Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-13

ture Of the case IL now presented to con-
gress for action.
Major Rathbone bases his claim for a
thorough investigation upon the ground
that whenever the government OF the
United states assigns one OF its citizens to
public service in a foreign land and in the
course Of the performance OF his ofncial
duties IN that foreign service he r. accused
OF high crimes and miedemeanors, Il IL
tho duty OF the government Of the United
States 10 see that such citizen has fair
and impartial trial under usual and regu-
lar rules OF judicial procedure. Major
Rathbone insists that the proceedings
which led TO his conviction were not judi
cial proceedings but were special proceed
ings controlled by a person or persons by
whose orders such courts were established
and controlled and who In violation OF law
established rules of judicial procedure, is
sued ORDERS instructions and communi-
cation, to the courts by whom Rathbone
was tried, from time to time. during the
progress Of the trial, and so Influenced and
dominated these tribunals ss to thwart the
purpose Of justice and do a great wrong
to the. petitioner
In many particulars the Rathbone case
is analogous to the Dreyfus case. Major
conviction, was looked upon as one of the
ablest men in the post ONCE department.
He had served the department at pre-
vious time with dinstinguished credit and
until the disclosures relative 10 Medley and
Reeves were made public, Rathbone was
regarded as a most exemplary and high
toned officer. But he was found In bad
company. 80 the allegations went, and with
Neeley and Reeves he suffered the penalty
which, In a manly petition. he now asks
congress TO investigate.
Rural Route Statistics.
On August /. with the returns for July
complete, there were IS, 765 rural free de-
livery routes In operation in the United
states. A total of 5S,6S2 petitions for routes
has been referred, 147s7 petitions had been
adversely reported and S097 petitions re-
manned for flnal action.
OF the 1856 congressional districts, $40
have one or more rural routes in operation.
The 81 districts which have no rural
routes are the metropolitan districts, and
are as follows: The fourth California in
San Francisco; the first, second, fourth,
fifth and eighth Illinois. in Chicago; the
tenth and eleventh Massachusetts,, in
Boston; the ninth and tenth New
Jersey, in Newark and Hobokeh; sixteen
Of the districts in the boroughs in Man
haitian and Brooklyn and one in Buffalo,
in Now York state; the twenty-first Ohio,
In Cleveland: six districts in Philadelphia,
and the thirty first Pennsylvania, In Pitts
burg.
The greatest number of rural routes In
operation in any single district 10 $50 in
the tenth Iowa district represented by
James p. Conner, a district having IA
counties. Ranking next is the first Ten
nessee district, represented by Walter p
Brownlow. with T7 routes in operation in
IL counties. The seventh Kansas district
of S6 counties represented by Victor Muir
dock. is third, with 272 routes In operation.
The distinction of representing the district
having the most rural routes in operation
has for the past year. up to the present
| report, been held by the Tennessee menu
Der. Mr.. Brownlow's recent troubles at
home with the various wicked conspiracies
at work against him as the republican boss
of Tennessee probably accounts for the
Iowa member getting the lead.
OF the petitions referred the average
number OF reflections is q per cent. The
district deserving that notoriety is the
| eighth North Carolina, represented by Ed
mund Blackburn, the percentage of whose
which up to his election as governor Of
the state was represented by Claude Swan
son. out of 4e5 petitions referred-the great
est number referred In any one district
] had &c per cent rejected.sa