The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-02-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.

the Cabinet, by the Speaker of the
| House of Representatives, by the Vice
President and at the homes of such Mem
bers and Senators as can afford the
enormous expense. The Capital City is
becoming more and more center, or
shall we call it Mecca for delegations.
They come here and hold sessions for
three or four days, relieved by visits to
the Capitol and Mount Vernon, and
always by a call on the President to
whom the spokesman makes formal
speech to which the President always
has something to say in reply. The most
conspicuous delegation of the week has
been that of the Episcopal bishops, who
wished the president to join the anti-di-
vorce propaganda. The Presidents re-
marks were diplomatic. He said, Zone
of the most unpleasant and dangerous
features of our American life is the dimin-
ishiug birth rate and the loosening of the
marital tie among the old native Ameri-
can families" And further he went on
to say that while he did not know what
the bishops would have him do in the
matter OF divorce he would give his word
to do all he could toward lesseping the
evil. The President, it is said, has fire.
quently expressed himself on this subject
to his friends but this is the first time he
has dealt with it in public address.
Ill kt.of ta1 he
White House on the themes of the tariff
and railroad rate legislation these ques-
tons were in the Presidents opinion of
first importance, but he said in his ad-
dress to the Bishops that the tariff and
the currency are of literally no import
ance whatever compared with the vital
question of having the unit of our social
life, the home preserved" and further
more that public men are apt to get
their attention concentrated on questions
| (life tariffs. etc. that have wholly
ephemerial Importance compared with
the questions that go straight to the roots
of matters"
The President having been MARI ed
twice and being the father of six children
doubtless feels that he has done enough
for his country in that respect to entitle
him to the right of giving counsel on the
subject, whether the public agrees with
him or not it will be glad that he deliver
ed himself in speech instead Of in let
ter as he did on trace suicide" the letter
being used to advertise and boom triv
ial, even silly book by the VanVorst
woman. In talking to a number of
prominent men on the subject of the
Presidents address there was approval
of it by all except one man, former
Governor of an Eastern State, who had
been sufferer in marriage made intol
cradle by drunken wife. The niodera-
ton with which he spoke on the subject
while wholly impersonal indicated diff.
ferent view point from that taken by the
others.
***
The Interchurch Committee sitting in
Washington headed by Bishop Doane re
presents thirteen leading protestant &c
clesiastical bodies. A more representative
body of churchnien probably never as.
sembled, some of the most distinguished
clergymen and laymen in the country be-
ing present.
~
| Former lieutenant Hobson of Spanish
war and kissing fame, has broken loose
once more. He wrote the Alabama dele
cation in Congress some months ago
about Paramount importance of imme
date adoption of progressive naval pro.
gramme' and why America should hold
NAVAL Supremacy" and he thought so
much of these letters that he has had
them printed in pamphlet form and sent
in drifts to members ofCongress, public
men and clubs throughout the country
In them he sets forth a need for a
Naval appropriation that makes our
ecomical congress turn pale. Sixty mil
lion dollars, he estimates as the minimum
sun we can spend on new ships and still
hold up our head before other nations
Somewhat apropos of Captain Hobson's
designs for an enormous navy are the
newspaper announcements that the Presi-
dent has said he will have his "three new
battle ships, or call an extra session oil
Congress" The statement has caus.
ed some amusement at the Capitol
where the Presidents power to call an
extra session of Congress is one subject
upon which every man is informed. II
is only upon Extraordinary occasions
that the President is privileged to call an
extra session and it could hardly be
fancied that with the country at peace
with the world the demand for three new
battle ships would constitute an "extraor
binary OCCASION" The President has
once or twice threatened Congress
with an extra session in July. which
everyone who has felt the heat of Wash