Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-09-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Busy Midsummer Hive Puget
Sound Naval Station-Army
Transportation.
Especial Correspondence


gress from Washington, the capitol is
a busy midsummer hive, album with
human activity. No fewer than 400
people are at work there every day,
without counting the laborers, who are
engaged at present in accomplishing
an important architectural alteration
namely, the conversion of the old
time quarters of the library of congress
into committee rooms for the house
and senate.
The library quarters, into which the
fourth greatest book collection in the
world was crowded for so many years,
/ occupied the west front of the middle
part of the great building. They have
been completely torn out, even to thu.
| plastering, and at present the intruder
on the premises might imagine himself
in ruined cathedral, with a couple of
| equally dilapidated churches immed.
ately adjoining. The space thus rem
dered available is very large and will
add proportionately to the legislative
accommodations, a floor being intro
duced so as to convert it into two sto-
ries. 1t may be that part of the second
story will be set aside for a reference
library, containing such volumes as
Librarian Putnam may consider desir-
able for ready consideration by con-
gressmen, hut this has not been final
ly decided upon.
There are about 175 telephones in the
capitol, of which number 100 are on
the house side, with their own "cen-
trail" Another central on the senate
side governs 65 more, and there are 10
or u additional instruments scattered
over the building, which are connected
with the regular city exchange. Thus
the huge structure is n veritable maze
OF wires, each committee room having
its own telephone, while special lines
connect the house and senate with the
White House and the executive de-
partments. At the present time this
"hello" system is much less busy than
during sessions, but calls are frequent,
and the central operators have to be
ever ready at their posts.
Puget Sound Naval Station,
There has been a row among naval
officers over the equipment of the tor
pedo boat Goldsborough, which was
built by Portland or firm. Rear
Admiral Hichborn, chief constructor of
the navy, was anxious to have the boat
equipped for service at the Puget
sound naval station. The other men,
bers of the board of construction, to
which board the question was submit
BOD Id
San Francisco.
HichbOrn took the position that there
was great deal of work remaining at
the Mare Island navy yard, which is
near San Francisco, and that it would
not be possible to fit the Goldsborough
out at that yard. After some consider
able controversy over the matter Sec
retary Long directed the Goldsborough
to be sent to Puget sound station,
where the torpedo boat Rowan has just
been fitted out for service.
Some of the officers who were beaten
In this discussion secured telegraphic
orders from the navy department de-
failing Captain Henry Glass to make
an inspection of the Rowan and the ia
cilities at the Puget sound station for
doing such work. The assignment of
Captain Glass to this duty was sur
prise to the bureau of construction. and
the charge is now made that there has
been some underhand work on the
part of high naval officers to secure an
official report the tenor of which was
expected to show that the Rowan was
In a bad way and the Puget sound sta
tion in an inadequate condition. Cap-
tain Glass report has been received in
Washington, and 1t shows not only that
the Rowan was fully and properly
equipped, but that the Puget sound
station Is In every way adapted to n
high grade of naval work, including
the docking of the largest vessels of
the service.
Army Transportation.
There has been a great deal of con-
fusion In the accounts of army trans
portation, due, 1t Is said at the war de-
partment, to the carelessness of COM
mandlng officers in distant DEPART
ments In not furnishing soldiers with
the proper documents Indicating their
destination and the occasion of their
transportation. An officer travelling
with three or more men is considered
travelling with troops, and the quarter
masters department will furnish the
transportation. The chief quarternas-
tiers will judge of the necessity of
transportation by government ship OF
by commercial line. In the Philip-
pines every soldier sent to Manila must
hereafter be accompanied by docu-
ments from his command necessary to
account for his presence in the city
and Indicate his future movements.
Exports From Cuba,
According to statement made bv |
the division of customs and insular af-
fairs, war department, the total ex-
portatlon from the island of Cuba
through the port of Havana for the
seven months ended July 81, 1900 was
S16,69S,005, as against SIG, ,796,971 for |
the same period last year, decrease
OF sos 366