Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-25
Money Goes to All Corners 81
The Earth.
Five thousand Dollars a Year to
Bring Home Criminals.
Interesting Bits from the Government
Book of Estimates.

many odd accounts. This years Book
Of Estimates, for example, calls for
$3.50 as our annual proportion of the
expenses of Cape Spartel and Tangiers
light, on the coast of Morocco, includ-
ing loss by exchange" AS if we did not
have criminals enough here, $4,000 is
asked for the purpose Of bringing home
persons charged with crime, sum
annually appropriated. The African
slave trade does not impress one as a
living issue, and yet we appropriate the
sum Of 500 q year to meet the snare OF
agreement of 1890 for the repression of
the special bureau created under the
Brussels agreement Of 1890 for the re-
preston Of the African slave trade and
the restriction of the sale in a certain
tiefined zone of Africa of firearms,
ammunition and spirituous liquors.
This is cheap prohibition.
SchoOlboys who rattle off "oblate
spheroid" as If that geometrical term
settled the question of shape of the
earth forget that it is a continued story,
for which Uncle Sam contributes $1,000
towards each years installment. This
Is really for membership in an associa-
ton of earth-measures, and is ndepen-
Government, through it's own bureaus
each year, spends in that investigation.
In fact, like any responsible citizen in
private life, Uncle Sam has certain
subscriptions to make of a public
spirited sort in the family of the
nations. He subscribes $4,000 a year
toward an international Bureau OF
Weights and Measures, and about half
trVx ov1 MT q
bureau at Brussels for the translation
and publication of customs tariffs. He
gives his share towards The Hague
Court, $3.50 year-Which is, by the
way, the cost Of the navy for each six
and one-third minutes of the year.
The army, the navy and pensions
together, legitimate war expenses, con-
sumo every ninety seconds of the year
day and night, holidays and Sundays
q sum equalling. to quote the words of
the Book of Estimates, 1.-The share of
the United States in the expenses for
the year 1903 of the International
Bureau of the Permanent Court of
Arbitration, created under Article % of
the convention, concluded at The
Hague for the pacific settlement of in
ternational disputes" Let congress-
men rise to their feet and in solemn
silence pass this appropriation! The
court has already settled not few i'm
portant questions, some of the first of
which got there by the insistence of the
American secretary of state.
49, Our membership fee in the Inter
rational Prison Association is $4,000 a
year. Samuel J. Barrows an officer of
the New York Prison Association and
formerly a Boston congressman, is
usually our commissioner to it's annual
meetings. We pay for keeping and
feeding American prisoners in China.
Korea, Siam and Turkey, providing no
more than fifty cents a day for each
prisoner. We also hire q prison for
:, American convicts in Turkey, and pay
wages of keepers there. The wages of
our prison-keeper in Korea are just
5000 year. but no doubt the incumbent
of this strange office would hate to be
: displaced worse than our ambassador
at the Court of st. James. Some things
come so cheap as to occasion wonder as
to what we can get for the money. For
example, this great Republic annually
lays down twenty-five dollars towards
the support of the Somerset Hospital
at Cape Town, upon the assurance
that suffering Seamen and citizens Of
the United States will be admitted to
its privileges" 1t is to be hoped that
j., they do not fill a large ward. If our
subsidy bill accomplishes all that is
intended we may have to raise the con-
tributiOn to $45 At Panama, on the
r. same terms. we pay $500 n year, but if
we could insure ourselves sufficient
hospital accommodations there for the
next ten years at $4,000 per annum it
might be Il bargain.
There are many odd expenses in con-
nection with the diplomatic and con-
sular service. The legation at Con-
stantinople has to have a steam launch.
Our Government wants to build a house
within the legation compound at Pekin
rs n home of the school for Chinese in
terpreters which it is desired to
establish there. Its pupils. numbering
ten, are to be American students who.
under a new law, will go out there to
learn Chinese, at a salary of $1,000 per
year while studying. AS fast as they
become competent they will be assigned
to our consulates in the empire at a
better salary. They must agree to stay
in the service ten years if wanted, and
turn them out of Office when the country
goes Democratic-for fear that they
might give Republican translation of
consular invoices. This would be a
new appropriation. Most of these in
the Book of Estimates are for the re-
gular charges, but Mr.. Hays quiet and
steady movements for the elevation of
our foreign intercourse show them
selves in such proposals. He also
wants student interpreters at Con-
stantinople and other points.
E. T. Williams, our Chinese secretary
at Pekin, explains the need of such q
corps of trained men in the service. He
says that with trihing exceptions the
United States is the only Power re-
presented in China which attempts to
conduct its business with but one
Chinese speaking member of it's staff
Great Britain employs a Chinese sec
rotary, an assistant, commercial
attache, an archivist. and two inter
prefers, who divide the Chinese work
among them. Austria Hungary has
three men who share in this work:
Germany four, Belgium two, and