The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1900-01-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From the Newspaper Correspondence Divis
of 4. G.. Siggers

Inc return TO TINS country ana tne
interment at Arlington, the remains of
the sailors who went down with the
Maine in Havana harbor, is but the fit
ting fulfillment of sacred duty. The
American people have never regarded
the Havana cemetery as the proper
place for the bodies of these gallant
heroes. The nation desires that its
sacred dead be buried in the hallowed
ground where lies all that is mortal of
so many of the nations brave defend
ers in the past. The return of the
bodies of the men of the Maine to the
homeland, is adequate refutation of
the charge that Republics are proven
bially ungrateful. The triangular plot
selected for interment at Arlington is
near the graves of the Santiago dead
and just little separated from the
spot set aside for heroes of the Civil
War. 1t is proposed to elect an i'm
mense marble shaft in loving memory
of the victims of that awful catastrophe
which stirred the hearts of the Ameri-
can people as they have not been stir.
red since Lincoln's death.
No note of discord has come up from
Cuba since General Wood assumed
the reins of government. Instead, moth
ing but words of hope, good cheer and
progress meet the ear, and the many
difficulties that attend American occu-
patton seem at minimum. The new
governor general takes hold in vigor-
Gus fashion. He announces that he
will Immediately take steps to improve
the highways, and thus facilitate access
to the interior. The public school sys-
tenn is to be thoroughly recognized.
Several more school commissioners are
to be appointed, and favorable results
are anticipated. The judiciary system
is to be radically changed. The writ
of habeas corpus is to be established
All accused persons will be given fair
and speedy trial. The Cubans view
these innovations with distinct approx
al. better feeling exists in the is
land than ever before. A new day is
surely dawning for our wards in the
South.
The pension roll is already beginning
to feel the effect of the Spanish Amer
lean war. Some $4,000 applications for
pensions for soldiers in this war have
already been filed, and in all probable
ity most of them will be allowed. 1t is
worthy of note that the large majority
of claims comes from the volunteers
and especially from those regiments
that saw little or no active service.
The proportion of claims from the reg
ulars is surprisingly small. Pension
attorneys are responsible for the large
number of applications, as they hunt
up every case that has the shadow of
merit and urge the filing of claim.
The increase of pension expenditures
thus necessitated, exceeds the normal
decrease resulting from the death of
Civil War veterans. And the end is
not yet.
The admission of Oklahoma as a
State of the Union will be urged upon
the present Congress, and those who
are interested in the territory are hope
full that they will succeed in having its
claims to statehood recognized. When
%
ton it will be urged that Oklahoma, so
recently the scene of a grand rush for
homesteads on the part of settlers, has
every requisite for the honor to which
its people aspire. 1t will be urged that
the territory has an area equal to that
of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massa-
chusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey,
and Delaware combined, and that in
all the arts of civilization it is capable
of taking its place alongside of any 9th
er State, with prospect for a contin-
ued rapid advancement. 1t will be
claimed that the aspirant for State
hood has 700 churches, 1000 Sunday
schools, $50 newspapers, and that all
lines of business in the territory are
prosperous. 1t has wheat area
greater than that of the British Isles.
There promises to be a very strong
effort in Congress shortly after the
holiday recess is over, towards some
change in the internal revenue law
There are already several bills before
the Ways and Means Committee, the
members of which recognize the diff
Guilty of repeating or modifying any
provisions of the statute because there
clamor for consideration if the work is
once begun. Complaints from numer-
Gus western constituencies, composed
largely of farming communities, have
come in, because of the inconvenience
arising out of the provision for stamps
on notes under 800 Ignorance of the
law, and, frequently, inability to secure
the revenue stamps near at hand, often
times make notes given in small trans
actions of no legal value. The revenue
is not large, and it is claimed that this
provision of the law could be repealed,
without materially affecting the gov
ernment's income. There is also a
widespread demand for the reconstruc-
ton of the law as regards stamps on
kilograms and express package re,
ceipts, and, in view of the refusal of
both the telegraph and express com
panies to bear the burden of the tax,
the law has been requested to be
amended, so that there will be no mis-
construction on this point.
1t has been demonstrated repeatedly
in every State in the Union and in
many foreign countries that Chamber