Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1893-06-29
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent

WASHINGTON, June %, 1898.
Not since the shooting of President
Garfield has Washington passed
through such period of sensational
excitement as that of last week. The
awful calamity in Ford's old theater,
by which 81 men lost their lives and
6S were wounded, sent thrill ofchill-
ing horror through every one, which
has since been intensified by the belief
that it was directly caused by the
carelessness and negligence OF one man,
and that mans actions haveincreased
rather than dimished that belief.
The man referred to isCol. Ainsworth,
who is in charge of the records and
pensions Office of the war department,
which occupied the wrecked building.
Owing to his appearing at the coroner's
inquest accompanied by lawyer and
attempting to intimidate his clerks
who had been summoned to testify,
he made very narrow escape from
being lynched. He next caused a new
sensation by appealing to the courts
for mandamus, which was refused
him, to compel the coroner to allow
him and his lawyer to cross-question
the witnesses, thus acknowledging his
fear OF the evidence to be given before
the jury.
Of course nothing can restore the
lives OF those who were killed in the
accident, but it is n satisfaction to
the families OF the victims to know
that rs far as coroner's jury can do
it the responsibility for the wholesale
murder has been upon Col. Answorth,
chief OF the records and pensions
division of the war depart ment, who
was IN charge of The building; u. ".
Dant, The CONTRACTOR Mo upue 10"
ext.t, ,,IiDg. ,.h,ch Mas ih- direct cause
oi the tall.u. of the tiOor-; w. l.
Covert and +. Sas~e, superintendent
and engineer respectively OF the
wrecked building, each of whom is now
under $4,000 bail to await the action
OF the grand jury.
The intense excitement has been
beneficial in a pecuniary sense to the
families of the victims. 1t has kept
the matter before the public con
stantly, thus adding largely to the
subscriptions to the popular fund fol-
their assistance, which now amounts
L.. z,.ou eon nnn apJ 10 otill ornwip0
Nearly every one of the killed left de
pendent families.
Paymaster John c. Sullivan OF tht
unenviable notoriety and narrowly
escaped being court-martialed fol
criticizing the action of the Harrison
administration in dealing with Cana
dian poachers in Behring sea, is nov
to be tried by a court martial upon {
more serious charge-embezzling S12,
IS 900 OF government funds.
1t is remarkable how prone tn
= Democrats are to do things for whicl
they have for many years abused tn
Republicans. Forinstance, it is states
at the navy department that the c
S. S. Dolphin has been dry y-docked a
the New York navy yard, in orde
that she may be put in thorough OIL
: der, as she is to be placed at MI
Cleveland's personal disposal durin
the time he spends at his Buzzard'
bay cottage this summer. PERSONAL
your correspondent believes it to b
perfectly right that the president {
the United States should have a go'
ernment vessel placed at his dispost
whenever he travels by water, its ado
dignity to his movement that is
keeping with the exalted office
N holds and really costs nothing extr
to the government, as the vessel an
crew have to be maintained anywa,
but the Democrats have as a ru
taken, or pretended to take an opp
20 site view.
An anti-election pledge made /
Chairman Harrity of the Nation
Democratic committee was cancell'
,+ when Mr.. Cleveland last week a
ne pointed Daniel r. Murphy U. s. d
all trict attorney for Oregon, in spite
hundreds OF Democratic protest fro
THAT state. Murphy was chairman