The National tribune., 1899-12-14
CHAT OF THE CORRIDORS.

One of the ablest officials in the Postal
Service is Mai. N. NJ. Brooks. Superin-
tendent of the Foreign Mails. He has been
in that branch for number of years,
mostly as the real Chief, while titularly
occupying the second place, and was pro-
moted to the head Of the Bureau by the
present Administration. To him was
largely instrumental the successful negotia-
ton of the recent Packet Parsels Post treaty
with Germany, the first convention of the
kind to be concluded with any foreign
country. He has received very fiattering
letters from the German ambassador and
other high German officials, expressing
their great appreciation of the value of his
special knowledge and intelligence in per-
fecting the arrangements by which the
treaty was brought to successful agreement.
Mai. Brooks served as a Captain in the 18th
NJ. j., one of the e 300 Fighting Regiments y
and lost leg at the battle of Spottsylyania.
He is Past Commander of the Department
of the Potomac, G. "A. r., and true Jealous
comrade.
Washington is a model for other cities
in the calm. even-tempered administration
of justice to murdererS. which distinguishes
its judicial proceedings. There are no
sensational details in the newspapers, no
mock heroics, no whining men and women;
no public eXcitemento of any kind. Last Fri
day particularly brutal murderer paid the
penalty of his crime. The daily papers
had chronicled the details of his trial, and
the strong efforts that were made to secure
u commutation in cool, matter-of-fact
way, the same as other city matters are
reported, and it was at last announced that
.,lt yt-lr hnn. thn n ont
declined to interfere with the sentence of
the court. Scarcely anybody spoke of the
matter when he met another on the street,
and few seemed to remember the date set
for the execution. The man was hanged
quietly and orderly in the presence of the
legal witnesses, the papers had a reasonably
full and circumstantial account of the
affair, which most people skipped reading,
and that ended it. 1t did not attract any
thing like the attention that football
game between two colleges would.
1t is estimated that there are $4,000
pages of speeches ready to be delivered
in Congress.
Henry G. Payne. Republican National
Committeeman from Wisconsin, is in the
city urging his scheme for reformation of
the system of apportioning delegates to
the National Convention, and is very
odiiS uiliC VI ITO outJcSS Hc pIdCtlSC
been to allow two delegates from each
Congressional District, and four at-large
from each State. Under this system the
balance of power has been held by the
Southern officeholders and negro dele
gates. too many of whom only secured
their appointment for the purpose of selling
out. as many gentlemen with Presidential
aspirations can sOrrowfully testify. Mr.
Payne's plan is, after 1900. to give four
delegates at-large from each State. and
then one additional delegate for each
10000 Republican votes cast at the previous
Presto entail election. The Territories and
the ID strict of Columbia are each to be
allowed four delegates at-large. This
will increase the representation from the
States which cast big Republican votes,
and greatly diminish that from those
Southern States which virtually cast but
little. For example the State of Mary
land, which polled 136,959 votes for Nc
Kinley at the last election, has 16 delegates
in the National Convention, or one for
every $3.50 Republican votes cast. Ala
bama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisi-
ana, and Mississippi. which combined gave
Mckinley but 200,076 votes, about $1,000
more that Maryland alone, have 124 dele
gates in Convention upon basis of one
for each ,614 Republican votes cast. MIR.
Payne has received Endorsements from 21
States, representing 5,0S2,967 of the Re
publican votes cast at the last Presidential
election out of a total of 7,104,779 votes,
and these States are represented by 49S
delegates of SG4 i'll the Convention.