The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1895-04-20
At THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.



Warrington, April 1.-THE presi.
dent has disposed Of . case that has
been pending for many months in act
ing upon the record Of the court-mar.
tial held ct Vancouver Barracks, Wash
which sentenced Major Joseph W.
Wham. . paymaster in the army, TO
dimiassl for failure to pay his debtx
The president mitigatsd the sentence
to suspension on half pay from rank
duty and all privileges, until January,
1904. his name to be placed 1t the foot
Of the list in the pay department. The
date mentioned IL that upon which Ma
jor Wham will retire, 70 that he can
never again zee active service, and he
will drop from No. 8 to No. IS in his
rank, 70 there will be NO possibility Of
his own promotion, nor can be retard
the promotion Of majors who may enter
the grade hereafter.
1t may be disappointing to some of
the people on Puget sound that NO mil
itary post Is 70 be established there,
but Secretary Lamont is determined TO
make rs economical an administration
Of his department as possible. The
building OF . new post On the Sound
would mean quite an outlay, to come
in the appropriations to be made next
year. The secretary also finds that his
army officers are more or less impetu-
Gus in the way Of building forts and
making improvements, and seem TO
care but little for the economy record
OF the Democratic administration.
There is another reason for this. 1t is
believed that the secretary favors Ia
coma Is the sight for . post, end it is
well known that Q board Of army OH.
GERS could not be found to report in
favor Of Seattle. So it Is the rivalry Of
these two points that will be likely to
keep the Sound without post for the
next two years.
Representative Hermann, with the
prospect he has Of being the next chair
man Of the rivers and harbors commit
tee, is in great demand. Besides the
trip he will take with Senator Wilson,
OF Washington, looking over proposed
Improvements in Washington state, he
will probably make tour Of the Great
Lakes Several congressman have urged
him to make this trip, and before leav-
ing Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota members obtained
promise from him that if he could af.
ford the time, he would make the trip
they requested.
Instructions were today issued to q
board appointed by the president yes
terday 70 conduct the examination of
the retirement Of the officers Of the rev.
enue cutter service. The instructions
prescribed in detail the duties Of the
board, and explain that the phrase,
incapacitated to efficiently perform
the duties Of this Office" as contained
in the law, is interpreted to mean as
an incapacity to perform the duties of
a revenue-cutter officer. By the terms
Of the law, the "infirmities Of age"
without other infirmities, are held to
be sufficient cause to incapacity.
A general order was issued from the
war department today, turning over 70
the interior department abandoned mil
itary reservations no longer required
for military purposes. The tracts are
part Of the Fort Brady reservation in
Michigan, on the ST. Mary's river,
three and one-half acres: the reserva-
tion of Depot Mckinney, on Powder
river. Wyo-. $40 acres; Fort Reno. o.
T., timber reservation, known as Coun.
Gil Grove, twenty miles southeast Of
Fort Reno, 7+0 acres; the reservation
Of Fort Stevenson, N. D., on the Mis-
souri, river, at its junction with Doug
lass creek; the military reservation at
Fort Lewis, Colo. ON the west bank Of
the Rio de Platte, eight miles southeast
of Parrott City. The general order
specially defines the bounds Of the mil
enworth. Kan.