Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1907-03-21
WASHINGTON LETTER.


Rrom Our Regular corrsssp0nasnE.l
Washington d. c.. March. 10, 1907.
Stock market and railroad crises
are 50 iuextricable tangled up that
IL il hard to discuss one without
touching on the other. The recent
furry Ia Wall Street came just %
the time, when the railroads were
complaining they were being most
unfairly treated by the state and
general government. and the rail-
road explanation Of the occurrence
naturally il that the panic was pre-
cipitated by persistent government
maligninR. There 10 another side
to the situation, however, and that
10 that the whole drop In securities
was Q carefully planned coup on the
part Of the big manipulators who
knew that they could bay back %
en- immense profit the stocks whose
paper value they 90 ruthlessly
slaughtered.
OF course the situation IVES re-
presented TO the White House N
serious the first day OF the furry.
But the President deuominated itas
gamblers panic and took no more
interest in il. Still there was On
urgent demand for money from New
York and to save q good many limo
cent persons, Secretary Cortelyou
opened the Treasury Department
and relieved the situation" % has
been done so many times before by
buying bonds and releasing banks
eFom their obligations TO retire 90
much currency monthly.
Now the crisis is over there In
considerable speculation a 10 What
the railroads are going 70 do. e.
pecially IL is wondered whether che
railroad presidents who were 20 have
come to the White House 70 see the
President will persist In that In.
tention. Already one Of them, Mr..
McCrea Of she Pennsylvania, haa en-
nounced that he win not como With.
out special invitation. and as DO Of
course viii not get that, 10 looks ON
though the whole scheme Of the visit
would fall through. Whether the
officials come TO Washington or
whether they do not. there In certain
to be considerable additional rail.
road legislssion q the next session
Of congress, and hafarnxhswnnuAns
get through, they prahahly <sssll
wish they had taken counsel win
the President when they had coed
chance. -.
One of the most important moyenon
the part of the government recently
was that OF the consular examination
held here this week. There we're
fifteen or twenty men. mostly young
men who took the examination. The
decisions have not been published
and viii not be for some time. but u
markes the beginning Of real reform
in the consular service when the
best man will get the job. And the
possibilities Of foreign trade for
this country are so immense and
heretofore have been 30 neglected,
that anything looking to improve
ment In this line Ia 70 b welcomed.
The applicants were appointed 20
take the examination very much m
the cadets are appointed for examina-
ton ct West Point or Annapolis.
One OF the frss qualifications oe n
candidate vas good working know.
ledge Of French, German. Spanish
or Russian. A section Of the ex.
animation was devoted 20 language,
and beside this were q series of on.
aminations on commercial resources
Of the United States. trade and bank.
ing laws of foreign countries. inasr-
national. laws and political eoonousy.
and . few similar things. ons can
imagine an examination q skMs SOFA
being put to many Of the pnaaAinss
henchmeu, retired school teachers
and ministers and other dsrelicss,
with whom the service m. haan.