The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-12-31
Washington Letter.
From our regular Correspondent

| From our regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, ID. G. Dec. 26, 1897
President Mckinley will, according
to trustworthy though unofficial in
formation, shortly meet the objections
that exist, in and out of Congress,
against present conditions in the civil
service, by issuing an executive order
making material notifications in the
blanket extensions of the civil service
rules made by Mr.. Cleveland during
his last year in office. While the op-
position on the part of republicans in
Congress doubtless was factor in
this matter, it is we'll known that the
President has had it in mind ever
since this election. 1t will be remem-
bered that he said in his annual mes
sage: "Tbere are places now in the
classified service which ought to be
exempt and others not classified, may
properly be included. 1 shall not
hesitate to exempt cases which I think
have been improperly included in the
classified SERVICE" Just when this
order will be issued or the full extent
of the notifications has not been fully
determined, but it will not be surpris-
ing should the order be issued before
the re-assembling of Congress, on Jan.
5th.
Notwithstanding the numerous re-
forms brought about in the practice
before the U. S. Patent Office, as re-
suit of the long investigation conducted j..
ed by Acting Commission Greeley with
such striking ability, there are some
abuses connected more or less directly
with that Office, and directly associat-
ed with it in the minds of nine out of
every ten persons who know of them,
which have not yet been reached. But
Mr.. Greeley is more than anxious to
do so, and is now investigating numer
Gus complaints against patent solici-
tors, who have obtained money from
inventors under the pretense of get
ting foreign patents for them and sell
ing them, knowing that no valid
foreign patents could be obtained for
them, and that there would therefore
be nothing to sell.
Uncle Sam rubbed it in on John
Bull in the bill dealing with open sea
sealing, which has passed both branches
of Congress and only needs the Presi-
dents signature to become law, and
that it will probably get. Canada,
backed by England, has played the
hog right through in this sealing bust
ness, by refusing to join the U. S. in
efforts to prevent the speedy dcstruc-
tion of all the seals by agreeing to a
cessation of open sea sealing for even
a limited time, and the Canadians
doubtless chuckled with joy, when
this bill which prohibits open sea seal
ing by the citizens OF the U. s. was in
troduced in the Senate, because OF
their belief that it would leave them a
monopoly of the taking of seals in the
open sea- But they will not chuckle,
nor will their English supporters,
when they learn the purport of sec
tion of the bill that was kept quiet
while the measure was pending before
Congress. That section absolutely
prohibits the bringing of seal skins
into the U. S. from any source. When
it is remembered that the U. S. fur
nishes the largest and best market in
the world for seal skins and that the
business of supplying that market has
been impartially monopolized as to
raw skins by Canada, and entirely as
to dyed skins by England, the full
significance of what Uncle Sam has
done to John Bull becomes apparent.
The act for the relief of those Amer
leans who are in the Klondike gold
regions, and who, it is believed, will
be In pressing need of food before
spring, was as promptly signed by
President Mckinley as it was passed
by Congress, and it now only remains
to get the relief to the sufferers in or
der to make it effective. This is in
the hands of Secretary Alger, and if
success is possible. he will achieve it,
as his sympathy for the Klondikeers
is of the active kind-so active that
he offered weeks ago to advance the
money out of his own pocket to send
relief if any practical way of doingso SO
could be pointed out. Secretary Alger
| will 60 to Ottawa to secure the coop
Grafton of the Canadian authorities in
relief operations.