Mariposa big trees, so far as California is concerned, were taken the other day by Governor Pardee when 'he signed the bill providing for the regrant. Specially prepared pens were made from quills taken from the eagle mounted in the Assembly chamber. At the conclusion of the ceremony only one of the pons was retained by the Governor, and the other was presented to Senator Belshaw. author of the recession bill.

Secretary Wilson sets forth in his annual report that the total value of American farm products for 1904 exceeds $4,900,000,000, and calls attention to the fact that the value of our farm produce during the past two years exceeded in value the output of all the gold mines of the entire world, since the discovery of America. The farmer is unquestionably the lord of creation. He is the man to whom Wall street and La Salle street have to doff their hats. There was a sharp contest in the House over the Item of the appropriation bill which authorizes the building of two battleships. An amendment to authorize only one failed by a vote of 121 to 144.> The Senate passed the bill in the form in which it came from the House. Dr. Wiley's "poison squad" is to be placed on a diet of rich and luscious coal tar dyes. Thus the members of the squad will be rewarded for restricting themselves so long to boracic acid and other ascetic foods. In reviewing the measures, seemingly desirable, which Congress failed <to pass, It is always a comfort to remember that the enactment of an unwise law is a mistake that it takes a long while to correct; from the nature of our government machinery, some measures —practically speaking—cannot be repealed. It is hard, for example, to take away a privilege once granted, to abolish a position once created, am} to close a public institution once started.