The silver lance., 1899-04-07
WASHINGTON GOSSIP
AND DEPARTMENT NEWS.

home-rule consistent with their own
welfare, and is equally anxious to
avoid any excuse for them to complain
of a carpet-bag government.
Adiutant General Corbin refused ?
commission as major general OF Vol
unteers. This fact is for the first time
officially made public in the new arm!
register. The record shows that the
commission was actually issued on tbs
18th of August last. General Corbin
the entry also shows declined to ac
cept. The case is without Il parallel
There were during the late war. per
haps. a dozen declinations of commits
sions for various reasons. but none OF
these was in the class to which TINS
case belongs. General Corbin was
asked to-day why he did not accept
such a tempting offer. THE number
of major generals was limited" said
he. I'VE need every one OF them III
the field. / could not stand in the way
of any man who was in the fighting
line. I wanted them to have their
promotions first. My place was here.
The postmaster general recently
placed on sale $1,000 complete sets OF
obsolete newspaper and periodical
stamps at a set. The were distribut-
ed at the largest postotfices, 1000 sets
being retained by the department at
Washington, 5000 at New York, 1000
each at Philadelphia and Chicago, and
a smaller number of sets at other post
offices, with instructions that not more
than one set should be sold to single
customer. The sale commenced on
February 18th, and so far as returns
have been received was a great sue
cess The entire stock is exhausted,
and after paying all expenses the gov
ernment is enjoying a prifit of $249.-
975. There are a million or so stamp
collectors in the United States, and the
eagerness with which these stamps
were purchased makes Assistant Post
master General Merritt regret that he
did not charge so set for them. and
realize a half of million instead of n
T.. arter of million dollars by their
sale.
Congress provided for an increase OF
about 1 900 clerks for pOstoffices, scat
tered through the various grades. 1t
will be the policy of the department TO
reward efficient and faithful clerks
now in the service by advancing some
of them to the new positions, and the
1000 new appointments Will be made
from the eligible lists of the civil serv
Ice commission 10 IDp lowest kTdut.
The new clerks will come in at the foot
of the ladder. and will not be advanced
over the heads of old and tried clerks.
The postmaster general has also been
furnished with $4,000, to be used in
the employment of substitutes to act
while the regular clerks are on vaca-
tion. A similar amount has been
placed in his bands for the employ
ment of temporary clerks at summer
and winter resorts and for holiday and
election service. The act making ap-
preparation for the next fiscal year spe
cifically provides that the postmaster
general shall not maintain a civil pen
sion roll or an honorable service roll,
and shall not use any of the funds as
compensation of any persons perma
nently incapacitated for performing
their official duties.
Edward Tripier. the New York man
who discovered a new motive power in
frozen air, will! make the first public
demonstration of his discovery before
the Nationa! Geographic society here in
n few days. He reduces air to liquid
form by compression and cold and
keeps it at a temperature of 212 de-
greeS below zero. One cubic foot of
frozen air is equivalent to 800 cubic
proposes to use it as a motive power i'm
place of coal. oil and electricity by
allowing it TO expand. The first supply
must be produced by the use of ordin-
ary fuel, but after that it can repro
duce itself. Two gallons of the liquid
will furnish power sufficient to pro-
duce ten gallons. Therefore it costs
nothing except for labor and machin-
cry, and steamship with the proper
apparatus would be able to manufact-
ure its own fuel while in motion. A
locomotive on a railroad could do the
same. and the principle applies equally
well to every factory in which power
may be used. Mr.. Tripler promises to
revolutionize the manufacturing indus
tries and transportation facilities of
this country. and great interest is felt
among scientific men here in the sub
ject.
The correspondent of the Chicago
Record writes his paper as follows:
The recent promise of Ambassador
Choate that the United States and
Great Britain would maintain a friend
ly rivalry in the worlds commerce sug-
gests an inquiry that is not so consol-
ing to our British cousins as it is to us:
for the statistics show that we have
not only been rapidly gaining upon their
export trade. but surpassed it last year
by more than hundred million of dol
lars. In 1868 the United States export
ed S269. .3S9. 300 worth of domestic mer-
chandise and Great Britain $S9S. $780,
O6O In 1898 our total amounted to ST.
233, 1854. .S2S and Great Britain's to ST.
131 ,944. .331; that is. in thirty years we
have gained 1854. 1921 .62S in our export
trade. while Great Britain gained only
S233 ,555. .211. Putting it another way
our gain has been 35S per cent. and
hers has been only 26 per cent She
has not even been able to keep pace
with the growth of population in her
own colonies. In 1899 we bid fair to |