Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-03
rsr oU1RTrRNIATER WIREHoUsr.

StOsUUU. DhNlu meTCcT. AT pTeClselg
Ala p. m. another dispatch was received
by the advance agent announcing the
passage of the bill by the senate aud Its
signature by the president T%hereupon
Advance Agent Tom Blackburn rushed
to the world-H Herald office and unloaded
his burden with the following explana-
ton and misinformation.
This bill hxes Omaha as one Of the great
distributing points for military supplies.
The building will be erected on the gov
eminent. corral grounds and IL to be used
for storage and distribution OF quarter
master supplies.
In January, 1900, q bill was introduced
In both the senate and house appropriatlng
$685. 900 to establish q general depot Of the
qu~artermsster's department, and was re-
ferred IN each house TO the appropriation
committee (where 1t was p~igecnholed).
On March Is. 1900, a few months before
the military headquarters of the Platte
were removed from the Bee building. Ed
ward Rosewater prevailed upon Senator
Thurston to introduce a bill TO make the old
p~ostofhce building such . general depot. Con-
gress, however, did not approve Of the idea
Of paying rent for ofhces In the Bee build
ing for al indefinite period, while the new
federal building was being completed, and
Mr.. RosewRter's plan failed.
On the 18th Of last March Mr.. Mercer In
troduced his bill T provide for the erec-
ton Of q Quartermaster's warehouse at
Omaha, Neb." and appropriAting $4,000
for the purpose.
On May 2 ouartermaster General Luding.
ton gave It his unqualified approval. say
ing:
Omaha II IAN excellent distributing point
from which supplies stored there could be
quickly shipped to the middle, northern and
northwestern posts"
In due course, the bill was, on May 6,
recommended for passage by the commit
tee on military affairs. Yesterday, in the
closing hours of the session, the Omaha
representative in congress had the meas
ure taken up and passed In both houses
and signed by the president inside Of two
hours.
1t will be noted that the quartermaster
warehouse bill was rushed through at
the last hour Of the session with the
usual grandstand p~yrotechnics. to create
a sensation. Just the same as all
preceding bills for which Our Dave
claims all the credit. It Will also be
noted that the passage Of the bill
through the senate. preconcerted and
prearranged doubtless through the en-
ergetic assistance and efforts OF Senator
Dietrich, is attributed altogether to the
congressman from the Second. as II he
had been the only factor.
Like his master, Mr.. MERGERS advance
agent has an impeachment to his We
racity. In sounding the timbrel and
pounding the hewgag for Mercer, he
seeks to obliterate the difference be-
tween a general depot and quartermas-
ter's supply purchasing station and a
quartermaster's warehouse. The original
bill, which Mercer purposely defeated
two years ago, contemplated the creation
of a supply purchasing station similar to
those at Philadelphia and Jacksonville,
Ind, where millions of dollars are ex-
pended annually no only In the pur-
chase but also in the manufacture of
quartermasters' supplies. The quar-
termaster's warehouse is simply an ex-
tension or addition to the corral. where
supplies will be stored and reshipped
as they may be required at various
military posts.
The intimation that the Thurston bill
was introduced to keep the army head
quarters In the Bee building is malicious
and baseless. When the Thurston bill
was introduced, on March 10. 1900, the
old p~ostofice building was almost ready
for occupancy by the army and all ar
rangements for the removal of the
army headquarters had been made.
The removal took place on June 80, 1900.
AS the Thurston bill expressly provided
for the permanent location of army
headquarters in the new postofice
building when the west wing was COM
pleted, there was no possible return to
the Bee building.
On December Is. 1900. nearly six
months after the army headquarters
had moved from the Bee building, Z. G..
Snyder, our Washington correspondent,
wired the following dispatch from
Washington: "-Quartermaster's supply
depot bill is pending In MERGERS COM
mittee. He refuses to move its refer
ence TO the military affairs committee.
What do you suggestr' This inquiry
eonelusively disproves the assertion Of
MERGERS advance agent that the efforts
to pass the Thurston bill were inspired
by a selfish motive. The Thurstcn bill
was referred to Mercer by Speaker Hen
derson to expedite its passage. The
speaker very naturally believed Mercer
was loyal to Omaha and would exert all
OF ais efforts to get it through promptly.
The fact that he has secured an appro-
p~riation for a $4,000 warehouse does
not yindicate him for defeating the bill
that would have given Omaha a quar-
termasters supply purchasing depot
While the Quartermaster's warehouse
will AFFORD enlarged storage facilities for
quartermasters' supplies. a dozen such
buildings would not be worth as much
to Omaha as n purchasing depot
II win take Mr.. Mercer a good long
while TO satisfy intelligent and unbiased
men that he acted squarely and in the
interests OF Omaha when he defeated
the Quartermaster's bill two years ago.
JOLLY DIVIDENDS AND INTEREST: