The Press., 1903-09-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
washington. August 81. 1aoa.

cles in Washington during the past
week at the news that Vice Consul
Magelssen at Beirut, Syria, had been
assassinated, and as soon as the infor.
nation reached Oyster Bay the presi
dent ordered the European squadron
TO proceed at once to Turkish waters.
Later information soon followed the
first report, however, saying that the
vice consul had not been killed but
had been fired at, that the shots failed
to take effect, the miscreant had been
arrested and the Turkish officials had
made all due apologies. Meanwhile
the feet is on the way to Genoa,
where it will have to proceed to gel
coal, and it is announced that the
squadron will proceed to the vicinity
Of Constantinople with q view of dem.
onstrating to Turkey that further at.
tempts at violence towards American
representatives will be met with
prompt action.
The situation in Turkey is appreci.
ated to be exceedingly grave, and il
is known that the government is hard
put to maintain any semblance of or.
der in many portions of the empire.
Meanwhile Great Britain is under
stood to deplore the prompt action Of
this government in ordering the Euro
pean squadron to the Mediterranean,
because it is feared that such action
will encourage the rebels. To many
persons familiar with the eastern ques-
tion, however, it appears that the par
tition of Turkey cannot be much long
er postponed, and that only the moral
effect of a powerful American feet
can serve to protect from violence
American consuls, their families and
others in the event of general war
in the east. At Beirut, where the
attempted assassination of Vice Con-
sui Magelssen occurred, is the Euphra-
tes college, and anxiety is still felt
for the safety of the American teach
ers and the American and Armenian
pupils at the school.
Second only to the interest in events
in the far east, has been interest in
the revelations concerning conditions
in the far west. The report of an
agent of the Indian Rights association,
referred to in last weeks letter, has
in the disclosure Of disgrace
full conditions in the Indian Territory,
where the Dawes commission has long
been engaged in parce1iing out ap-
10000, 600 acres of land,
valued at $3.50, 600, 900, among the in
1ividual members of the five civilized
tribes of Indians. Information to
late is to the effect that the members
If the Dawes commission, to which
IS entrusted the interest of the In
1ians, have, almost without exception,
associated themselves with land and
Investment companies organized for
'he purpose of acquiring eventual pos
session of the allotted lands, in which
,he possibilities of profit are enormous.
Hon. Tams Bixby, the chairman of the
has admitted the fact that
le is a stakeholder in company, the
Valley Trust company, which
has offices in he building at Muskogee
Ilso occupied by the Dawes commits
ion, and that he is president of the
but he belittles the gravity
# his offense on the ground that his
holdings of stock are small, "only
800 worth. - Other members of the
are yet to be heard from.
Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock
maintains that he has long been fa-
niliar with the situation, and that
le has been conducting an investiga-
ion ever since last May, as result
f which a number of minor officials
laye been dismissed from the service,
'ut it is a noteworthy fact that with
n the past week the secretary has
allied upon the members of the COM
mission to explain their connection
With the companies referred to, and
hat, by order of the president, two
are about to be ap-
'ointed to investigate the scandals in
1olving the departments of justice and
he interior and the Dawes commits
ion. While Secretary Hitchcock is
lot altogether frank in discussing the
tuition, it appears that he made a
rip through the territory last May,
n company with his private secretary
nd an Indian inspector, J. George
Wright, and that the secretary, whose
onfidence in Wright appears to be i'm
licit, believed all that Wright told
i'm to believe, and discredited all
hat Wright told him to discredit. |
events have revealed the
act that Wright is himself interested
n one of the land companies, SO that
is not altogether surprising that
he secretary failed to gain correct |
of the facts. No one
oubts the integrity of the secre-
ary, but even his friends cannot deny
hat he has been duped. 4 +
Reports concerning the Panama
anal treaty continue to improve, a
cry encouraging feature of the stu
tion being the fact that DIR. Herran, |
he Colombian charge d'affairs here,
as been instructed to subscribe to a
ress clipping service and send to the
olombian congress all the clippingsl
sceived. AS many of the American
apers, on receipt of the report. that
le Colombian senate had rejected
le treaty, published articles show
lgs that any amendment meant the
lilure of the Spooner amendment,
, Immediately open negotiations with
icaragua and Costa Rica, it is bel
eyed that large assortment aof L
merican press clippings cannot but
ave salutary effect ON the Colomf T.
lans, and may result in the ratificat
on of the convention as negotiatedIsE
The eagerness of sooners,' to To-
lte the valuable suots in the TTni itah n