Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-01-10
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Evidence of the use the general pub
lie is making of the great Library OF
Congress is TO be found in the record of
visitors to the building during the last
fiscal year. The visitors numbered
about $4,000. This was daily aver
age of 2,243 in the $50 days on which
the library was open to the public. The
only days on which the great bronze
doors We're closed throughout the twen-
ty-four hours were July 3, the funeral
day of John Hay, July 4 and Christ
mas. Almost double force is required
for the building, which is open virtual
ly day and evening the year around.
The largest number of visitors in any
one day was 5,2S4, in April, and the
smallest 444. on one of the hottest days
i'll July. An idea of the size of this Ii
brary may be obtained from the Statis-
tics for last year, which showed a gain
in the number of volumes of 34,626,
bringing the number of books on the
racks up to 1924. This total of
books, pamphlets, maps and charts and
pieces of music added last year was
S1,3SJ.
Some of the postal improvements ad-
vocated in Cortelyou's annual report
are the parcels post, postal savings
bank, postal telegraph and telephone,
abolition of railway speed subsidies,
additional subsidies to South American
and Australian steamers, low-rate pos
tai notes and the creation of a new
office, that of deputy postmaster gen
eral, with permanent tenure, who
would act as a sort of business man
ager for the entire service, besides GER
tain reforms in salaries and accounts
The Postmaster General takes the high
ground that poStmaSters should not be
appointed as rewards for political ac-
tivity. AS to the deficit. he says he is
less concerned about that than about
efficiency of administration and thinks
it unreasonable to charge any one
branch of the service with responsible
ity for the deficit
A plan for holding and developing
coal lands in the Indian Territory be-
longing to the government has been
made public by Secretary Hitchcock. A
large corporation is to be formed, in
which the Indian tribes and the gov
eminent are to control the stock, the
mines to be operated by employees or
leased on a royalty. 1t will be the first
time in our history that the government
becomes a stakeholder in a private cor
poration. The life of the company is
to be twenty-five years, with option of
continuance or sale at the end of that
period, the directors to be the Presi-
dent of the United States, Secretaries
of the Interior, Treasury and Com
merce and Labor, Commissioner of In
dian Affairs and member of each of
the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes.
-
Senator Hale of Maine made the
declaration that two-thirds of the rev.
enues of the government are now de
voted to the payment of inheritances
from past wars and expenditures for
future wars He called attention to
the arguments of the army promoters
that it was no use to have an army
unless you have guns and Notifications,
and now that 00000,000 had beer
appropriated for sea coast fortified
tions the argument was, what is the
use of having guns and Notifications
unless you have men?" Thus, he said.
it was the constant pressure of the
army to aggrandiZe itself first for men,
then for guns and then guns and then
men. On account of this vast expense,
Senator Hale said it was impossible to
get appropriations for the marine, for
river and harbor improvements and for
public buildings.
Secretary of War Taft in his report
on the Philippines asks Congress to
support an agricultural bank by author
izing the Philippine government to
guarantee dividend Of 4 per cent on
.SIO.OOO,OOO, Ills DClIlS lIt lJIttil NIIICA
proved 50 successful under Lord Cromer
in Egypt. He says the business condi-
tons i'll the islands, especially in the
sugar and tobacco induStrials continue
and that the storm of last year de-
StrOyed 100000 worth of the hemp
crop. Work is proceeding on q system
of water supply for Manila and on the
sewerage system. The complete paci-
fication of the Island of Luzon is re-
ported with the capture or surrender
of the ladrone leaders, the only disor-
der now being in Leyte and Samar.
The House adopted a resolution in
dorsed by Miller of Kansas, directing
the bureau Of corporations to investi-
gate the causes of the high price Of
lumber, and particularly whether this
is due to the existence of a combna-
ton in the form of a trust or other
wise. The house also called upon the
Secretary of the Interior to give an ac-
count of all public lands withdrawn or
reserved from entry.
-.
In a recent report of the bureau OF
navigation it is shown that SO per cent
of the enlisted men in the navy are
native-born Americans, and that dur
ing the year forty-three per cent OF the
men qualified for re-enlistment did re-
enlist. 1t is highly desirable that the
man behind the gun be man of ex-
perience. and it is best that the man
who may be called upon to sght should
be horn under the fac that floats ahnva