Middletown transcript., 1904-02-20
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON. February 18th. 1904.

WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON, February 10Th, 1904.
assurances continue to be received
- at the White House that there is
practically no opposition to the nomina-
ton of the President at the Chicago con-
vention. Ex-senator Manderson of Ne
braska, says the entire West is for Roose-
velt. The same news comes from the
Eastern states, and a prominent lawyer
from Connecticut in Washington this
week said that in that State Democracy
is as dead as door nail. The announce
ment of the dangerous illness of Senator
Hanna has brought sudden harmony to
the discordant elements in Ohio, and the
delegation to Chicago promises to be
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 eight or ten miles and is in splendid
health. On the 18th inst. he issued a
proclamation OF neutrality towards Rus
sia and Japan, and announced the law
which forbids Americans from entering
the service of either combatant. The |
President has been assured that the Pan |
anna treaty will be ratified in few days. |
Relying upon this belief he is now care
fully considering the personel of the Ca
nal Commission, and the Attorney Cen
eral, Knox, is examining the Spooner
act to see If it gives the President full au-
thority to issue bonds to raise the need
ed money and appoint The Commission.
Thus far Admiral Walker, General Geo.
w. Davis and Isham Randolph of Chi
cago have been named for the Canal Com
| mission. The new pension bill excites
much interest at the White House, but
it will be sometime before the Committee
on Invalid Pensions reports to Congress.
Both OF the pure food bills are now be-
fore the Senate, and manufacturers of
food products favor the bill since in
many instances it will relieve them from
oppressive State laws. The Senate Com
mittee ON Commerce will report on the
18th inst. that the nomination of Dr..
Crum as collector of the port of Charles
ton, S. c., be confirmed. The U. S. Navy {
will cost nearly S1O0,OO0,OO0 next year.
1t is not likely that vote will be reached 6
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 aud New
Mexico as another (under some more ap- r
propriate name, it is hoped, and leave '
Arizona out in the cold for another year q
or two. ...- la
**x la
The House Committee on the Reform q
Of the Civil Service is engaged in investi- i,
eating the existing conditions in the de- u
partments at Washington. Commissioner T
Ware of the Pension Bureau is in favor y
or employing bright young men since he 6
can get more work out of them. He has a
put into the bureau $50 young men, re-
ducing the average age of the employees r
to between 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 4
Commissioner is engaged in getting old =
chunks out of the wood pile" i. e., is i
clearing up old cases. There are pending :,
in the bureau 100000 applications. o,
x*x h
Avery valuable, practical and gigantic
work is being incubated by Prof. Spill
man, agrostologist to the Department of
Agriculture, for the st. Louis fair. It
will be when Matched physiographic o.,
out of-door crop map of our entire coun- r.
try, another lesson showing what grows =
in the different states. A small patch of 70
earth will represent each state, the one
for Illinois being rs feet long. Delaware !,
and Rhode Island will be as large as a =.
.ofa cushion. The District of Columbia
viii be too small to be seen. The South =.
ern states are to be planted with cotton, . .
beans and tobacco; Vermont with maple ~
sugar; Maine and Minnesota with pine
rees; and Arizona, which has but one st
lalfof one per cent. of fertile farms is to 30
bloom like the rose. with 43 per cent. of Gil
'lfalfa, 80 of wheat, 10 of barley, We
o .of corn, etc. This will impress IN
oreigners and induce healthy emigra- Sc
ion to the arid sand wastes of that far
If region. 1t should be explained that vi
N" "agrostoiogist' is one who agrostolo- Co
lies. ag
NJ to
The Department of State is very activej
nd Secretary Hay is ably looking after Co
he affairs of collective humanity His note ha
0 the powers suggesting that the integ- iac
ity of China must be preserved whatever Go
he result OF the war, is regarded as pu
low to Russia. He also proposes that un
England, Germany and France shall as ths
st the Unised States in limiting the ter
phere of actual hostilities; but it is not La
roposed to enforce this vi ct arnais. -
hese propositions are purely benevolent =
4 the interest of the whole world. The
respect is that the United States will
BON be forced to establish protectorate To
YER Santo Domingo. The conditions
re becoming intolerable. In
~ ~
A three-thousand invitation reception fin,
as given by the President.on the II inst. for
commitment to the army and nauu N,