Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-09-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.

The attack on the president, his i'll
ness and unexpected death has monop.
olized the attention of Washington this
week to the exclusion of all other news
1t is not too much to say that President
Mckinley is the most popular president
who has been in Washington for good
many years, probably since the era of
good feeling in Monroe's time, three
quarters of century ago. Even those
who were opposed to his methods and
his aims, were fond of him as man
and realized that his course would al
ways be conservative and directed by q
high sense Of duty. Hence, his injuries
came home to the people with greater
force probably, than they did to those
of any other section, with the possible
exception Of his neighbors at Canton.
Further, there are more people here
who had selfish interest in his life
than in any other part of the country
Mr.. Roosevelt's civil service record
make it certain that no backward step
be taken IN that direction.
One result of the assassination Uf
President Mckinley will undoubtedly
be the passage of law excluding OF
banishing anarchists. Seven years ago
an attempt was made to amend the i'm
migration laws 20 as to exclude these.
The bill for the purpose passed both
houses, but on going to the house for the
second time on account of amendments
added in tho senate, failed to receive
consideration before the end Of the sess-
ion and hence failed to become a law.
Under it, If it had been adopted, Emma
Goldman could have been excluded and
her pernicious teachings prevented
from the ears of Czolgosz. Now once
again the idea has been taken up and
will undoubtedly be considered by the
next session of congress. Meanwhile,
Major Sylvester, chief of police of
Washington, has circulated plan,
which has met with the approval of all
the board Of governors Of the national
association of the chiefs of police of the
United States and Canada, providing
for bureau of the department of JUS
tice to be known as the Bureau of Grim
inal Identification, whose employees
shall work in consonance with the for
eign police in keeping track of anar-
chists.
| Admirals Dewey and Benham of the
Schley Court of Inquiry have given an
excellent illustration of their impair
tiality by the proper manner in which
J they decided that Admiral HOwison
wss disqualified for sitting as mem
Der of the court. Their decision is re.
garded as rebuke to Secretary Hack
EFT, whose course in refusing even to in
vestigate the Admirals bias, when the
facts against him were brought to his
, attention, has had such marked eff
! feet on the feeling of the country
, From present appearances, the cast
: against Schley is falling to pieces by it,
own weight and unless the Department
has something unexpectedly up its
sleeve, will result, not only in trium-
plant acquittal of Admiral Schley, but
possible in verdict that will ascribe tc
him officially all the credit to the vic
tvry of Santiago.
Judging from the Census bulletins al
to the population by color, eight Of
which out of total of eleven have
been made public, the negro holds about
the same percentage to the whites as hi
did ten years ago. More, he is increas
. ing faster than the whites, if the gaiI
of the latter due to immigration is ex
: Guided. 1t is of course, true, that al
mixed bloods are credited to the negro
race, although many of them mus
have had white fathers. Possibly
therefore, the negroes are not quite 81
: prolific as might seem to be the case.
A feeling almost of incredulity hal
been aroused here by the dispatches
J announcing that the G. A. r. is de-
manding more pensions on account o.
the Civil war. With pension list con
stantly increasing on account of tha
war at the present day thirty 81,
years after it was ended, and an annua
expenditure forit of $14O,OOO,0OO more