The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-16
TRADING, IN INFORMATION.
BAD STATE OF AFFAIRS REVEAL
ED IN WASHINGTON.

S~u6cs' SchatoEsS Noh8Ecssmen anu
other High officials Now Want
Pay for Information, whether Inn
parted by Interview or Otherwise,
and Government Employees ImI-
tate - Government Secrets Are
Hawked About and the Red Tape
of the Departments Makes This an
Easy Thing for Employees.
Washington, June 14.-"They need a
plumber in the War Department, to
stop some of the leaks up there" re-
marked Senator Elkins. to-day. while
discussing the probable effect of the
Thurber-W Wood Havemeyer disclosures
in connection with Cuban reciprocity.
Senator Elkins has had experience as
Secretary of War, and he knows how
easily important information, may be
distracted from the official records, I'M
der certain conditions. There is so
much red tape in the Executive De-
partments, requiring documents and
communications to pass through so
many different hands. that it is sur
prising that there arenot more leaks"
In the transaction of official business.
Without intending to reflect upon any
individual or employe of the govern
ment. or attempting to locate the re-
sponSibility for the leaks which have
recently occurred in the War Depart
nent, it is no idle fancy to state that
exclusive information is sometimes on
sale" in the various branches of the
government service.
In recent years the practice has
grown up by which employees of the
government, and persons occupying
high positions in the public service, de-
clined to impart any exclusive infor-
nation, for publication, without
being compensated, according
to the rank of the official or the news
market value of the material supplied.
Cabinet officers, senators, representa-
tives, United States judges, army and
navy officers, and even subordinate
officials, who a few years ago were
ready and anxious to impart informa-
ton to the public on current topics,
hesitate to be interviewed now without
an understanding" as to what the
consideration will be-"
The fever has spread to such an ex-
tent that frequently the most conhden-
tial communications between public Of
ficials are secretly hawked about in To-
calities where it is regarded as most
valuable, with fancy prices attached.
In some of the departments the de-
sire to increase an otherwise limited
income is so great that state" or of
fetal secrets" are often prematurely
disclosed often to the embarrassment
of the administration.
So long as the ranking officials of the
government feel that they are at liberty
to trade upon the information that
comes to them through official chan
nels the subordinates, in many in
stances, assume that they have the
right to enjoy a similar privilege. This
Selling" OF information by public Off
GERS has grown to such a magnitude
that instances might be cited where
high officials, when under contract to
furnish signed articles, have employed
outsiders to write the story and divide
the 'spoils."
Congressional TrayeIePs.
The ranks of congressional travellers
will be very slim this year. AS soon
as the curtain is rung down in the
Senate and House on the first session
Of the Fifty-seventh Congress, there will
be lively scudding to the home base
In recent times adjournment has come
to mean the dispensing of senators and
members vertically to the uttermost
parts of the earth. Born of a desire
to see all the land belonging to the
United States on which the sun shines,
the exodus to Porto Rico, Cuba, Ha-
wall, Guam and the Philippines was
great. The congressional explorations
of Cuba and Porto Rico were COM
pleted two or three years ago, for the
trip was comparatively brief and could
be made even during two or three
weeks absence from Washington dur
ing the session.
Last summer probably fifty members
of Congress reconnoitered the Philip
pines. Some of them encircled the
globe on their voyages of observation,
and the most of these visitors crossed
one or two oceans for the trifling ex-
pense of 81 a day, the cost of board
on a government transport. A few
paid their own bills and Travelled by
private lines. Representative Hill of
Connecticut went around the world on
his own hook. A few of the leaders of
the House-Mr. Dalzell of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr.. Payne of New York and
Mr. Steele of Indiana, took a pleasure
jaunt to far-off Alaska and came back
trimming with information about the
Klondike and adjacent regions. Chair
man Burton and members of the Riv-
ers and Harbors Committee did like
wise. But the great freight loads of
information about our new possessions
came from the Philippines with the
arrival of congressman from that
quarter and for months the Congress
sional Record was burdened with
speeches about what they had seen.
The Danish West Indies.
There is a new field, which will re-
ceive speedy attention from these no
madic statesmen-the Danish West In
dies Scores of congressman could be
counted on to sail thither soon, were
it not in the hight of the summer
season, and were it not that their own
reflections make 1t necessary that
they make a Decline for the habita-
gions of their constituents as soon as
Congress will let them get away. The
Danish West Indies will undoubtedly
come under the Stars and Stripes at
an early day and our national legis-
lators are possessed of longing to
see what kind of place the Danish
West Indies are. There will be some
congressional voyages to Europe. That
used to be the stock journey of MEM
bers with money enough left to make
such a trip, before the days of Ameri-
can expansion were. All in all, the
Congress of the United States is a
widely travelled body.
speaker Rendezvous One Idea.
Although he has not girdled the
globe, Speaker Henderson has done
vast deal of travelling. He has visit
ed every state and territory repre-
sented In the national House, over
which he presides. Last summer. Con-
gress having adjourned In March, he
took a prolonged trip to Europe. and
entertained himself viewing the legis-