Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-03-16
WASHINGTON NEWS.
Orders Issued by the New Secretaries
The Work OF the senate The
Civil Service Commission.
WASHINGTON. March IA.


Secretary Lamar today directed the chic
| clerk and superintendent of the interior de-
partment TO dispose of at public sale all o.
the horses, carriages and equipments which
are the property of the interior department
excf pt those used for trucking. the proceed:
TO be covered into the treasury; the sale tc
take place as soon as is consistent with the
Interests of public service Seven employe,
who have been used as drivers, will return to
their regular duties. similar order ha.
been made by Attorney General Garland.
The secretary of the navy today directed
by telegraph the commanders of the Waschu-
sett and Shenandoah of the North Atlantic
squarden, now near New Orleans, to proceed
at once to Central America. The command
ers of the three vessels of the squadron re-
naming near New Orleans are directed to
hold themselves in readiness to execute a
| similar order of the North Atlantic squard.
dron. The three vessels. Galena, Powhatte
and Sevatra, are now in Central American
waters. The entire squadron will be held
the subject of orders from Washington. These
movements are understood TO have direct ref.
erence TO the endeavor of Gen. Barrios to
make himself the supreme military chief OF
Central America"
The President Is considering the advisable.
ity OF revoking the recent srder of President
Arthur, throwing open TO settlement the Old
Winnebago or Crow Creek Indian reserva.
ton in Dakota in behalf of the Indians. 1t
has been asserted that the order of President
Arthur was illegal.
L. is understood that ex-Representative
Post of Pennsylvania will be recommended
by Secretary Lamar for assistant secretary OF
the interior department, created at the last
session of Congress.
Secretary Whitney lett Washington for
New York today. tie will return with his
family next Tuesday. Commodore Walker
will act as secretary OF the navy during his
absence.
Tue Senate is likely to devote some of its
spare time during the present week to the
consideration of foreign affairs. Two or
three treaties of minor Importance, in respect
to which there can be little difference of opn-
ion, will be reported from the committee on
foreign relations and taken up BY the Senate
IN executive session during the week. Among
them will probably be treaty in relation to
the boundary lines between this country and
Mexico. The treaty providing for the read
Judication of the We'll and La Abra claim
and the Mandersou resolution, calling for
infor nation with regard to Central American
affairs, may also be reported and discussed
during the week. The more important of the
pending treaties, however, among which are
the Hawaiian reciprocity treaty and that re-
la,ing to the International patent rights sys-
tem, will b. held back until the reguler ses-
sion. The Backbone resolution, offered hy
Mr.. Van Wyck. will doubtless be further dis
cussed tomorrow. 1t is probable that all
public business which the Senate has in hand
will be disposed of with three or four DAYS
discussion, and the body will then await the
NIL ,,t ft,sA
soon as his important nominations have been
received and voted upon.
In the executive office of the Senate there
are preserved all the executive messages of
the Presidents of the United States from the
foundation of the government. Though not
often referred to, some of these documents
are becoming worn and recently Gen. Nc
Cook, secretary of the Senate, caused the
selections to be made from the files with a
view to preserving some of the interesting
autographs in the cabinet by themselves. In
some cases the first message OF adminlstra-
ton was taken, and where this was of more
importance, the first conspicuous one gen.
erally-that making nominations for cabinet
positions-was taken. They form an inter
esting collection of historic momentos aud
one of the most valuable autograph collec-
tons in the land. None of the American
Presidents, with the exception of Washington
and Jefferson, would be marked above fifty
for penmanship by the civil service commits
sion.
Dorman b Eaton, president of the civil
service commission, in response to an in
quiry today as to the enforcement of the civil
service rules by the new administration, said
that vacancies are being regularly filled nnder
the rules. There is not the least sign of ex-
aminations being arrested or of the rules be-
ing disregarded. When Congress at the SEES
sion just closed, made an increased appropri.
alton for carrying on the work of the com
mission from July /, 1885, to July /, 1886,
it knew the policy of the incoming admins.
| taation, and must have expected the work OF
the commission to go on. That work does
go on regularly, and feel sure that it will
go on. Very many of the office seekers who
fingered here some time after the 4th OF
March, seem to have reached the same con.
clusion and have returned home. Since tha,
date examinations have been held at Cincin
natl, Nashville, Brooklyn, New York ant
Washington. Applicants have been notified
of examinations soon to be held in the West
ern and Southern States.