Bisbee daily review., 1902-09-12
WASHINGTON LETTER
lsnacill Corrcsnnndence.l

WorAmeu employed in tearing out the inside of lile White House the ot&. CT day unearthed. deep down under the basement, a portion of human skele ton. The mys.eriOus discovery was mado while the laborers were exct waiting a subccllar below the floor or the basement for the new heating ap. paratus. After going down about teII feet a massive stone vault was en. e0untcrcd. It proved to be what wah apparently the foundation walls of all old house that had evidently stood on the spot where the White House was aftorward erected. It will be remem- bered that the land upon which the White House and adjacent public buildings stand is made land. devel- oped to its present condition by filling in and grading. In this same excava- tion was found an immense oven i'm bedded in the stone wall, and in close proximity to the oven were found the bones. The workmcH believed they had unearthed an ancient tomb.
 The New Spanish Minister.
 Senor Ojeda. the new Spanish min ister. who succeeds the Duke of Arcos, begins his American mission under the most favorable auspices He has al ready secured the friendship of such representative men as Senator Frye of Maine and former Secretary of State William R. Day. with whom he was associated as secretary of the Spanish commission which met in Paris to con- sider terms of peace after the Spanish war
 The minister has an interesting fam lily. who will join him ill the early au- tumn. Sonora Ojeda has q large ac- Quaintance in Washington and is de scribed as handsome and gracious matron. A daughter. who is about twenty, and q son. who will be an at tache of the legation. complete the household. Senorita Ojeda is said to be unusually lovely. and her advent will be warmly welcomed The diplo- matic corps at present contains but one woman, the Countess Marguerite de Cassini, daughter of the Russian ambassador. The pretty young count ess has been undisputed queen. but it is said that she will find a rival in the daughter of the Spanish minister.
 Improved Postal Finances.
 For the first time in nineteen years the postal system promises something better than a big deficit on its annual business. As far as it has been possi- ble to forecast, the excess of expendi- lures over receipts for the fiscal year 1902 will not exceed and may not quite reach S1.500.0OO. or less than half of the smallest total since 1883.
 The fiscal year 1883 ended. leaving a postal surplus for the year represent ing a net revenue of about S2.G92 GOO. The next year this was turned into a deficit of more than S3.0000OO. For the two years of 1893 and 1894 it rose to between S9.00O.000 and S1O.OOO, 900. In 1897 it rose 10 its high water mark, $11.100,0OO. and since then has de clined annually.
 Next year. if reforms now under way can be carried through. there is fair prospect that we shall have a surplus for the whole twelve months. the first for twenty years. That will be the next step to l cent letter postage.
 Printing Bureau Bid Lowest.
 The government probably will print its own postal stamps as the result of the bids opened at the postoftice de partment the other day for the con- tract for supplying the adhesive post. age stamps for the four years begin ming Oct l. It had been stated that the price asked by the bureau of en- graving and printing was considered exorbitant and that the work would have to go to a private concern. The bureaus bid. however, proved the low est. It is cents per thousand for or dinary postage stamps. : cents per thousand for postage due stamps. 15 cents per thousand for special deliy- cry stamps. $2.S2 per thousand books containing twelve stamps each. $3.45 per thousand books containing twenty four stamps each and SAG per thou sand books containing forty-eight stamps each. The only other bidder was the American Bank Note and En graving company of New York, whose bid is estimated to be about S15.000 higher for the four years than the bu- reau's bid.
 Clubhouses For Enlisted Men.
 Arrangements are being made by the war department to spend half million dollars on clubhouses for enlisted men of the army. A board of officers will shortly be convened and will visit the various garrisons and inspect carefully the local conditions. In some cases il will be necessary to erect special building for this purpose At other places it will be possible to utilize buildings already in existence. which