Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-20
Secretary Alger Sends in
His Resignation.
II WAS NOT EXPECTED
That He Would do il Uutil the End of
the Year--GOSSip as to Who Will
be Named as His Successor By
President Mckinley.

Washington. July 19.-Secretary Alger
today handed the president his r~esigna-
ton of the war portfolio. The r%eSigna.
ton will become effective August /,
though it was rendered al the pleasure
of the president" Gossip has already
begun as to his successor. but it is entire
ly speculative. for. notwithstanding the
reports that Nj. Alger would not .ong con-
tinue at the head of the Wal department.,
his actual resignation came suddenly and
unexpectedly. That it would come by
the end of the year was generally be
lieved. but so little was it expected at
this time that the cabinet officers when
the news first became public We're in
clined to regard the announcements as
premature, the announcement that it was
actually in hand coming to them in the
nature Of a surprise. Formal acceptance
of the resignation had not been made by
the president up to a late hour tonight,
but will be in a letter to be written within
the next day Or two. No official state
ment as to the cause of the resignation
was ~procurable either from the president
or from Secretary Alger, neither of whom
would talk on the subject. Nor was the
letter of resignation obtainable at this
time. For the present nothing will be
made Known officially concerning the sew
erance Of the official relations between
the president and his war minister, but
later on the official correspondence clos
ing the ~latter's career as chief of the wal
department doubtless will be given to the
press.
The belief had prevailed in Washington
for some time that Secretary Alger would
resign from the cabinet, but the date
generally set for it was toward the close
Of the year, after he had submitted his
annual report, in which he intended to
sum up what had been accomplished dur
ing his brief but eventful direction Of the
war department..
It's tender then had been regarded as
almost a foregone conclusion, in view of
Mr.. Ayers announcement about a month
ago that he had concluded to enter COM
petition for the vacancy in the United
States senate to be caused by the expi-
ration of the term of Senator Mcmillan,
and that he had enlisted in his active
supper Governor Pingree, to whom had
been attributed free criticism Of the pol
icy that was opposed to be cherished by
the president toward the Filipinos. There
had been many explanations and denials
of the facts in that case, but in the end
the impression was conveyed that the re-
suit of the Michigan visit of the secre-
tary had been to change the relations be-
tween the president and himself to such
a degree as to make a restoration Of their
former status impossible, and to render
the connection of the two as part of the
same official family undesirable.
At one time since then there was
ground for the belief that a rupture
might be avoided, but this belief ceased
to be held when the news spread thai
Vice President Hobart and Secretary AL
ger We're in conference at N~ormanhurst
1t was largely at least as a result of this
conference that Secretary Alger decided
to leave the cabinet at this time. At this
conference there We're present, besides
Secretary Alger, his military aide and
! close personal and political friend and ad-
wiser, Major Hopkins, and perhaps some
other person or persons who felt also a
deep interest in the future of the secre-
tary. There has been no disclosure of
what passed, but it is significant that the
return of the secretary to Washington
was followed by prompt action. He ar
rived in Washington last night too late
to make any official calls.
Almost before the executive depart
ments were opened for business this
morning he called at the white house and,
visiting the president in his office, an
nounced that he had concluded to resign
his office. What passed between himself
and the president is only a matter of sur
mise, for neither have anything to say
on this point.
Later Secretary Alger wrote out his
formal resignation and personally car
ried it over to the white house. His call
on this occasion was brief, and when he
returned to the war department he closed
the door of his office to most of the call
ers who We're in waiting and had a long
conference with Adjutant General Cor
bin. To the newspaper men who sought
to secure some explanation from him the
secretary was courteous but firm. On
the one side General Corbin and on the
other Mr.. Victor Mason, his private Sec
rotary, by his authority, as they said,
made the announcement that Secretary
Alger had submitted his resignation to
the president, to take effect at the pleas
ure of the president.
At his residence in the evening the Sec
rotary was equally uncommunicative. and
positively declined to assign any reason
for the action he had taken. He had
called during the afternoon on Secretary
Hay at the state department., and with
him at home were Major Hopkins and
Mr.. Mason, but beyond the newspaper
men, few of whom secured access to him,
the secretary saw ne one. His plans for
the future have already been defined. Mr.