Newspaper Page Text
MORE PAY FOR
LAWMAKERS
Solods Vote By Big Majority to In
crease Their Yearly Stipend.
SENATE DECIDED MATTER
Members oi Two Houses to Get $7,500
and Vice President, Speaker and
Cabinet Members £12,000.
A Washington special says: The
senate Wednesday passed the house
amendment to the legislative appropri
ation bill, increasing the salaries o£
the vice president, speaker, members
of the cabinet and members and sen
ators by a vote of 53 to 21. The bill
increases the salaries of senators and
members to $7,500 and of the other of
ficers mentioned to $12,000.
In the course of the debate the ven
erable Senator Pettus of Alabama paid
a frank and sincere tribute to his cob
league, Senator Morgan, as an illus
tration of the tact that a man who
entered the public service, sacrificing
liis personal business and personal in
terests and his outside pursuits to de
vote his time and talents and energy
to the government in legislative halls
deserved some recognition.
He said Senator Morgan had served
thirty years; that he had lot accumu
lated a fortune in that time, but that
the people of Alabama were proud of
him just the same and loved him
because he had not grown rich in
the United States senate. He thought
the increase asked was small enough,
in view of the $15,0U0 or $20,000 year
ly income, which Senator Morgan had
sacrificed for so many years in or
der to remain in the senate. The in
cident was a unique feature of the
day’s session.
Senator Money of Mississippi voted
for the measure and said if he had
$750,000,000 per year to disburse he
would not, as a business proposition,
give absolute power to disburse it
into the hands of men whose services
were only worth $5,000 a year.
A number of speeches for and
against the measure were made, the
principal ones being delivered by Sen
ator Berry of Arkansas, who opposed
it, and Senator Tillman, who favored
its passage.
Senator Tillman, saying that he had
just been elected to six more years
of service, would vote for the in
crease, not because he would get more
money, but because he believed it was
right. He would rather have voted for
it last year before his re-election. If
fault was found he was willing to
resign.
The vote in detail was as follows:
Yeas —Aldridh, Allee, Ankeny, Ben
son, Beveridge, Brandegee, Bulkeley,
Burnham, Burrows, Carter, Clark of
Montana, Clark of Wyoming, Clarke
of Arkansas, Crane, Cullom, Daniel,
Dick, Dillingham, Dubois, Dupont,
Flint, Foraker, Foster, Fry, Fulton,
Gallinger, Hale, Hepburn, Hopkins,
Kittredge, Knox, Latimer, Lodge,
McCumber, McEnery, Millard, Money,
Newlands, Nixon, Overman, Penrose,
Pettus, Piles, Scott, Simmons, Smoot,
Spooner, Sutherland, Tillman, Teller,
Warner and Warren. —53.
Nays Bacon, Berry, Blackburn,
Burkett, Carmack, Clapp, Clay, Cul
berson, Frazier, Hansborough, Hemen
way, LaFollette, McCreary, Mallory,
Nelson, Patterson, Perkins, Rayner,
Stone, Taliaferro and Whyte —21.
SWLTIENHaM AFFAIR IJ> CLOSED.
President Wdh>he9 His Hands of the Whole
Jamaican Rumpus.
The president has finally dismissed
the incident connected with the re
fusal by Governor Swettenham of Ja-.
maica of aid from Admiral Davis in
a letter made public at ihe state de
partment Wednesday, addressed by
Acting Secretary Bacon to British
Charge Howard.
PENSION AGtNCIiS AbOLISHtD.
Payments to War Veterans Will Be Cen
tralized at Washington.
The house Thursday voted to abol
ish all the pension agencies through
out the country, eighteen in number,
and centralize the payment of pen
sions in the city of Washington. This
action was taken on the pension ap
propriation bill after spirit opposition
on the part of those having pension
agencies in their states.
Ihe pension bill .carrying $138,000,-
000 in round numbers, was passed.
OLIVER HAS THE OPTION.
Is Finally Award id Canal Contract
Provided That He Only Secure
Two Independent Pariners.
A Washington special says; Fol
lowing a conference at the White
House Sunday night, it was officially
announced that the contract for build
ing the Panama canal would be award
ed to William J. Oliver, who, with
Anson M. Bangs, was the lowest bid
der in the recent competition, pro
vided that within the next ten days
he associates himself with at least
two independent constructors whose
skill and experience, combined with
his own, shall cover the entire field
of work to be performed under the
contract.
President Roosevelt took the posi
tion that since Mr. Oliver had met all
the requirements of the government,
it would be unjust to reject his bid
oi 6.75 per cent for the construction of
the canal, or even to require him
to submit anew bid for the con
tract.
