Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1900-07-13
EMULATING NERO
WHO HAD TIME FOR FRVOLITY
WHILE ROME WAS IN FLAMES.

WHILE ROME WAS IN FLAMES.
Mack and Mark Fixing Political Pegs While the
Critical Stage Of Foreign War is On Time
Clocks for the Postal Service. with "Rake.
orr for the Clockmaker--InciviIity to For
eisn Visitor-More Cuban Extravaganza
Another JussIe Of Official Position to BAN.
boozle the Public.
From our Regular COrrespon jent.
WASHINGTON, June 80.
Naturally, Mr.. Mckinley is being
harshly criticised for going away from
Washington for an indefinite stay just
after he has issued orders which com.
init this government to participation
in the war which the combined Euro.
pean powers are preparing to wage on
China. He must have felt that he
was doing wrong in going to Canton,
where he and Boss Hanna are to fix
up his letter of acceptance and other
campaign matters, as before leaving
he tried to give out the impression
that he regarded the trouble in China
as about all over, after the Chinese
Minister announced the safety OF dip
lomats and other foreigners who were
all reported killed in Pekin by the
European manufacturers of news.
But the Chinese Minister made an
other announcement, which made it
plain that the trouble is just begin
ming, and that was that the fight at
Taku was started by the demand by
the European feet for the surrender
of the Chinese forts, and not by the
firing of the forts on the fleet. Eu-
rope is going to break China up, and
Mr.. Mckinley is going to help. That
is the way things now look.
All the monkey business in the pos
tai service is not monopolized by the
Cuban branch, not by a whole lot.
There is much gossip in Washington
concerning the purchase of time
clocks for all free delivery posto ffices
and expensive typewriters for Offices
having receipts of $4,000 and over by
the Postofice Department, and much
OF it implies that private individuals
have had big "rake-offs" out of the
purchase money. The odd thing
about the time-clocks is-that they are
of the same make as those introduced
in the Treasury Department several
years ago and which stirred up the in
dignation of Congressman to such an
extent that they we're by vote of Con.
gress ordered taken out. Then it was
that the man with tho big "pull" got
the Postoffice authorities to see what
a good thing those same time.clocks
were and to agree to pay the regular
retail price, $125 each for them, al
though about 500 of them were pur-
chased. Letter carriers and other
postoffice employees have to have their
time records made by these clocks,
which Congress declared degrading
and disgraceful when used in the
Treasury Department. They can ask
their Congressman to explain the ad-
ministration code of ethics which
makes it right and proper to deal with
postal employees of free delivery offices
in manner whice Congress declared
to be degrading and disgraceful when
applied to employees OF the Treasury
Department.
China isn't the only country in
which foreigners are sometimes
wrongfully treated, as may be seen by
the following experience in Washing.
ton, told by himself, OF Mr.. F. v. Pos.
tells, an architect from st. Petersburg,
Russia: II have been travelling in
this country quite extensively, study
ing the architecture of American
cities and observing American
methods of constructing big buildings.
l noticed a building in course OF con.
struction, in Washington, where a
steam elevator was being used to hoist
the brick. was much interested, as
in Russia the builders have the bricks
carried aloft by manual labor entirely,
and having camera with me, &C.
costed q workman and explained that
/ would like to take some pictures OF
the building, especially the elevator.
Hardly had l adjusted my camera
when big chunk of dirt was thrown
at me by one of the laborers. Twas
somewhat surprised, but brushed my
clothes and again adjusted my cam.
era. Then there flew at me great
bunch of mortar, which ruined my
hat and came near spelling my
clothes" 1t is fortunate for the good
name of our country that such i'll
mannerly treatment OF strangers is
exceptional with us.
The deeper the public gets into ex-
penditures in Cuba since the occupa.
ton of the island by our troops the
palmer it becomes that there has
been the widest extravaganza in
every direction. The latest exposure
concerns the military hospital near
Havana. Two hundred thousand dol
lars have been expended on this hos
pital, all the plans being on the basis
OF furnishing accommodations for
$500 patients, while at no one time
has it had more than 80. In order to