The San Francisco call., 1897-12-15
Arizona'S District AttOr-
ney Idle for Want of
MuCilage.
Receives an Order for a Bottle
When About to Close His
Office.
Attorney General McKenna Sends
Personal r QUESTION From
Was hinRton.
Special Dispatch to THE CALL

PHGNIX, Dec. 1.-THE wheels of gov
rnment, so far as concerns the business
done by the United States Attorneys Of
flee a. PEGniX, have been greatly clogged
for several weeks and in imminent dan
ger of total suspension owing to the ab-
sence Of a bottle of mucilage. According
to special instructions issued from the
Department of Justice at Washington,
the Ph9nlx office a bout three months ago
made requisition, with al possible red
tape formally, for office supplies. The
rules of the department require tnat each
article asked for shall be entered upon a
special blank. This requirement was
strictly adhe.ed to, although it exhausted
al the available blanks. 1t is permissible
under the rules 10 incIose all OF these
acquisitions in one envelope and this fact
enabled the Phpnix Office to make known
lis wants to the department at Washing
ton in the only remaining official envelope
in the Territory OF Arizona.
In course of time most of the things for
which requisitIon had been made arrived.
However, there were no envelopes in the
package; neither was there a badly
needed bottle of mucilage. The attention
of the department was called to these
vital omissions, and a long drawn out
official correspondence, partly by letter
and partly by telegraph, ensued. Finally,
after many days OF more or less patient
waiting, there came letter from the De-
partment of Justice, the contents of
which disposed of the controversy con-
cerning the absence of official envelopes
in the Office of the Territorial United
States Attorney-but not Immediately.
The PhCeaix office was informed that no
reQulsitlon for enYe.opes had been re-
ceived at department headquarters, and
the suggestion was made that perhaps
the PLP1lX CtfCe had neg glected TO make
such requisiuOu. 1t was further sug-
geste by he letter that if the United States
Attorneys office at Phoenix needed envel-
opes 1t would be emlnently proper for the
office to make a formal requisition for
them. This advice was carried out by the
PbPaix office, the envelopes finally ar
rived from the department at Washing
ton and the situation was greatly sim
plihed.
The correspondence between the local
office and the Department of Justice was
now narrowed down TO ;he bottle of muci-
Iage, which had been indeed almost lost
sight of during the exciting envelope en-
were received concerning the missing bot
tie of muCilage. In the meantime the
muciiage ON hand in the United States
Attorneys office at PhNAiX was slowly
diminishing and had already reached a
stage where, Notwithstanding the utmost
economy in is use and its frequent di!u-
tons with water, the bottle was almost
empty.
The Ph@lix officials began to LOOK for
ward 10 the time when the mucilage bot
tie would be entirely empty The an
pleasantness Of the situation was mitigated
as TO Mr.. EIlinwood, who foresaw that
when the last drop of mucilage was gone
II would be i'm possible to transact business
and he would thus pra. tically be out of
Office, an end that lie has been trying TO
reach Tor several months by other avenues
such as re lgnatiOn and requests that his
successor be speedi Y yappolnted, but what
ever enjoyment Mr.. EilInwood derived
from this view OF the situation and what
ever despair weighed down his assistant
Mr.. Franklin, ana his clerk, Mr.. Li:ile. bv
reason of the perceptible daily diminution
in the mucilage bottle, was dispelled Dy
one stroke yesterday.
The Office of the United States Attor-
ney at PhPnlx received in yesterday 5
mall q Personal note rom Attorney Gen
eral Mckenna which brought the negotia-
lions concerning The muCiace bottle to q
speedy conclusion, and the office OF he
UnNed States Attorney al PLnnix is now
prepared 10 transact whatever offici |
business may come,before it. In this let
ter the Attorney General "authorized and
EN- powered the United States Attorney,
his assistant, or clerk, to 90 out into the
] open local market and purchase one (l)
quart bottle OF mucIlage OF standard
! grade, paying therefor The current mar
ket price, bill for the amount Of which
may be inciosed II the next quarterly re-
port fro m the III cf the Unitei States
Attorney a, Phoenix to the Department OF
Justice Il Washington.
Inc mucdage was purchased at once.
MI Elinwood advancing the money 10
the Government in fear that the order
from the Attorney. General might be re-
sclnded in the following mail and the ne
gouations reopened.