The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-11-03
ARTHUR ROPES. General Editor.
CAPTAIN CHARLES O'NEIL, Chief of

CAPTAIN CHARLES O'NEIL, Chief of
the Bureau of Ordinance of the Navy
Department, is opposed to the estab-
lishment OF government plant for the
making of armor plate for our fighting
vessels. He says in his annual report
to Secretary Long: "The Bureau is of
the opinion that the government can
purchase armor more cheaply than it
can make it. The Bureau regards the
making of armor as a proper adjunct to
q great commercial steel plant. For
eign practice confirms this view, and
even should the department acquire a
plant of its own, the chances are that it
would be at great cost, and that it
would lie idle part of the time and
thus suffer great deterioration, and that
the expense and difficulty of operating
it, when needed, would more than off
set any advantages gained by such
ownership"
WHEN a really good idea is made
known the average person of intelli-
gence wonders why it had not been
thought of before. Ap idea of that
kind was recently laid before the cabi-
net by Secretary Gage, and at once met
with general approval. The govern
ment issues three kinds of paper
money, and the notes of each denom-'
ination of each series have different de-
signs, which are not only confusing,
but which are taken advantage of by
that class of swindlers who make
practice of raising notes and passing
them in crowded places or upon ignorant
and unsuspecting persons. Secretary
Cages idea is to adopt one design for
all the notes of the same value of the
three kinds OF notes issued, and to
make that design so simple and dis
tinctive that it will be impossible to
mistake one dollar note for ten or
two for twenty, etc. The change,
which will probably be put into effect
as soon as the necessary plates can be
prepared, will be welcomed by the
handlers of money in banks and bust
ness establishments, to whom the pic
torial silver certificates now in use are
a source of much worry.
No one familiar with the history of
the proposed sale of the Union Pacific
railroad has believed the statements re-
Gently made by the New York World,
and copied by other Democratic organs,
charging that Senator Hanna made a
deal last year with New York capitalists
by which they were to have inside OPP
portunities for purchasing the road as
a compensation for their campaign con-
tributions. Senator Hanna, however,
has thought it proper to make q public
denial of this statement, land in a speech
at his own home in Cleveland, Ohio,
he did 80 in the following vigorous Ian
guage: "The facts are that l never
heard of the measure or the syndicate,
or anything about it, until early in July
last, one year after this alleged plot was
laid. / do not even know who are the
members of the syndicate, never had
any conversation with any of them in
regard to it, and l never was called up
on by my vote or influence to say one
word in regard to that sale. 1t was a
contract made on the part of the gov
eminent by Grover Cleveland's admin
istration, and the only part of it relat-
ing to this administration is that the
contract has been agreed to on the part
of the present administration on the
agreement that the syndicate should
give five million dollars more for it than
under the terms made by the Cleveland
administration. That is all l know
about it; the rest is lie."