The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-11-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.

@AAOAS ehS AChS5 Aioh vi
sent to the Senate by the President, that
of Leonard B. Wood to be Major General
and of DR.. w. D. Crum to be collector of
the port of Charleston are causing great
amount of comment. The enemies of
General Wood are going to make Wig
orous fight against his confirmation, when
the subject is decided upon by the Senate
Committee on Military Affairs, which will
hold public session to hear complaints
against the nomination. There are two
distinct forces at work against General
Wood. Major Estes G. Rathborne, for
merly director general of posts in Cuba,
and who is backed by Senator Hanna, has
a personal grudge against Wood, who was
instrumental in procuring Rathborne's
conviction for postal frauds in the Island;
and many army officers, over whose heads
Wood has been promoted and have won
Senator Teller asia champion, are doing
everything in their power to prevent him
from being made major general. They
see that in case General Woods confr
nation is accomplished he would become
head of the army in 1908 and owing to
his age might remain such until 1924,
thus excluding many older officers FROM
turn for much shorter periods. Generel
Wood was formerly Colonel of the Rough
Riders and is great friend of President
Roosevelt. Woods real advancement
however, came when he was appointed a
brigadier general by President Mckinley,
and his present advancement is merely
the result, promoting him one grade
according to seniority. At the outbreak
of the Spanish War General Wood was an
army surgeon, with rank of Captain. This
fact tends to increase the hostility of the
regular officers to him. 1t is believed
that majority of the Senate is in favor
of confirming the nomination, and it is
doubted that either Rathborne or the
army officers can. sustain any charges
against the fortunate general.
DIR. Crum's nomination comes to the
Senate for the third time. Twice it was
not acted upon, and the negro collector
was then named as recess appointment.
Despite the hostility of the South Caro-
lima Senators and white people of Charles
ton, the President is determined to keep
Crum i'll his place unless the Senate re-
fuses TO confirm the nomination.
~
M Philippe Bunau-Varilla, duly accred-
tied Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Panama to the United
States, was officially received by the Pres
ident last Friday, and the infant republic
of Panama was thus recognized by this
government as one of the sovereign
nations of the world. This recognition is
complete and unqualified, and unless there
is serious opposition to the Presidents
course on the part of Congress, negotia-
tons for the building of the canal will
begin at once. For this purpose three
commissioners are on their way to Wash
ington from Panama to assist NJ Varilla. |
The Panama government favorS granting |
us a perpetual lease of a strip ten miles
wide across the Isthmus. The new gov
eminent has called constitutional con-
vention and expects to be permanently
established under constitution similar
to that of Cuba, in about thirty days. |
Large bodies of Colombian troops are said |
to be hurrying toward the Isthmus, but |
as our warships will not let them land at
either Panama or Colon it will be diff |
cult, if notimpossible, for them to attack
Panama. Ia fact it would seem to fol- |
low logically from our recognition of the
new republic, to which we shall have to |
apply the obligations of the treaty of
1916, that our government should forbid
the Colombian troops from approaching
the territory reserved for the canal.
Opposition to the Presidents haste in
recognizing the Republic of Panama is
brewing i'll Congress, especially among
democratic members It is believed that
Senator Hoar also will oppose the Admin
istration, although he refuses to commit |
himself until further information is at
hand. That part of the Presidents
annual message to Congress which refer
red to the canal negotiations will have to
be changed on account of the new state
of affairs on the Isthmus; but the state
ment as originally written has been made
public and will cause much comment.
The President says: 1--WE can no longer
sumbit to trifling or insincere dealing on
the part of those whom the accident of
possession has placed in temporary con.
troll of the ground through which the
route must pass; that if they will come to
an agreement with us in straightfor-
ward fashion we shall in return act not
only with justice, but with generosity;
if they fail to come to such an agreement
with us, we must forthwith take the mat
ter into our own hands"
~
Many petitions have been received by
the Senate from every part of the coun-
try, asking that Senator Reed Smoot of
Utah be expelled from the Senate, because
he is an apostle of the Mormon Church,
which claims supreme authority to con
troll its members in civil as we'll as relig-
ious affairs, and has taken an oath of
highest allegiance to a government other