The Republican journal., 1906-02-01
Letter from Washington.

CneT6 are Qullc AuuuCi VI iS4"Ss'S
for changes of route and for extensions
of routes to afford better facilities for
various residents. Since he came to
Washington'last December the Govern
or has had about half dozen of these
cases, which he is pressing earnestly be-
fore the Post Office Department. 1t
sometimes takes quite as long to have
a route changed as it does to establish
a new route, for an inspector has to be
sent to report and the routine in the
Department is about the same. Never
theless Gov. Burleigh, with his char
acteristic energy in behalf of his con-
stituents, follows each application of
this kind and generally succeeds in hav
ing the change made.
One of the latest requests came from
Winterport, Hon. Fred Atwood first
writing him about the matter Eben
c. Clement, an influential resident OF
Monroe. was one of the petitioners,
asking some change in the K. F. ID.
route which comes north via Monroe,
No. 3. Mr.. Clement, for instance, re-
ceives letters from Winterport by way
of Bangor and Monroe, although MIR.
Clement and several of his nelghbors,
who Join in the petition live only SIX
miles from Winterport. Charles b.
.Tewett, S. j. Fish and r. L. Clement
were among the others who joined i'll
the petition. Gov. Burleigh wrote at
once to Fourth Assistant Postmaster
General DeGraw. His letter illustrates
the business like way he takes up all
such matters. The Governor wrote:
Herewith is enclosed petition from
Eben c. Clement and others for extern
sion of r. F. d. route No. at Monroe,
Waldo county Maine; also letters from
Mr.. Clement and from Col. Fred At
wood of Winterport, Maine relative to
the same subject | earnestly request
that these papers be placed in the hands
of Inspector E. 2. Boutelle Of Bangor,
Maine, Kindly advise me-
The Post Office Department has
promised to give the matter early at
tention and to send Inspector Boutelle
to look over the proposed change and
make a recommendation.
Representative Burleigh has been
looking up the situation in the House
with reference to the bill by Chairman
Payne of the Ways and Means com
mittee to reorganize the customs dis
tricts of the country. He will do all III
his power to defeat the enactment of
the measure because of his belief that
| the legislation is unWarranted. In the
| list of ports where the cost of operation
| exceeds receipts are five Name ports
| including Frenchman's Bay lElls-
WORTH Without taking into consid-
Grafton the work customs officers do i'll
preventing smuggling at these points,
which is a matter of great Importance
along SO extensive a coast as that OF
Maine, Chairman Payne cites, at
Ellsworth for instance, that there are
| five employees whose annual compen-
sation amounts to 50, 5S4.90, although
| the collections there amounted last
year to but sos OF. Thereupon Mr..
| PAYNE proceeds to argue that it costs
50. 9S to collect one dollar at Ellsworth.
! Belfast. where Representative Burleigh
has just secured the appointment Of
Charles Z. Knowlton as collector, does
| not come within the prescribed list, but
| with collections falling off in the small
ports of the country, because OF the
tendency to ship goods to larger ports,
| one could not tell when the provisions
of Mr.. Payne's proposed law would i'll
! clude the Waldo county city. CastlDe,
with six customs employees, collecting
| ) 6S2. 81 at an annual cost of 81, 50334 is
on the list to be abolished should Mr..
Payne's bill become law. kennebunk
| had no collections in the last fiscal year,
| but it has two customs employees, who
were paid during that period S95.17.
Machias, with five employees, who were
paid 4,29977 in salaries for collecting
| SOL. %, also comes within the list of
customs offices that Mr.. Payne wants
to abolish. So does Waldoboro, Me-,
with seven employees, who are paid sal
aries amounting to $6,S91.75 for collect
ing during the last fiscal year S2,O29.21.
Gov. Burleigh thinks it will be diff
cult to prevent the passage of the bill
in the House of Representatives.
| Speaker Cannon is for it and will facili-
tate it's consideration. But the mem
beers from Maine, both in the Senate
and House, will be opposed to change.
A like proposition has been before
| Congress several times during the past
/ twenty years, but has been beaten
through the unanimous and persistent
opposition of Names delegation.
Every few days now little slips of
| typewriting are handed out at the
White House, which immensely inter
est the social world of Washington.
They are sometimes not more than a
sentence long, but tell what Miss Alice
Roosevelt, the prospective bride of The
White House, is doing. The social sec
rotary, Miss Hagner, gives out these
slips, an example of which is the fol