The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-10
HOSPITAL PROJECT HELD UP.
Act of Legislature May Be Re-
Quired.

ACT OF Legislature May be He-
quired.
Washington Aug. 9.-Savannah's
Marine Hospital project is temporarily
quarantined in the office of the Depart
ment of Justice, pending a decision of
the Attorney General relative to the
selection of a site for the new build
ing. AS is we'll known, it is proposed
to construct the Marine Hospital on
the site of the old postoffice. With
view to providing Savannah with, not
only a desirable hospital building, but
also supplying it with additional
ground, it is proposed to buy the other
half of the square. That would af-
ford ample room for the building and
surrounding grounds. The owners of
the half of the square desired have
| been asked to name price, and it is
| understood that it can be obtained at
a reasonable figure. Now the ques-
ton has been raised, Can the old
| postoffice property be used for any
other purpose than for a postoffice
building?"
When the state of Georgia ceded
control of the property to the govern
| ment, there was a special act of the
Legislature in which it was stipulated
| that the land should be used for post
!. office purposes. In order that there
shall be no controversy over the mat
ter the Attorney General was asked
| yesterday to give an opinion as to
whether the old postoffice property
may be used for the Marine Hospital
site, without further enactment by the
! Legislature. The Secretary of the
| Treasury has referred the subject to
the Attorney General, and a decision
from the latter is expected in a few
days. AS soon as that question is
| disposed of DR.. Williams, who is TAX
| ing an active interest in the matter
will be- advised and negotiations for
purchasing the additional property will
be resumed.
Political Ping-PonG.
Political ping-pong is not an map
propriate description of the war game
being SO strenuously played by the
committees. To-day, for instance
Representatives Griggs of Georgia,
chairman of the Democratic Congress
sional Committee, will serve" at his
Republican rival, Representative Bah
cock, chairman of the Republican Com
mittee, stiff ball of political hot
stuff" attacking trusts, and blaming
| DOllI1Cdl
rascality, real or imaginary. The next
day Babcock returns Griggs service"
with sneak shot, which just falls
over the net, short of Democratic
reach. Griggs gets into the game again
with another volley of stiff argument
and Babcock replies, in a somewhat
non-committal way and so the politi-
cal volleying keeps up between the
rival headquarters, with the hope and
| hot anti CT
be aroused sufficiently to induce some
of the moneyed men of the two par
ties to come forward with contributions
to the campaign fund.
Running Hot Air.
At present, it is said, that both COM
mittees are being run on hot air. /"
The Democrats do not conceal the fact
that they can not get any of the rich
men of the party to help in the con-
gressional fight. Every Democratic
congressman, who has been asked to
contribute, replies that he has all he
can do to pay expenses in his own dis
trict. The Republicans are in very
much the same Strengthened circum-
stances. The Republicans have a
wider field than the Democrats, in
which to hunt for contributions, but
it is understood that thus far the re-
sponses made to Chairman Babcock' S
appeals have been very discouraging
In the meantime Griggs and Babcock
are keeping UP their courage by ping
ponging each other in the newspapers
in more or less interesting way, and
to that extent are attra citing some at
tention to the pending congressional
campaign.
MckinIcy's Doctors Paid.
All of the doctors who attended the
late President Mckinley at Buffalo
have, it is said, been officially COM
pensated for their ministrations, and
accepted the sum in each instance al
lotted to them by the executors of the
Mckinley estate. No public statement
of the various amounts distributed has
been made and it is understood that
the incident is closed, so far as the
general public is concerned.
In this connection the following Incl
dent is related upon undisputed au-
thority. There was not one word of
discussion in either branch of Congress
over the appropriation in the defcien-
cy bill, which obtained the item pro-
viding $4,000 for the payment of the
expenses of the death and funeral ex-
penses of President Mckinley. The
appropriation was not mentioned Off
cially until after the bill had passed
the House of Representatives and been
taken up in the Senate. The item was
of Senator Allison, chairman of the
committee. 1t went through the Sem
ate and the bill came up in conference.
One of the House conferees was the
first man to question the appropria-
ton.
When that item was reached in con-
ference the member of the House ask
ed for some explanation of the item.
Chairman Allison replied that no ex-
PLANTATION was deemed advisable. He
added that II was one of those cases
where they We're called upon to follow
a precedent in the cases Of Lincoln
and Garfield, and there appeared 10 be
a general desire that the money should
be appropriated and distributed by the
executors Of the Mckinley estate with
out any publicity in or out OF Con-
gress. There was a mild protest from
the House conferees against doing
business IN that way. but the Senate
conferees finally had their own way.
and 20 this day no statement has been
given out.