The Press., 1901-05-23
Washington Letter.
Washington, May %, 1901.

washington, May %, 1901.
The Illness, In San Francisco, OF Mrs. |
Mckinley, and the death, In Washing
ton, of Mrs. Gage, wife of the secretary
of the treasury, have been more discuss
ed, both In official and private circles,
for several days past, than matters of
state. Illness and death are two things
which never fail to absorb the interest of
those concerned, and In the cases of per-
sons of such prominence, all are concern
ed. Had the death of Mrs. Mckinley
been announced there would have been
no public surprise, but, as though to en-
phasize the adage, "It is always the un-
expected that happens" Mrs. Mckinley,
who has been an invalid for years, raj
lied, and it is now hoped, will recover.
and Mrs. Gage, who had enjoyed robust
health until she took the grip, as a result
of exposure during the Inauguration cere-
monies at the east front of the capitol,
died. Brief funeral services were held
this morning at the residence of Secre-
tary Gage, after which the secretary and
his daughter left for Chicago with the
remains. Mrs. Gage was unquestionably
another added to the long list of promi-
nent victims to the 4th of March inaugu-
ration day, and her death will doubtless
serve to increase the agitation in favor of
the sensible reform of making Inaugural
tion day late enough in the season to be
safe for the outdoor exercises, which
have killed SO many persons and will
continue to kill when the weather Is in
clement, as 1t nearly always is, until
changed.
The Isthmian canal question was again
brought to the front by the return to
Washington of Senior Corea, the Nicar-
aqua minister, who called at the depart
ment of state and announced that he was
authorized by his government to sign a
treaty for the construction Of the Nicar-
aqua canal with the U. s. After his call
at the department of state, Senior Corea
said: 81 come back with full powers,
even to the extent Of signing treaty
with the U. s. My government is willing
to give this country the most liberal
terms possible to assist In the construc-
tion of a canal through our territory.
or course, 1t Is impossible for us to con-
cede to the U. s. sovereignty over the
lands upon which to build water way,
but we are willing to give the U. s. the
| fullest control short of that. President
Zelaya and the other officers of my gov
ernment are perfectly satisfied with the
terms of the protocol, signed by myself
and the representatives of Costa Rica,
with Secretary Hay, last year. We hold
that that protocol is still binding. The
fact that it is based on the Hay-Paunce-
forte treaty, which has lapsed, does not,
in our opinion, invalidate the binding ma
ture Of the document. This being the
case, we hold that there is no chance for
the Columbian government to come In,
and that the Panama canal Is barred from
consideration. The signing of the proto-
col by the U. S. government, in our opin-
ion, commits the U. s. government to the
Nicaragua route. Even If this were not
SO, we have every confidence that the U.
s., of the two routes, would prefer to
build the Nicaragua canal, because the
glory of the discovery of this route be-
longs to an American, it would be con-
structed by American machinery, and the
money spent would come back to the U.
s." Evidently Senior Corea and his gov
ernment know of the activity Of those in
terested in creating sentiment in this
country in favor of the Panama canal
and are trying to counteract it.
When the enormous transactions of the
U. s. government are considered, the
amount lost by defalcation does not seem
large. According to official figures, re-
Gently compiled in the treasury depart
ment, the total defalcations of federal
officials, from the funding of the govern
ment to the present time, amounted te
$16, 900, 900. The post office department
has been the worst sufferer of any branch
of the government, probably because ii
necessarily offers more opportunity fol
theft.