The National tribune., 1899-12-21

| ipIlDT from ltle GTellcn TDNerilUltHb. III
| has been presented with the badge OF Inc
| Order of Merte Agricole az the standard
bearer of a Division which. through pull
| llcatlOn, has rendered a special service IL
| agriculture. The medal itself is n hand,
some and costly affair. A siX-pOlnted
white enamel star rests upon a heavy
gold wreath of wheat and maize, sur
mounted by n smaller -reath of grape
vine bearing the date 1Soo, the year OF the
creation OF the Order.
#*
The Vice Presidents room in the Capi-
| tol is a model in luxurious appointment
| OF course, there is no secret about its mag
| nificence, for the door of the room is always
open, and the veriest straggler into the
| Capitol can get glimpse of its artistic
decoration. The report of the Secretary
of the Senate gives some interesting de-
| tails as to the cost of surrounding the Vice
President with such elegance. Here are a
few of the items:
Imported silk mohair Khedive carpet. S46J
Antique mahogany. ................ 30
Mahogany library tables .......... 15t
Davenport sofa. 13'
| Two royal Sennah rIgS............ 212
Two pairs Brussels point lace cur
IalflS oU'
NeapoIitan silk velvet portiere. ...... 11c
Upon the mahogany desk of the Vice
President is a silver inkstand. 1t is mas
sive, artistic elegant 1t ought to be- for
it cost round 81 900.
*a$
Secretary Long has begun the reorgani-
Zation OF the Navy Department with bill
in Congress to consolidate the Bureaus
of Construction and Repair, Steam Engi-
neering. and Equipment under one Bureau,
to be called the Bureau of Ships; its duties
to be those which now pertain to the three
existing Bureaus above named. In the
Bureau there are to be two Divisions, one OF
The Chief of the Bureau of Ships is to be
appointed from the list Of line officers or
Naval Constructors not below the grade
Of Commander. The Chief Of the Division
OF Construction is to he appointed from the
list of Naval Constructors, and the Chief Of
the Division Of Machinery from the list OF
line officers having skill rs engineers.
In special report to the Secretary of
War, Gen. /. G. AinSworth shows that the
sum Of S2,610.921 has been expended to date
in the compilation and printing of the
official records of the Union and Confed-
erata armies, which work was commenced
in 1874. The expenditures on this account
during the past fiscal year were ,351.
Unless his health materially improves.
Secretary James Wilson OF the Agricul-
tural Department will resign from the
Cabinet. For some time past Secretary
heart. and a short time ago had a severe
attack. He made uD his mind then to retire
from public life, and had long talk with
the President. during which he stated his
desire to leave the Cabinet. The Pres-
deaf, il is stated, prevailed upon him to defer
his retirement adding. however, that should
his health continue poor ne would i'm
mediately sever his connection with the
Government.
Linguistic ability does not come very
high in the Government service. The
Secretary Of State wants another trans
lator who is familiar with nine languages,
! and expects to get him for 81, 100.
a%*
1t is expected that several regiments
will be recruited in Cuba from among the
natives to relieve our troops so that they
may be sent to the Philippines to replace
| returning soldiers The Cubans have
| been found anxious to enlist in our service.
and are believed to be capable of performing
military service in a proper manner. A
| number Of applications have been received
| at the War Department from officers of the
| army for appointments in these regiments
! and it is probable that the ColonelS will be
selected from Captains Of the line who have
had some experience in Cuba and who have
| an intimate knowledge of the Spanish Ian
| guage. The junior officers are likely to ht
| taken from among our non-commiSSiOneC
officers and from civil life. The organiZa
ton of the regiments will be arranged ir
detail very soon.
One morning last week Mr.. Samue
| Gompers, President Of the American FEEDER
| alton of Labor, left his residence, 327 Fl
street, on his bicycle. In some way this
became unmanageable, and ran into al
electric car. MIR. Gompers was knocked
| inSensible by the collision, and was con
| veyed Immediately to his residence. Ex
animation developed that the injuries were
severe consisting Of bruises over nearly
the entire body, although no bones were
| broken.
The always-present question of prece
dence in official society has been reopened
by the death Of Vice-President Hobart
| Mrs. Mckinley, of course, remains the first
| lady Of the land, and is the only woman
in Washington entirely exempt from max.
ing calls, and Indifferent to the problem
of who should call first. But as the Secre
tary Of State has now become the heir.
| apparent, he moves up one peg, and all
the other Cabinet officers follow. But this
does no change the relative position OF
| themselves and wives to the Diplomatic
| Corps, Supreme Court, and Senate. Mrs
| Hay will continue to call first on the wives
| of the ambassadors, Justices, and Senators
in the order named, but will wait for calls
| from the wives OF Ministers, of the General
| commanding the Army, the Admiral com.
manding the Navy, minor diplomats, etc.
and the other ladies of the Cabinet will dc
the same. The wives of Senators will call
first upon the wife of the President, and
those of the Justices and ambassadors.
They will call upon one another in the
order of their husbands seniority in the
Senate, the wife of the junior Senator
making the first call. The wives of Rep
resentatives will call first on everybody
except the wife Of the Speaker, who stands
alone, and need make no call except upon
the wife of the President. She will, how
ever, call first on the wives of Embas-
sadors.
The cheerful hopes that were entertained
| of the recovery of Lieut.. Brumby, Admiral
| Dewey's Flag Lieutenant. were not realized
He died last Sunday afternoon of typhoid
| fever at Garfield Hospital. He was de-
lirious for while before his death, and
imagined himself again on the deck of the
| Olympia, beside his Admiral, at the battle
| OF Manila, and shouted commands, and
answered the orders of the Admiral as he did
in the battle. He was born in Marietta
Ga, in 1885, and his father was Colonel
in the rebel army. He graduated from
Annapolis in 1877, the second in his class
Admiral Dewey had recommended his
promotion for distinguished services, and
/ he would have been raised to the grade OF
Lieutenant-Co Commander. The State oi