Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-04-03
ULTRA-SOLICITOUS.
Uncle Sans Care for Our Own
Precious Archives.
A VERY SHARP CONTRAST NOTED.

Caustic Criticism of the State Depart
ment's Action Regarding the Deciara-
ton and Constitution-Death of the
Celebrated General Berdan--A Sudden
Taking On-Carlisle Compiling ga Little
List" That Will Make Some States
NIelancholy-A 5OO-Pound Postal Clerk
Case of Offensive Partisapship.
WASHINGTON. April Friends of the
Worlds fair here are much disappointed
by the confirmation of the rumor that the
state department has finally decided not
to allow the original Declaration of indie
pendence and the constitution of the
United States to be taken to Chicago for
exhibition as part of the state depart
ment's exhibit at the Worlds fair An or
der permitting their removal for this pur-
pose had previously been made, and its re-
vocation has occasioned much unfavora-
BILE comment, particularly among western
senators and members now in this city.
The extreme particularly of our own gov
eminent with regard to its own archives,
they say, comes in sharp contrast with
the friendly and confiding disposition man
ifested by the Spanish government and the
papal authorities.
Took "a Good Deal More Risk.
torical relics in their possession to be sub
jected to all the risks of ocean travel, as
well as to longer land journey than that
required of the state departments archives.
Every precaution, they assert had been
provided for the safe transmittal and keep
ing of the precious documents. A steel
safe, fire, water and wreck proof, had been
furnished and arrangements had been
do for n mill vi 70 he
documents day and night for the whole
period of their absence. Consequently it is
urged by prominent western men that the
decision not to allow the documents to be
placed on exhibition at Chicago will be
keenly felt by thousands of visitors who
otherwise have no expectation of ever be-
ing able to get look at them.
Not safe at the Capital.
One prominent gentleman voiced the
western sentiment yesterday in this forcible
manner: These historical relics are in
greater danger of loss or destruction every
day in the state department than they
would be in Chicago or en- route. No IN
usual precautions are now taken to secure
them from fire or their mutilation. The
Declaration of Independence is exhibited
all day long in the library of the state de-
partment in flimsy mahogany case with
n plain glass cover. The case unlocks with
have in his pocket. Half the time there is
no attendant in sight to watch the visitors
Any one could unlock the case or smash the
glass and walk off with the declaration
with very little risk of detection, or he
could mutilate it with no risk at all com
paratively.
Would BE More Secure at Chicago.
"The constitution is in another part OF
the library, but the difficulty of getting
away with it would hardly be much
greater. l think both of them ought to be
to Chicago for safe-keeping. Ger
tainly the Worlds fair people would not
allow people to remove nearly all the ink
from the documents in the process of max
ing fac-sinliles of them. as the state de-
partment under former administration
did
Not at An Unlikely.
~ have been told that some of the his
torical societies who are now ella noring to
have the documents kept in Washington,
and to whom the state department author
tiles seem to have listened. are the very
class of people who dsf,ced these impor-
tant documents by taking fac SMILES of
them by chemical process which nearly 4