Mexican Government had given a concession for an ordinary railroad line across this narrowest portion of the republic (the distance is less than two hundred miles), but it fell finally to the Mexi can Government itself to build the road as a national enterprise. It was begun in this way some twenty years ago, and opened for traffic nearly ten years ago, the track being 190 miles long. The harbors, however, at either end needed large development before the road could be made profitable, and the Mexican Government found itself operating the line at a loss. Enterprise. At length, in 1897, it leased the road An English for a period of fifty years to the wellknown firm of Pearsons & Son (Limited), of London, on the agreement of this firm to make deep harbors and provide every facility for the handling of freight at both ends of the line. The firm has been carrying out this contract substantially and well. The great port works, which will maintain a depth of thirty or forty feet of water, will be, it is said, finally completed in the present year. The distances between our Atlantic and Pacific coasts will be about 1,200 miles shorter by the Tehuantepec route than by way of Nicaragua, and 2,000 miles shorter than by way of Panama. Mexican Government has stipulated for a materially less freight cost by way of Tehuantepec than the present charges of the Panama Railroad. The Messrs. Pearsons propose to operate extensive steamship lines in connection with this railroad, and it would seem that our California shippers ought to consider this new route, as promising not only a favorable and comparative. ly quick new means of transit, but also as probably furnishing an important regulator of freight rates. As a Rate Regulator. The It is stated that the rates per ton now guaranteed by the Tehuantepec line will be about $6.50 from the Gulf of Mexico to San Francisco. It is said that the Pearsons have rebuilt the railroad very substantially, and are equipping it with facilities for the most effective and rapid transfer of freight. The Pacific coast people have looked forward to the construction of an interoceanic canal, not so much for its actual use as for its potential value as a regulator of transcontinental railroad freight rates. But it is not unlikely that, with the fixed agreements existing between the new Tehuantepec line and the Mexican Government regarding rates, it may be found feasible to use this new route very effectively as an argument for the most favorable possible treatment of the Pacific slope by the existing American transcontinental railway lines, thus diminishing, to some extent, at least, the urgency of the proposed transoceanic canal, and allowing some further time for a wise solution of the many puzzling questions which have thrown the whole canal situation into a state of bewilderment and confusion. Congress As After a holiday adjournment of about After the Holi- two weeks, Congress resumed busiday Recess. ness on January 5. The approved methods of doing business in the House of Representatives have made that body businesslike and effective, that is to say, there is no longer any obstruction used, and the Speaker, aided by the Committee on Rules, is in a position to arrange a programme, see that each subject is brought to a final vote after an agreed period of debate, and assure to a working majority as swift a disposal of business as is desirable in a parliamentary body. The Senate, on the other hand, is without businesslike rules, and a single persistent member may seriously obstruct, or for a considerable time wholly block, the course of business. The arch filibuster of the Senate is Mr. Quay, of Pennsylvania. against the preferences of the great majority of his Republican associates, he has determined to bring his pet measure, the omnibus Statehood bill, to a vote at the present session. The Republican programme, as preferred by most of the Senate leaders, would have postponed the Statehood issue to a future Congress, and would have devoted the present session to measures upon which the country expects action from a Republican administration and Congress. It was regarded last month as practically certain that Mr. Beveridge and his committee had secured the defeat of the omnibus bill in its present form. Thus, it is no longer likely that Oklahoma can be made a State until a plan has been arranged under which there will be brought about a reunion of the whole region formerly known as the Indian Territory. There was current, also, some talk of the admission of New Mexico and Arizona as one State. This may be desirable a few years hence, but no such action ought to be taken by the present Congress. Meanwhile, the Statehood question had last month stood in the way of the disposal of other matters in the Senate. Oxnard, who represents sugar interests at Washington, having been compelled finally to give up his fight against the decent treatment of Cuba, was transferring his energies to the prevention of the sort of tariff concessions for the Philippine Islands that the President, the Secretary of War, the Philippine Commission, and the Philippine Congressional committees were trying to secure. And Mr. Oxnard was said to have adopted the method of defeating Philippine legislation not by directly fighting it but by encouraging the deadlock on the Statehood question and a general time-wasting Senatorial confusion. It is to be noted that the Philippines The Philippine are just now passing through the Situation. throes of a situation much more distressing than that in which Cuba found herself a year ago. It was almost inevitable that there should be an economic reaction before the permanently brighter skies should dawn. The business life of the Philippines was not highly developed, and it was of a kind which was especially likely to be disturbed by changes so profound as those that have taken place. The great fall in the price of silver, which has been so paralyzing to the trade of all countries using that metal as the standard of value, has affected the Philippines with especial severity. It is incumbent upon Congress at this session to give the Philippines a proper currency system. Furthermore, the agricultural life of the islands,—and there is little industry except agriculture in the Philippines, has suffered an almost incalculable loss by reason of an