Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-02-23
WASHINGTON LETTER
Especial correspondence


pay is not excessive, being 5000 per
annum, but the good work that the in
cumbent will do in the interest of sci
ence is scarcely calculable. According
10 the requirements of the institution
the successful applicant must be well
versed in herpetology mall its branches.
He must have familiar acquaintance
with land, marine and amphibious
batrachians and be able not only to
catch, but classify. them and place
their remains on exhibition in the sew
eral glass cases in the display rooms
of the museum.
1t is the special desire of the institu
ton to secure a complete collection of
the oviparous reptiles of the United
States, and certificate will be issued
to the catcher by the Society For the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals per-
hitting him to slay them as he sees
fit and most safe TO his own interests.
He will also he supplied with the latest
devised appliances for the successful
pursuit of his avocation, and nets and
chloroform will occupy a large space
in the paraphernalia.
white House Costs More Now.
Colonel Theodore Bingham, superin-
tendent of public buildings and grounds
in Washington, in his report to con-
greSs asks for an appropriation OF
S11O,2G4 for the White House for the
coming year against S35,000 for the
present year. The report says:
"The recent changes in the White
House have resulted in a building far
more expensive to maintain than for
merly The character of the new fit
tings and furnishings Is such that re-
pairs and replacing will be more eX-
pensive than before, and it will be
more expensive to replace specially
designed silver doorknobs and es-
cutcheons, silver and gilt hinges etc.
Hardwood floors and tiling will require
extra labor to keep i'll order. More
help will be needed in the laundry
owing to the large family which oc-
cupies the White House and the large
amount of entertaining DONE
A Relic of Warburton Manor House.
DIR. J. Dudley Morgan of Washington
has quite recently acquired possession
of a magnificent knocker which at one
time graced the front door of the old
Warburton manor house, situated not
far from Fort Washington, the seat of
the Digges family, one of the most dis
tinguished and aristocFatic houses in
Maryland. The object in question is
altogether different from the general
run of old fashioned knockers, an arti-
Gle of house equipment which many Of
the present generation doubtless never
saw and of the use of which they are
ignorant. 1t is made of brass from one
of the British cannonS captured in the
war of 1912 and is beautifully cast,
chased and engraved in the form of
trefois and scrolls, artistic and har-
monious as a whole.
VIII Have Floating Bath.
Washington is to have its first float
ing bath this coming summer. Here
tofore the public bathing beach has
filled the public want, but now that the
bathing beach is no more it was the
special effort of Commissioner West
before the house committee on the Dis
trict to have provision made for pub
lie bath where the populace at large
could enjoy the pleasures of Il swim in
the summer months. AS the District
bill passed the house it carried an ap-
preparation for $1,000, which will be
used by the commissioners for the pur-
pose of giving the city a substitute for
the old bathing beach in a modified
form of the Boston style of public
bath.
To Aid Prohibition Enforcement.
The judiciary committee of the house
has favorably reported a bill to meet
the conditions brought about by the
original package decision of the su-
preme court, which decision was in eff
feet that the states in the exercise of
their public powers could not interfere
with the introduction of liquors in
original packages. The decision pre-
vented the enforcement of prohibitory
laws enacted by several states. The
bill seeks to correct this by subjecting
intoxicating liquors imported from one
the laws of the state into which they
are imported.
Nothing to Say.
The president gave out an order last
fall urging heads of departments and
bureaus to curtail their reports, but
with few exceptions the result of the
order was not discernible. Assistant
Secretary Darling of the navy depart
ment took the order literally. He made
no report at all.
"The chiefs of bureaus have written
in detail everything that | know and
more, too" he said. "If | made re-
port it would be rehash of their re-
ports. SO have nothing to say"
Coal Output.
The chief of the division Of mineral
resources in the geological survey calls
attention to the fact that the coal out
put for the United States for the cal
endar year 1902, anthracite and btu
N, ,inoi1S \ycS only = pp1. cont lass than