Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-03-09
WASHINGTON GOSSIP
AND DEPARTMENT NEWS.

Ex-Governor Merriam of Minnesota
mas been appointed and confirmed III
rector of the census.
The War Department court of in
qulry has gone to Chicago to inVcsti-
gate the packing houses.
Mr.. Shafroth's bill approprlating S1o,-
900 for IL public building mt Leadville
has passed the Senate and House.
The Senate bill carrying Sl,0oo.OOo
dollars for II new building for the De-
partment of Justice has passed the
House.
Half n million dollars each was ap-
proprlated by the House for the ran
American Exposition Mt Buffalo ana III"
ONO Centennial at Toledo.
President Mckinley sent message
to the House to the effect that the
Fifty-iifth Congress had performed Its
extraordinary duties manfully.
The Senate has confirmed the fol.
| lowing nominations: Rear Admiral
Dewey, to be admiral of the navy;
Brigadier General Elwell S. Otis, TO BE-
major general by breyet.
The Presidents personal attendants
are William Sinclair. n pegro; Cl,aries
Locf;er, Il German, and Christof Evon
Tharn, n Swiss. Sinclair is the stew
ard, Loefier the doorkeeper and Iharn
the usher of the executive offices.
| The project for the construction of n
canal across the isthmuS at Nicaragua
made progress to the extent that a pro.
| vision was attached to the river and
harbor appropriation providing for
complete inquiry into the matter.
Senator Hanna has invited President
Mckinley to go with him next week to
his place ut Thomasville, Georgia, for
Il rest and the Precedent has promised
to go II public business is by that time
| IN such condl lion rs to permit his aD-
sence.
The President has nominated Assist
ant Naval Constructor Richmond T..
Iobson to be advanced ten numbers.
from No. l of the list of assistant naval
constructors. TO be No. s on the list OF
naval constructors, for extraordinary
heroism.
In the sundry-civil appropriation bill
as II finally passed, the appropriation
| for the Paris eXposiaion Is reduced to
S1,O1O.OOO. instead >of S1,3OO.O00 pro-
vidcd by the Senate. OF this amount
100000 is to pay for the erection of II
building.
The best estimates available place
the aggregate appropriations OF the
| present session of Congress Mt S6I5,-
SS5.4S0. The total appropriations for
the last year We're SS93, ,231 ,G15. max
ing the grand total for the Congress
S1,569, Ill. .10I.
In the general deficiency bill was In
corporated by the Senate an item np-
| propriating three million dollars us an
| emergency fund to be expended by the
President at his discretion. The
amendment was accepted without de-
bate or explanation.
Representative Shafroth was Mt the
Navy Department recently with re-
| quest that one of the three battleships
| recently authorized by Congress he
named after the state of Colorado. Sec
retary Long said that the request would
receive careful attention.
BY an amendment on the sundry
| civil appropriation bill the pay Of COM
positors and bookbinders in the gov
ernment printing office was increased
to fifty cents an hour. which, it is be-
lieved is the highest rate paid for such
skilled labor in the world.
Among the important projects which
| failed to receive favorable attention In
i the closing days Of Congress were
those providing Pacific cable, for the
| government armor plant, for an anti
| scalping law, for an eiglit-hour law
and for government for Hawaii.
The President may go out for n
cruise on the Sylph. but he will not
venture into deep water, because he is
SO easily seasick. He Is exceedingly
sensitive to motion. and the last time
he went up the lakes-the summer of
his nomination-he was i'll as soon as
he was out of sight Of land.
The government has abandoned all
attempts to raise the Spanish cruisers
off Santiago and the Maine In the har-
Dor of Havana, but the Merritt Wreck
Ing Company of New York, on Its own
account and at its own risk, Is trying
to recover the Cristobal Colon. and If
1t succeeds will be paid from the treas
ury.
1t Is not probable that the Senate
| Will confirm many of the 524 brevets
that have been conferred upon officers
of the army who took part in tile Santi-
ago campaign, because the members
of the military committee think they
have been too freely distributed, and In
the list are many men who were never
| under fire.
1t is said of the naval personnel bill:
| There is no doubt it is the most i'm
portant legislation affecting the navy
that was ever enacted. 1t makes the
man fit the ship. the personnel fit the
| material, and the navy authorities of
Great Britain. who have been puzzled
over the same problem, have taken it
up and are now discussing the practic-
| ability of ndnutiuO II IN their own SER
| vice.
Lieutenant Dan Godfrey and his
British Guards band, which arrived In
New York on the Lucania last Satur-
day, gave concert in the east room
! of the White House In the presence of
the President and Mrs. Mckinley and
L In diaa of tho On binnt ,Elis 1yns tln In