The Press., 1903-09-17

And still another post Office INCL
dent has attracted wide attention.
Postmaster General Payne has remov-
ed Miss Hulda Todd, Delaware post
master, and replaced her with a hench-
man of Alice, the Addicks senator.
This action has called down upon the
luckless postmaster general even Sc
verer condemnation than did his flip
pant treatment of the Tulloch charges,
and the editors of metropolitan news
papers, regardless of party fealty, have
outvied each other in their drastic
criticism of Mr.. Payne and his policy.
To make matters worse, Mr.. Payne
gave out an interview, in which he
said that he had removed Miss Todd
because she was politically and per-
sonally obnoxious to Allee," and later
another, in which he said that the
president was party to an agreement
whereby the federal patronage of Del
aware should be divided between the
And yet, he who sees Postmaster Gen
eral Payne at close range cannot but
pity the frail official whose every
move of late seems to have been a
mistake, and whose ambition to be a
cabinet officer gives promise of bring
ing him woe instead of honor, of
blasting his hopes, and more than
likely his health.
Whotouor rIoo- houo hoa,, +haurbf
of the policy of sending the European
squadron to Beirut, there can be no
denial of the fact that it has had a
marked beneficial effect ON the sultan,
and that it has materially increased
the respect with which the repre-
sentations of the American minister
at Constantinople are received. There
occurred last week at Beirut riot in
which eight persons, four of them
Christians, were killed. Immediately
Minister Leishman demanded the re-
moval of the governor, who was hos
tile to the Christians, and his demand
has been promptly granted, while it
is announced that the governor of
Damascus, a man of known liberal
views, will succeed him. Other de-
mands which the United States has
long urged against the Sublime Porte
seem so likely to receive recognition
at this time that this country has de-
termined to push them, and it is re-
garded as more than possible that the
Turkish representative at Washing
ton will be raised to the rank of am
bassador, which will enable this coun-
try to carry out it's long cherished de-
sire of making it's representative at
Constantinople an ambassador also.
The first autocar ever built for the
American army has just been COM
pleted, and if it meets with the ex-
pectations of it's designers it will be
sent to Fort Leavenworth for test in
actual field service. This car is a
travelling repair shop, equipped with
every tool likely to be needed on a
long march, and designed to enable
the immediate repair of any army
transport wagon, cannon or other part
of the march equipment, should such
become injured at point inaccessible
to blacksmith shops, wheelwrights,
etc. In his last general report Cen
eral Miles recommended the use of au
tomobiles for the transportation of
troops, but there are few army Off
GERS who believe that the automobile
has arrived at a state of perfection or
economical production which warrants
any extensive equipment of that char
acter. 1t is probable, however, that
the autocar repair shop will have con-
siderable effect ON the standing of
that form of vehicle in the army.