The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-14
Dfnfculties with Britain, Spain. Ger
That Need Capable Handling.
WORK FOR THE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY GRESHAM TOO ILL TO
ATTEND TO HIS DUTIES.
Emba ssadOr Pauncefotc's Inquiry Re-
ton of ItnIyss Representative.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.


WASHINGTON, March 1s.-President
Cleveland who left Washington to go duck
shooting just as soon as he had Congress
''off his hands, bids fair to return to
Washington to find himself with nearly all
civilized nations of the earth on his hands.
There has been hardly day this week
that some European minister or embassa
dor has not been at the Department of
State inviting the earnest attention of the
United States government to some COM
plant, and asking the solution of some
fresh difficulty. Already the retailatory
policy of Germany and France against our
meats in return for the one-tenth of a cent
differential against foreign sugars, on
which bounty is paid, has made the Ger
man and French ambassadors frequent
visitors to the department. The trouble
in Cuba and the firing by Spanish war
ship on the American steamer Allianca
have led to diplomatic exchange of notes
between the governments and two visits
to the department. to-day by Senior De
Muragua, the Spanish minister. Sir Julian
Pauncefote, the British ambassador, was
at the department yesterday presenting the
complaint of certain British subjects at the
failure of the authorities of New Orleans
to protect them from the rioting of white
longshoremen, and, 10 cap the climax,
the Italian diplomatic Marquis Imperali
well-remembered because of his part in the
famous trouble between Italy and the
United States, over the Malta outrages in
New Orleans, few years ago, turned up
at the State Department to-day to lay form
ally before government the case of the
Italians who were killed yesterday at Wal
senburg, Col To add to the Presidents
embarrassment, he will find on his return
that Secretary Gresham is still too i'll to
take up the work of his department. In
deed there is some reason to believe that
President Cleveland has been notified of
the complicated condition of affairs in his
foreign relations and is hurrying home on
that account
Meanwhile, with the President away and
Secretary of State confined to his bed the
governments international affairs are in
the hands of a set of officials who find
time to 'dock'' the clerks of the depart
ment for time lost. Acting under instruc-
tions from the chief clerk, the disbursng
officer of the great Department of State
is retaining from the monthly salary of the
clerks deductions for hardness in report
ing for work in the morning and after the
luncheon hour. 1t appears that perfect
y working system of petty espionage on
the attendance of the minor clerks has been
in vogue for year, and the bookings are
now being made as the result of careful
mathematical computations of the time
lost to the government by the delinquent
clerks. In one case the total deductions for
the year amounted to $.3o. and in another
to $3.50. In one fragrant case the govern
nlent has actually been robbed by a clerk
| of $3.50 worth of time. but it must be
added that this was the most extreme
| case. In the midst of such tremendous re-
| forms in the administration of the State
| Department it is natural that all foreign
| complications must flor the present be
| waived aside.