Mr. Oliver had informed the presi
dent that it was his desire to submit
an independent bid for the work and
that when the canal commission of
ficials informed him that it would be
necessary to form a partnership with
some other financially responsible
contractor, they even went so far as
to suggest that he enter into an agree
ment with Anson M. Bangs, of New
York City.
Mr. Oliver said that after receiv
ing this suggestion from Chairman
Shonts, he visited the war department
and was informed that Mr. Bangs
would be entirely satisfactory to the
government. Mr. Oliver told the pres
ident with this assurance as to the
reliability of Mr. Bangs, he imme
diately entered into an agreement
with the New York contractor.
Powerful influences were brought to
bear on the president and Secretary
Taft to reject all bids and advertise
for new proposals, but the president
insisted that Mr. Oliver should he
given a reasonable time in which to
make a satisfactory arrangement to
substitute another contractor, or
group of contractors, to take the place
of Mr. Bangs.
At the White House conference on
Saturday night the friends of Mac-
Arthur Gillespie syndicate argued that
the contract figures should be in
creased to 9 per cent of the total
cost of construction and that the
contract be awarded to Oliver, MacAr-
Lliur and Gillespie. This suggestion,
however, did not meet with the ap
proval of the New York firm, who
insisted that they could not undertake
the work for less than 12.50 per cent
of the total cost, the figure mentioned
in their original bid. The president,
Secretary Taft and the canal commis
sion officials decided to award the
contract to Mr. Oliver, provided he
could make satisfactory arrangements
with at least two other financially re
sponsible contractors.
(Secretary Taft and R. R. Rogers,
general counsel to the canal commis
sion, were in conference with the
president for two hours Sunday night
and the whole matter was again gone
over. At the direction of the presi
dent Mr. Rogers prepared the official
statement for the press.
When informed of the statement by
the direction of the president, Mr.
Oliver’s representative said:
‘ There is absolutely no doubt about
Mr. Oliver being able to fulfill the
requirements of the canal commis
sion. There are now at least twen
ty of the most responsible contrac
tors of the United States who have
expressed a willingness to join Mr.
Oliver in the work mentioned in his
original bids. These names will be
submitted to Fresident Roosevelt at
once, with proof of their financial
ability. Before entering into another
arrangement Mr. Oliver wants to know
positively that the contractor he
chooses will be acceptable to the
government.”
HIGHLIT POSTAL KAIIS fO.i NLWSPAPtRS
Is Provided in Joint Report of Commission
at Washington.
A Washington special says: The
report of the joint postal commission
consisting of senators and represen
tatives, after a prolonged and excit
ing session, altered its original report
Id so far as daily and weekly news
papers are concerned.
The commission provided that the
postal rates on daily and weekly news
papers throughout the country shall
De increased 12 1-2 per cent.
ONLY THE BEST
OF IMMIGRANTS
Selected for Georgia By Special
Agent in the Orient.
ARE SCOTS AND SWEDES
State Immigration Society is Actively
at Work and Urgent Calls for Help
Will Soon Be Answered,
The Georgia Immigration Associa
tion, through the chairman of its exe
cutive committee, Mr. John A. Betje
man, of Albany, announces that he is
conferring with the representatives of
the principal steamship lines relative
to bringing in immediately a few hun
dred Scots and Swedes to relieve the
very urgent call tor help in some
quarters.
The result of this conference will
be given to Commissioner T. G. ud
son with a request that the state do
what is needful at this juncture, it
is hoped to have immigrants in tran
sit tor the port of Savannah within
the next three weeks. The greatest
care has been taken in giving infor
matiorf about Georgia to only such
people in Europe as will make de
sirable citizens. There is ready in
Savannah at any time a cargo of
freight for the returning vessel. Sa
vannah, it will be recalled, supplied
two-thirds of the cargo tor the re
turn trip of the “Wittekinu.” With
the heavy freights accessible to Sa
vannah, there is no port on the At
lantic coast which can provide a re
turn cargo as easily as she can. This,
in a large measure, reduces the com
mercial side of a line of immigrant
steamers to Georgia in securing the
immigrants from Europe.
Mr. Betjeman, in discussing recent
statements by prominent Georgians
and by the state press on this very
vital subject, said:
"I know of no better way to re
assure any man who doubts the wis
dom of the work outlined by the Geor
gia Immigration Association than to
state again that the work is under the
direction of eighteen of the best far
mers, lumber-men, fruit growers, man
ufacturers, mill men and professional
men in active business in the state
of Georgia today. These men have
held repeated conferences since the
nineteenth of October, and have con
sidered not only the federal and slate
laws on the subject, but have given
more time and more serious thought
than perhaps any others to the effect
on the state of Georgia of the intro
duction of new blood from Europe.