animal disease which has swept away 90 per cent. of the carabaos. It has been commonly learned by this time in America that the carabao, an animal of the water-buffalo type, is well-nigh the universal beast of burden in the Philippines. Furthermore, there has been great distress throughout the Philippines from an epidemic of cholera, which, according to Governor Taft's annual report to the Secretary of War, made public early last month, has swept through the entire archipelago, depopulating whole villages. The lief. Secretary Root is of opinion that the need in the Philippines is greater than it was in Cuba when Congress appropriated $3,000,000 for the payment of Cuban soldiers, and greater than it was in Porto Rico when the national treasury and private beneficence supplied nearly $2,000,000 after the hurricane of August, 1899. President particularly urged upon Congress the enactment of the several important measures pending for the benefit of the Philippines, among these being one which would admit Philippine products at one-fourth of the regular Dingley tariff rates, another the bill for a proper monetary system, and a third the constabulary measure, which has been already described in this magazine. It is in no manner to our discredit that the Philippines are in a state of affliction. On the contrary, it is extremely fortunate for the islands that they are able to look to the most humane and enlightened government in the world for sympathy and help in this unhappy plight of theirs. One by one the problems of the Philippines are being solved, and favorable results are bound to become manifest in the near future. Established. Industrial disturbance and stagnaCivic Order tion generally promote brigandage and disorder of a kind that would naturally tend to mask itself in semi-military and revolutionary guise. It is, therefore, a remarkable tribute to the thoroughness of the pacification already accomplished that Governor Taft in this last report should be able to declare that, although there has been the expected outbreak of ladronism, the existing constabulary has been able to stamp it out without any aid whatsoever from the military. Thus, Governor Taft declares that "since the Fourth of July last not a single shot has been fired by an American soldier in the preservation of peace and order, and no request has yet been made to the commanding general for assistance in suppressing lawless violence and disturbance." Before matters grow permanently better, they may be temporarily worse; but, meanwhile, it is gratifying that civil order has made such progress. in the Philippines, owing to the conditions of distress existing there and the great confidence in which he is held by the natives of all classes. A remarkable demonstration, participated in by members of all political and religious groups, was made at Manila on January 11 in order to show Governor Taft how strongly the Filipinos desire that he should remain. That any American whatsoever could thus soon have gained so completely the trust and esteem of the Filipinos is a very encouraging fact; and Governor Taft, on his part, has shown his nobility and patriotism in concluding to stay at his post for the present. Gen. Leonard Wood, meanwhile, is to go to the Philippines on military service, and may have charge of the Mindanao department. The present commanding general of the Philippines division is Maj. Gen. George W. Davis, who reaches the retiring age next summer. If the well-ad vised bills for the benefit of the Philippines that have been pending should become laws at the present session, together with the Cuban reciprocity scheme, the expiring Fifty-seventh Congress would have accomplished some good work toward the fulfillment of the duties developing upon us in consequence of the war with Spain. Free List. There are some other matters of conCoal on the siderable importance upon which action, taken last month, before these pages were closed for the press, made it wholly or virtually certain that credit would accrue to the record of the expiring Fifty-seventh Congress. One of these was a measure which placed anthracite coal on the free list, and suspended all duties on bituminous coal for the period of one year. There was a fuel shortage in many parts of the United States last month, with high prices for coal prevailing; and the prospect of relief was not encouraging. At this juncture, after conference with President Roosevelt, it was decided by the leaders in Congress to suspend the coal tariff practically without debate and as an emergency measure. The bill was reported in the House on January 14 under a special rule calling for immediate consideration, debate was limited to one hour, and the vote, when taken, stood 258 to 5. The bill was then taken to the Senate chamber, where Senator Aldrich secured its reference to the Finance Committee, of which he is chairman, consulted with Senator Vest, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, reported at once, and secured a unanimous vote, all within nine minutes after the bill had been received from the other house. The measure was signed on the following day by President Roosevelt. The Dingley tariff rate on bituminous coal is sixty-seven cents a ton. The duty on anthracite coal had been imposed by virtue of a mere construction having to do with the definition of anthracite. That construction is not henceforth legal. Large quantities of British coal have been coming to the United States for several months past, and it remains to be seen to what extent the removal of the tariff may assist in giving our people cheaper and more abundant fuel. It is not to be supposed that the effect will be very marked. A mild sensation was caused by a resolution offered by Mr. Jenkins, of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, at about the same time. He proposed that his own committee should be instructed to report at once upon the power of Congress to "declare that a necessity has arisen for taking possession of all coal, coal beds, and coal mines in the United States, and all lines of transportation, agencies, instruments, and vehi cles of commerce necessary for the transportation of coal." It is to be presumed that Mr. Jenkins thought it a favorable time to inquire into the extent of the power reposed in the national government to meet the fuel