The silver lance., 1899-06-16
WASHINGTON GOSSIP
AND DEPARTMENT NEWS.

The Navy Department has rendered
the wives. mothers, children and near
relatives of the officers stationed at
Guam an invitation to take the trip
there on the transport Solace, whlcn
leaves San Francisco July 1st with
large amount of supplies for Guam and
the Philippines. No women or emil
dren will be permitted to go TO the lat
ter islands, however.
The administration has decided to
reduce the American armies OF occupa-
ton in Cuba and Puerto Rico in order
to send additional troops to General
Otis in the Philippines. Orders have
been sent to General Davis, military
governor of Puerto Rico, instrIctinS
him to begin recruiting natives for use
in the army. He is first to enlist a bat
TALON. 400 men. and then, If the expert
ment promises well. the number will
be increased until probably an entire
native regiment has been raised.
instructions have been sent to all re-
cruiting officers in the United States to
enlist as many men as possible for ser
vice in the Philippines until further or
ders. Thanks to the Interpretation of
the army reorganization law made by
the comptroller of the treasury, the reg
ular army has been Unexpectedly in
creased by 2,6OO men, and the Presi-
dent is spared the necessity of calling
for volunteers or depicting the force
now maintained in Cuba and Porto
Rico. Under the decision rendered to
the War Department by the comptrol-
Ter the hospital corps, heretofore count
ed part of the regular establishment,
is not to be so considered, so that its
1900 men, while still retained in ser
vice, create that number of vacancies
In the regular army, which will be
promptly filled.
Although the members of the com
mission which was sent to Porto Rico
by the President were not unanimous
upon some important points. they
wisely decided not to submit minority
reports, but to omit entirely all refer
ence to matters upon which they did
not agree. For this reason there is no
reference to the tariff in the report
submitted, nor is any permanent form
of government recommended by them.
They keep their counsel very closely.
but it is understood that each of the
three commissioners has his own no
tions on the latter subject, which was
the most important submitted to them.
They decline to be interviewed, but it
Is believed one of them thinks Porto
Rico ought to have n form of govern
ment similar to that of our territories;
another advocates system like that
of the District of Columbia, with three
commissioners, two from civil life and
one engineer from the army; while the
third believes it would be better to
give the Porto Ricans the broadcast
kind of home rule by filling all the of
fees with natives under the direction
of a governor general appointed by the
President.
It is expected here that a modus vi
vendi regarding the Alaska boundary
VIII be signed in day or two. Assum-
ing that the agreement is on the exact
lines of the instructions sent. the
modus will fix the provisional bound
| ary line between Alaska and Canada
at three points near the head of Lynn
canal These will be sufficient, it is ex-
| pected, to prevent any further con
| flicts. These points are as follows: On
| the White Pass, at the old Canadian
! custom house in the pass: on the Chill
| coot Pass. likewise at the Canadian
| custom house, which has existed for
| the past eighteen months; on the Dal-
| ton trail, just above the Indian village
| Of Kluckwan. The first two points
were easily fixed; the hitch of moment
has been over the location of the
divisional point on the Dalton trail.
| The point mentioned is at the head of
canoe navigation and fifteen miles
| above tidewater, which the Canadians
sought so strenuously to reach. The
| modus provides only for temporary
delimitation, but there is great reason
to believe that the lines it will estab-
lish in the end will be accepted by both
| parties as the best solution of the veX-
ed boundary issue.
| Vice President Hobart has gone to
Long Branch, where he will spend the
summer trying to recover his health
and strength. He has had very Sc,
we're SIEGE and for several weeks his
recovery was doubtful. Shortly after
Congress adjourned he fell a victim to
the prevailing epidemic la grippe, and
| provoked a relapse by going out be
fore he was thoroughly well. The first
attack was pretty bad but the second
was worse, and he has been for more
than two months trying to recover
from it. He is so far himself that he
can drive out. but he has scarcely
strength enough to walk across an or
binary room, and the disease has left
his heart very weak-So weak as to Oc-
casion very great alarm among his
friends. 1t is believed. however. that
quiet summer in the invigorating salt
| atmosphere of Long Branch will pul
him around all right again. President
Mckinley has watched the slow recov
cry of his colleague with great anxi
ETY., has visited him once and some
times twice every day, and since the
weather became warm has taken hin
as companion on his afternoon
drives. The President intends to visi
the Hobarts at Long Branch some
time during the summer. No Presi
dent and vice president have evel
been so intimate as Mckinley and Ho
bart. The vice president goes over t.
the White House, walks into the Pres
ident's room. and says: "Hello Wha
are you doing now?" just as if the,