The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1899-09-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.
p. O.-The List of Killed and
Wounded-The Bancroft Rose.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence.
General Harrison Gray Otis was
foreman of printing in the government
printing office back in the sixties, and
the other day he paid "a visit to the inn
mense workshop, the largest printing
Office in the world. General Otis was
surprised at the rapid growth of the
he was foreman, there was a force of
seven proofreaders on document work,
while one man mastered the correc-
tons on specifications, division which
has now many hundreds of men and
occupies building on G street. The
specification Office is where the patent
Office work is done, and the work is of
such a nature as to be known among
the printers as the "rock pile"
General Otis had the pleasure of
meeting several Of the men employed
under him while he was foreman and
who still hold positions in the Office. 1t
is claimed that General Otis can at the
average swift man, and he has been
known to set a galley Of nonpareil
without making single error.
General Otis is full Of "reminiscences
Of the days when printers delighted in
travelling through the country and
were never happy when they held reg
ular positions. The machines have
displaced so many printers that regu-
lar positions are now valuable, and
men are slow to give them up.
The List of Killed and Wounded.
A great many applications have been
received recently by. the war depart
ment for an official list Of the kill
ed and wounded during the Philip
pine campaign, and the department
has been compelled to give a refusal
to all such requests. It Is not general
ly known that there Is law prohibit
ing the making Of such lists public.
The refusal to comply with the request
for details has caused much criticism
and abuse to be made against the de-
partment simply because people are
ignorant Of the law. -
The reason the law was passed, il is
said, was because II the official list
were published It would give every
ciatm agent chance to annoy the rela-
ttves, Of soldierA as;weIl as the govern
Hent by appeals 10 them for pensions.
Further, the furnishing Of such a list
by the government itself, stating the
exact nature Of wound or the name
Of the soldier killed, might be held to
estop the pension bureau from disput-
inscany claim II might be construed
as an admission on the part Of the gov
eminent that the fact warranted the
sclaip. All inquiries in regard to the
killed and wounded are referred by the
war department to the casualty list
printed from time to time In the news
papers.
The Bancroft Rose.
1T 10 probably not known very wide
ly outside of rose growing circles"
said q Washington florist the other
day. that George Bancroft, the histo-
Ran, was the producer Of the Ameri-
can Beauty rose. It is true. neverthe-
less, and there is quite story behind
the way In which that flower sprang
into popularity. George Bancroft in
addition to his historical studies, was
considerable Of a naturalist and was
particularly interested in flowers.
Roses were his hobby, and he raised a
great many Of them, not in a haphaz-
ard way, but with scientific insight
into their possibilities and constant
view to their improvement.
when he succeeded in producing the
American Beauty, it became known to
quite wide circle that he had hit up
on a very beautiful flower, and one
night the plant was stolen, by whom it
was never learned. The flower was
taken to France, where it soon achiev-
ed a wide popularity under the name
Of the American Beauty. Its claims
were no less readily recognized in this
country, and it now occupies a front
rank among roses. By all rights, how
ever, it should be known as the Ban
croft, rather than as the American
Beauty, which latter was the name
given to it by those who stole the
rose"
Secretary to the President.
Not only has the president lost six Of
his original cabinet ministers, but his
private secretary, Mr.. Porter, has sue
cumbed to overwork and i'll health and
has practically retired from Washing
ton official life Since congress chang
ed the name of the private secretary to
secretary to the president it has been
practically a semicabinet position, and
the change in this place can therefore
be classed in the cabinet changes.
Mr.. Porter is now in Europe, and it is
stated that he may receive a foreign
position and remain abroad. At any
rate, the president has designated Mr..
Cortelyou as secretary to the president,
and he has been occupying this place
for many months. So successful has
been his administration that it is
foregone conclusion that before long
he will not only be entitled to the name
but to the rank and all other emolu-
hents Of the position.
For Better Bank Examinations.
The bank examiners Of the larger