Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1898-12-08

petition TO be presented TO the court Offering
10 redeem said prior liens In such manner as
the court might direct and praying that there
upon the United States might be held TO be
suorogated TO oil the rights OF said prior lien
holders and that receiver might be appointed
to take possession OF the mortgaged premises
and maintain and operate the same
until the court or congress otherwise
directed Thereupon the reorganiza-
ton committee agreed that II said
petition was Withdrawn and the sale allowed
TO prOcsed on February 10 they would bid q
sum NJ the sale which would realize to the gov
eminent the entire principal of It's debt 10, $685.
OJG Believing that no better price could be
obtained and nppreciatlng the difficulties un-
der which the government would labor II IL
should become the purchaser OF the road
NJ the sale, In the absence OF any
authority by congress TO take charge OF and
operate the road, l directed that upon the
guaranty Of minimum bid which should give
the government the principal OF It's debt, the
sale should proceed. BY this transaction the
government secured an advance OF t3 1913 900
over and above the sum which the court had
fixed az the upset price and which the reor-
ganlzation committee had declared was the
maximum which they would pay for the prop
erty.
II Is gratifying fact tnat the result OF these
HAbNNSNAiAhe
and the Kansas Pacific line is that the govern
ment has received on account of its subsidy
claim the sum Of S64, 7bi, 293 10 an increase Of
49, 07 1853 70 over the sum which the reorgan-
ization committee originally agreed TO bid for
the joint property, the government receiving
It's whole claim. principal and interest, In
Union Pacific and the principal Of Its debt on
the Kansas Pacific railroad.
| Steps had been taken to foreclose the gov
| ll,,v, u,
company, but before action was commenced
congress passed an act approved July7, 1898,
creating commission consisting Of the secre-
| tary OF the treasury, the attorney general and
the secretary OF the interior and their success
sors in office with full power to settle the
| indebtedness to the government growing out Of
the issue OF bonds in aid OF construction OF the
Central Pacific and Western Pacific railroads,
subject to the approval OF the president No
report has yet been made to me by the COM
mission thus created Whatever action is held
looking to u settlement of the indebtedness in
accordance with the act referred to will be duly
submitted TO congress
Department. OF Justice Building.
deem It my duty TO call to the attention Of
congress the condition OF the present building
occupied by the department Of justice. The
business of that department has increased
greatly since it was established in it's present
quarters The building now occupied by 1t Is
neither large enough nor OF suitable arrange
ment for the proper accommodation Of the
business OF the department The SUI
pervisng architect has pronounced 1t
unsafe and unsuited for the use
to which 1t Is put The attorney
general in his report states that the library OF
the department Is on the fourth floor and that
all the space allotted to 1t is so crowded with
hnnla n c tO In ql nVnrlOnd tho
The first floor is occupied by the court OF
claims The building is OF an old and delapi-
dated appearance unsuited to the dignity which
should attach to this important department
proper regard for the safety, comfort and con-
venience Of the officers and employees would
justify the expenditure of liberal sum OF money
in the erection of a new building Of commodlous
proportions and handsome appearance upon
| the very advantageous sites already secured
for that purpose, including the ground oocu-
pied by the present structure and adjoining
vacant to that, comprising in all frontage OF
| POI feet on Pennsylvania avenue and depth Of
100 feet, In this connection 1 may likewise
refer to the inadequate accommodations pro-
vided for the supreme court in the capitol and
suggest the wisdom of making provision for the
erection OF n separate building for the court
and its officers and library upon available
ground near the capitol
The Postal Service.
The postal service of the country advances
with extraordinary growth Within 20 years
both the revenues and the expenditures Of the
post office department have multiplied three
fold. In the last ten years they have nearly
doubled Our postal business grows much more
rapidly than our population, 1T now involves an
expenditure of e1O0,OOO,OOO a year, numbers
70. 900 post Offices and enrolls 100000 employees
This remarkable extension Of n service which
| is an accurate index Of the public conditions
presents gratifying evidence of the advance
ment of education OF the increase Of commu
nlcation and business activity and OF the i'm
provement Of mail facilities leading to their
constantly augmentng use
The war with Spain laid new and exceptional
labors in the post office department. The mus
terlng of the military and naval forces Of the
United States required special mail arrange
ments for every camp and every campaign
| The commune Ltion between home and camp
was naturally eager and expectant In some Of
| the larger places Of rendezvous as many
| as $4,000 letters q day required handling.
This necessity was met by the prompt
detail of experienced men from the es
tablished force and by directing all the
nstrumentalities Of the railway mail and post
| office service so far as necessary TO this new
need. Congress passed an act empowering the
postmaster general to establish offices or
branches at every military camp or station,
and under this authority tho postal machinery
was speedily put into effective operation.
Under the same authority when our forces
moved upon Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip
| pines, they were attended and followed by the
postal service. Though the act OF congress
authorized the appointment Of postmasters
where necessary, it was early determined that
the public interests would be best subserved not
| by new designations but by the detail of expe-
rienced men familiar with every branch Of the
service and this policy was steadily followed.
| When the territory which was the theater of
conflict came into our possession 1t became
necessary to re-establish mail facilities for the
resident population as well us to pro-
vide them for our forces Of occupation
and the former requirement was met
| through the extension and application
of the latter obligation 1 gave the requisite
authority and the same general principles was
applied to this as to other branches Of civil adj
minstration under military occupation. The
details are more particularly given In the re-
port OF the postmaster general
1t is pleasing to be able to say that the serv-
ice in the territory which has come under our
control is already materially improved
Venezuela Dispute with Great Britain.
The arbtral tribunal appointed under the
treaty OF February, 1897, between Great Brit
ain and Venezuela to determine the boundary
line between the latter and the colony of Brit
ing the present month 1t Is source
Of much qualification to this government
to see the friendly resort OF arbitration
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