Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-08-15
WASHINGTON LETTER
wAsHrNeroN. Aug. .. ,sg.

WASHINGTON, aug. y. ~.
Secretary Noble IL Just now holding
the fort all alone. he being the only
member of the cabinet In the city
The rest of them are scattered around
about as follows: Secretaries Blaine
and Tracy are with the President at
Bar Harbor. Secretary Window Is In
Boston looking after some complica-
ted customs matters; Secretary Proc.
tor Is at his Vermont home; Secretary
Risk is In New York city endeavoTing
to make arrangements with the rail-
road managers that will facilitate the
Government inspection of all ship
ments of live cattle; Postmaster Gen
eral Wanamaker IL at his country resi-
dence In Pennsylvania, and Attorney
General Miller is In indianapolis,
where he will meet the President on
the 22nd. inst, and return with him to
Washington after the laying of the
corner stone Of the soldiers new mon
ument In that city.
All payments of bills against the
Government for work done by the tel
egraph companies have been suspend
ed until some agreement shall be
reached as to the price to be paid. Mr..
Wanamaker still sticks to his first
opinion that one mill per word is
enough. while the telegraph compa-
MES insist that they lose money at the
present rate of one cent per word.
A very interesting story has been
floating around Washington for a day
or two. which belongs to the ''impor-
tant, II true" class. 1t states, on
seemingly good authority that the
President has decided to appoint Sec
rotary Noble to the vacancy on the
bench Of the Supreme Court, and
that the vacancy in the Cabinet will
be filed by either making Assistant
Postmaster Clarkson Secretary of the
Interior. or by transferring Mr.. Wanna
maker TO that position and making
Mr.. Clarkson Postmaster General.
Secretary Noble says that he first
heard this news from a newspaper
man. That gives It a very bad black
eye to start with. The President iii..
all other sensible public men is friend
ly towards the newspaper men, but he
is hardly friendly enough towards
them to have told one of them of such
an important appointment before in
forming the man to be appointed. SO
much for the first part of the story.
AS neither Mr.. Wanamaker nor Mr..
Clarkson are lawyers ii is certain that
neither Of them will ever be made Sec
rotary of the Interior by President
Harrison, for he long ago put himself
on record as believing that only law
yer should be at the head of that de-
partment. That disposes of the last
part of the yarn.
Secretary Noble on Wednesday re-
ceived the following telegram from ex-
Governor Foster, chairman of tho
commission which has been negotiat-
ing for the purchase of a portion of
the great Sioux Indian reserva-
ton in Southern Dakota: 1--WE
have won the fight. We leave to-mor-
row for Chicago. Will write you full
~ from Chicago" The dispatch was
to the President at Bar Har-
Dor. Gov. Fosters colleagues on the
are Maj. Gen. Crook, U.
s. A. and Hon. WIN. Warner of Mis-
souri,. When the agreement just ar
ranged by this commission is approx
ed by Congress which it is certain to
be. about IL, 900, 600 acres of land will
be open for settlement. The Govern
ment is to pay the Indians 81, rs per
acre for all lands sold to HON estead
settlers for the first three years after
the act goes into effect; 20 cents per
mere for all disposed of in the next two
years following, and 80 cents per acre
for what remains undisposed of at the
end of that time.
Assistant Attorney General Tyner in
response to letter of inquiry from
the Chief Clerk OF the Post Office de-
has written that when three
names are certified by the Civil Ser
vice Commission for appointment. and
one of them is discharged sailor or
soldier he must be selected for the
place.
Frederic Douglass, who was recent.
ly appointed Minister to Hayti, says
he does not expect to go there until
the present troubles in that unhappy
country are settled sufficiently for this
country to recognize one of the belliG-
Grants.
The President made quite a number
of appointments of more or less i'm
portanco before he left the city last
Tuesday.
''You would be surprised" said