The silver lance., 1899-06-30
WASHINGTON GOSSIP
AND DEPARTMENT NEWS.

+ lished with him is authentic or author
iZed, except one that appeared in the
Washington Evening Star, in which he
merely expressed his regret that the
order had been issued without being
first submitted to the commission. and
remarked that there were things in it
| that the commission would not have
| approved. Messrs Brewer and Har-
low, the other commissioners, declare
| that they have not gone even that far
and have expressed no opinion and
made no comment whatever.
A reciprocity treaty between the
United States and Great Britain in re
lation to trade between this country
and the British colony of Barbados
was signed at the Department of State
by the representatives of the two gov
| ernments. 1t is the first treaty framed
under the Dingley law and the first of
| the series of treaties which the Brit
| ish colonies to the south of this coun-
try are seeking to effect,s John A.
Kasson, special reciprocity plenipo-
| tentiary. signed for the United States
and the British charge, Mr.. Tower, for
Great Britain. The treaty is made for
the term of five years, with provision
for an extension unless either party
should denounce it in the meantime.
| 1t is made strictly within the terms of
| section 4 of the Dingley law, which
| provides for a reduction of not more
than 20 per cent. of the regular duties
| on goods, wares and merchandise
which may be agreed upon, in return
for reciprocal reductions given by other
| countries.
New regulations for the control Of
| the entry of the reservoir sites on the
| public land will soon be issued by the
| Interior Department. The Secretary
of the Interior has been considering the
necessity of additions to the regula
| tions formerly issued under the act of
January 13. 1898. relating to reservoirs
for live stock. The law and the regu
lations issued under it have been great
| 1y abused by repeated locations of
those who seek to monopolize the pub
| lie lands to the exclusion of those who
| want to locate homes. In one instance.
| in Kansas, one person located several
| hundred contiguous tracts as reservoir
sites. In a limited section in one coun-
ty in Nebraska 5000 locations We're
made. The new regulations will limit
| the right to these sites to those actual
ly engaged in breeding, grazing and
handling stock, and then to the actual
necessities of each applicant They
will also provide that IL a reservoir site
is fenced or if an attempt is made to
use it for any other than reservoir pur-
poses, the right to it shall be immedi-
ately cancelled.
The American glass industry is but
forty years old. Very little glass was
manufactured in this country prior to
that time. 1t has only been within the
last twenty years that the nation has
really met its own demands, and 1t is
but within the last five or six years
that practically all foreign glass has
been shut out. The last to fall before
the growth of home industry was the
mirror plate. Ten years ago the United
States was sending S2OOO,0OO per an
mum to France and Germany for mir
ror glass. Last year but $1,000 was
sent. Within the last few years the In
ventive genius of the American has
been paying special attention to glass,
and some new avenues have been half
way opened. Streets are now being
| paved-fOr experiment-with blocks OF
specially vitrified glass. Fence posts
are being made out of glass. They will
not rot. Solid glass coffins are the Ia
test in that line of goods. Dentists are
filling teeth with glass, and it is being
made into tiles and supports. At pres
ent there is rush In the beer, whisky
and soda bottle markets for receptacles
the new American possessions.
1t is reported that Canada has
served notice on England that she
must choose between the United States
and her North American dominion In
the settlement of the Alaskan boundary
question. The highest authority is Civ
en- for saying that this ultimatum sub
mitted to England has delayed the ne
gotiations between Ambassador
Choate and Lord Salisbury on the pro
visional line of the modus vivendi. This
position of Canada is known here to-
day officially. The official to whom II
is known feels authorized in saying
that there are only two ways out of
the difficulty-frst, that Canada will
voluntarily recede from her demands
for a Pacific tidewater port; or, second,
that the United States shall surrender
the principle laid down by Secretary
Hay in his tentative boundary line
that America will not grant, temporar
| lily or otherwise. any port facilities to
the Canadians. 1t is asserted here ON
authority that England has been forced
to yield to Canada and that the United
States and England are wider apart
to-day in the controversy than at any
time since the adjournment of the
| joint high commission. The news is of
the most unexpected character.
The reports thus far received from
regimental and post commanders con
cerning the moral effect of canteens in
the army are practically unanimous in
favor of the maintenance of such in
stitutions for the sale of beer, tobacco
and soft drinks to the soldiers. Sew
eral of them show that the habits and
the discipline of the troops have been
greatly improved by the establishment
of canteens, particularly because it has
driven away low dives that were for
merly found in the neighborhood of
military posts, where the soldiers not
only got all the poisonous liquor they