They have been investigating the
character of available people in Scot
land, in the north of Germany and
in Sweden. No man in Georgia has
his state’s welfare more at heart than
the members of this directorate whio
are giving their time and thought
to this subject from a purely patriotic)
motive. Over 30 per cent of the
tillable land in the state of Georgia
is lying idle for want of sufficient
help to cultivate it. A little calcula
tion reveals the fact that on an ex
ceedingly rough estimate the land
Owners are not only losing the in
terest on the value of 1,770,000 acres
of land which for the sake of this
calculation is estimated at fifteen dol
lars per acre, but on a Lax rate of 4
per cent are paying $265,000 in taxes,
the burden of which is being carried
by other lands. The need for help
in the homes through the cities and in
the industries is even more striking,
it being estimated that very nearly
every fifth family in the state has
room for one or more domestics, and
that nearly 25 per cent of the ma
chinery in our industries is either
lying idle or is turning out less than
one-half of its capacity because there
are not enough people to do the
work.
“It is proposed to lay the details
of our plan before the convention to
be held in Macon on February 19th
and 20th.”
NtG.tG FINALLY LOal our.
Disposed ol His Property for Much Less
I ban first Oiler.
George W. Vanderbilt has Just pur
chased for two thousand dollars six
acres of land and a log cabin from
Charles C. Collins,. colored. When
Biltmore was first established the ne
gro declined to sell to Mr. Vanderbilt
for what the latter considered a rea
sonable figure, though it is said Mr.
Vanderbilt offered him $8,500, and the
negro contended for SIO,OOO. The
property was practically surrounded
by the Biltmore estate, of which it
now becomes a part.
CHINA IN FAMINE GRIP.
Most Horr.ble State of Affairs is
Shown in Reports from American
Consular Ofiicers.
Mail reports from American consu
lar officers in China, which reached
tiie state department Monday, regard
ing the famine and resulting condi
tions, still further confirm the stories
of suffering and hardsnip among the
poor in file districts affected. In fact,
Consul Haynes, at Nanking, says that
the famine -is ten times worse than
anything known in that part of the
empire for forty years.
The government Is trying to help
the starving people to keep tlieir cat
tle, and to tiiis end is taking their
exen and buffaloes in pawn for two
taels each.
Consul General Rodgers, at Shang
hai says an inquiry which he has
made through entirely private sources
gives the general conclusion that the
famine by March 1, will be regarded
as severe, and perhaps more so than
that of 1878, by which it is thougnt
10,000,000 lives were lost.
The report of iVlr. Rodgers is ac
companied by a statement by Dr.
Henry M. WTcods of the Southern
Presbyterian Mission at Hwai-An-Fu,
who estimates that 10,000,000 people
are aflected by the famine, 1,000,000
of wnom are starving. He says there
are at present more titan 500,000 ref
ugees at Tsiug-Kiang-Pu, huddled in
mat sheds, and that the pitiful sight
is daily witnessed of parents offer
ing their children for sale at from
$2 to $4 each. Brigandage and rob
bery, be adds, are everywhere rife.
Money Wanted for Sufferers.
Consul General Rodgers cabled the
state department under Monday’s date
relative ot the Chinese famine as fol
low’s; “Strongly advise that money
contributions be sent instead of food
at present. Provision can be purchas
ed at Shanghai a.t favorable prict's.
Time saved is a great object.”
SOWH SLBJfcr 01 A lIKADE
At a Meeting of the Congregational Club in
I osi on limn
The Congregational Club, at Its an
nual meeting in Boston Monday night,
listened to a discussion of the
“Church and National Perils,” by
Professor Bushnell Hart of Harvard
University; Professor Kelly Miller of
Howard University, Washington, D.
C., and Rev. W. J. Cooper of New
York, secretary of the American Mis
sionary Association. All the speakers
dealt with the negro question in the
south and the recent speech of Sen
ator Tillman was referred to fre
quently. Professor Miller, speaking on
the topic “Race Conditions in the
South,” said in part:
“The adjustment of the advanced
and backward races of mankind is
the greatest problem of the twentieth
century. They tell us that the negro
is a menace to white man’s civiliza
tion. In this new propaganda of race
enmity and hate, Benjamin Tillman is
the chief priest, with a trinity of
Thomases as his literary evangelists,
Thomas Nelson Page, Thomas Wat
son and Thomas Dixon, Jr.
Professor Miller denied that the
members of the nogio race had band
ed together to protect one another
in the commission of crime against
the white race, but, on the other
hand, lie claimed that negroes by
thousands have been lynched and
murdered by banded assassins, who
have stood together oathbound to pro
tect one another in crime, and against
a helpless race.
