The Washington herald., 1907-01-29
AT THE HOTELS.

the New willard. ard intends remaining
some days IN Washington
Gen. J. 3. Metcalf. who has for many
years ranked with the leading men OF
Seattle. is a the New Willard. He has
come East rs special commissioner OF
the Alaska y ukOn-Pacihc Exposition. and
VIII go before the governors and legisla-
lures Of nine States 10 advocate their
participation in what VIII be, In many
ways, the most unique and interesting
exhibition ever Witnessed .n this country.
The city Of Seattle alone" said Cen
Metcalf. raised $6egoo0 for the exposition
in a single day, and the States approprla-
ti9n IS 100000 so that we will have all
the funds necessary. The display from
the Orient viii be the greatest eyer under
taken by Eastern countries, and China
and Japan are taking hold of % iu the
most enthusiastic way. People should not
get the erroneous idea that this is merely
"a local affair II would be well worth
patr0nzng II il did no more than show
TIE resources Of our matchless Pacific
Coast, but when in addition il viii be- q
miniature OF Alaska and the Yukon, with
all their wonderful wealth. besides the
Asiatlc contributions Of all that is inter
esting from the birthplace Of the human
race, then, indeed, il viii well be worth
crossing the continent TO see"
j am in Washington 10 attend a meet
ing OF TIE governors Of the National Sol
dieTs' Homes said that suave and pol
ishcd gentleman. eX-GOv. Franklin Muir
ply, Of New Jersey. at the New willard
There are ten Of the national homes.
which maintain on an average about
So'00 Union veterans. In addition, there
are twenty State homes. which care for
some 5000 more Of the old soldiers Con
gTess gives us, in round figures. 100000
a year 70 keep Up the national hons. and
We allow the State institutions $50 per
annum for each man maintained in them.
The average age of the inmates is sixty
seven years. About - per cent Of them
are invalids. and stay in hospitals At the
homes they are provided everything by
the government-plenty Of good. whole
some food, elegantly cooked clothing,
medicine. and medical attendance, and
plenty Of facilities for recreation.
CuTiOusly enough the number Of those
thus cared Tor shows a continual slight
increase, though the time cannot be far
distant when there viii be few left. How
ever, as time goes on, we shall have an
ever-increasiug addition by the entrance
Of men who fought i'm the Spanish war
There are 200 Of these now in the homes
but as 10000 men We're called on TO serve
in that war from first 10 last. il can
readily be seen how all the places Of the
veterans Of '6l-65 may be ultimately
filled"
Few people have any idea Of the mag
nitude Of the oil business said Mr.. T.. II.
Selby. "a big owner Of wells IN the Indian
Territory, at the Raleigh.
"A few figures as To the mid-conunent
field alone Will give a faint notion Of its
colossal proportions. BY the mid-conti-
uent field is meant Kansas, Indian Terri
tory. and Oklahoma. The actual produc-
ton Of this region is over 10000 barrels
a day Such an enormous quantity is
away beyond the capacity of the rail-
roads to transport. and all the owners can
do is To store the oil I'm tanks. There are
500 Of these tanks already i'm use. and they
contain "a reserve supply of over 2Ion,611
barrels. They build them in two sizes.
one holding 5000 barrels, costing SII,G10,
and $500 barrels, costing $4,000 each.
NO man of limited means can DO any
thing IN oil because OF the expense AT
tached 10 its production and the impossi-
biliiy Of handling il on a small scale.
Besides the construction OF the tanks. the
big company. which il commonly called
a monopoly, has spent millions in pipe
lines and pumping stations. and. though
abused for keeping down the price of oil,
il has furnished producers some kind Of
a market. whore they would otherwise
not have been able 70 sell q single gallon"
MY visit TO Washington this time was
to confer with officials Of the State De-
partmenJ regarding a matter that viii be
Of some interest TO breeders of horses all
over the Union said Mr. A. Daingerfield,
the popular secretary Of the Jockey Club.
q the Snoreham. The weU-known ar
fist Homer Davenport, has imported from
Arabia thirty-hve head Of stations and
brood mares. being by far the largest
number ever brought over from that
country. famous through all ages for
producing the most superb specimens Of
the equine family. Indeed, considering
their fame. il is remarkable how few
Arabians have been brought TO the United
States. Gen. Grant. it viii be remem-
bered, was given a pair. and their coming
was heralded throughout the land. As
Mr.. Davenport has declared that he OBJ
tanned them for breeding purposes, the
horses were admitted free Of duty.
My business with the State Depart
ment was to ascertain the genuineness
Of the claim that the horses are thor
oughbreds for they must be such in
order to entitIe them to registry IN the
stud book There is hardly a doubt on
that point, but the authenticity Of the
Arab ian documents certifying their breed
ing had 10 be vouched for in the most
authoritative way. II Is the first time
that such a matter ever came up, but
the department gave cheerful co-opera-
ton, and the pedigree Of the animals will
be thoroughly examined"
When Mr.. Banjamin D. Croker. who
IS at the New Willard, settled in the
State of Washington, as a youth, the
country was mostly a wilderness, and
there were no such towns as Spo-
kane and Tacoma. Mr.. Croker lit
orally grew UP with the country. He is
collector of internal revenue for Wash
ingtOn and Alaska. and for years has
been a Warwick in the Republican party.
There is not a politician in the State that
is not glad of his friendship, and it IS
whispered that he has had much 10 do
with the making and unmaking Of Sena-
tors and Representatives
When ] was in Washington q few
months ago" said Mr.. J. W. Hyde, a
successful lumberman of Jacksonville,
Fla, at the Raleigh I told a Washing
ton Herald reporter, as one who had