Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-07-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON IuLY 1s

w AShlNGlONs OObA to'
Members of the Farmers Alliance do
not take kindly to a published interview
with ex-Congressman Perkins OF Kan
sas, who was here few days ago in
which he painted most doleful picture
of affairs in Kansas, saying in effect that
the State was rapidly going to the dem
milton bowwow because of the success
of the Alliance, which he accused among
other things of being in favor of the re-
pudiation of private debts. A Kansas
Alliance man who was at Alliance head
quarters here to-day said OF the inter-
view = II is an outrageous libel upon
the State as we'll as upon the Alliance
we do not favor the reputation OF debts
and have never done so, and all such re-
ports as Mr.. Perkins knows very well
have been circulated by our enemies
solely for the purpose of bringing dis
credit upon the organization.
Secretary Foster S idea that the offices
of five out of six of the Auditor 8 of the
Treasury might be abolished without
injury to the interests of the country, is
a good one and should be carried out
but it ism t very probable that it will be-
because it cannot be done without the
consent of Congress and it is always safe
to say, Judging from the past, that
majority of any Congress will be in favor
of increasing instead of decreasing Gov
eminent patronage. 1t has not beer
many years since the late Samuel j
Randall proposed an amendment to an
annual Legislative, executive and judicia
appropriation bill abolishing these very
bureaux and others on the ground that
their work was simply duplication Of
the work of other bureaux of the Treas
ury and therefore unnecessary. Mr.
Randall collected a mass of data show
ing that the adoption of his amendment
would save more than million and
half of dollars each year, but as soon as
he began to push his amendment he dis
covered that it would be impossible to
get it through, so he reluctantly aban'
doned it.
Mr.. Powderly's long open letter ad-
dressed to Secretary Foster concerning
the recent conferences about the seven
Knights of Labor discharged from the
bureau of Engraving and Printing has
been much discussed here, and there is
general feeling of regret that it should
have been written its tone is such that
it has injured rather than helped the
cause for which Mr.. Powderly is labor
ing and it looks too much like polltl-
cal attack upon Mr.. Foster to suit many
of those whose sympathy had been with
the Knights since the beginning of the
controversy Mr.. Foster has declined to
answer the letter, saying that he would
not enter into a controversy with MIR.
Powderly upon such basis.
The country will soon know whether
the scientists are right in claiming that
rainfall can be produced in any locali-
ty by artificial means, as the Agricultur-
al department has started party for the
arid section of Western Kansas with all
the necessary parapharnalia for making
the experiment. Prof. Dyrenforth, who
is in charge of the party, is very conf
dent of success, and he certainly has the
best wishes of everybody.
Fourth Auditor Lynch, colored Mis-
sissippian, who has just returned from
the South says that Mr.. Harrison will
have a solid Southern delegation in the
next convention,
Fred. Douglass who is now here on
leave, will not return to Hayti as minis
ter, and it is doubtful whether any one
will be sent in his place for quite while.