The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-05-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our regular correspondent.

From our regular correspondent.
WASHINGTON, May 9th, 1903.
Postmaster General Payne will spare no
steps to bring the abstraction OF official
papers from the Tyner safe before court,
and as preliminary step has made Pres
ident Roosevelt acquainted with all the
details of the case to date, in order to
have the Chief Executives cognizance
and cooperation in all the steps taken.
Mr.. Payne feels that his kindness to Judge
Tyner was seriously abused, and had he
not tempered justice with mercy the lat
ter official would have been dismissed i'll
disgrace some time since instead of being
allowed to resign, in order to save his
name and fame from stigma. Now Mr..
Payne is thoroughly aroused, the more so
since his clemency has been made the
basis of insinuations that he has not been
in earnest in regard to the current inves-
legations. He has recommended that the
Tyner case be taken to the courts and
has advised that the matter 60 to the
United States Attorney having jurisdic-
ton in the District of Columbia, with in
structions to submit the case to the grand
jury. President Roosevelt's reputation as
reformer points to vigorous campaign
against official offenders as soon as he
can return to the field of action.
~
In addition to the Tyner matter there
has been disclosed the fact that number
of clerks performing services which
should come under the classified lists OF
the Civil Service Commission, are on the
rolls as "laborers." being appointed to
those rolls in order to escape examination
This is direct violation of the law. 1t
prevents the appointment of eligibles
who have passed examinations, as the
positions are filled by the so-called lab
orers, and in some cases promotions are
made from these same laborers to posi-
tions under civil service rules. The result
Of the disclosures has been that number
of persons have been dismissed, others
have been given the choice of getting out
or actually performing manual labor,
and there has been wholesale holding
up of promotions which were to have
gone into effect July I.
~
ralN a..
the Philippines as he found them did not
provoke as much interest as such a doc
uulent from the commander of the army
might have done under other circum-
stances. In the first place, it really dis
closed nothing new and contained moth
ing sensational. The only information it
gave in addition to matters threshed out
many times before, was that some irregu.
larities existed in dealing out supplies.
~
The decision of the Supreme Court,
made early in the week on the disfran-
chisement of the negro voters, leaves the
question still in allegiance, and in much
the same status as before. The way point
ed out is that the redress for political
wrong lies wholly i'll the political field,
and that the voters of the country them-
selves, either directly or through their
Congressman, can make any redress
which may be necessary. Since there is
a constitutional guarantee that each
House "shall be the judge of the cleo
tons, returns, and qualifications of its
own members" the case is legally or
rather politically provided for.
~
Colonel Bingham, long Superintendent
of Public Buildings and Grounds in the
city of Washington, left this week for his
new post at Buffalo, New York, being
succeeded by Col Thomas w. Symons,
who comes from the post Col Bingham
is to occupy. Although Col. Symons is
we'll and favorably known in Washington
it will be long time before he can gain
the place in the esteem of Washington
ians long held by his popular predecessor
~
Mr.. Robert J. Lerch, of the Hydro
graphic office, who has charge of the
mariners bulletin and other charts which
guide the transatlantic sea captains on
their way, has been kept busy chartiug
the queerest derelict with which his Office
has ever had experience. Some six weeks
ago lingo, the largest elephant in cap
tivity, died in transportation and was
thrown overheard from a steamship, and
now the carcass floats on the surface of
the ocean, a serious menace to navigation,
as the body weighs more than FIVE tons
and would give no slight shock to the
vessel which happened to strike it 1t is
in the direct line of steamers and the diff.
ferent records of the times it has been
sighted shows that it has drifted 800 miles
in the six weeks it has been at sea. When
asked If the Navy Department would send
a vessel to blow up the derelict in ques-
ton, as is sometimes done with other
distractions to navigation, Mr.. Lerch said
he thought not, as natural causes would
take care of its destruction before long.
~
On Monday, May 4th, there went into
effect on anti evoactOrat;o. Lac -. a..