The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-12-21
Post OHices and Post Roads, Public
Lands. Pensions. and Claims.


Post Ofices and Post Roads, Public
Lands. Pensions, and Claims.
President Roosevelt has abolished
the Sidney (Neb) Land Office and
transferred all the work to the North
Flatte office. The transfer takes place
Feb. 6, 1906.
The world Is small This was proved
the day that Congress convened. In
1885 boy went to school in Mt. Olive
School, st. Louis, and he had for his
teacher a Mr.. Rodenberg. Today the
pupil. Charles McGavin. represents a
Chicago District in Congress, and the
and in the drawing of seats, McGavin
and his teacher, Rodenberg, got desks
side by side. They had lost sight of
each other until last Fall.
There are only two one-armed men
in the House, Charles McGavin, of Chi
cago, and Gen. Bishop, of Michigan.
McGavin lost his left arm through fall
ing under railroad train, and Gen.
Bishop lost his in battle.
Congress has been struck by a els
sylone,' 1t has indeed. 1t is a regular
hot blast from pilgrims who have trod
here, and who are hot foot after single
Statehood for Oklahoma and Indian
Territory. There's about $50 of them,
and they are sure a circus. Any one of
them can talk you deaf, dumb, and
blind. and when half a dozen corral
you you might as we'll submit graceful
ly. The "herd'' declares it is the most
representative body that ever came to
Washington on single mission: and IL
II be. why, then, Oklahoma and Indian
Territory men are hustlers. They have
kept things Sizing all the 10 days they
have been here. They work most Of
the night and they lobby all day, and
they have left no stone unturned that
would help out their hopes of State
hood. They know how to spend money
and they spend 1T. The trail boss is
Charles G.. Jones. of Oklahoma City.
They came in on a special train, the
bunch of them. and stopped In St.
banquets and dinners here to beat the
band.
On the way through Missouri these
single State shouters saw a real razor
back hog roofing it's way along the
razor-back was captured, and brought
in and given a scrubbing. decorated
with ribbons and then taken into the
dining car to feed. The Ozark pork
er" has been adopted as a mascot and
named Statehood" The delegation
adopted coat of arms also. "An Ok
lahoman regardant, an Ozark razor
posed. Root Hog or Die" Oh, it's a
jolly crowd all right.
There is one district of some State
represented in Congress by a man who
should wear cap and bells and follow
Gu Cfr 1fxySr r,ckn kr1v
ing to play at being a Statesman. This
man is old and grayheaded, but wis
dom and reverence have not come with
years. Gen. ketcham, of New York,
Is very deaf, and can hear nothing that
ordinarily goes on around him. He was
once Chief Of Staff for Gen. Grant, and
everybody likes him. He went forward
to take the oath of office for the 18th
time, and this white-haired man, who
ought to have more sense, stood be-
side him. When, at the motion Of the
60 other men who were also standing
to take the oath Of office. Gen. Ketch-
am raised his hand. this old man rude
the veteran legislator. Gen. Ketcham
raised his hand a second time, and the
man snatched it down and held 1t.
Speaker Cannon frowned, but proceed
ed with the oath, and Gen. Ketcham
and the white-haired iconoclast were
the only ones who did not take it with
upraised hand. II Gen. Ketcham had
been 20 years younger, that white
haired man wouldn't be able to read
the Congressional Record for a month
Edward A. Evans. former Superin-
tendent Of the National Bureau Of
Criminal Identification in Washington,
has been appointed as finger.print ex-
pert In connection with the identifica-
ton Of criminals in the Police Depart
ment Of Chicago. The finger-print sys-
tenn for Identifying criminals has only
recently been introduced and put to
practical use in this country, although
the police authorities of England and
France have derived good results from
six months the finger-print system has
rapidly developed in this country, and
at present police forces Of several large
cities are using It. 1t has been ex-
planned that a man will change in fac
ial and physical appearance and that
many men look very similar in appear
ance, but the prints of their fingers, 1t
Is claimed. never change after a man
has attained his majority, and that no
two men have fnger-prints alike, and
from these facts that form Of fdenti-
fication is looked upon as far more pre-
ferable than the Identification by pho
tographs and the Bertillon system of
you may begin firing when you are
ready" Do you remember that his
toric sentence Of the Spring of '98, and
who gave utterance to 1T, and whom he
was addressing? Well, Capt. Gridley
is gone. but his dear old mother sur
wives. and she had an 80th birthday
last week, and had pretty reception
given by her granddaughter. Lots of
people called to see her, and she got
some very pretty presents. Mrs. Grid
ley does not look her years by a de-
cade. She is a slight little woman with
a serious face, and combs her yet
abundant and not very gray hair
smoothly down just as she did 60 years
ago when she was married. She is
clerk in the War Department and goes
to work every day.
The per capita expense of taking
the Census Of the United States has
risen from cents to 81 cents, which
seems to be unnecessarily steep. Di-
rector of the Census North seems to
think that he can cut this down sever
al cents head In the next Census
Good gracious! Why, this is perfect
ly awful! The National Child Labor
has been meeting in Wash
ington this last week, and they have
been doing some mighty good work,