emergency if it should assume an extreme form. SENATOR NELSON W. ALDRICH, OF RHODE ISLAND. (A leader whose influence was felt decisively last month in many legislative matters.) agitation. It is likely, however, that in the next Congress action in this instance may be used as a precedent to help in revising the Dingley tariff by the separate adoption, from time to time, of other specific changes. There was a sharp and significant debate last month in the Senate, chiefly between Senator Aldrich and Senator Dolliver, of Iowa, on the relation of the Dingley rates to the reciprocity policy. Mr. Dolliver affirmed, and Mr. Aldrich denied, that the Dingley rates were made unduly high with particular reference to their being extensively reduced in practice through the adoption of reciprocity arrangements with various countries. Mr. Dolliver strongly advocated the ratification of the long series of reciprocity treaties,-negotiated under President McKinley's auspices but disapproved and neglected by the Republican leaders of the Senate. Among business men and others of broad ideas there is a steadily growing sentiment in favor of reciprocity with Canada, this, after all, being far more important than reciprocal trade relations with any other country. that there was, up to the middle of January, a considerable prospect that the Fifty-eighth Congress would be called to meet in extra session early in the spring to take up certain matters that had been left undone by its predecessor. To be specific, it had begun to seem probable that no trust legislation could be enacted at this session. Thereupon, President Roosevelt informed the leaders in both houses that an extra session might be expected, unless some measure looking toward the better control of trusts were now agreed upon and passed. This seemed to have the desired effect. Among other things, the leaders in the House agreed to take up the bill establishing the proposed new Department of Commerce and Labor, which was to contain a bureau of manufactures and corporations. The New The Senate had passed a bill provid Commerce ing for the new department at the Department. last session. The House measure of last month was different in various respects; but doubtless an acceptable blending of the two bills can be made in conference committee. A very important amendment adopted by the House was one authorizing the President to transfer the Interstate Commerce Commission to the new department, which, in the phraseology adopted by the House, is to be a "Department of Commerce and Labor," inasmuch as the notable bureau at the head of which Col. Carroll D. Wright has long rendered inestimable service is to be assigned to this new executive domain. It would, SEMATOR DOLLIVER RECIPROCITY TARIFF DOLLIVER AS THE IOWA WILLIAM TELL. From the Journal (Minneapolis). however, be premature to describe the scope of the department until the differing Senate and House bills have been reconciled and the measure has become a law. It is enough to say that in the opinion of the President and of many others interested in the general subject, the bureau of corporations to be established as a part of this new department is destined to have a most vital relation to the future oversight and control of great trusts and corporations by the federal government. It is this bureau that will be the medium of that "publicity" to which the President has attached so much importance as a means for lessening many of the evils of corporate methods. Further Even to have created this bureau Anti-Trust might have been regarded as a subLegislation. stantial step in the right direction, while to have secured the transfer of the Interstate Commerce Commission to a subordinate place in a responsible executive department would, in some respects, seem to count still more importantly for a better protection of the country against the discriminations and abuses of the great railroad corporations. But something more positive than this was desired and expected by President Roosevelt. It was evident that the lower house was prepared to legis. late with some vigor on the question of trusts, but it was almost equally evident that the Senate was hardly disposed to act at all in the present session. Mr. Littlefield's sub-committee in the House was proceeding with great zeal, but the prospect of action in the Senate was diminished by the character of the bill which Mr. Hoar introduced as his own personal measure. Mr. Hoar, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was naturally in a position to give exceptional prominence to his own views. His bill and the speech in which he supported it were interesting contributions to the discussion of the trust question, but he was attempting a programme of legislation more broad and extended than could be dealt with under existing circumstances, and his measure was laid aside. HON. JOHN DALZELL, OF PENNSYLVANIA. (A Republican leader in the House and member of the Committee on Rules, which accomplished great results last month.) merce Act. His chief proposals with respect to trusts and corporations were, first, for the establishment of a commission or bureau which should have authority to require reports from all corporations doing an interstate business and should have unlimited power of investigation. Further proposals had to do with methods of discrimination, whether practised by the transportation companies or by other great corporations. Thus, it is to be made as much a penal offense to receive rebates and kindred favors as to give them; and Mr. Knox would not only apply this principle against the practice of granting special favors on the part of railroad companies to large shippers, but he would also apply it to industrial concerns which vary their prices in different localities for the sake of breaking down local competitors. That the House of Representatives would pass a measure based largely upon Mr. Knox's views was made certain by the consent of the Speaker, the Committee on Rules, and the particular committee having the subject in charge. That the Senate would also act favorably upon a moderate measure of that sort also seemed highly probable after a conference between the President and a group of leading Senators on January 16. With the new Department of Commerce and its bureau of corporations supported by a measure giving |