The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-08-20
(WAyIiINGTON~@ |
k& F. r NEWCa)

8SA vV~i~
ton into line to adopt his views, the sit
, uation may be serious, in the opinion OIL
some politicians who are discussing thai
phase The astute Senator in his recent
interviews has clearly outlined a middle
, position for the Democrats on the tariff
question; position which great man!
people in the country want to take, ant
which neither party thus far has proposed
German has talked tariff revision, not free
trade.
The land frauds promise to eclipse the
postal frauds, both in magnitude and
shamelessness. But for the operation OF
the statute of limitations, which will pre-
vent the Government from taking action
in a great many cases, there is little doubt
that the investigation now being given to
| the operations of the land offices would re-
suit in the restoration to the pubic DO
main, for the benefit Of actual settlers. OF
q good many million acres Of land. The
statements loosely made as to the general
prevalence of fraud in newly opened sec
tons are now borne out by such concrete
facts as that in a dispatch from Denver,
which gives an "ofical estimate" Of the
holdings of one set Of land sharks at three
quarters Of million acres, most of it said
| to have been acquired by fraudulent use
of the homestead and timber acts. The
fraud is magnified by the fact that these
acts were used to get possession Of coal
and other mineral lands of great value,
so that the amount of which the Govern
ment has been plundered by this single
combination is said to NC S1O,OO0,OOO.
"Politics, politics, everlasting politics"
groaned Senator Dolliver the other day.
II have had to talk politics and hear poll
tics SO much that I am become thoroughly
saturated like the young lady Of Narragan-
sett, where the clans grow large and
luscious. She ate so many clans that she
rose and fell with the tide
Representative Mudd. of Maryland, is
quoted as saying: Rural free delivery
never struck me as good political prop
osition. Postmasters are always friends
of congressman. Every rural route cuts
off several Postmasters and gives the jobs
to mail carriers, who Immediately go I'M
der the civil service rules" However,
Congressman may view rural free delivery
"as political proposition" it is thing
that counts remarkably well as promoter
of progress. And if congressman had been
less in the habit of considering all legisla-
tive proposals in their aspect as 'politi-
cal propositions" civil service reform
would have reached a higher level in the
Post Office and all other Departments; the
gratis which still exist would have been
wiped out and we should to-day have bet
ter business methods all around.
One financial barometer Of the country
is the increase or decrease Of the receipts
at the post offices, and according to the
statement of the annual reimbursement of
Postmasters' salaries on the basis of Of
fee receipts, just completed at the Post
Office Department, there is such prosperity
throughout the land as has never before
been recorded.
The highest percentage of increase falls
to Indian Territory, 1872 per cent, with
Idaho second with 119 per cent. and
North Dakota third with ZIG, while Con-
necticut brings up the rear with an in
crease of but % per cent
Under directions from Washington the
Federal engineers have begun down in
Arizona, adjoining regions which are now
an arid waste, the construction of the first
storage reservoir to be erected under the
irrigation law passed by the last Congress.
The initiation of this work has attracted
comparatively little attention. Yet the
poHcy upon WHICH Tie HdS
in this respect is one which ought to exer-
else a decisive influence upon its history.
Well-planned and honestly executed the
irrigation system will reclaim tens of thou
sands of square miles of desert lands, en-
able a multitude OF citizens to secure
homesteads, and add enormously to the
productive wealth Of this Republic. The
chief perils in its path are two. First,
there is the danger that the wealthy cat
tie companies and other corporations will
take advantage Of loopholes in the present
statutes to secure possessions in advance
of the tracts to be irrigated. thus barring
out actual settlers from their rights. This |
is contingency which Congress ought to
meet promptly and effectually. The sec
ond peril is that Of wholesale jobbery. |
Government contracts involving many mil |
lions present tempting mark for prac- |
titioners of .rake-offs' and other frauds
as the recent Post Office disclosures have
once more demonstrated. 1t is the duty of
the Government to maintain a keen look
out for all rascality of this sort.
Although officials at the Treasury De-
partment view with some concern the sit |
uation in Wall Street, they do not think |
there is any danger of panic and are of
the opinion that the general prosperous
business conditions of the country cannot |
be seriously affected unless the liquidation
is long continued. High Treasury officials
look upon present Wall Street conditions
as the result of overspeculation, brought
about by Wall Street itself, entirely indie
pendent of anything the Treasury Depart
ment has done or can do.
If the partisans Of Schley and the
friends of Miles should decide to pool their
grievances or syndicate their wrath in the
bowels of the Democratic ticket, a pic
turesquely variegated set of unwelcome
complications might be injected into the
Republican campaign Of 1904.
A visitor at one Of the city hotels this
week predicted that the country in the
vicinity of Washington for distance of
80 miles in all directions is going at no
distant date to be a veritable garden spot
and one of the choicest bits of territory on
this continent. He went on to say: '"There
is now in progress rediscovery of old
Virginia. People are beginning to realize
the great attractions of homes in the an
cient Commonwealth and Northern men
are coming in numbers with a view of
buying farms and becoming permanent
residents. l went down into Prince Will
liam County six years ago and bought
place for which I would not to-day take
six times what it cost me. It is only
about one hours journey from Washing
far md pnnr stn h. L.