The silver lance., 1899-06-30

Regarding army canteens President
Mckinley says: 1.-THE position which
some temperance people take on the
question is simply absurd. The attor-
ney general must interpret the law as
he finds it, but" he added, 81 should
be very glad to see prohibition Of the
canteen." .r Il
The War Department Is making ex-
tensive preparations to transport re-en-
forcements to Manila. The quarter
masters department has chartered sew
eral new vessels for this duty, and 1t is
estimated that by the first of Septem-
Der 10000 regular soldiers will have
reached the Philippines.
Owing to the advance in the price of
iron and copper 1t has been found that
the plans for several projected public
buildings, which were made year or
more ago, will have to be modified. In
Montana there are three buildings, for
the construction of which the lowest
bids were considerably above the ap-
propriations, and hence plans for low
er priced buildings will have to be re-
advertised. ..t
Secretary of State Hay has received
a brief official dispatch from Bartlett
Tripp, commissioner at Samoa, saying
that peace had been restored on the
islands; that the commission had sus-
tanned the decision of Chief Justice
Chambers in the contested case of the
election of "A king; that Malietoa Tanus
had resigned; that the kingship was to
be abolished and a provisional govern
ment established.
General Leonard Wood, military gov
ernor of Santiago province, has been
offered the presidency of the Washing
ton Traction and Electric Com
pany. The company has been form
ed recently and OWNS and controls
directly and indirectly. all the street
railroads in the District of Columbia,
with the exception of the Capital Trac-
tion Company. 1t also owns the two
electric light companies. ...
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Taylor has announced the acceptance
of the offer of George II. and Edwin
S. Monroe of lot 120x15S feet as the
site for the public building at Joliet,
the price paid for the lot being S13,-
600. 1t was also decided by the treas
ury officials not to prosecute condemn
alton proceedings to acquire the proper
ty of J. Klein at Freeport, Illinois, as
the site for the public building at that
place. The lot offered by w. III. J.
Stratton at $17.5OO has been accept
ed.
Colonel Bingham. the superintendent
of public buildings and grounds, Is
having completed under his immediate
supervision an extensive change III
the water and sewerage system OF the
White House. The work was begun
some time ago, but has been slow OF
I - 1.a lon
agreeable to Mrs. Mckinley and much
had to be done while she was away
from the city. Some of the usual
changes are being made in the interior
of the building also while the occu-
pants are absent.
There has been call made by Gener-
al Otis upon the War Department for
| four expert Spanish court stenograph-
ers for service in the Philippine Islands.
They must he familiar with the Span
ish and English languages, able to
translate from Spanish into English
and from English into Spanish and ex-
perts in taking dictation in the Spanish
language and transcribing same with
typewriters. The court reporters call
ed for by General Otis and which the
War Department is expected to furnish
must have n speed of not less than 15O
words per minute in the Spanish Ian
guage and possess the highest degree
of efficiency in their profession.
There has been much quiet discus
sion going on concerning the expira-
tion of Admiral Simpsons term of sea
duty. Secretary Long has not re.
ceived any communication from Admi-
raj Sampson applying for shore duty,
and it is not likely that he will in the
near future. Admiral Sampson has
been on sea duty only two years
which is a year short of the regular
term. 1t is seldom that an officer of
SIMPSONS rank is given command of
a squadron for a shorter period than
three years, and as it is advantageous
for Admiral Sampson to continue Oh
sea duty as long as possible it is not
probable that he will apply to be re-
lieved until he is compelled to do So
The Journal of the United Service
Institution of India for April last con-
tains an elaborate report on the admin
istration of the United States army in
the Philippines by Captain s. s. Long,
assistant adjutant general of the Brit
ish army, who is permanently sta
toned at Hong Kong, but has been
spending the greater part of the win
ter and spring with our troops in
and around Manila. While Captain
Long points out several serious defects
in our military system-and his criti-
cisms should be carefully studied by
the officers at the War Department
his conclusions are in the highest de-
gree complimentary, and his verdict
should be gratifying to every Ameri-
can.
The Industrial commission has some
what changed its plan for the work of
the sub-commissions during the sum-
mer months by revoking its order for
the appointment of special commits
sions to investigate the elevator trust
and the mining industry west of the
Mississippi river, and instead author
izing all the regular sup-commissions