The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-04-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.

he is hunting big game, for, to use the
expression of the Vice President in re-
cent speech in North Carolina, matters
of great 'spith and moment" are in the
wind. While King Edward Of England
and President Loubet of France are hold
ing consultations on railway train and
the Kaiser and the King of Italy are
whispering to each other in Naples, the
German, French and English Ambassa-
doris are talking over the same questions
with the Acting Secretary of State and
actual Secretary or War whom the Presi-
dent has left in Washington to "hold
down the lid" 1t is all about the open
door In Morocco. France, it is suspected,
wants to control the door and France
thinks or hopes that she will be backed
by England. Germany wants an equal
entrance with France through that door.
The incident, small as it is from our point
of view and remote as we are FROM the
Mediterranean, serves to emphasize our
growing importance as world power.
The splendid isolation of Great Britain in
her tight little island, defended by noat
of salt water 80 miles in width, is as
nothing compared with our location, be-
cause our moat is 5000 miles wide on the
Atlantic seaboard ard nearly twice that
width on the Pacific. But there are var
ious kinds of splendid isolation aud Ger
many is beginning to become familiar
with phase Of it. The tripartite alliance
of Germany, Australia and Italy has not
the raison detre or the strength that it
once had, for since its formation, there
has been a considerable oscillation of the
maps of the world and one first class
power has sprung up in the Orient and
another long latent first class power the
United States reorganized in the West
Since the tripartite alliance was formed
Japan has conquered China and demon
strated her superiority to Russia; England
\ has shown her ability to carry on war in
volving the transportation over 5000 miles
of sea of 3oo, 900 soldiers with equip
ments and munitions of war, and
the United States has with an almost
flippant ease destroyed second Spanish
armada aud established new nation in
the Caribbean.
These questions may seem little
foreign to Washington letter, but the
world has grown so small through the
humiliation of time and space and the
United States SO proportionately large in
the past ten years that our interests and
our influence touch all countries and are
touched by them.
One cannot help comparing just now,
the progress of the President through
thousands of miles of the United States
with the immurment for safety of the
Gear of all the Russians. Mr.. Roosevelt
is passing through part Of the country
never before visited by a President He
is attended by members of the press In
his off hand way he tells that he has left
three hundred pound man sitting on
the lid" This is his way of assuring the
public that things will go right at Wash
ington He is greeted everywhere with
familiarity and affection and he replies to
these greetings without forniality and in
true democratic spirit A man on tele
graph pole called ont to him. Hello, old
pal. Glad to see you" and the man re-
ceived in reply wave of the hand and a
smile displaying those famous teeth. All
along the road he has been greeted as
Teddy" and he is evidently enjoying
mixing with the people. At town call
ed Temple, in Texas, which the train was
scheduled to run past without stopping,
a special meeting was called and some
thing called an emergency ordinance was
passed and an old Confederate soldier
wired the sense of the order to the Presi
dent He promptly acknowledged the
potency of a brand new law and stopped at
Temple. making little speech. On the
other side of the Atlantic the Car of Rus
STA has ordered fence made around the
palace, composed of spiked iron pickets
IS feet high and at recent review of the
did not appear. And who can blame
FLOR keeping out of sight and out of
danger? Recently house painter at
Stetin Germany criticised the Kaiser by
saying that he had no right to interfere in
Morocco and the house pa inter- was sent
to jail for six months.
~
There is much interest felt in Washing
ton with regard to the reported revolt in
the Mormon church For the first time
in its history opposition to the apostolic
authority was manifested on April 9th
when two negative votes were cast on the
question of sustaining the presidency and
the twelve apostles. Senator Smoot
left the state yesterday. saying that he
had been called to California on import
ant business. The situation in Salt Lake