Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-10
BITS OF WASHINGTON LIFE.
Minor scenes and Incidents sketched
on the SPOT.

ON the Spot.
ALTHOUGH your Uncle Samuel has over a
thousand weather sharps on the pay roll,
and the most modern instruments for meas
uring and foretelling the vagaries Of the
elements, he is not wholly protected from
losses on account Of the weather. A singu-
lar feature Of the rainy season" which
distinguished the middle six months OF the
year was the wholesale dampening Of post
age stamps in stock in various parts Of the
country. The usual precautions taken by
the department proved useless against the
penetrating moisture. Millions of the little
booklets OF stamps, lined with parafne
paper, got stuck on each other and wsuld
not let go. At first postofice officials
surmised the gum was inferior, but an In
vestigation showed the weather was respon-
sible for the stickativeness, and an order
was issued authorizing redemption. They
are coming into the department by the bale.
There is no private contractor to fall back
on, 80 Uncle Sam charged the loss to ].
Pluvius.
The day of the lightning rod is passing.
The governments latest census returns show
that Franklin's invention for protecting the
house is little used today. No electrical
manufacturing establishment reports 1t
among the products. and, so far as the
census expert has been able to learn, only
one American electrical engineering firm
makes a business of setting up the rods or
designing them. So far as large cities are
concerned, disastrous lightning strokes are
reported to be more rare and the decrease
is accounted for by the network OF cleo
trically charged wires and other apparatus
with which the city is now interviewer and
surrounded. ..
The American Protective Tariff league
has issued from its Washington head
quarters a leahet showing the country's
prosperity as evidenced by an abundance
OF employment for working people and the
marked scarcity Of unemployed. One OF
the agents of the tariff league examine
the Sunday newspapers that were printed in
the month of August In twenty-five differ
ent cities, and counted the number OF help
advertisements they contained. In all he
reviewed forty different papers, but instead
Of including the advertisements calling for
more than one person he counted only the
single ones. AS a result Of his work he
found that during the month Of August the
forty Sunday papers in question offered
situations to 1852 men and to 1884 women,
a total Of almost $4,000. At the same time
he took account of the advertisement the
papers contained Of situations wanted, and
he found that there were only $3.50 persons
who wanted work badly enough to pay for
an advertisement asking for employment.
This is taken to mean that the country is
so prosperous that there is little reason for
idleness on the part Of the honest and in
dustrious. The agent says that II he had
included the advertisements where from two
to 5000 persons were wanted, the total
would have run way up into the hundreds
of thousands. He quotes the Seattle Intel
l~igencer as advertising for over 1900 per-
sons In its Sunday issues Of August, and
the San Francisco Examiner as calling for
over 1000 persons. The cry for help in
the Pacific states is most urgent, where
from 81 to 81 a day Is offered for common
laborers, such as brickmen. teamsters,
miners and railroad hands.
A forty-foot launch. that plies the Potomac
with pleasure parties. consisting Of war
department ~ofhcials and their friends, is
always an object Of interest to the people
OF Washington. 1t is named Mercedes. It
came into the possession OF the govern
ment through the capture Of the Spanish
cruiser Reina Mercedes at Santiago in the
umEnc VI AoOot ~ v ~ huo bCCh
part of the equipment Of the War depart
ment. Engineering and general officers
used It In Cuba until the early summer Of
1901, when It was shipped to Washington
and turned over to the secretary OF war.
Reina Mercedes was the cruiser which was
sunk in the channel Of the harbor Of San
tiago to obstruct the entrance OF American
cruisers and battleships. For reasons that
have been made clear since the close OF the
war with Spain It fell into the hands Of the
army instead OF the navy. 1t will be re-
called that the late Admiral Sampson made
a demand upon General Shafter that Reina
Mercedes be turned over. In common with
all other shipping, to his fleet, but shafter
ignored the request and retained Reina Mer-
cedes as a prize of war for the army. The
launch Mercedes was part OF its equipment.
1t is a roomy, handsome and exceedingly at
t~ractive little vessel and the War depart
ment ofieials who have made use of II for
pleasure trips up and down the Potomac
declare II is the finest thing OF its kind
ahoat. 1t is OF English build and, under
certain conditions. can make very fast time.