Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-09-12
WARRINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

/
BIDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF rHK P.crr1c
iELEeRAPH.-As We have already stated, the Sec
re'ary OF the Treasury yesterday opened the bids
ior the construction and use by Government of
telegraph line to the Pacific The proposal of
hiram sioley, representing the Western Union
Line, was In accordance with the ninimuua sum
IN the act Of Congress, namely: $40 COO per anntm
ana 50 FOR single dispatch of ten words, with
The usual proportionate deduction upon dispatches
OF greater length. Theodore Adams, of Harris
burg, Pa, bid $40 900 per annum for ten years
Orville Clarke, of Sandy HILL N. Y, and J. Har-
mon, Detroit bid s25 600 per annum for ten
years. B. F. Ficklin, Of ST. Joseph, Mo makes
three bids. The first SIS .OCO per annum for ten
years. The second $4,000 per annum, and to
transmit all Government dispatches at 81 50 for
the first ten words, with the usual deduction for
those Of greater length The third $40 900 Der
| annum, accompanied with proposition to run
pony express after the first five hundred miles of
the line is finished, at the usual telegraph rates
| until the line is completed. There Were present
| at the opening Of the bids, Messrs s:bley, Flick.
lin, James 5. Graham and Mr. Bee, the last
| named gentleman connected with Placerville
and st. Josephs line. The Secretary will probably
make his decision this week ~
These bids, six In number, were all that were
presented; and IL In accordance.with the act of
Congress, they We're accompanied with the GER
| tifcate Of United States District Attorney. or
District Judge, stating that he is acquainted with
each OF the persons signing the guarantee and
| knows them to be men Of sufficient property to
| make good the above guarantee" 1t is sufficient
to ensure the erection of telegraphic line to the
Pacific
1t rests now with Secretary Cobb to determine
which bid, in his opinion, is the lowest offer and
the most acceptable to the Government There Is
| but little difference between Messrs Clark IL Co.
| and B. F. Ficklin's last bid; yet the last bid of
Mr.. Ficklin seems to present great advantages to
| the people and the press Of the country; and as
they are to be the parties benefited 1t is presuma-
BILE the Government will enjoy like advantages.
At the end Of 500 miles, and, indeed, until th
Telegraph iscompleted, we are insured under II
tri-weekly pony express to western coast; and
we all know now the immense advantage of a
semi-weekly one, particularly our commercial
men.
We know Mr.. Ficklin is well acquainted with
the wiids OF our Western frontier. and IL any man
In the country can push forward this great work
to speedy completion, he is that man We
therefore hope that the enterprise may fall to his
lot; which will happen IL, all things considered,
his bid proves to be the lowest and most desirable
for the Government.
The KEY TO HIS JoURNEY.-It seems that Mr.
Herschel V. johnson, suddenly abandoning his
| remaining appointments to address the people in
Georgia and other Southern States has gone post
haste TO New York. Now, the key to this unex-
pected journey Of his is found in the whisperings
of the Douglas managers here. 1t seems that
the "force" speech Of Mr.. Douglas delivered
at Norfolk, Va, as published in the Norfolk
Argus, and repeated by him at other points In
Virginia, has played hob with the scheme Of
drawing off from the Breckenridge ticket In
Georgia, votes for Douglas sufficient to secure
the State to Bell the game for which the Georgia
Douglas leaders have been playing. 1t will be
remembered that, in effect, the argument or posi-
ton of the I" force" speech in question is little
more than paraphrase Of the threats of the New
York Tribune, and Messrs. Sumner, Wade, ct al
that in case of resistance in what she regards as
her constitutional rights, abolitionism will send
its armed cohorts down upon the South to com.
pei her submission. As might have been expected
the assumption Of such position by Mr.. Douglas
Is causing every States-rghts man at the South to
wash his hands of Douglasism and ere the rise Of
the Douglas party all the southern democ Were
States-rights men. Thus, the errand Of H. "
Johnson to New York Is to the end of inducing
Douglas at once TO modify his "forcer position I'm
order to ''save the pieces" at the South; and to
that end only. He will probably fail In 1t. as the
Maine election must tend to convince Douglas
that the only way in which he can hope to save
the pieces at the North, is to fight the ID with
even hotter abolition fire than he has been using
there up to this time He cannot afford to venture
TO correct his southern mistake at this particular
juncture. That's clear. So Mr. johnson will
hav. INIT ia aho for II
TRIAL OF THE GREAT FLOYD GUy-A Board
to consist Of the following named officers will
convene at Fort Monroe, Va , on Tuesday, the
18th instant, for the purpose Of examining the
fifteen inch gun there mounted, and Of wtnessi no
the firing with the same. The Board will report
whether or not the efficiency Of our present arna-
ment for harbor defense would be improved by
the addition Of judicious proportion Of guns of
this class.
The firing will be done under the direction OF
the Captain, T. j. Rodman, Of the Ordnance
Department. Lieut.. Tsllmadge, Recorder.
Detail for the Court Engineers-Gen. joseph
G. Totten, Maj. J. E. Barnard, Capt. H. G.
Wright.
Ordnance.-Maj. J. symington, Capt. A. B.
Dyer, Capt, j. Gorgas.
Artillery.-Col. J. Dim!ck, Mai r., Anderson
Capt. J. ii. Carlisle.
MIsPRISTED-By some IN ishap, the editorial
article in yesterdays Star explaining the cause
and circumstances Of the overwhelming defeat
Of the nominal Democratic party cause in Maine
on the day before, went to press without the
usual correction. Consequently, we were made
to seem to have written nonsense In penning
more than one Of its sentences; though 1t is to be
presumed that nine readers out of ten compre-
hended at a glance how that its frsinn ,.or.a