Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1905-05-05
WASHINGTON LETTER.
rom our Regular correspondent,

WASHINGTON LETTER.
(Prom our Regular Uorrespondent.y
Washington, u, c.. April 29.-Wash-
ington has been treated to a sensation
during the past week, a sensation of
such proportions that it will curtaiJ
the Presidents trip and bring him back
to the Capitol week earlier than he
had expected to return. Herbert w.
Bowen, United States Minister to
Venezuela, and Francis b. LOOMS,
Assistant Secretary of State, are the
chief figures in the affair which prom
ises to end in the dismissal from the
public service of at least one of these
officials, possibly although improba
bly,, both.
It appears that some time ago MIN
lister Bowen filed. officially, charges
against Secretary LOOMS. who has ut
one time been Minister to Venezuela.
In brief, these charges are to the effect
that as Munster, Mr. LoOmis accepted
SIC, 900 from the New York and Ber
Iuudez Asphalt Company in cOmpeEsa-
tiOn for his services in their behalf;
that Mr.. LOOMS purchased claim Of
81 900 against the Venezuela govern
ment and used his influence to collect
it; and, that Mr.. Loomis undertook to
collect q claim for commission OF one
seventh of 81 ,400, 900. Mr.. Bowen for
wards these charges to Secretary Taft,
over his own signature, and Secretary
Taft forwarded the communication to
the President who was already in the
west.
Not content, however, with having
done this, Mr.. Bowen grew impatient
at hearing no echo OF the serious
charges be b id preferred and he fur
nished the details of the charges to a
certain newspaper correspondent In
Caracas. The wuOle story was then
mailed to this country and appeared
in large type on the front page of one
of the New York dailies. Even were
the charges true, Minister Bowen was
guilty of grave indiscretiOn and
violation of courtesy in making them
public in advance of some reply to his
Communication to Secretary Taft and
only unpardonably bad judgment or
| ungovernable spleen against his su-
perior officer could account for this
course.
When the charges were first made
public Mr.. LOOMS was absent from
| Washington, but Immediately on his
return he furnished to the newspapers
| categorical denial of each and all of
the charges. He explained that he
had had one financial transaction with
the New York and Bermudez Asphalt
Company, but only to the extent of ex-
changing bis check on Venezuelan
bank for the COmpany's check on a
New York bank when he left Caracas
at the conclusion of his service as Min
lister, this being not unusual among
American Ministers in Caracas and
| elsewhere, where the rate of exchange
cannot be secured at any price. or
course the transaction was unimpOrt-
ant and could not place either party
under material obligation to the other,
may even have been mutual accom-
mediation. Every other transaction
undertaken by Mr.. LOOmis as Minister
to Venezuela, he declares be undertook
only as result of explicit instruction
from the Secretary of State. Beyond
this denial, Mr.. Loomis has declined to
| discuss the chsrges.
That an official statement from one
of Secretary LOOMS superiors will be
ultimately made Is generally assumed
and it is regarded as probable that the
necessity of issuing such a statement
has played an important part in de-
termining the President to curtail his
hunting trip. There are, however,
other questions of Importance which
await the attention OF the President.
There are, for instance, some ques-
tions connected with the Panama pro-
blem which he must consider at an
early day. One of these is The DISPOSE
ton that is to be made Of John Bar
rett, now Minister to Panama. Bar.
and In any event it is unlikely that he
can retain bis present position. An
| other question which will demand the
Presidents attention in the near fu-
ture is the disposition Of the engineer
members of the Panama Canal Com
mission to make trouble because they
regard themselves as somewhat over
slaughted in the present organization
of the Commission.
Still another question which will
compel the attention of the President
at no distant date is the constantly in
creasing Treasury deficit. This has
now assumed somewhat alarming pro-
portions, being, at practically the end
of May, $50, 600, 000 Treasury experts
claim that it will be reduced during
the next two months and this is not i'm
probable as many funds appropriated
by Congress have been exhausted, but
it is frankly admitted that it cannot
possibly be reduced to anywhere near
Secretary Shaw's estimate of $18,000,-
600.
Secretary Shaw has made one of bis
extravagant and thoughtless state.
| msnts to the press. in which he says
that a $50. 900, 600 deficit is "a more
nothing" that for great and pros
! porous country it should not be regard.
ed as of any Importance and that, in
fact, lit means no more than 81 to the
average individual" The Secretary
apparently fOrgets the fact that so
great are the expenses of the Govern
| ment that once the balance is trans
| ferred to the wrong side of the federal
ledger it grows with astounding rapid
| ity and has been known to wipe out a
large surplus in an astOnishinRly short
time, as was the case in the Harrison
administration.
Of course Secretary Shaw hopes to
beljttle the situation because he is an
arch ''stand-patter" and cannot sleep
whenever anyone has suggested revis
ing the precious tariff schedules. OF
course the growing deficit gives in
creased impetus to the demand for
tariff revision which everyone but the
protected interests appreciates is nee.
essary. It will be remembered that
the Mckinney tariff bill deprived the
country of large percentage of its
revenue because it's rates were 80 high
as to be prohibitOry and, little being