Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-07-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Written and compiled for the HERALD

Written and compiled for the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, d. c., June 29.-Tb,
President is working diligently in order II
get the executive business in such SHAPE
that he can spend Independence day will
his family at Cape May Point and unles
something now unforeseen shall occur h'
will leave here on Friday and will not re
turn for several weeks.
At the last Cabinet meeting the bust
ness of the Government for severa
months to como was mapped out. The
last silver act leaves it discretionary Will
the Secretary of the Treasury whether
any part of the silver bullion purchased
each month shall be coined into standard
silver dollars, but as the mints will bC
kept busy for several months in coinlug
the trade dollar bullion and the old and
defaced fractional silver currency now in
the Treasury as provided for by act OF
Congress, it was decided to defer the
question of the continuation of the coin
age of SILVER dollars until fall. 1t was
also decided that the statement of the
cash il the Treasury should after July l,
be made in the form which was used
whe Senator Sherman was Secretary OF
the Treasury. This is a compliment tC
Senator Sherman, as well as return te
the common sense methods which were in
vogue when he was at the head of the
Treasury Department, and it is generally
commended.
Secretary Rusk has informed Senator
Paddock, who was here In search OF In
formation, that he has unofficial inior-
nation that the governments OF both
Germany and France have decided in
view of the recent establishment 10y the
Agricultural department of microscopic
examination of portions of every carcass
to admit free of all restrictions American
dressed pork, and he expects that the
official DEGREES will be promulgated in
both countries before the first of next
October.
Everything is in readiness for the Off
cial transfer this week of the weather
bureau from the War department to the
Agricultural department. 1t is expected
that Gen. Greeley, the present head OF the
Signal Service. and several OF his scien-
tifc assistants will for time assist IN
running the bureau.
Much interest is felt by the scientific
staff of the Agricultural department IN
the experiments which have been recent
" made here to produce rain by explod-
ing artificial gases in the air, and they
believe that 1t will prove success. 1t IS
soon to be practically tested in the arid
regions of either Texas or Kansas, and
then we shall see whether science eau
control the rainfall.
At the close of business at the Treasury
C.knrAox, offarnnnn fhnrn u q :
a cash surplus on hand, exclusive OF the
twenty odd million dollars on deposit
with the national banks and about the
same quantity of fractional silver in the
Treasury, s. 506,293. By adding these
sums together there is a surplus of nearly
$4,000. 900, which doesn't look much like
that deficit of which imaginative Demo
Gratis having been making nightmare
for some time past.
For some time the Ordnance depart
ment of the Army has been trying to find
a suitable carriage upon which to mount
the new twelve-iDch breech-lOading rifted
mortars intended for harbor defense. At
last it has succeeded, and contract has
been made for eight carriages of the
Russian type which has stood the recent
severe teots at Sandy Hook, with a Prov-
dence r. |. firm, which control the Ameri-
can rights of patentees. 81, 800 IS to be
paid for each of these carriages for the
first eight, but if seventeen more of them
are ordered within one year they are to
be furnished at SlO,75O each.
Ex-senator ingalls, delivered lecture
today before the Glen Echo Chautauqua
nov in session just above Washington on
the banks Of the Potomac river, and from
the large crowd which went out to hear
him it is evident that he has lost none OF
the drawing qualities which have so often
iamwed the Senate galleries in days gone
by.
II the informal conference with Cana
dian officials on reciprocity which the
President set flor next October, Is not de-
clared off, which is thought to be among
the probabilities, the Canadians will
probably discover that they have not
helped their cause any by making public
intovmal communications between Score
tary Blaine and Sir Julian Pauncefote on
the subject, which those gentlemen bad
agreed should be considered confidential
The Canadians have also misrepresented
Mr. Blaine in order to make it appear thai
the proposition for conference first came
from him