Wichita eagle., 1889-10-22
FROM TIE CAPITAL.
WASHINGTON. Oct. 10, 1889.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 1889.
| To the Editor Of the Eagle.
Washington is just beginning to
awaken from the drowsiness of her long
summer vacation and to realize that she
must make her toilet for congress. The
supreme court resumed its sessions the
first of the week; number members
and senators are already on the ground
| the president and his cabinet officer:
have returned, and the capital city will
soon resume legislative and social bust
ness.
The international marine conference.
which begins its sessions in this city to-
day. is perhaps the most important con-
vention of this kind ever convened. All
the known maritime nations OF the
world, except Portugal. are here repre-
scented, and the work to be undertaken
and concluded in this convention will
effect oceanic travel and commerce in
every sea. The congress is remarkable
for its personnel. All the delegates are
men of distinction and experts in
naval matters in the countries
from which they are accredited.
Their discussions will be somewhat
technical. but while this may have a
tendency to lessen their interest to those
unlearned in the science of navigation,
the importance OF the issues involved
will be appreciated by thoughtful people
everywhere. The main object of the
convention will be TO secure as far as
possible safety for ships and their pre-
cious freight.on the wild..a wasteful
ocean. The general subject includes a
number Of subordinate topics, such as
the prevention of collisions through fog,
darkness, mistaken signals, etc. 1t in
cludes uniformity as to the proper load
ing of ships: tests as to color blindness,
and every precautionary measure by
which the roadway of the deep may be
made less dangerous.
The conclusions of the conference can,
OF course. be no more than advisory
they will be in no sense diplomatic or
binding, but as to the importance of the
general results there can be no doubt,
for recommendations will be made which
will pass INTO the laws and usages of all
maritime nations.
l see the Knights Templars parade,
which took place here last week,
characterized as the ''grandest pageant
of the century" by some correspondents
who are reckless of their superlatives.
The parade was a splendid one. The
weather was as if furnished to order, and
the 5000 brilliantly uniformed Knights,
marching on the smooth wide asphalt
streets of Washington, to the music of
eighty-four brass bands, was spectacle
worth coming far to see. But to call it
the greatest pageant of the century is
silly extravaganza. Washington has
had on the 4th of March every four years
of the present century, a more imposing
pageant.
The hospitality shown the Knights
was worthy of the nations capital, and
in extending it Washington has done a
wise as well as dutiful thing. She has
sent to every quarter of the union thous-
ards of influential missionaries to con-
firm the opinion that she is the proper
place in which to hold in 1892 the three
Americas exposition. Every man who
visited the capital last week must be
impressed with this fact. The location,
the grounds, the ample accommodations
for crowd and the adaptability of the
streets to displays incident to an interna-
tional demonstration, reinforce the OBJ
vious arguments in favor of this city as
the most suitable, as we'll as the most
commodious place for such an affair.
The enterprising village of Chicago
has begun her campaign here for the
honor, the glory, and the gold of the
Worlds Fair. Headquarters have been
established at Wizards hotel. and it is
announced that Chicago will be on hand
at this place, persistently and potently
demanding recognition until the fight
closes, and the claims of the different
cities are definitely settled.