The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1902-04-17
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
Correspondence of The journal.

/ III llo WORTH pIODdDlH Has ulule Solultl
dead buried within a few minutes ride
of its borders than has Washington;
and Memorial day exercises here ale
always carried out on a grand scale.
But this year an unusually splendid
program is in prospect. Arlington is
the chief of several cemeteries in this
vicinity that contains the patriotic dust
of men who died in defence of the
union and already President Roosevelt
address there.
Other Presidents have also spoken at
Arlington, under the large al fresco
amphltheatre, where vines and flowers
are interlaced on the weather beaten
framework. Recently Mr.. Roosevelt
delivered an address at the annual ban
quet of the Department of the Poto-
mac. g. A. r.. at which he fired the
veterans with his earnest remarks, and
that has stimulated the general desire
that he should be the chief orator at
Arlington Under the extensive groves
Of trees also lie many of the soldiers of
the Spanish war, including not few Of
the officers and men who served in the
Regiment of Rough Riders, which the
President commanded. There will I'M
dOubtedly be a large cOncourSe of peo-
pie present and the ceremonies will
prove historic. Contemporaneouslye x-
ercises will be held i'll a half dozen
Other cemeteries near Washington
There are a large number Of Maine
soldiers buried in Arlington. The
Maine regiments, that served in Viz
ginia during the Civil War, generally
lost heavily and the dead were often
brought here for interment
Gov Burleigh has talked recently
with the Postot1ice Department about
the wisdom of establishing the county
system of rural free delivery in Waldo.
The Department is inclined to favor
that system, as it enables their special
agents to lay out the routes more salts
NopllIN ioI an lllC ptltiollo anu MULTI
be patrons. That is one of the reasons
why Gov. BurIeigh would like to have
it in the counties of his own district.
BY that arrangement the free delivery
of mail is installed all over county at
the same time and many of the equali-
ties that must invariably result from
inc q l1o tinn Of
there, are avoided. kennebec ana
Waldo, being thickly populated, both
would lend themselves nicely to the
county scheme. 1t may be some weeks,
or even some months, before Gov Bur
leigh is able to have this question taken
up by the Department but it will al
most certainly be done before a great
while.
The third district representative has
been on the alert during the last two
weeks for the interests of the Maine
coast in the River and Harbor bill, par
ticularly that portion of it in his own
district. Although he was unable to
have all the projects he desired put
upon the bill in the House, Gov. Bur
leigh was fortunate i'll having the cor
dial cooperation of Senator Frye over
at that end of the Capitol. The Junior
senator is chairman of the Committee
on Commerce that shaped the bill up
for the Senate, and he looked to it that
all the Maine projects were cared for
For two or three years Gov. Burleigh
has been working for an additional APP
preparation for Bucksport Harbor, HAY
ing first secured authority from Con
gress for a survey TO be made there.
The report of the army engineers on
the preliminary survey was made some
two years ago and that is probably to be
followed now by an appropriation of
$4,000. At least, at Gov. Burleigh's
request, Senator Frye had a provision
for that appropriation put upon the
come a law in that form. Besides that
Gov. Burleigh has been watching out
to get an appropriation for further i'm
provement of the BreakWater at Mt.
Desert and for more money to improve
the Kennebec River between Augusta
and Gardiner. Senator Frye has amend
ments put on the House bill to cover
both these projects.
Gov. Burleigh has become quite
popular down in Virginia, judging from
the fact that he has had two different
invitations to visit as many Virginia
cities in the last ten days. The last of
these was to visit the city of Richmond,
capital of the State, where large new
post office building to cost $f,OO0,0OO is
desired. All the members of the House
committee on public buildings were
asked to visit the city and see for them
selves the conditions. A private car
was furnished for their convenience,
but as Gov. Burleigh had already de-
cidpd that as a memhor Of the commit