The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-11-24
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Cen
eral Topics from
the Capital.
Nov. Is. 1905.

which it is very hard for the
anxious layman to make anything
at all, regarding the pending
cases of the beef trust before the
Chicago District Court. 1t seems
that the beef defendants in en-
tering their pleas in bar have
accused the Commissioner of Cor
pOrations of entering into ca
boots, (that is not exactly the
way the Attorney General ex-
presses it, but that seems to be
the meaning,) with the Depart
ment Of Justice, and making i'm
proper use of the information
that he obtained as Commissioner
of Corporations in order to Sc
cure indictments from the grand
jnry. This improper action the
Attorney General emphatica | y
denies, and says that he will urge
the cases for speedy hearing.
That is the best and most un
derstandable news conta II d
in the whole statement. The
farmers Of the cattle country who
found their beeves seeling for
four and a half cents on the hoof
while porter-house steaks were
bringing thirty cents pound in
the stores, will not care partic-
ularly about the technical details
of the case. But they would
like to see some one sent to jail
by the same token. 1t the At.
torney General will just press the
cases and get a few convictions,
the farmers who suffered Will
probably excuse him from eluci-
dating the otficia. statement.
They will also have the entire
sympathy of the consumers who
had to pay famine prices for beef
while the farmers were being
assured by the buyers in Chicago
that it was a drug ON the market.
1t is now announced that two
congressman have been caught
in the Schuykill Arsenal frauds.
None of the details of the case
have been made public, but a
report has been filed with the
War Department aud the names
Of the Congressman probably
will come out when indictments
are secured. unless they have
pull enough to keep their names
from going before the grand jury.
1t will be remembered that the
Schuykill Arsenal frauds were
turned up last spring. 1t was
found that IA number of the
contractors for clothing and the
like had been working off infer
ior goods on the government and
paying the inspectors to say
nothing about it. Now iJ ap.
pears that two Congressmen at
least were concerned in the
frauds. One of the men was
a manufacturer. What the others
connection with the case was has
not been developed.
A very interesting letter has
just been received by promi
nent business men in W aShlng-
ton from the Hon. WI Ting Fang,
late minister of China in Wash
ington. 1t has been suggested
frequently in the public prints
that the willy WI had initiated
the Chinese boycott of American
goods in China. This Wu denies
with great earuestness. He says,
however, that if his Iemon
strances, made while he was in
the United States against the
enforcement of the Chinese Ex-
clusiOn Act had been needed,
the boycott, which he regrets
exceedingly, would not have oc
Cured. The letter throughout is
covert sneer at Americans and
American ways and alludes to
President Roosevelt as "your
good President The letter is
too good English, of which WI
was thorough master, to admit
of a doubt that this very
phrase was intended for what it
would he considered in diplo-
matte correspondence, an inten
tional slur. 1t presents the Chi
nese side of the boycott case very
ably and suggests that much
good might be accomplished by
showing I he letter to the Presl
dent or to ''SOme of the high
officials of the government ~
The communication is interesting
from the fact that it shows the
Chinese boycott TO he as active
as ever, which fact the latest ad
vices from the State Department
have amply admitted. 1t shows
also that the Chinese officials do
not think that the boycott is
working fast enough and that
they are anxious 10 do all in their
power to break down the bars OF
exclusion which the President
ha> already lowered as far as be
possibly can, concerning law and
prejudice
Speaker Cannon Of the nexl
House has issued q definition on