Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-04-19
A VERY TAME AFFAIR,

But Surrounded by q Heavy Mantle Of
Secrecv-That Behring Sea Prociama-
tion-Why and How 1t was Prepared
and Promulgated-But Few Persons
Will Get q Sight of the Important Blue
Prints.
WASHINGTON. April 13.-The pro-
cedure of presidential proclamations is
altogether very tame affair compared
with the Importance which is at
tached to it by those who are unfa-
miliar with the ways of government
The prevailing idea that the president
proclaims something, in the generally
accepted sense of the word, is wholly
erroneous, especially in the case OF
such a proclamation as that relating
to Behring sea. In many foreign coun-
tries where official gazettes are pub
Eshed proclamations are literally pro-
claimed; but in the United States, if it
were not for the wide publicity given
to presidential action. it is exceeding
ly doubtful if more than forty people
would have ever heard of the
PRESIDENTS WARNING TO THE SEAL
PoACHERs.
When congress passed the bill placing
the decision of the Paris tribunal on
the United States statutes, and it be-
came law by presidential signature,
it was binding on every American citi-
zen from that moment. The pleading
of ignorance of that statute would
probably have been considered worth
less in any court in the land. Some of
the ablest advisers of the government
held that no further action was neces-
sary to insure the punishment of any
one found violating its provisions.
There were others, however, who con-
tended that additional security was to
be found in formal proclamation of
the new law. as
INTERNATIONAL QUESTIONS WERE IN
vOLvED;
and in order to forestaQ any possible
flaw that might be raised to cause fu-
ture trouble the proclamation was de-
cided upon.
Then one of the great red tape ma
chimes of the government was called
into action. There is printing estab
iishment in the. unknown regions of
the state department where some of
the best typographical work in Amer
lea is produced. Secret documents are
printed there surrounded by more pre-
cautions than are observed in making
bank notes. To this establishment
was taken
A CAREFULLY-COSIPARED TYPEWRITER
COPY
of the presidential proclamatio which
consisted of an ordinary print of the
act of congress with couple of per.
functionary phrases ''Proclaiming" its
provisions and stating that the presi-
dent had hereunto set his hand and
caused the seal of the United States to
be affixed. all of which was ''done at
the city of Washington. the ninth day
of April, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and ninety.
four and of the independence of the
United States of America the one
hundred and eighteenth" with an
abnormal number of capital letters,
punctuation marks. and varieties of
types Proofs were
CORRECTED A DOZEN TIMES
by a dozen different men and women,
who, nevertheless, overlooked at least
seven typographical errors, and, final
ly, several hundred copies were printed
upon the heaviest blue bond paper. A
few of these were fled away in the
archives of the state department., while
the remainder were delivered to the
secretary of the navy to be distributed
among the commanders of the twelve
vessels which are to patrol the forbid
den waters, and by them handed to the
captains of vessels in officially
WARNING THEM NOT TO TAKE SEALS.
No one will ever see the actual
proclamations, or be officially aware OF
their existence, except these warned
shippers and the few officers who
handle the documents before their de-
livery. Probably less than 100 copies
will be used altogether None Of them
will be posted in the customhouse or
along the wharves of the Pacific coast,
where the interested persons could see
them; in fact, the utmost secrecy has
ing them.
OFFICIAL RETICENCE.
Although the act was signed on
April 6, and the proclamation was
sealed and ''done" on April 9, it was
not until April 10 that the officials of
the White House and state department
could be induced to confess that such
a thing as a proclamation existed, and
even Their no interest in securing its
wide publicity was manifested
NARROW ESCAPE