Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1885-07-11
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON, july 7tb 100

W., f'n oi July was celebrated in
Washington withits usualdin os 81 ~
crackers torpedoes,c alciumlights.an md
a variety ofnew tangled explosives ITau
devil chasers, ETC., which modern iS,
ventlve genius perverted has tbrown
upon the market. The air was tb;o,.
and sulphurous throughout tba do-'
and night, and the morning panss,
have list of about the usual lenn..
of accidents more or less fatal
The Presidents fourth of July w..
the quietest day he has snant !,
Washington. The day was obsa,r
ed as a holiday by nearly all of n.
members of the Cabinet, and tho
President was untroubled by yisitors
OF any sort; therefore he was ahla
to go through a very large pumhar
OF official documents awaiting his !,
tention, and to make up his mind in
regard to a considerable number Of
appointments. The President 10
however, getting pretty tired, Al
though he looks as well as ever. and
applies himself as constantly as DOS.
slble to his official duties. It is said
I
to be the Presidents Intention to
spend a few weeks during the month
OF August in the woods of Northern
New York, where he can have abso.
lutte rest and primeval soltudes.
lie has In view a place thirty miles
from the rail road where there is but
single hotel. This will be occupied
by himself, and one or two friends
alone, and while there he will be as
completely cut off from the world as
was ex-President Arthur when ex.
plorlng the Yellowstone.
Miss Cleveland whose well adver.
tised book will be out this week, pro.
poses to soon visit her home in New
York where she will remain probab.
ly two months.
As has been anticipated, Mr.. Nal.
colin Hay, the LIST Asst. Postmaster
General of the United States has
had to resign his office on account
of i'll health. 1t is his intention to
leave in few days for Colorado,
and Wyoming. Mr.. Stevenson who
has been selected to succeed Mr..
Hay was born in Kentucky in 1885,
and removed to Bloomington, ILL.,,
when sixteen years of age, where he
studied law. He held various state
judicial offices, and was a candidate
for Presidential elector on the Nc.
Clellan ticket in 1864. In 1874 he
was elected to the United States
house of representatives. AS del
egate to the last Democratic conven.
ton he voted on every ballot for
Joseph T.. Mcdonald, and was a
member of the committee appointed
to notify the nominees of their cleo
ton. He has been a warm friend Of
Postmaster Villas for many years.
Mr.. Stevenson is a man of powerful
physique, and is said to be well
equipped for the discharge of his
new duties.
Gen. Sparks, Commissioners Of the
General Land Office, has had com.
plete list of all the cases, where the
public lands have been improperly
fenced, made out a statement of the
present status of affairs. In all these
cases the parties have been notified
to remove the fences. In some in.
stances they have consulted attor.
neys, who have held that reason.
able number of openings in the fence
is sufficient. In such cases the open
ings are guarded and to all intents
and purposes fences still exist. The
total amount of land that has been
appropriated in this way is between
one and two million acres.
A very common way of stealing
the public lands is for a man to hunt
out good water hole or stream and
to so locate his presumption claim as
to take this in. He can fence this,
and then he practically has all that
joins it for many miles around, for
the land in much of the western ter,
ritory is worthless except where there
is water. Then again it is a CON
mon thing for a cattle king to have
his boys make entries of land
along the streams, and after short
time sell their claims to him. In
one instance the land has been COB
bled for forty miles ON one side oil
the Arkansas river, and for twenty
,,stoeS -, Abn ~klso. n.1o