The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-09-05
WASHINGTON.


Commander SchIey is to be appointed
chief OF the bureau of equipment and re-
cruiting, with the rank of commodore.
The gold reserve in the treasury has in
creased to $40, 100000. Aicall for $40 900, :
600 in 3 per cents is about to be issued.
Jacob A. Ella. auditor of the treasury for
the pOStOtfice department, died at Washing
ton of erysipelas. He was formerly mem
Der Of congress from New Hampshire.
On Wednesday workman attrac: ed
considerable attention as he swung slowly
to the top Of the Washington monument,
inspecting every Joint IN the five hundred
feet of marble. He reported the column i'll
admirable condition, Notwithstanding the
recent earthquake. 80 t..u
The Washington Capital says the rumors
of the resignation of Col. Dudley as com
missioner of pensions have arts III from the
differences between himself and Secretary
Teller. Col. Dudley has been too liberal
towards pension applicants in the Secreta-
rvs opinion. l...r
An interesting question in regard to the
construction OF public buildings was decided
ut the treasury department. in effect that
the supervising architect in preparing plans
and specifications for such buildings shall
be governed entirely by the amount of mon
ey appropriated by congress for the pur-
pose without regard to future expectations.
Assistant land-commissoner Harrison
anime and straighten the fraudulent sur
veys made in that territory. Persons with
whom the government contracted several
years since to make surveys of public lands
In Dakota made returns of platS without
really having made the surveys, and nu-
merOus complications hare arisen in cOnse-
quence.
Dorman b. Eaton of the civil service COM
mission has written long letter in reply To
various communications received by him
from Government employees asking for adj
vice as to the payment by them OF assess
ments for political purposes, the substance
of which Is that the clerks are under no
greater obligations to pay than other citi-
Zens of tile same means, and that they
should pay OF refuseto pay, as they would
feel it duty of private citizens.
The postmaster-general has annuled the
contract with Z. p. Kellogg, of Springfield
Mass, for furnishing official dead-letter
and registered package envelopes and tags
The action Is based upon the recent inves-
tigation made by. the postmaster-general
himself, who says he found the envelopes
of an inferior quality and not up to the
amounted to $50, 900. A further examine
ton of the stationery of the postoffice is TO
be made.
Henry Biederbeck, one OF the survivors of
the Lady Franklin bay expedition, says: u
shaa't live many years, probably not until L
and the rheumatism contracted in the north
will probably never leave me, and with ev-
cry change of the weather 1t Is exceedingly
painful. The government ought to do some
thing for me, as L will never be able to
labor again. If / ever SO get money
enough to keep me, shall go back to old
Germany" Biederdeck Is well educated,
and considering his short stay, only five
years in the country, has mastered the En-
gllsh language very quickly.
The civil service law EXPLICITLY states
that the appointments in the executive de-
partments in Washington shall be apportionl
ed according. to the population of the several
states, and the civil service commissioners,
it was supposed, had endeavored TO carry
out this law. They have had very great
from Maryland and the District of Column
bia, which formerly had monopoly almost
of the executive offices, and 1t Is said to be q
TACT now that, Notwithstanding the civil
servioe regulations, out of twenty additional
e1erkS just appointed in the pension bureau
five were from Maryland and four were
credited to the District of Columbia.
The secretary of state has received reports
from our consuls general at Rome and Mar
settles upon the cholera in Italy and France
The consul at Marseilles confirms the report
that the epidemic is rapidly disappearing,
but that the return of the refugees, perhaps
One-third of the population of Marseilles
and two-thirds of TOulOn, who fled, causes
great restitution and suffering. Subscrip-
lions, he says, are being collected for the
relief of the destitute, and suggested that
money might be collected in this country
for that purpose. The report from Rome
shows that the cholera was brought there
by Italian wOrkmen returning from Mar
settles and Toulon, but Is rapidly disap-
pearing.
A commissioner of the general land Office
who was sent to Colorado some time ago to
QFn Al Inf sIn Nl....,
against cattle companies that they had ille-
gally fenced in public land and had obtained
occupation of large tracts by fraudulent en-
try, has made report fully sustaining the
settlers. Eight charges have been made
against the Prairie Cattle company, COM
posed of Scotchmen. Tracts of 100 square
miles, twenty-five square miles, seventy-five
square miles, and sixteen square miles, have
been illegally fenced in by That corporation.
1t is believed that the cattle companies
have fraudulently possessed themselves of
nearly .6,OOO,OO0 acres of public lands in
Colorado alone within the past five years.
In New Mexico 1t Is asserted that % pei
cent of the land held byt cattlemen has
been Illegally enclosed in Dakota IS per
cent. are fraudulent. Investigation proves
that in Arkansas there have been 10 fraudu-
lent. entries, in Dakota 46a, In Colorado $50
S2t lembracing 1,500O00), in Minnesota 81,
IN Washington territory 100, in Idaho 81, in
Nebraska TO embracing 3O0O acres), in
Montana "A, in Wyoming "A embracing
250, 900 acres), In Alabama 1873, and in Kan
sas the fraudulent entries embrace COO, 600
acres. Over 5000 complaints remain to be
investigated. A large percentage of those
who have made fraudulent entries and who
have Illegally enclosed these large tracts of
the public domain are English and Scotch
capitalists.
THE INDIAN BUREAU.
The frauds In the interior department do
not seem to be confined to the land bureau
by any means. The latest report Is TO the
effect that there will be q severe overhaul
ing of accounts In the Indian bureau. Con-
gresham Springer. of Illinois. has long had