CONGRESS. (PROTECTION OF AMERICAN SEAMKN.) 



219 



Inhabitants. One hundred years later she will 

 liave a population one hundred times as great. 



" That which may be said of the growth and 

 'development of Ohio as a State and we all agree 

 that a good deal may be said can be said of each 

 one of the other States carved out of this North- 

 west Territory. There are five of them Ohio, 

 Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin and 

 :a part of the State of Minnesota was originally 

 included in this Northwest Territory. 



" As I say, the people of Ohio have been talk- 

 ing about this for a good many years, and last 

 winter the project took shape in an act of the 

 Legislature providing for the holding of an Ohio 

 centennial and Northwest Territory exposition in 

 the year 1902. The Legislature determined the 

 place at which it should be held. They selected 

 Toledo for a number of good reasons. One is that 

 it is located most conveniently for the people of 

 the old Northwest. Another is that it is located 

 upon the lakes, and has the best possible site for 

 the holding of a great national exposition. 



" The city of Toledo has already appropriated 

 $150,000 for the preparation of the grounds, and 

 will be obliged to appropriate $150,000 more, 

 making $300,000 for the fitting up of the grounds 

 on which to hold this centennial exposition. 



" Some of the other States, following the initia- 

 tive taken by Ohio, have appointed commissions 

 similar to that which was appointed in the State 

 of Ohio. Indiana and, I understand, Michigan 

 have appointed commissions similar to that ap- 

 pointed in Ohio, who are charged with the duty 

 of promoting the Northwest Territory Exposition 

 on the part of those States. 



" A company known as the Ohio Centennial 

 Company has been organized, with a capital of 

 $500,000, for the purpose of promoting this proj- 

 ect. Within a very few days after this company 

 was organized a few persons desired and offered 

 to take all the stock. I am informed a large 

 part of this stock has already been subscribed 

 in small amounts, for it was thought desirable 

 to have this stock subscribed for in small amounts 

 rather than in large amounts, because of the 

 greater interest which would thereby be created 

 in the centennial. This is the course which will 

 be pursued with reference to the stock which 

 remains unsubscribed, as well as to any increase 

 of the capital stock which may be made here- 

 after. Invitations already have been extended to 

 all States of the Union to take part in this ex- 

 position, and many of them have responded in 

 such a way as to lead to the belief that there is 

 not a State in the Union that will not give some 

 active support to this project. 



" It is proposed to make this exposition inter- 

 national in its character, and not confine it to 

 the United States. It will be international as 

 well as national. It is one of the most meritori- 

 ous projects which have ever been started. It 

 will be one of the greatest expositions ever given 

 in this country, not excepting that at Chicago, 

 as I verily believe. The amount asked for is a 

 very modest one, the same as that asked for in 

 the Buffalo bill." 



The following act to provide for an appropri- 

 ate celebration of the establishment of the seat 

 of government in the District of Columbia was 

 passed and approved: 



" Be it enacted, etc., The President is authorized 

 to appoint a committee from the country at large, 

 of such number as he shall think proper, to act 

 with any committees that may be appointed by 

 the two houses of Congress or either of them, 

 and with any committee that may be appointed 

 from the citizens of the District of Columbia, who 



may prepare plans for an appropriate national 

 celebration, in the year 1900, of the first session 

 of Congress in the District and the establishment 

 of the seat of Government therein. Said com- 

 mittee shall report their proceedings to the Presi- 

 dent, to be by him communicated to Congress. 



" SEC. 2. The actual expenses of the members 

 of said committee so appointed by the President 

 shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury 

 on vouchers to be approved by the Secretary of 

 the Interior. 



" SEC. 3. The sum of $10,000, or so much there- 

 of as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, 

 from any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

 appropriated, to carry into effect the second sec- 

 tion of this act." 



An act was passed also providing for a national 

 exposition of American products and manufac- 

 tures, at the city of Philadelphia, for the encour- 

 agement of the export trade. 



Protection of American Seamen. In settle- 

 ment of a long controversy Congress passed a 

 code for the regulation of the merchant marine 

 service, entitled " An Act to amend the laws re- 

 lating to American seamen, for the protection of 

 such seamen, and to promote commerce." Mr. 

 Payne, of New York, said in explanation of the 

 measure : 



" I will state that it is designed to settle in 

 some respects a controversy that has been going 

 on between the owners of vessels and seamen 

 for a number of years, and to amend the anti- 

 quated laws in reference to the government of 

 vessels and the government of sailors at sea. 

 Many bills have been introduced and many at- 

 tempts made for years by Congress to adjust these 

 differences. Three years ago we passed a bill 

 which covered all the points of this bill, and I 

 think it was a little better bill than the Senate 

 has sent us certainly in two or three particu- 

 lars but that bill failed because the Senate did 

 not consider it, although they had a year in 

 which to do so.- In this Congress we asked the 

 seamen and shipowners to go to the Senate com- 

 mittee and give them the benefit of their experi- 

 ence as they gave it to us in the last Congress, 

 and the result is this bill, which has passed the 

 Senate. 



" I am assured by some of the Senators that 

 this bill is the result of a compromise on the 

 part of the vessel owners and the seamen, and 

 that, inasmuch as they have agreed to its pro- 

 visions, we have been anxious that the bill should 

 pass the House as it came from the Senate. The 

 bill went before the Committee on Merchant Ma- 

 rine and Fisheries at the last session, and that 

 committee unanimously directed me to report the 

 bill without amendment to the House. The bill 

 does away in a great measure with what was 

 called the allotment system, which allowed the 

 sailor when he shipped to make an agreement 

 allotting or setting aside and transferring all his 

 wages for the payment of any debt which he 

 .might owe. The sailor, being an improvident 

 person, will quite likely be in debt for various 

 things which furnish no equivalent for the 

 amount of his indebtedness; so they might set 

 aside the whole of the wages for that voyage 

 by reason of the allotment system. 



" This bill does not do away with the system 

 entirely, but it does away with all allotments 

 over one month's wages. It allows an allotment 

 of one month's wages for the payment of any 

 valid debt for board or clothing which the sailor 

 may have incurred not beyond the amount of one 

 month's wages, and it is only upon such recom- 

 mendations or rules as the Secretary of the Treas- 



