Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-23

| dent in his office, going over bills which
| have accumulated since he left here and
| looking other business which was
| hand. The President and party left Jersey
| City after midnight, and the train Travelled
| slowly, so as not to reach Washington too
| early. The party was the same as that
| which left Washington, with the addition of
| Adjt Gen. Corbin, William S. Hawk and
| George Barber a nephew of the President
and Mrs. Mckinley. Gen. Corbn Joined the
| President at New York last night and had
| a long conference with him.
Trip to Canton.
The President will remain in Washington
| until 7:2O o'clock tonight when he and Mrs
| Mckinley will leave the regular Pennsyl-
| vania road train for Canton. which they
| will reach tomorrow morning. They will
| inspect the work being done on their home
| at Canton ard will return to Washington
| on Thursday or Friday. probably Friday.
! They will be accompanied by Secretary Cor
| telyou. Executive Clerk Leonard DR.. P. NJ.
| Rixey, Mr.. Hawk and Mr.. Barber
| The Presidents idea about returning to
| Washington instead of going direct to Can
| ton from New York was to dispose of un-
| nnshed and important business. He also
| desired to have a cabinet meeting and to
| that end sent notifications to members be-
| fore leaving here last week. Had the meet
| ing not been held today more than a week
| would have elapsed since there had been
| session. 1t is declared that there is no
| truth in the story that the Turkish situa-
| ton was considered serious enough for an
| extra meeting of the Presidents advisers
District Bills Signed.
| Among the bills signed by the President
were two District mountaineering the
| act relating to taxes and tax sales and
| making appropriation of 1000 for the
| maintenance of the isol&ting ward for mi
| ror contagious diseases at Garfield Hospi-
| tai.
| any visitors during the day. but departed
| from this intention to shake hands with
| some visitors from Mr.. Iittleficds district
| in Maine. on his way down stairs to greet
| TINS party in the east room colorcd boy
| on his way upstairs with Il message met
| the President. "ffy&r's cr note fer yer, Mr.
President" said the boy in an easy. una
dashed manner. The President quickly
glanced at it and said: Take 1t to the
| secretary" The boy got badly ratified later
PardOns and Communications
| The President this morning signed a
| number of pardons and communications
| George Brown, convicted of housebreaking
| in the District of Columbia and sentenced
| on February %, 1899, to three years IN
the West Virginia penitentiary, will go
| free HIS sentence was commuted to ex-
pire at once. District Attorney Anderson
/ t&N>cAAAA'iSA'''A
| satisfied Brown was not engaged in the
actual housebreaking but received some
! of the stolen goods.
| The President has granted a pardon to
| Walker G. Hammer of Virginia to restore
| his citizenship. The case is We'll known.
Hammer was convicted in March, 1885 of
| embezzing money from a national bank
| in Lynchberg and was sent to the Kings
| county, n. Y, penitentary. President
| Cleveland commuted the seven-year SEN
| tcnce to four years. Hammer was released
two years ago, but a pardon was necessary
| to restore his citizenship.
| Other sentences cOmmuted by the Presi-
| dent are: Elzy Davis, convicted in the In
dian territory Of horse stealing and SEN
| fenced to five years in the Ohio peniten-
| tiary, commuted to expire May 19 1900;
! Albert Vaughn, convicted in the Indian ter
ritory of the larceny of cattle, and SEN
| fenced to five years in IeavenWOrth prison,
| commuted to one year.
Porto Rico Discussed by the Cabinet.
A meeting Of the cabinet was held at the
White House today. the President having
returned from New York for that and other
| business to be attended to. The President
is going away this afternoon, and did not
| want to put session of the cabinet off
| until Friday, inasmuch as there was much
| business connected with the launching of
| civil government in Porto Rico and other
| affairs
The Porto Rican civil government occu-
pied most of the two hours taken up by the
meeting. The President, with the aid of his
| cabinet officers, is trying to obtain men of
| prominence for the positions in the island.
If the bill pending in Congress to allow
| army officers TO continue their positions is
passed the President will be in no haste
about the appointments, but If this bill
| threatens to hang fire he will have to make
Tie appointments by May 1. At least two
of the appointments are to be made now.
These are treasurer and auditor for the
island. Secretaries Gage and Root have de-
| cGel these
tive Porto Rican is to be nominated as
| treasurer while an American who has
been serving in the island Is to be made
auditor. He is understood to be at
tache Of the treasury who has demonstrated
ability and cleverness in his work in the
island.
The President has had a careful canvass
made Of the Americans living in the is
land with view of considering the wisdom
OF appointing a number of them to places.
| 1t is likely that a good many of these will
| be honored when the appointments are all
| made.
Attorney General Griggs is endeavoring
to find for the President some prominent
| lawyers in this country who will accept
judicial places. The salaries are so small
| that few lawyers of note be found to
consider the offer. This forces selection
out of younger and less known material,
but the President intends to exercise great
care in the judicial appointments.
| Allowance to Army Officers.
Another matter briefly discussed was that
of additional allowance made to a few army
| officers in Cuba. Attorney General Griggs
had been asked If any law had been vio-
lated. He reported to the cabinet tnat
there was no violation of any law and that
the action taken warranted.
Secretary Root then told the cabinet the
facts in the case. He said that soon after
General Brooke was made governor gen.
i eral of the island he wrote to the War De-
| partment asking to be relieved, saying that
he could not maintain a family in the
| United States and run an expensive estab-
| fshment in Havana on the salary and al
iowances he received from the government
He declared that he would be bankrupted.
He referred to the great amount of enter
tanning he was forced to do and to the fact
i that the people of the island expected this.
| The War Department officials gave serf-
| Gus attention to the letter. They had never
| been confronted by similar conditions. 1t
! was not right, they argued, to force Gem
eral Brooke into enormous expenditures
out Of his own pockets. 1t would not do
| to play the poverty act, and to belittle the
dignity Of the country. 1t was decided to