San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-06-15
The Daily Eight.
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1898
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent. J
WASHINGTON, June II, 1898.

great Lincoln was stricken down
by the cowardly assassin, and If L
had my way it should be entirely
demolished and the ground be
forever left unbuilt upon"
This spoke an old man, standing
in front of Ford's old theatre, who
had witnessed the assassination of
Lincoln and who also some of the
narrowing and heart rending
scenes which followed the collapse
of the floors Of the same building,
last Friday, causing the death of
twenty-five and the injury of sixty
eight employees of the Surgeon
Generals office. 1t seems incred-
ible, but it is nevertheless strictly
true, that nearly 500 men should
have been compelled to work in
this building, which as long ago
as 1866 had been condemned
as unfit for use and unsafe, and
the knowledge that there are a
mum Der of other buildings occupied
by the government that are no
better but adds to the horror felt
by the people Of Washington at
the awful and needless slaughter
of human beings. Money has been
freely contributed by our people,
for the families of the dead and
wounded, and an army court of in
quiry is engaged in locating the
personal responsibility, likewise a
coroner's jury; but it lies where
neither of them can reach-in Con-
gress, which has repeatedly re-
fused to provide proper quarters
for these and hundreds of
other government employees. a
similar accident is liable to oc-
cur any day at the Government
Printing Office, building known
to be unsafe and yet daily Occu-
pied by nearly 5000 men and
women; and the Winder building,
occupied by branch of the War
Department has also long been in
an unsafe condition, likewise
portion of the Patent Office and an
annex to the Post Office depart
ment. Perhaps this terrible dis
aster will have the effect of awak-
ening congress to it's duty in pro-
viding safe and proper quarters
for the employees Of the govern
ment. If it doesn't one far more
terrible will certainly occur some
day.
Mr.. Cleveland is the first presi-
IOp+ zipoo pnohanan to MI b1IplU
plead the baby act, and the sight
is humiliating to every man who
admires pluck and bravery, and all
Americans do. Instead of making
use of the means provided by wise
republican legislation years ago for
such contingencies, to relieve the
financial distress, he says in effect
~ didn't make this financial strin-
gency and | will take no steps to-
ward relieving it, unless specially
authorized by congress, which is
responsible, so to do" Nice Ian
guage that, for a president isn't it?
Please understand that there is
no politics in this question
it is strictly one of business,
and Republican are ready and will
ing to support and uphold the
President in any and every effort
he might make to relieve the cOun-
try, but it is difficult to see how
any man can uphold him in plead
ing the baby act. That neither he
nor his secretary of the Treasury
are financiers is already well
known, but they might at least
have been wise enough to have
taken advantage of the safeguards
provided by law, instead of leaving
the country to drift until Congress
meets. Mr.. Cleveland is apparent
ly so blinded by his anxiety to
compel the repeal of the Sherman
silver law that he can see nothing
else, and his blindness is little
short of a public misfortune.
Now that those eminent free
traders, David A. Wells, and Ed
ward Atkinson, have succeeded in
naming the chief of the Bureau of
Observation-Disclosures Ford, of
New York,-it is to be hoped that
they will not insist upon having
the statistics prepared by that
bureau doctored so as to make ar
guments in favor Of free trade, but
it is probably too much to hope
from such sources.
A large force of pension examin-
ers are to go over the papers in
every pension granted under the
act Of 1920, for the avowed pur-
pose Of discovering how many of
these pensioners can be dropped
under Secretary Smiths recent
ruling as to portion of that law.
Another purpose will thus be &C
com nliShnl that iS not aNnu-nd