The National tribune., 1903-04-16
Mrs Julia Ward Howe is now great
grandmother.


The National Museum is tormcntcd an
nually by a pest of white ants. The floor
ing II one section of tie Museum has been
undermined ard weakened by the ants.
and they threaten destruction of very
large section now. They get into the
beams and eat them to a shell. and moth
the beam drops. and lets down tile ceiling
and the floor. One particular section of
the Museum used to have the floor annual
ly undermined. until the authorities 1nal-
.ly put in cement floor. and then there
was no further trouble III that section.
There is no way of doing anything with
the little pests. except they can be found
in the nest and killed there.
During Il three-days' rain in Washing
ton the last of March. it is estimated that
$1,000, 100000 gallons of wafer fell to the
square mile. This rainfall measured only
about three and a half inches, hut it was
enough to fill lake one mile square and
81 feet deep. or large aud deep enough
to float the battleships of the worlds
navy.
Col. Winfield Edgerly who has as
sumed command of the I'd Z. S. Cav. sta
toned Mt Fort Myer. was met at the
Aqueduct Bridge by four troops of cav
airy. He reviewed them as they stood.
and was then escorted to Fort Myer,
where he formally took charge
Prof. William Santelmann has been re-
gularly appointed Leader of the famous
Marine Band. He has been its leader for
the past four years. but in order to meet
the requirements of the law, he had to
enlist for Il term of four years. This he
did. and he has now been regularly as
signed to the leadership. with the rank
and pay of Lieutenant of Marines.
Lieut.. Santelmann succeeded Prof Fan
ciulli. and has made most creditable re-
cord.
DR. Lorenz. the eminent surgeon and
physician who visited us recently. has put
in his time pretty well since his return,
talking and writing about us. He is nice
about it. too. No foreigner who ever came
to our shores ever spoke of us in higher
terms. He praises our men, extols our
women calling them handsome. brainy,
bright winsome. and says that they are
Just about the limit for all that is nice.
He found everything pleasing. and has not
pointed his finger at us once. He spoke
particularly of the great endowed instl-
tutions fer philanthropic purposes, which
are monuments to the wealth of private
persons. and lamented that there We're no
public spirited rich men in Vienna to build
hospitals and to help the afflicted as they
lad heen helped in the United States. Il
would say that charity is the most promi-
nent sport of the rich American he says.
DIR. LorenZ is the Kind of foreign gentle
man whom we will always be glad to wei
come.
The sad news came to Washington last
week of the death in Paris of the wife of
ambassador Porter Mrs. Porter had
been i'll of the grip, and had spent some
time in Switzerland, where she seemed to
have fully recovered. On her return to
Paris she was stricken with congestion of
the lungs. and died Immediately following
a chill. Mrs. Porter was woman whom
women loved. She was highly cultured.
and WAS n2ost acceptable member of the
brilliant Court circles of the old world, in
q which she sllone conspicuously as an en-
7tertainer. Simple funeral, services were
held in Paris. and the ambassador will
return to the United States with the body.
The Citizens Association of LeDroit
Park. d. c., have adopted set of reso-
lutions which will amuse President Roose-
welt, even if they are never put into opera
ton. The resolutions recite that as it has
come to pass in the Capital City of the
Nation that propriet0rs have universally
resolved to exclude children from their
premises. and only weil-trained poodles
= are allowed within their sacred precincts.
the Association resolves that it viii use
its best endeavors to have some philan-
thropist erect an apartment house in the
city. the walls Of which are TO be filed
with some substance that will deaden
sound from other apartments: the floors
10 be of steel. the walls of rubber, with a
general playroom in the shape of a huge
cage" This resolution was solemnly
adopted in the presence of the Commits
sioners of the District. who were the
guests of the Association.
The receiving ship Franklin, which is
stationed at Norfolk. has an epidemic of
diphtheria aboard, and 100 of the sailors
attached to it have deserted.
The Commissioners propose to tag the
automobiles in the District of Columbia,
and give each a number, so that when
any of the horseless carriages exceed the
speed limits, the number, which must be
conspicuously placed, can be Immediately
noted by the bicycle police. and the chauf-
feur of the wagon" arrested. There is
a vigorous protest from auto owners who
object TO the tagging prospect. and con-
slider that it would be humiliating. 1t
probably has its objections. but the "red
devils. the yellow terrors," ard the
''high roller steamers" have not such pref
ty cognomens that they should object to a
plain figure or two. The figures will real
ly be more distinctive. because there are
so many red devils and so very few
"13' for instance.
Clamp Clark, Of Missouri, has far
seeing eye. He would like to be a United
States Senator from Missouri, and he can't
have his hopes sratifed unless he can
side-track Senator Ccckrell. With this in
view. doubtless, Mr.. Clark is now cham
pioniBg Senator CockrelI for Governor of
Missouri. The Senator has not been heard
from on the proposition yet
The immigration TO the United States
during March was the largest ever known
in the history of the country.
Gov. Taft, who has been lying very i'll
in Manila for several weeks, has gone to
Benguet, a mountain resort short dis
lance from the coast, hoping that he may
entirely recover his lost strength while
there.
President Roosevelt has issued an order
to diplomatic and consular officers forbid
ding such officers 10 make comments in
the press or in any other public manner
refiectiDg on the diDlomatic or conSuIa,