Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-02-15
CAPITAL BUDGET.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-THE president
expects to leave Washington next Tues
day for short visit to Florida. He will
be accompanied by Mrs. Cleveland, the
secretary of the navy and Mrs. Whitney
and Col. and Mrs. Lamont. The party will
go by special train, and no stop will be
made unless it be an hour at Savannah fol
drive through the city. One day will be
spent at jacksonville and one at ST. Au
gustine. The party will return to Wash
ington Saturday.
The secretary of war today made an
swer to the resolution passed by the
house at the instance of Representa-
tive Grosvenor, calling upon him for in
formation as to the scope of the compile
tion of the official records of the
rebellion, particularly all changes made or
contemplated while the publication was in
charge of the late Lieutenant Colonel
Scott, and since his death and the reasons
and authority for making these changes.
The resolution also inquiries whether any
person has been forbidden access to the
records, and for what reason. In reply
Secretary Endicott encloses a report from
Lieutenant Leselle in charge of the war
record publication Office. The secretary
says since Colonel Leselle assumed
the office, June -, 1857, no changes
from the instruction and plan adopted
in 1880 and required by provisions of the
act of July 81, 1856, have been made, order
ed or contemplated. either in the method,
the work, so far as relates to the arrange
ment, or in the subject matter to this pub
lished, but, on the contrary, these instruc-
lions and requirements have been rigidly
observed. In reply to SO much of the reso-
luton as requests, information as to whether
persons have been refused access to the
records, and if so, by whose authority, the
secretary says that several months before
Colonel SCOTS death circular was issued
TO the department republishing paragraph
721 of the army regulations of
1881, prohibiting the giving of
official information to any person not on
duty in the department without proper
authority, and it applied to all the bureaus
of the department as well as to the war
records Office. This regulation was first
made by Secretary Stanton in 1864 and the
subsequent order of 1881 differs from it
only in extending to chief of bureaus, the
authority to give information from the
records which was first limited
to the secretary of war himself. The
reason for the order was to pre-
vent the improper use of information
irregularly obtained and to provide for the
orderly and methopical transaction of the
the officer in charge of the war records
office is permitted to exercise the authority
of the chief of n bureau under the para
graph of the regulations above referred to
and As is shown by the correspondence ac-
companying Col. Leselle's report. The
requirements of this regulation We're en-
forced upon at least one of his subordinates
by the late Col. Scott. Subject to the
restriction imposed by the regulation,
the privilege of inspecting the war
records has been freely granted by
Colonel Leselln to applicants for historical
matter within the respective limits of their
inquiries, except in two cases in which, not
deeming himself authorized to give the in
formation asked for, the applicants were
referred to the secretary of war, who gave
one of them the information desired. The
other made no further effort, although in
formed at the publication Office that favor
able action would probably he taken upon
bis request il addressed to the secretary of