The National tribune., 1904-03-24


Threats of States.
One of the most absurd of the many
amendments that have been introduced IL
the 5Sth Congress comes from New Jer
sey member, Mr.. McDermott, and he has
been in three Congresses at least. His
amendment is as follows: After the
fourth day of March, 1911. the whole
number Of Representatives in the Con
gress of the United States shall not ex
coed 200. but each State shall have al
least one Representative"
Mr.. McDermott comes from State
that is scarcely as large as Texas OF
Kansas County, and he probably knows
mighty little about any of the country
west of the Alleghanies. Like most people
who never see over the hills that environ
their own homes, he imagines that one
head can contain. one pair Of hands do all
that is necessary for a State to have done
for it. The bill is so absurd that one would
suppose Mr.. McDermott would have hid
den behind that convenient safeguard In
PRODUCED by request" in placing it before
Congress. What does he think the EN-
pire State, the Keystone State, the Buck
eye State, the Hoozier State, will do to q
bill like that? Of course, it will never
get out of the Committee. Mr.. McDer-
mott is Democrat.
Thirty years ago Congress authorized
the publication of the "War Of the Rebel.
lion Records" Congress has several
times legislated on how these Records
shall be printed and distributed. There
have been printed about 1850 full sets
of the Rebellion Records. OF these, all but
about 800 sets have been distributed. In
the 57th Congress, the Secretary Of War
was authorized and directed to furnish
40 oh Sopator REPRESENTATIVE and Dele
gate to the 57th Congress one set of the
Official Records of the Rebellion, and 1t
was directed that after enough copies had
been printed the plates used in printing
the said sets should be destroyed.
The War Department has not done
anything about printing the additional
sets as directed by the 57th Congress, and
now comes the 5Sth Congress, all the new
members desiring sets also Mr. Southall
(Va.) has introduced a resolution directing
that before the plates are destroyed, as
directed by the previous Congress, all the
new members of the 5Sth Congress be sup
piled with sets of the Records, exactly on
the same terms that the members of pre-
vious Congresses have been supplied
It is difficult to understand why the
plates should ever be destroyed. The time
will never come in the history of the coun-
try when the Rebellion Records will not
be valuable. The Government is not
printing them for the market but as a
matter of historical Information. AS the
world grows older libraries become more
numerous, and historians desire such pub
locations for the purpose Of making up
historical data of one kind and another.
The War of the Rebellion Records will be
as valuable 100 years from now as they
are now, even more so, because then every
man who helped to make that history will
be dead. The War Department should
preserve the plates.
When President Smith. the head of the
Church of Latter Day Saints. known as
the Mormon Church, left Washington
after the excOriating examination Of the
United States Senate. he went to Florence.
Neb., accompanied by his son, III. NJ.
Smith. and Apostle" E. NJ. Lyman,
where they visited the Mormon settlement
The town is about five miles from Omaha.
and it was there that the first Mormon out
post was established by Brigham Young
and the elder Smith. President Smith and
his colleagues were entertained by a COM
mttee from the "reorganiZed" Mormon
Church. This wing of the church abjures
polygamy, and is the outgrOwth of the
sentiment against IT.:
The National Geographic Society of
Washington has now a beautiful home
1t was formally opened last week by n re-
ception given by Mrs. Gardiner G. Hub
bard, who built the magnificent home az
a monument to her husband. Gardiner G.
Hubbard, and presented it to the So
ciety, Of which her husband was the hon
ored President at the time of his death.
The reception was held in the great as
o%f ha Snoiofv 81
floor. which is a masterpiece Of interior
finish and architecture. The room occu-
pies the entire floor, which is of inlaid
hardwoods. The immense fireplace. de-
signed and constructed i'm exact imitation
of the chimney places of the Norman cas-
ties OF France and England, and bearing
upon it's mantel-piece the device of the So
ciety. ranks as one of the finest examples
of its kind in Washington. The material
used in its construction is variety Of
marble Of a delicate yellowish tone, which
harmonizes well with the other features of
the room, while the sculptured corners
and finals are in sympathy with the raj
tered Gothic ceiling, the wainscoting and
other features of the interior handiwork,
" like that Of the great hall in an old
French chateau or Norman castle.
An imposing staircase leads up to the
Assembly room. Immediately over the
stage at the head of the stairs is sky
light. domed over in very artistic fashion.
and bearing in the center, in colored art
glass, an enormous hemisphere of the
Western world, on which the lines of LAT
tude and longitude are marked by means
of the metal framework holding and sup
porting the various sections of glass. The
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans appear in
this skyiight window. I'm delicate opales
cent blush glass, while the continents of
North and South America, az well as the
islands, down even to those as small AZ
the Antilles, stand out in bold relief in
yellowish or topaz brown glass.
The lower floor is divided into oA,ces
the walls Of which are done in marble of
various harmonious colors, while flo
floors are Of mosaic.
II Easter Monday be not rainy the chill.
dren Of Washington are to have the an.
nual privilege of mussing-up the White
House lawn by the usual egg-roiling II
is picnic just to watch the youngsters nm
| that day. The grounds are policed very
| thoroughly, and no adults are permittaJ
to enter the gates, except with very small
children who need their care The children
bring baskets Of hard-boiled eggs. ali oniIv
| colored. and amuse themselves rolling thas,
| eggs over the velvety turf until thew ars
all smashed to a powder and the grass 4