The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-12-11
LETTER
Lspgetal corMponaeal

MOT to Dome Is 4 re1 painted
sign which greets any one who enters
the house document room 0 Stat
aary hall ut the capitol. II hangs upon
the recently constructed : jral stair,
case. which looks as if ii might lead
| up TO tie great dome almost directly
| overhead, but it does not, and there
fore Eas fooled very MANI visitors 10
the great building.
When tie document Don was open.
ed TO the sighIseers q short time since
| after undergoing a thorough removal
| ton and repair at q cost Of $500 the
| staircase attracted the attention Of
many people. They proceeded upward
and after weary toll through darkness.
| dust and books reached a small dense
| room stuffed with pub. DOS Though
| they did not know II. they had discov-
| cred one Of the hooks in which Joel
Grayson, the national character il the
house document ypom, stores govern
ment publications.
One day recently one Of the clerks
intercepted a middle aged man who
was going the wrong way TO the dome.
Oh. you can't fool me-" he replied.
81 guess | know. | worked around
the capitol ten years ago, and I'm on
to these things" He o Q discovered.
however. that he was in q building az
b~ewildering as the maze of the Cretars
labyrinth.
Conductor ON residential Train
A new coIt.BcIor for the special train
to carry Tie president when he desires
to travel will haze to be provided. vii
liam NJ. johnson the man who has
been in charge of all the trains carry
ing the president since the burial of
President Mckinley. has been prouot
ed and sent 10 Chicago by the Pullman
company.
johnson has been regarded IS the
only man competent 10 Take charge OF
the presidential train. His first as
signment in that line nj work was
when the body of President Mckinley
was brought TO Washington from Buff
falo. His first assignment after the
one that took him 10 Canton was to
carry President Roosevelt to the
Charleston exposition. He then took
the president to Pittsburg, July 4. and
did it well. The long trips made by
Conductor johnson were the ones Ia
the Pacific coast.
Portraits of Former Postnlasterx.
The portraits Of former postmaster
generals which hang on the walls Of
the post office department have been
SO arranged that the likenesses OF those
who are still living are grouped in Mr.
Payne's room, while the portraits OF
those who have died are hung in the
larger waiting The painting of
Mr.. Wilson S. BisseIl after the Gus
tomary thirty days of official mourning
will soon be removed to the waiting
ROOM. This will leave seven former
postmaster generals to look down upon
Mr.. Payne. One Of these is James VI.
Tyner. who is under Indictment and at
an advanced age is evidently nearing
the end of life. He was postmaster
general for the last year of Grants ad-
ministration. which ended more than
twenty-six years ago.
Contract Labor Law Violated.
A systematic and extensive violation
Of the contract labor law has been dis
covered by the bureau of immigration,
and steps are being taken to deport a
number of immigrants who have arriv-
ed at New York. The immigrants are
Welsh coal miners, persuaded to come
to the United States by advertisements
for 5000 miners, who are promised
from 16 to % shillings a day. The bu-
reau Of immigration has collected evil
dence which shows that the advertise
ment was inserted by agents of the
Ellsworth Coal company, Ellsworth,
Pa, the miners being brought " in
violation Of the contract law.
Tw%enty-eight Welsh miners, incIud.
ing one woman, are now detained at
Philadelphia. Officers of the United
Mine Workers are responsible for the
detention Of the imported miners. =
Uncle Sans Grocery.
In administering the pure food law
the secretary of agriculture causes
samples to be taken from all importa,
tons Of food products. These samples
are paid for by the government and
are used in the analysis to determine
purity. Uncle Sam has decided to es.
tablish a grocery store in Washington
to dispose Of the pure samples that re-
main after the experiments. Authority
has been granted by the treasury de-
partment to the agricultural depart
ment to engage in the retail trade, and
without license the government will
sell choice imported food products at
cost price.
Foremen Must Furnish Bonds.
Another step in the reorganization of
the methods of the government print
ing office is effected by an order an
nounced requiring a $4,000 bond to be
furnished by the heads of departments.
This action is designed to have the
property Of the government in the
hands Of responsible parties and is in
line with the maintenance of Il more
ViGilant management of the office.