The leader., 1900-03-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
area Contest For the spare
Room-He Was mt Chapultepec.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
The postmaster general has addressed
q letter to Representative Loud, chair
man of the committee on postoffices
and post roads, urging the passage Of a
bill to authorize the use Of reply envel-
opes and postal cards without the pre-
payment of postage.
There Is n demand throughout the
country on the part of merchants, pub
fishers and others whose business in
terests prompt them to pay postage on
orders, subscriptions and other replies
for more economical postal facilities"
urges the postmaster general. AT
present many business establishments
and persons In order to secure patron
age send to solicited and prospective
patrons and correspondents prepaid
cards and envelopes. Practical expe-
rience shows that only about 10 per
cent of these are returned, entailing a
loss to the senders of 30 per cent of the
postage value of the cards and envel-
opes so distributed. The proposed
change in the present law rs embodied
In the bill which submit provides that
the postmaster general may arrange
with private persons, firms and corpo-
rations for the use Of reply cards and
envelopes, the postage to be collected
at the regular rates when the envel-
opes or cards are returned to those who
issued them.
81 propose" continued Mr.. Smith,
that the envelopes and cards shall be
so marked as to distinguish them and
that they be given the privilege Of the
regular system. The plan is simple and
effective, free from complications and
will require the employment Of no adj
ditiopal force. 1t is nothing more than
an extension Of the postage due sys-
tenn now in operation"
A Contest For the Spare Room.
1t Is only matter, of time before
an extensive reorganization and re-
modelling will take place in the United
States capitol. The removal Of the
Congressional library from this struc-
ture into its new home left number
of highly desirable rooms in the capt.
tol, and lively fight is now in prog
ress for possession of the vacated quar-
tiers.
The senate and house both want the
space left by the Congressional IL
brary for conversion into committee
rooms. With the addition Of new
states to the Union and the acquisition
Of colonial territories it has been nee
essary to form new committees and
otherwise expand the working force Of
congress, and the question of finding
quarters for them has grown to be a
serious problem. Already a number
Of large buildings near to the capitol
have been leased in order to hold the
overflow, but this method Is unsatis-
factory, as no senator or representative
two from the main building. The
friends of the senate library are also
making a desperate effort to obtain a
portion Of the space vacated by the
Congressional library. In the division
of the rooms it is more than likely that
part of them will go to the senate and
house for general commit zee purposes,
while additional space will be granted
for the use of the senate library.
He Was MT ChnpuItepec.
The magnificent painting Of the bat
tie of Chapultepec over the west stair
way of the senate was viewed the 9th
err day by an aged man of flowing gray
locks and tall but STOPPING figure. He
inspected the high eminence, which
was the site of military school, and
the wildly colored likenesses Of Amer
lean soldiers fighting among the cacti.
ITS a splendid picture" the old
man said again and again as he studied
the view with almost childish interest.
"It's splendid, but it's on too large a
scale. The mountain was only a hni,
and the space Of the fighting wasn't
so extended"
The old man was Elliott NJ. Bascom
of Sunfield, Mich, who helped fight the
battle Of Chapultepec. He carries in
his pocket bit of parchment which is
signed by President James X. Polk and
his secretary of war, William Marcy,
testifying to his bravery as a soldier of
the Second infantry in that battle. His
memory is still very clear and his eyes
keen, although he is rs years old and
saw several years of military hardship.
He had never been to Washington be-
fore his recent visit and is being cared
for by friends here.
A New Military Regulation.
Orders have been sent out from
Washington to the military depart
ments to examine candidates for the
vacant positions in the adjutant gener-
ais and the inspector generals depart
ments, the former caused by the ap-
pointment of General Macarthur as a
brigadier general of the line, and the
latter by the death of General Lawton,
who in the regular establishment was
an inspector general.
A recently enacted law requires an
examination of all candidates, the final
selection to rest with the president,
who, however, Is not obliged to nomi-
nate the officer who makes the best
record.
A board has been detailed to conduct
the examination in this city and to de-
wise a general system of examination.
Other boards will be detailed Mt other
places. 1t is expected that it will take
four months to complete the examina-
tons and get the reports.
A loneliness hangs over and about
the national capital for the man or wo-
man who has not passed the social
lines. Within the lines there is no other
city in the country so full of pleasure.
Perhaps it is this knowledge that
causes those without to feel the sense
of solitude which at times becomes op.
pressive. The stranger in the city sees
the capitol, the Congressional library,
the monument, the White House, the
department buildings, the Corcoran Art
gallery, the statues, and he has seen all.
II he is in hurry, he can do the town
in few days. CARL ScHoFIELD.