Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1904-02-19
THE WASHINGTON LETTER.

at the White House that there i
practically no opposition TO the nomi
nation Of the President at the Chicago
convention. Ex-senator Manderson O.
Nebraska says the entire west is fol
Roosevelt. The same news come.
from the Eastern states, and a promi-
nent lawyer from Connecticut in
! Washington this week said that in
that state democracy is as dead as a
door nail.-The announcement of the
dangerous illness of Senator Hanna has
brought sudden harmony to the dis
cordant elements in Ohio, and the
delegation to Chicago promises to be a
unit for Roosevelt The President is
very busy having many things to look
after. He does not expect an early
adjournment Of Congress and will be
unable to leave Washington to attend
banquets and make speeches. He will
have his little walk of 8 or 10 miles
and is in splendid health.-On the 10Th
inst he issued a proclamation of neu-
trality towards Russia and Japan, and
announced the law which forbids
Americans from entering the service
of either combatant--The President
has been assured that the Panama
treaty Will be ratified in few days.
Relying upon this belief he is now
carefully considering the personnel of
the Canal Commission, and the Atty
General, Knox, is examining the
SpOoner act to see if it gives the
President full authority to issue bonds
to raise the needed money and appoint
the Commission. Thus far Admiral
Walker, Gen. Geo. w. Davis and
lsham Randolph of Chicago have been
named for the Canal Commission.
The new pension bill excites much
interest at the White House, but il
will be sometime before the Commit
tee on Invalid Pensions reports to
Congress.
Both Of the pure food bills are now
before the senate, and manufacturers
of food products favor the bill since in
many instances it will relieve them
from oppressive State laws.-The
Senate Committee on Commerce will
report on the 18th inst. that the nomi-
nation of DIR. Crum as collector of the
port of Charleston, S. c., be confirmed.
The U. S. Navy will cost nearly
S1OO, 10000 next year.--It is not
likely that vote will be reached on
the eight-hOur law.-The proposition
with which the territorial committee
is now laboring is to admit Oklahoma
and Indian Territory as one State and
New Mexico as another Gender some
more appropriate name, it is hoped J
and leave ArizoRa out in the cold for
another year or two.
=:=
The House Committee ON the Reform
of the Civil Service is engaged in
investigating the existing conditions
in the departments at Washington.
Commissioner Ware of the Pension
Bureau is in favor Of employing bright
young men since he can get more work
out of them. He has put into the
bureau l5O young men, reducing the
average age Of the employees to be-
tween 81 and 50 years, Some of his
men are over eighty years of age. He
would have the government fix an age
for clerks to retire. At the present the
Commissioner is engaged in "getting
old chunks out of the wood pile" /. e.,
is clearing up old cases. There are
pending in the bureau 100000 appli-
cations.
A very valuable practical and gi-
gantic work is being incubated by
Prof Spillman, agrostologist to the
Department Of Agriculture, for the st.
Louis Fair. 1t will be when hatched
a physiographic out-of-door crop map
of our entire country, an object lesson
showing what grows in the different
states. A small patch Of earth will
represent each state, the one for Illinois
being IS feet long. Delaware and
Rhode Island will be as large as a sofa
cushion. The District Of Columbia
will be too small to be seen. The
Southern states are to be planted with
cotton, beans and tobacco; Vermont
with maple sugar; Maine and Mime
soto with pine trees; and Arizona,
which has but one half of one per
cent Of fertile farm land is to bloom
like the rose, with 43 per cent Of
alfalfa, 80 Of wheat, 10 Of Barley, 10
Of corn, etc. This will impress for
eigners immensely and induce a
healthy migration to the arid sand
wastes Of that har-off region. 1t should
be explained that an ''agrostologist'' is
one who agrostologszes.
Mysterious circumstances
One was pale and sallow and the
other fresh and rosy. Whence the