Middletown transcript., 1907-05-18
WASHINGTON LETTER

important military visit that has ever been
made by foreign commander to the
United States, and he is being given the
best sort of time that official aud social
Washington can provide for him. Pos
sibly he will like it, but more probably
be will not, and the chances are that he
will 60 home as have great many dis.
tinguished visitors before him and tell
his associates how much he was bored by
attentions the Americans lavished upon
him. OF course this may be doing the
distinguished visitor an injustice, but the
thing has happened before in SO many
cases that one is rather shy of pressing
too much attention on the distinguished
foreigners who honor the United States
with visit. Gen. Kuroki is Samuri,
that is one Of the hereditary arm bear
ing men Of Japan, but he has never had
an ancestor who was at all distinguished
in military command. He is the first OF
his ma he to gain military renown, and
when one sees him they are surprised that
such mild looking person should be
ranked, and justly SO, as perhaps the fore
most Of living tacticians and strategists.
The General has been stopping at the
finest hotel in the city, occupying suite
of expensive rooms He is accompanied
by seven other distinguished japanese
military commanders and two japanese
orderlies who spend most Of their time
standing around the hotel lobby, smoking
cigarettes and looking bored. All Of the
| military party are small men, but Gen.
Kuroki is the smallest OF the whole party.
He is quiet little brown man with de-
cidedly gray hair, very long dropping
gray mustache. and the mildest possible
dark eyes, just the sort of man in fact
who looks as though he has never been
| out OF reach Of trolley car in his life and
who would not know high powered rifle
from sewing machine. That is just how
reliable appearances are in the most cases.
Gen. Kuroki is just as mild Of speech as
he is in appearance, and is very found Of
children. That is the only point about
him where appearances are not deceptive.
He understands English and can talk it,
but will not, always having an official
interpreter with him and using the inter
prefer as a buffer stata between him and
the average outsider. He talked English
/ with the President at the White House
however for awhile and then they drifted
| into German in which both of them are
thoroughly at home There was recep.
tion to Gen. Kuroki and his staff at the
White House at the end of the week.
He and the visiting officers had gone to
Mt. Vernon in the morning, being accom-
panied by the Secretary Of the Navy and
a number of the visiting officers from the
foreign warships at Jamestown. They
paid the usual tribute of respect by put
ting wreath on the tomb of Washington
and Gen. Kuroki was given piece of ivy
from the yanlt which he said he would
take back to Japan and plant at his
country place outside OF Yokohama.
The visitors hurried back from Mt. Yer.
non to be present at the reception at the
White House, and meantime the Presi-
dent had to be hustling to get back for the
reception too. He had done the usual
unconventional thing and given the Cab
met the slip and went off for a cross
country ride in the morning. 1t was a
fine day, one OF the first OF the fine spring
days in Washington, and as there was
nothing particularly pressing for the cab
met meeting, Friday being cabinet day,
the President sent word to his official
family that there was nothing doing in
the cabinet line, called on his military
aid, young Fitz Lee, and taking horses,
the two with some of the foreign military
officers galloped off for a cross country
run and did little fence jumping when
far enough away from Washington not to
attract attention. Secretary Garfield did
not get the message cancelling the cabinet
meeting and he came all the way to the
White House to find the cabinet table de-
serted.
-
Secretary Garfield is having a lively
time with the Interior Department since
he has taken hold OF it. There has been
general cleaning up of the Land Office
which was left to him by Secretary Hitch
cock, there has been more or less trouble
over extra hours for clerks III several Of
| the divisions where the work was behind
and it was necessary to catch up, and
most Of all there has been the necessity
Of appointing a successor to the Commits
sioner of Patents, Mr.. Allen, who has re-
signed. This last can hardly be ranked
as an appointment Of the first importance,
yet it touches many people closely
throughout the United States. The work
of the Patent Office has been growing
enormously Of late years and inventors Of
all sorts have reason to call the Commits
sioner Of Patents blessed or otherwise, ac-
cording as he does or does not give them
a good administration. Mr.. Garfield has
been charged with selecting a successor to
Mr.. Allen, and while he may make poor
choice, it could hardly be worse than the
| retiring commissioner. Mr. Allen has let
the work OF the Patent get into the worst
shape that it has been in since there was
q Patent Office. He has been in the
habit Of taking three months vacation an
nually and during these intervals much
Of the work OF the Office has been practi-
cally suspended because he would not al
low the assistant commissioner to act for
him. Cases piled up till few months
ego there were from 10000 to &c, 600 back
cases that had not been acted upon.
Things are little better now owing to
the vigorous action OF the Patent Bar Of
Washington. But it will take new com
missioner and an able one to get the Of
flee running in satisfactory shape
NO CHANGE IN ROAD