The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-11-30
WASHINGTON LETTER.

N~~~~
wives are arranging for their winter
homes here. The new Cabinet minister
Mr.. Straus, late Ambassador to Constan-
tinople, has leased one of the newest and
most elegant residences in the city. The
President is expected back early this week
and very soon after Thanksgiving the last
session of the Fifty-Ninth Congress will
begin. While it is expected that this
short session will be active and even
notable in a legislative way it is doubtful
if there will be as much gayety and enter
tanning in the Congressional set as there
was last winter. There will be fewer Of
the wives, daughters, cousins and
mothers-in law of Members and Senators
in the city for the reason that under the
new law theseswill not have free railroad
passes. Every Member of Congress and
Senator as it is we'll known has his mile
age paid by the Government and this
mileage is so generous that it enables him
to ride first class with meals and Pullman
car accommodations and yet have some
thing to spare. Nevertheless he has been
travelling on free passes and turning his
mileage perquisites into cash. Now all of
this is changed. He will have to ride on
his mileage and pay for the tickes of his
female encourage. But the absence of a
hundred ladies more or less of the Con-
gressional class will not throw an impen-
etrable pail over Vanity Fair Washing
ton. Real estate agents report that never
before has there been such demand to
lease large and we'll furnished houses by
wealthy people from other cities who are
coming here for the express purpose of
mixing in the social gaieties of the great
est Capital in the Western hemisphere.
~
Political prophets who like most other
prophets are most accurate in auguries
after the fact are now predicting that the
President will strongly urge ship Sub.
sidy Bill in his message to Congress.
This they have been enabled to infer
from the addresses of Secretary Root of
the State Department and Secretary
Shaw of the Treasury. These gentlemen
deplore the eAacement of the American
alone will make it fly again but there is
more than the revival of American COM
merce in this question and although Sec.
retaries Root and Shaw used this as their
chief argument as it becomes diplomats
and representatives of a powerful and
pacific people to do, an important reason
for subsidy to American merchant ships
is the education and hardening of Amer
lean seamen in preparation for the in
evitable struggle for mastery in the Pa.
ci6c ocean. The President and his Cab
relations between the United States and
Japan are more than possible and that
Japan is capable as shown by her tactics
in beginning the war with Russia, OF
stealing march, or shall say, stealing
sail and capturing the chief ports of the
Philippines, Hawaii and Alaska, without
the formality of declaration of war.
With no way of reaching the Pacific
Ocean except by sailing around Cape
Horn our stronger fleet, stronger only in
ships, not in men, than that of Japan,
would be at great disadvantage. 1t is of
the greatest Importance to us to complete
the Panama Canal at the earliest possible
day and also to train through subsidized
merchant marine thousands of seamen
who will be effective as volunteers in time
of war.