Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-09-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.
W hbdINUIVN LIE I E1ks
from our Regular Correspondent


WASHINGTON. Sept Is, 1902.
A statement was recently made at the
War Department to the representative of
the press, to the effect that the Navy De-
partment desired the army transport, Grant,
Hancock, Relief and Lawton; that the
Lawton, having been purchased from an
emergency fund appropriated by Congress
for the use of either the Navy or the War
Departments, would be turned over, and
that Congress would be asked, practically
as matter of formality, to enact a meas
ure authorizing the transfer of the other
three vessels 1t was given out that the
War Department had no further use for
| these transports, but that the Secretary of
the Navy could use them as receiving ships,
etc. to advantage. On the face of it, there
was nothing surprising in the statement
and several editors, without looking into
the subject, have stated that it was the
duty of Congress to pass the
desired bill A little investigation, how
ever, would have revealed in this simple
plan an effert 10 hide from the public a
new evidence of the fearful extravaganza,
to express it mildly, which characterized
the actions of War Department in connec-
ton with the purchase of army transports
in the early days of the Spanish American
War. Investigation reveals the fact that
the War Department purchased the vessels
named at most extrayagent figures. The
Grant cost the government $500, 900, the
Relief $45, 900, the Hancock $500, 900 and
the Lawton $50, 900. After their purchase,
an amount closely approximating $1,000
600, was expended for fitting them out as
transports A comparatively short time
ago, the War Department advertised ex-
4 tensively for bids on the no longer needed
transports and finally received a number
1t was then stated that the bids were so
low that none would be accepted, but their
actual amount was withheld on the ground
that to publish itwould be to depreciate the
value of government property. 1t now
transpires that the total amount offered for
the four vessels, which had cost the govern
ment So, 210, 900 was less than 5000, 900.
As these figures would have called atten-
tion anew to the extravaganza of the De-
partment officials, it was determined to
suppress the bids and the Secretary
of the Navy was persuaded to say
that he would take the vessels, provided
Congress would authorize the transfer. The
incident recalls the case of the Merrimac,
which Admiral Sampson so accommona-
harbor The venerable collier had cost the
government $500, 900 at the beginning of
the war, and was hardly sea-worthy when
sunk. She was not worth the cost of re-
pairs necessary to make her useful in any
capacity, and when the news came that she
had been sunk in Santiago harbor it lifted
a considerable weight from the minds of the
officials in Washington, who dreaded the
] lioa4 r. tha
plies with the wishes of Secretary Root it
| will appropriate the sum of So, PIC, 900 for
the purchase of the transports allowed
named by the Navy Department, from the
War Department, and thus the archives of
the War Department will show that the
ships were sold fer what they had cost.
"Figures don't lie-neither does Carroll
D. Wright, " remarked prominent Demo-
cratic politician recently, apropos Of the
extremely diplomatic report which Col.
Wright made on the Pennsylvania coal
strike situation. The statement with all
that it implies is most expressive of the
popular opinion of Col. Wright among the
members of both parties. Colonel Wright
does not mistate facts, but he has a con-
venient way of arringing them so that they
are sure, by their juxtaposition, it may be,
dent may be in the White House. In this
connection little item of ancient history
is interesting. Col. Wright, some years
ago, prepared statement of the wages
paid to the cotton operatives in Germany,
England and the United States The ad-
ADMINISTRATION was Republican, stood for
high protection, ETC., and, of course, the
figures showed that German operatives re-
ceived the lowest wages, England next,
and American operatives the highest The
tables published gave the wages received
per week. All would have been we'll but
for the fact that an inquistive newspaper
man persuaded one of Col. Wright's sub
ordinates TO show him the original statis-
tics from which the table was compiled and
which gave the amount of work performed
per operative, in each country. A simple
calculation made from these statistics
showed that per unit of work performed,
the American laborer received the lowest
wages of all three, English laborers the
highest and German labOrers came in be-
tween. The disclosure was unfortunate.
A kindly disposed young man in Colonel
Wright's department lost his official head
and the rosy deductions made by the Col.
were lost to the Republican editors. Truly,
|
The present stringency in the New Yorl,
money market is certain to have its effect
in the increased pressure which will be
brought to bear on Congress to pass the
Fowler currency bill during the short SEES
sion. For all the repeated assertions of the
Republicans that all the friends of silver
are to be found in the Democratic ranks,
it was deemed inadvisable to pass this
. hae fl,o fol al Irrt xuI,o
the elections are over there will be no occa-
sion to put the same restraint on the friends
of the bankers and it is predicted that the
bill will go through with rush. The atti-
tude of Secretary Shaw, notwithstanding
the fact that he has already increased
slightly the government deposits in the
New York banks, is highly offensive to the
bankers and to the Wall street contingent.
They have never before been told by Re-
publican Secretary of the Treasury to help
themselves and they are not slow to ex-
press their displeasure.
Great things are predicted as a result OF
the conference of Republican senators
which will be held at the home of the
President, Oyster Bay, tomorrow. There
no doubt that Mr. Roosevelt would like
to know if he is to be permitted to say any
tnlDS inore III ItSdIu W bHe dIil Oh lie
western tour, than he has said on that sub
iect in the east. He appreciates that he is
going into section of the country where
there is strong tariff revision sentiment
among the members of his own party and
it will cost him dear to go there muzzled,
nevertheless, he has been advised that to
advocate tariff reform, either as remedy
for trust evils, or as a corrective of the
present high prices of commodities, will
cost him the nomination in 1904 The sit
uation is trying one and the worst of il
for Mr.. Roosevelt is that he is not "in the
hands of bis friends'
NIAGARA FALLS.