Middletown transcript., 1904-07-30
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON. D. C. Inlu q

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WASHINGTON, D, c., July 23th
THE return to town next week of tin
President to keep bachelors hall fo
three weeks in the renovated Whit
House, will give additional life to the city
fill up the hotels, and set the politica
cauldron to bubbling. Everything il
coming his way. Advices from the diff
ferent states were factional differences ex
listed in regard to state matters, show thai
there is no falling out over the Presiden
tlal candidate. The letter OF Mr.. Oscar S.
Straus announcing that he had aban.
doned the Democratic party, and twill
make it privilege no less than duty to
dedicate my best services to your elec.
tion." came as pleasant surprise in the
mail received at Sycamore Hall. There
is reason to believe that many other
surprises of similar nature will be
forth coming.
~
Gentlemen connected with the Execu-
tive departments are often surprised at
the dispatches sent from Washington
and the criticismswhich they receive in
the press. Quite breeze has been
created in some very respectable news
papers over the announcement that the
Government will not allow the wreck OF
the Maine, in the harbor of Havana, to
be raised and removed, even alter the
contractor has paid the Cuban govern
ment for the privileges. Letters have
been received at the Navy department
asking il this can be true. Why the
public should take such an interest in
mass of twisted and rusted worthless iron
is hard to understand. There are those
who content that the Maine has been
abonded by the United States and that
it now belongs to Cuba and therefore the
President has no right to interfere in the
matter of its removal. Your correspond
ent called Yesterday upon Judge Advo-
cate Darling, oithe Navy, to get the Gov
ernments idea of the matter, the question
having been referred to him for an opin-
ion. He very frankly said that in reply
to nfnquiry from the contractor he gave
it as his opinion that 'the wreck still be-
longs to the Government and before it
can be disposed of it will be necessary for
Congress to take action" This opinion
is not command, and the contractor can
go on with his work if he thinks best. |
1t will probably be a long time before |
Congress will consent to have the wreck |
raised.
~
1t is surprising how many of the pres
Cabinet officers are Eastern men, either
by birth or extraction. Postmaster Gen.
eral Payne is originally from Ashland
Mass, Secretary Shaw is from Stowe VT,
Secretary Morton's father was from Clin-
ton, New York, Secretary Metcalf was
born in Utica, New York, and educated I
in Connecticut; Secretary Moody is from
Boston. New England manages to hold
her own in the high places of the Govern
ment, for her sons are scattered all over
the northwest, and they are the sturdy
offspring of emigrants. Naturally they
inherit stirling qualities and find, by Sc
lection of the fittest, the places they now
fill. The next Vice President Senator
Fairbanks, comes of an old Mass, family
which settled in the town of Dedham.
and later founded the town OF Lancaster.
John Hay appears to be the only truly
western man. Secretary Hitchcock is the
only one who represents the South his
father was Mobile man.
~
The strike malady has broken ont in
mild form in this city. Because nom
union colored bricklayer was upon the
new 500, 900 war college in the southern
part of this city, twenty four union brick
layers threw down their trowels, and
marched out of the arsenal grounds.
This is the size of it. 1t is the closed
shop question again on small scale, but
even if the American Federation of
Labor is behind the strike, as has been
alleged, it is not believed that the matter
will assume any importance. The strik- {
ers say that ''the right to work for whom ID
we please will be stoutly maintained" {
1t has hot been denied. The second |
strike consists of few firemen at bre- t
very going out because the brewers re- \
fuse to advance the price of beer to So per I,
barrel. Now that the beef strike has 7
been settled much credit is said to be due r
to &ecretary Morton OF the Navy, who t
was in Chicago at the time. He has a t
brother who is largely interested in the i
which was on strike, and he o
used his influence to bring about COM C
promise. Otherwise the public outcry v
might have compelled the President to il
adopt drastic measures. b
W p
All departments and bureaus of the e
government are unusually busy. The Il
State Department is watching the course o
of the affairs in the Red Sea and points b
out that not long ago Great Britain was p
holding up neutral ships, and seizeing our II
,argoes of -four off the South African N
,oast. 1t is feared that American mer-
chant men may next be seized by Rus
'ian men of war, since Russian ships are
low in the Pacific, and many vessel sail
I'd from this country with supplies for "
Japan. Commissioner Ware of the PEN n
lion Bureau will say. in his forth coming s