CONVICT KIJjHtU 10 LtVIE.
-quad is Hurried by Governor Vardanian
to a threatened Point.
Governor Vardama n was requested
Monday to send a squad of convicts
below Greenville, Miss., where there
is a threaten/.'d break in the levee.
He directed Superintendent IJeelund
to hurry firty convicts to the scene
at once and take a? many more as
might be necessary.
MONTHLY CO I TOM (.INNING KEPORT.
Number of (Tales Turned Out to January
16, Totaled 12,167,873
At Washington Wednesday the cen
sus report was issued, which shows
that 12,167,873 bales of cotton, count
ing round bales as half bales, have
been ginned from the growth of 1906
to January 16, 1907.
The number of active ginneries this
year is 218,525.
The sea island cotton ginned tc
January 16, 1907, distributed by states,
was: Florida 23,666 bales, Georgia 24,-
775 and South Carolina 7,701.
GEORGIA LAW
“DEAD LETTER”
Declares Beveridge in a Senate
Address on Child Labor Bill.
ENFORCEMENT IMPOSSIBLE
Bold Assertion ot iniianian Brought
Forth Challenging Protest lrom
Bacon, Carmack and Tillman.
“Th.e child labor law oi Georgia i
a dead letter. There is no system
of mill inspection provided, and no
means of enforcing it,” said Senator
Beveridge, in bis discussion of child
labor in the senate Monday. When ho
began to pay attention to condition*
in Georgia and other southern states,
the southern senators began, to bo
heard lrom. Among them were Sena
tors Bacon of Georgia, Carmack ot
Tennessee and Tillman of South Car
olina.
Senator Bacon asked that the child
labor act, passed by the Georgia leg
islature, be admitted in the pubiisned
report of Senator Beveridges speech.
In connection with his remarks dealing
with Georgia. This the senator trom
Indiana declined to allow done, and
the senator from Georgia gave notice
that, at the conclusion of Senator Bev
erdige's remarks, he would ask tile at
tention of the senate long enough to
call attention to the Georgia child la
bor act approved August i, IHCo, in
order that it might go in the record
immediately following the Beveridge
address.
Senator Beveridge declared that
since this law went into effect, on
January 1, forbidding children be
tween 10 and 12 years of age being
employed in mills, unless they were
orphans or children of indigent pa
rents, more than 3,000 applications for
permission to work children in the
mills of Fulton county had been re
ceived by Ordinary John R. Wilkin
son of that county.
“How many have been granted?”
asked Mr. Bacon.
“All of them.”
Mr. Bacon then explained that the
law prohibited children under twelve
years of age from working after Jan
uary 1, 1907.
’ Yes,” responded Mr. Beveridge,
“but there is not an inspector In
the state, and no means of enforcing
that provision. What good is a meas
ure of that kind?”
Senator Bacon had made the point
that the specific instances cited by
Senator Beveridge were isolated cases,
and not indicative of conditions gen
erally prevailing. In reply the advo
cate of a national child labor law bill
said that the filing of applications af
fecting 3,000 children in one county,
was not evidence sustaining the
scarcity claims of such cases.
Senator Bacon made clear the point
that he was heartily in favor of rea
sonable regulation of child labor, and
said that his objection to the Bever
idge national child labor law was
based upon the ground that it con
llicted with state authority.
§o far as the evils of child labor
were concerned, Senator Bacon ad
mitted that there was probably a great
deal of force in the arguments pre
sented, but that Georgia was in the
way to correct it, and that condi
tions would improve since the pass
age of the state child labor lav/. He
thought state legislative action the
only way to deal with the question.
Mr. Beveridge stated that Ihree
fourths of the cotton factories of the
south were opposing the bill; that the
railroads of the south were opposing
it, and that, the coal mine operator®
of the south were opposing it. He
presented an illustrative map siiowing
toe location of the opposing indus
tries, and said that in anticipation of
this weighty opposition he should de
mote the major portion of his speech
to setting forth evidence of the de
plorable conditions he had pictured.
I his evidence, he said, was all sworn
to and in the form of affidavits.
MORGAN W LL AJBIBI Oit.AR.
Selection ol Captain Joe Wheeler is Re*
called lor Unknown Hensons.
Notice has been given by the war
department at Washington that Cap
tain J. N. Morgan of the twelfth cav
alry, United States army, stationed at
Fort Oglethorpe, has been assigned
to assist Inspector General W. G.
Obear in the inspection of the Georgia
otate rational guard. Orders were
promulgated some days ago saying
that Capt. Jos. Wheeler, U. S. A.
would be assigned. No reason is given
for the change.