Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-19
At THE WHITE HOUSE
President Receives Large
Number Of Visitors Today.
SOLID FRONT WANTED
REPUBLICAN SENATORS ON CA
NAL TREATY RATIFICATION.
Flood of Applicants for Civil Service
n
SOLID FRONT WANTED
Flood of Applicants for Civil Service
Commission in Event of Blacks
Declination of the Office.

The President had an unusually small
| number of visitors this morning, but his
time for more than an hour and half was
occupied in important conferences with
cabinet officers. Secretaries Moody and Cor
telyou being with him for some time, ard
Secretary Root. Attorney General Knox and
Secretary Hitchcock made visits during the
day. Senator Lodge also called on busf-
ness. The conferences excited more or less
speculation. Following the cabinet meet
ing of yesterday, at which the Colombian
situation was discussed with more serious
ness than at any time since the secession of
Panama, the conferences were not without
significance Not scrap Of information
could be procured however. Secretary
Moody nonchalantly averred that mere
details. unimportant in every respect" took
up the time of his visit. See the senators
who are with the President" he continued.
They ought to talk freely"
But want something easy today ow
Ing to the scarcity Of the news supply,
was the answer given to this.
"Oh. well, they will probably prove easy
picking as the expression is said to be
used" responded Secretary Moody, and
then the head of the navy went over to the
Navy Department.
With the Colombians making threats that
really appear to be serious, and with Japan
and Russia getting nearer to each others
throats, our navy may prove a useful in
stitution in the protection and safeguarding
Of American interests in the near future.
Naturally the President and Secretary
Moody are not unmindful of the outlook in
| both cases and their frequent conferences
are much more important than realized.
They are usually brief, but both are busy
men and have little time to give to long
discussions of the various phases of the
great problems that come before them
Secretary Hitchcock presented to the
President additional information about the
| land frauds in the west.
Senators Kean and Dryden of New Jersey
saw the President. and ex-senator Wilson
of Washington, who continues to be pow
erful factor in the politics of that state,
made call and had a friendly chat.
Want Unbroken Front.
Republican senators are endeavoring to
| have the party in the Senate present an
| unbroken front in the matter of ratification
| Of the Panama canal treaty, and have dis
| cussed this subject with the President on
| several occasions. The President has no
| desire to be accused of interfering In the'
Senate but to his close personal and politi-
| cal friends he expresses the hope that the
| republicans will show a solid front on this
question. The republican leaders realize
| that the democrats are li..ing UP on phases
of this question and they do not want the
republicans to appear to be divided. there
| by increasing the boldness of attack from
democrats whose party organization in the
Senate is looked upon as hkely 10 prove Ell
| fective from now.
Kentucky's Candidate.
| The Kentucky senators and representa-
| tives called on the President in body to
urge him to nominate George b. Gardner
as civil service commissioner in case Gen
| John c. Black should decline the place. No
answer has been received from Gen. Black
by the President, but a belief prevails that
| he will accept the position rendered him.
| Mr. Gardner has for ten years been an as
sistant attorney in the interior Department.
He is from Kentucky, where his father was
prominent in politics for many years Ihe
kentucky delegation had agreed to present
| the name of Mr.. Gardner before the an
nouncement that Gen. Black had been Of
fered the position and they concluded 10
submit his name anyhow.
The announcement that Gen. Black has
| not accepted the offer will flood the White
House with names of democrats who would
| like to be appointed to the position. EN-
REPRESENTATIVE Elliott of South Carolina,
who has been In the city several Gays
called at the White House to pay his re-
suects Mr. Elliott has been suggested as
possessing proper qualifications for civll
service commissioner and as having the
good will of the President.
The Cuban Treaty.
Assistant Secretary Armstrong of the
| Treasury Department was at the White
House to present Simon. Casady, a banker
of Des Moines. Mr.. Armstrong said that the
Treasury Department is preparing circulars
to send to customs officials throughout the
country relative to the enforcement OF the
Cuban reciprocity treaty. Although the
proclamation of the President issued
Thursday, fixed ten days as the time for the
treaty to become operative. the treasury
officjals have not yet reached a conclusion
as to the exact hour and day for the treaty
to take effect so far as the collection OF GUS
toms is concerned. 1t is not yet decided
whether the ten days will include the 18th
or exclude that day, as the President issued
the proclamation late In the day on the 1ftn
If the ten days include the 18th the Gus
toms officials will admit at the reduced
the morning of the 9th. If the 18th is not
included the change in duties would not be
effective before the morning of the 18th. AS
a good many shiploads of sugar and other
things are waiting to come into the United
States under the new law the determination
of the hour and day for the change will be
important to shippers and to customs Off
eials.
Heard's Complaint.
Gov Heard of Louisiana is quoted in a
newspaper dispatch as being thoroughly In
dignant at the manner in which President
Roosevelt has treated the Louisiana pur-
chase centennial ceremonies, which have
been in progress at New Orleans commence
ratiye of the hundredth anniversary of the
signing of the papers for the purchase of
the louisiana territory in 1903.
MY opinion" said Gov. Heard, 'is that
he has ignored the state and insulted the
representatives of the foreign govern
ments which have SO generously accepted
the invitations of the state"
Gov Heard's complaint is that the Presi-
dent declined an invitation to be present at
the ceremonies, and, on top of that, failed
to voluntarily designate any representative
of the United States government to be pres
ent He says the President took his time
about designating representative, and did
not do SO then until Gov. Heard had re-
quested him to designate Admiral Wise.
who was at New Orleans. At the White
House the protest is given no answer. the