The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-09-16
LETTER
Especial Correspondence

consent the best laid out city in the
United States. already containing in
parks, grounds adjoining public build
ings and triangular spaces at the i'll
tersection of diagonal streets some
$500 acres, Il comprehensive scheme OF
public improvement las been recon-
mended by q commission Of expert
landscape gardeners. which includes
two important features.
The first is the opening Of a mall
nearly 500 feet in width from the capt.
tol to the Washington monument. this
to be divided by Q wv Of trees and in
terspersed with fountains, monuments
and other ornamental features. The
second is that OF a circular connected
system Of outlying parks. which will
include within it's range the entire sys-
TEN Of Notifications erected for the
defense Of Washington during the civil
war, thus giving the city a connected
system of parkways covering aoout
5000 acres and Joined by attractive
driveways.
The Treasury Tabbtes.
Secretary Shaw is worried about the
score or more cats which make their
home in the treasury building. These
cats drag out a miserable existence in
the gloomy Railways and vaults OF the
| structure and as a consequence are
not particularly healthy looking. Sec
rotary Shaw meets IL of them occa-
sionally in the corridors of the build
ing, and they have aroused his pity to
the point that he is considering the
possibility of establishing an official
sand pile in the sunlight for the ex.
! elusive use of the Tables.
Cannot Learn From Japan.
According to one of the highest Of
icers Of the commissary department OF
the army, no special efforts are being
made by this government to observe
the commissary methods of the Jap
anese armies in the far east. He says
the conditions that obtain in the Jap
anese army and that of this country
are so different that such. observations
are of little value. The United States
could never hope to reduce the commits
sariat problems to the simplicity those
problems hold for the Japanese, be-
cause army officers despair Of ever
getting an emergency ration that the
American troops. short of the point OF
being nearly starved, will EFT.
Investigating Alaskan Courts.
Judge William A. Day, assistant at
torney general, who went to Alaska for
the department of justice a number OF
weeks ago. is still there, and, according
to reports that have reached the de-
partment, he is subjecting the whole
Of the machinery of federal justice in
the territory to a most searching scru-
tiny. He is investigating at close
range all the numerous complaints
against officials in Alaska who are UNI
der the supervision of the department
of justice and is travelling thousands
Of miles under many hardships to ac-
complish the work assigned to him. He
will not be back for a number Of weeks
and is expected to have a report that
will result in some important reforms
in the ways Of administering justice in
the territory.
Maps For Army Maneuvers.
Army engineers have been busy for
weeks surveying and mapping the re-
gion of the to he held in
September neal Manassas, Va. They
have prepared topographic maps Of
parts Of two counties that reveal the
nature of the country in the greatest
detail. Woods, streams. roads, hills
and valleys are all clearly shown. The
maps are remarkable for their thor
oughness, and an army officer remark
ed on seeing them that If the COM
manders Of the contending armies in
the sixties had been able to obtain such
maps they would have been invaluable.
Cold storage Food.
Latest on tie rolls of those willing to
sacrifice themselves to the cause of
science and truth are twelve clerks of
the bureau of chemistry Of the depart
ment of agriculture, who have offered
themselves up to be fed for nine
months on cold storage foods. The
tests will be conducted under the SUI
pervision Of DR.. H. w. Wiley, chief
chemist Of the department, who in re
cent months has conducted a number
Of notable experiments to determine
what Is fit to eat and what is not.
The City Beautiful.
The sum total of the trees that serve
to render Washington the city beauti'
full is estimated at $4,000. An approx
mate estimate has also been made OF
the number Of streets the roadways OF
which are completely arched by the
overhanging branches of the trees along
the curb lines. This is thirty miles
thirty miles, that is, Of paved streets
along which one can drive and be pro
tected from the heat OF a summer sun.
i