The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-05-11
Washington Letter
DEAR REVIEWS

! DEAR REVIEW:--
Congress has adjourned, and the
mem bers have generally left the city,
some for their homes, Others for the
| opening of the Louisiana Purchase Ex-
J position. which occurred today. At
that exposition, 1t is to be hoped, our
state will be adequately represented.
The best state of ali those carved out
OF the great acquisition, aud the best
governed, the most thriving, except
Nebraska, the only one out of debt, and
in fact, the gem of the entire Louisl-
ana territory. its display at St. Louis
ought to be among the grandest there.
DO you know that about the first sug.
gestion OF st. Louis being the place
tor the observance OF the centennial of
the purchase CANT frcm Iowa? 1t was
in answer to II letter from II committee
at that city, who invited the state of
IVA, through It's governor, TO send
| delegates to IA convention, Ia be held
at ST. Louis, 10 take the matter iuto
| consideration of Il proper observance
OF the anniversary of the memorable
! event, that Governor Shaw advanced
| the idea 'thAt that city 81 uld be the
| place for such observance, whatsoever
the character OF il Yol will doubt-
! less recall the f. I that Lieutenant
Governor Mll.imal was put at the head
OF the first delegation from Iowa
Speaking of Centennial observan-
ces. !" it is not improper here to say
that in answer to letter received from
Boston, Governor Merrill. then in Of
flee, proposed the city of Philadelphia
as the proper lplace for observing the
centennial anniversary of indepen-
dence. That was several years before
the anniversary, but from that time on,
no other city was suggested than the one
named, land it is believed for the first
time) by the governor of Iowa. The
suggestion was hardly grateful to the
Boston people, who seemed to have
hope that their city ought to be the
center OF observance. since it was in
the neigh borhood of Boston that the
first movements of the Revolution be-
gan. At that great exhibition of the
worlds achievements, Iowa was very
we'll represented, notwithstanding
10000 was all that the state felt it
could affrod for the purpose: and the
liberal accession to Iowa's population
during the succeeding few years were
at least partly attributable to the
states display at Philadelphia. AT
| Chicago the show was on much grand
err scale. the allowance being 1926, 900
for that exhibit. Our legislation added
something this year to what was given
in 1902 for the ST. Louis exposition.
But to return to Congress. The SEES
sion will be hardly known from the
amount of new laws it enacted There
was seldom less need for legislation
The business interests of the land
would have perhaps been benefited by
better provision for charging the vol
ume OF subsidiary currency; but the
failure of the two houses to agree on
the proper measure caused it to iall
through. No more need is there of
anything being done with the tariff,
and making disturbance in that re-
spect.
The opposition tried to have investi-
cations set on foot, but the majority
could see 10 need of putting the coun-
try to the expense of going over ground
which the authorities are thorouphly
exploring. The experience of the past
does not warrant an expectation of
much to be derived from congresson-
al investigation. The truth IS, that
more beneficial results have come from
the overhauling done in the depart
ments by the proper authorities than
have recently come from all the inves-
LEGATIONS since the foundation of the
government. The convictions that
have been had during the past three
months are something that no congress
sional investigation could have accom-
plished, judging from the past. When
an administration will not undertake
to investigate known crookeduess, as
was the casein boththe Van Buren, and
Buchanan periods, especially he for
mer, then it is well enough to have
congress enter on the work The de-
velopements in Van Buren's time were
the most astounding the country has
eyer known when there was no at
tempt on the part of the executive to
| inquire into it. There was developed
| the fact that man had been twice re-
appointed collector of the port of New
York when his very reports regularly
sent to the department. showed him to
| be a defaulter almost from the first
hour he entered the Office He finally
went out behind over 81 100000. His
career enriched our vocabulary with
the word 'Swartwouting. The defal-
cations and crookedness in the land
Offices were enormous. Nevertheless,
i