Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1901-05-08
Washington Letter.
I From our Regular Correspondent


the news from General Macarthur. The
Filipino leaders are fairly falling oven
each other in their anxiety to surrender
and to recognize tho sovereignty of the
United States. And he is equally
well pleased with the manner in which
General Macarthur is pushing the tria.
of the officers charged with irregular
tiles in the commissary department
at Manila. Other officials share Sec
rotary Roots pleasure in this news,
but as the matters are under the
branch of the government of which he
has direct charge he naturally takes a
greater personal interest than do other
officials.
Official dispatches from Venezuela
show that if the little republic ever
had any idea of defying Uncle Sam it
has changed it's mind. The United
States consular agent who was arrested
and made to pay heavy fine by the
government of Venezuela has been
given satisfaction and had his money
returned to him, and regret for the
occurrence has been formally expressed
to this GOV ernment The asphalt
troubles are to be settled by the courts
of Venezuela
j. A. Woolson, business man
whose home is in Cambridge, Mass.
said to a Washington friend: There
is a vast deal of nonsense about this
opposition to granting the degree
of LII. D. by Harvard to President
Mckinley. The sentiment at Cam
bridge and elsewhere among the
alumni of the university is all one way.
The opposition comes mainly from
small group of men, who have been
given to opposition and to bowling for
many years. We are only afraid they
will raise such a noise that President
Mckinley may refuse to attend the
commencement in June and will
not accept the degree"
Dr. E. G.. Stirling, director of the
Museum of South Australia, and pro-
fessor in the Adelaide Medical school,
has reached Washington in the course
of a tour of scientific investigation.
Speaking of his observations, he said:
What has impressed me very fOrcibly
here in America is the great iberality
of your government and your rich
men We have not reached that stage
yet in Australia to any notable extent
and our people, bent on money max
ing are less apt to appreciate the
value of museums or the Importance
of scientific research. Australia has
a wide field for investigation. in many
respects it is a strange land, and
offers clews to many secrets that the
world of science is seeking. But we
do not have comparatively as many
in Australia as you have in
the United States, and with our govern
ment it is far easier to get money for
a bridge or road, than it is for some
scientific undertaking. But in educa-
ton Australia is at the front, for our
public school systems compare favor
ably with those of America. We also
have several good colleges, where
men and women are admitted on ex-
actly an equal footing. My medical
classes at Adelaide are open to both
sexes. !"
President Mckinley would have been
the orator of the day, at the Memorial
day ceremonies at Arlington this year.
if arrangements for his California trip
had not prevented. He some time
ago expressed desire to address his
old comrades, at the national ceme-
terry, during his term as president,
and arrangements will be made for
him 70 do so next year. A committee
of the Department of the Potomac, G..
A. R., are now Arranging program
for this years Memorial day.
Secretary Root says the probable
time of the withdrawal of our troops
from Cuba did not enter into his deois-
ion to abandon the army transports
betwe IN the United States, Porto Rico
and Cuba. and lave the work done by
the private steamship lines. 1t was
simply quest; on of economy and the
change would have been made more
than year ago if the private steam
ship lines had not charged more for
the work than it as costing on the
transports. This time they offered to
do it cheaper, and their offer is going
to be accepted. That is all there
is about it.
Whether so intended or not, the ad-
mission of Mr.. Federico Degetau,
resident Porto Rican commissioner,
to practice before the United States
supreme court, is regarded by many as
declaration by that court that Porto
Ricans are citizens of the United
States, as there is rule of the court
which allows citizens only to become
members of it's bar. Solicitor General
Richards, upon whose motion Mr..
Degatau was admitted to practice, says
there is no significance whatever in
it, and that he doesn't consider that it
has any bearing on the insular cases
now being considered by the supreme
court
For some years the United States
has been the only nation that allowed
the plans of it's warships to be pub
lished. Naval officers have long crit
icized this policy because it placed
knowledge in the possession of other
n atoms which thew did not allow ,1S