The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-08-17
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

Washington ID. {. Aug. ID, 1905.
The work of the grand jury
probing the cotton and other scand.
ais il. the Agricultural Department
has been suspended for a week or
ten days, but there have been mum
erous conferences of the District
Attorney and the head officials OF
the Department of Agriculture and
of the Department of Justice. The
latest witness that is rumored to
have been summoned is another
woman, the wife of Mr.. Peckham,
who was prominently mentioned in
the case in its first stages. Mrs.
Peckham is described as a bright
business woman who runs several
enterprises of her own and laughs
at the efforts of the District Attorney
to involve her in the scandal. 1t is
said at the same time that she has
some papers in safe deposit box
in Chicago having an important
bearing on the investigation and
that she will be forced to testify be-
fore the grand jury whether she has
anything important to divulge or
not. 1t looks as though the De-
partment Of Agriculture were get
ting little tired Of the investigation
business anyhow. 1t was thought
at first that DR.. Salmon would be at
least suspended while the investiga-
ton Of his department, the Bureau
of Animal Industry, was going on,
but it appears from the statement of
the Secretary of Agriculture today
that this will not be done unless as
it was put at the Department,
something turns up to warrant
such action 1t is hardly likely
that the active head of big gov
ernment bureau would have any.
thing of the sort turn up" in his
department if he could possibly
avoid it. The charges against the
Bureau of Soils, it was stated today
were not being pushed at all aud it
is quite possible that the matter will
be allowed to drop. The same may
also be true Of the proposed investi-
CATION in the Geological Survey.
But such scare as was thrown in.
to that bureau by the mere pro-
posal of an investigation was ludi-
crous. 1t is possible that there may
not have been anything actually
wrong with the Survey, but it is
certain that there has been a great
deal of looseness in it. Assays were
being made for private parties with
pull by the government analysis
and it was reported that some pri-
vate prospecting parties actually
went into the field equipped with
government instruments and in
some cases with government horses
and mules. Whether or not these
charges could be proved in an in
vestigation is not known, but there
was great deal of terror manifest
ed in the Survey lest such an at
tempt should be made.
Xxx
The enterprising gentlemen, prin-
Cipally in the Senate and some Of
them in the House, who wait at
every turn to spring the ship sub
sidy question, have received rath-
er black eye from the report Of one
of the government experts sent to
South America to look into this
very question and its relation to the
fostering of American trade. Mr..
Lincoln Hutchinson, who has been
down in South America looking up
trade relations, says that subsidy
for fast line of steamers between
the United States ard South Ameri-
can ports would do nothing toward
helping the trade situation. 1t is
the old cry SO far as the trade is
concerned. Merchants there want
American goods sold them by COM
pe,ent travelling statesmen who can
talk Spanish and Portuguese and
quote prices in pesos instead of dol
lars and cents. They want goods
made after their ideas and packed
so that they will travel safely and
they want the same sort of long
credits that are given to reputable
firms by European houses. They do
not care much whether their goods
come few weeks sooner or not,
but they would like to have buiness
done their way and not thrust down