Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-07-10

WASHINGTON, July s,

WASHINGTON, July 8, go.
1t appears that Uncle Sam was not
only negligent concerning his creditors
but has been little slack about his col
lections, there being unpaid judgments
due the United States amounting to
about $35, ,000, 900 to the collection of
which no particular attention has been
paid since 1867. But if steps are to be
inaugurated with the view to collecting
the debts due the Government as seems
likely now, wouldn't it be good idea to
take some measures at the same time
and under the same appropriation for
tabulating the unpaid claims and balances
due to private citizens and giving them
due notice to call upon the proper dis
bursting officer and get their money?
What is true of creditors on the books of
the department, is true in a still greater
degree of the private claims that cumber
the calendars of Congress, and upon
which action is delayed from year to
year until claimants die and are forgotten,
or are reduced to beggarly and equally
forgotten. There is no valid reason for
the neglect to provide, by appropriation,
for the payment of claims that have
enough to spend weeks in the discus
sion of the tariff, of the coinage question
and of dozen other measures. That it
has no time to take just and long pend
ing claims from the calendar and vote
their payment is too preposterous for be-
lief. When will Congress make up its
mind that the first duty it owes to the
country on coming into power is to settle
its accounts with the humble petitioners
whose proven and audited bills go over
from session to session untouched and
ignored.
*x*
President Harrison has heretofore been
given the credit of at least deprecating,
if not of actually apposing, the passage
of the Federal Election bill now under
discussion in the House. 1t has been be-
lieved that he was Statesman enough to
discern the evil tendencies of the scheme
and sufficiently patriotic to frown upon
the centralizing and un-American clique,
which has forced most of the Republicans
in the House into accepting the BILL
clare himself under the domination Of
the Reed wing of the party and in favor
of the bill. The President now not only
wants the bill passed, but wants it done
quickly, so that the cry of Southern
outrages" may be used in the coming
Congressional campaign "to fire the
Northern heart" and to distract attention
from the record of the party in Congress
on silver and the growing dissensions on
the tariff question. A gentleman, who,
in the past, has held very close official
and personal relations with the President
related the substance of an interview be-
tween him and the Chief Magistrate
last week. The interview opened with
a declaration by Gen. Harrison that un-
der no circumstances would he interfere
even by the remotest suggestion, outside
of an official message, with the action of
Congress. Then the President continued:
'If they pass the Federal Election bill,
| will sign it as soon as it is presented to
me for my consideration. | want them
to pass that bill and l don't care who
knows it." subsequently the President
said he had, in desultory way, advised
his friends in both Houses of Congress
to proceed as rapidly as possible with
the final enactment of the bill so that "it
might become question of discussion in
the coming campaign"
~
No delegation of Indians in Washing
ton in recent years has attracted the at
JenIlOn WHICH IL now DeoIoWSu cii tIiO
Moqui chiefs. The chiefs are bit
modest, and instead of sitting out on the
veranda of the hotel to be stared at by
the crowd of children that gathered when
ever they appeared outside, they went out
into the back yard and smoked cigarettes.
Each of them wore moccasins, and they
took them off and went bare-footed ex-
cept when in the street. But despite
the long strings of beads three of them
wear around their necks they are more
or less ragged, and to-day Gen. Morgan,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, will
provide each of them with a suit of
''store" clothes. The chiefs who are here
say that they had heard that there were
good many white people, but they did
not believe it; they had no idea that
there were anywhere near as many white
people as Moquis, the latter numbering
about $500. Their trip here has left
them in state of dazed amazement, and
the five chiefs have given up all ideas Of
! hostility To the Whites u