The Press., 1903-11-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington. Noyemper le. I

Among the long list of appoint
 ments sent to the senate by the presi- dent, 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 a great amount
 of comment. The enemies of General Wood are going to make vigorous fight against his confirmation, when
 the subject is decided upon by the
 senate comimttee on military affairs,
 which will hold public session to
 hear complaints against the nOmina- tion. There are two distinct forces
 at work against General Wood. Ma
 jor Estes G. Rathborne, formerly di-
 rector general of posts in Cuba, and
 who is backed by Senator Hanna, has
 personal grudge against Wood, who
 was instrumental in procuring Rath
 borne's conviction for postal frauds
 in the island; and many army off,
 cers, over whose heads Wood has been
 promoted and have won Senator Tel
 Ter as a champion, are doing every
 thing in their power to prevent him from being made 8 major general. They see that in case General Woods
 confirmation is accomplished he would
 become head of the army in 1908, and
 owing to his age might retain such
 until 1924, thus excluding many older
 officers from holding the much covet-
 ed position in turn for much shorter
 periods. General 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 briga- dier general by President Mckinley,
 and his present advancement is merely
 the result, promoting him one grade
 according to seniority. At the out
 break of the Spanish war General
 Wood was an army surgeon, with rank
 of captain. This fact tends to in- crease the hostility of the regular off, cers to him. It is believed that a ma jority of the senate is in favor of con- firming the nomination, and it is doubted that either Rathborne or the army officers can sustain any charges against the fortunate general.
 Dr. Crum' s nomination comes to the senate for the third time. Twice it was not acted upon, and the nergo col lector was then named as a recess ap pointment. Despite the hostility of the South Carolina senators and white people of Charleston, the president is determined to keep Crum in his place unless the senate refuses to confirm the nomination.
 M. Philippe Bunau Varilla, the du- ly accredited envoy extraordinary and | minister plenipotentiary of Panama | to the United States, was officially re- ceived by the president last Friday, and the infant republic of Panama was thus recognizd 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 president S course on the part of congress, negoti- ations for the building of the canal will begin at once. For this purpose three commissioners are on their way here from Panama to asisst M. Varilla. The Panama government favors grant | ing us perpetual lease of a strip ten miles wide across the Isthmus. The new government has called constitu- permanently established under a con- stitution similar to that of Cuba, in about thirty days. Large bodies of Colombian troops are said to be hurry | ing toward the Isthmus, btu as our warships will not let them land at | either Panama or Colon it will be | difficult, if not impossible, for them | to attack Panama. In fact, it would | seem to follow logically from our rec ognition of the new republic, to which | we shall have to apply the obligations of the treaty of 1846, that our govern ment 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 in congress, especially among demo- cratic members. It is believed that Senator Hoar also will oppose the ad although he refuses to commit himself until further informa- tion is at hand. That part of the pres ident's annual message to congress which referred to the canal negotia- toins will have to be changed on ac- count of the new state of affairs on the but the statement as origi nally written has been made public and will cause much comment. The president says that i've can no longer submit to trifling or insincere deal ing on the part of those whom the &C., cident of possession has placed in tenn porary control of the ground through which the route must pass; that if they will come to an agreement with us in straightforward fashion we shall in return act not only with jus tice, but with generosity; and that if they fail to come to such an agree ment with us, we must forthwith take the matter into our own hands. .
 Many petitions have been received by the senate from every part of the k country, asking that Senator Reed Shoot of Utah be expelled from the senate, because he is an apostle of thej Mormon church, which claims su- preme authority to control it's mem bers in civil as we'll as religious af fairs, and has taken an oath of high est allegiance to government other than that of the United Stiates of America. The petitioners have given ID hope of proving that Senator Shoot is polygamist, and have adopted this latter ground for demon strating his ineligibility. The peti-