Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1907-05-10
WASHINGTON LETTER
trrom our Regular CORES ponoenr.,

tFrom our Regular CORES pOndenIJ
Washington, DC. May This has
been lively week for Washington
from social and spectacular stand
point. The visiting naval officers at
Jamestown have been entertained at
the White House and at the several
EN- bassies. and there has been a con-
slant succession of liberty parties of
| foreign sailors In Washington on from
the various foreign warships visiting
the exposition. The officers have been
always in citizens clothes On the streets
30 they were not conspicuous. But
the sailors have been in the uniforms of
the navles to which they belonged -
One has run across them in the hotel
Hobbies, on the street cars and at the
theatres constantly. There is not SO
much difference between the uniforms
of sailors the world over. only minor
points such as buttons and pipings.
But 1t would seem there has never been
so many sailors IN the city before, and
the cap ribbons show them to be from
Great Britain, Austria, Germany, Italy
and France and possibly some other
countries. They have all been models
Of department and have added to the
gaiety of the street scenes. Receptions
and dinners have been given the Office
at the German. British and Austrian
EN- bassies, and there are more enter
tainments in prospect.
There is every prospect that the
dominican Treaty against which such
fight was made in the last session of
Congress will be ratified by Santo
Domingo in the course of few days.
The event is awaited with good deal
of interest at the State Department
and it will mean several years more Of
work for this government in straight
enlng out the finances of the little re-
public and putting it on it's feet again
among the nations of the world. One
of the changes that will follow the
ratification Of the treaty is that Min
lister Dawson Of Santo Domingo, who
has engineered the negotiations all
through and who has visited this coun
try three times IN the interest of the
treaty, will be transferred to Columbia
as minister in succession to John Bar
rett, now the director of the Bureau of
American Republics. This will be a
decided promotion. and is given in rec
ognitiOn of Minister Dawson's work.
OF decided interest to the travelling
public is the decision of the Interstate
Commerce Commission that the rail-
roads cannot grant special rates to
theatrical troupes as has been the Gus
tom in the past. The decision may or
may not affect all of the travelling
public. That is as the railroads take
it. The present law provides that
there shall be no discrimination in
passenger rates, and it Is held that
there is discrimination If the railroads
allow special rate to theatrical Or
CARNATIONS and not to other associa
tions of people. If the theatrical rate
is kept In force, then an ASSOCIATE on of
ten or more other persons Of any call
ing can demand and receive the same
treatment. This will be nice for the
travelling public, and will be apt to
make CO operative travelling the fash
ion.
There is quite a crowding at the
counter for the position of Commits
slOner of Patents that will be left va.
can't by the resignation of the present
Commissioner Frederick 1. Allen
Many Of the candidates are patent
lawyers from various parts of the coun
try, and while naturally patent law
yer would be Of some advantage in the
place, being. familiar with the details
of the business, it would give decid-
ed advantage to bis firm to have the
prestige of one of its mem bers as Pa
tent Commissioner at Washington. 1t
Is rather delicate situation. Patent
Ia WyC1o AofO UCOA dUROlAbCu w vAC
place before, and while they have Of
course nominally severed their con-
nection with their firms, they have
sometimes continued unofficially con-
nected with them. There is on record
the case of one commissioner who used
to 60 every evening to his Office near
the Patent Office and prepare cases
that be would have to pass on in his
capacity of commissioner the next day.
1t is likely that selection will be made
from inside the Patent Office, and it
is thought that Secretary Garfield who
now has the Interior Portfolio, will
appoint the present Assistant Com
missioner Edward b. Moore to the va.
cancy.
Postmaster General COrtelyeu has
just appointed commission pursuant
of an order from the last Congress,
which will have the job of weighing
every piece Of mail matter and keeping
track of the expense involved In hand
| ling 1t for the next six months. 1t has
been commended for years that the rail.
roads were getting too much for the
service Of Transporting the mails. But
at the same time there was no accurate
data on which to base a calculation.
| There was always slight deficit in
the postal revenues, but it was hard to
j locate it and say whether the railroads
were getting too much for their work
or whether some class OF mail matter
was paying less than its fair share of
the expense. or course there are many
different sorts Of mail matter, letters,
papers and periodicals., newspapers
sent out by the publishers and paid
for nv the pound. government books