Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1908-11-26
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Regular Correspondence.

JusI now poiltlclans, many OF
whom there are in Washington,
some OF them distinguished, are
engaged in speculations with ref
erence to the outcome OF tariff
tinkering, electing United States
Senators from New York, Ohio,
Iowa and other States. They are
also trying their hands at Cabi-
net making for the President
elect 1t is predicted that Myron
p. Herrick, former Governor OF
Ohio, will be nominated for the
the Secretaryship OF the Treasu-
ry. 1t is believed that Mr.. Gar
field will remain in his presentpo
sition as Secretary of the Interi-
or. In such case there would be
two Cabinet Ministers from 0.
hio, but there is recent precedent
for such an arrangement for has
not President Roosevelt three
Cabinet officers all from the State
of New York, in Root, Cortleyou
and Straus. The old idea that
Cabinet Minister'S must be picked
out with delicate consideration
for Gecgrahy might as we'll be
abandoned. When the right man
is wiling to serve for ten thous-
and dollars a year and su C b
fame mingled with reprobation
as the place may afford him and
his wife be ought to be nomina
ted by the President and con-
firmed by the Senate, whether he
halls from Nevada or Rhode Is
land or any intermediate State.
1t is pretty well understood
that Secretary Root will I've sent
to the Senate from New York af
ter March the 4th next as sue
cessor to Senator Platt, presi-
dent OF the United States Ex-
press Company on the floor ol
the Senate and opposer OF the
parcels post and any program in
the postal service that will in any
way interfere with the exhorbi'
tant and oppressive profits |ol
the express companies. Postmas-
ter General Meyer has just com.
pleted his yearly report from the
Post Office Department fir o m
which it appears that this de-
partment is nearly. seventeen
millions in arrears. A more hu
initiating and disgraceful condi
tion cannot be shown in Russia
China or any other country or
the face OF the earth. The Post
master General is in no way re
sponsible for this condition. HI
has again and again besought
Congress as a body and Con
gressmen as individuals to enact
a measure which will not only
make the Postal Establishment
d self supporting institution but
will make it @ source of revenue
to the government. There are o
yer thirty thousand rural route
employees tramping the country
: with small packages of letters
f and papers. This year a few dol
lars added to the salary OF eacf
will increase the expense Of rura
mail delivery about three millioI
dollars. If, as the Postmaster
General has urged, these r ura
reuters were permitted to deliv-
er parcels weighing from one tt
eleven pounds at q cost OF a fev
cents each it would wipe out tn
o deficit of fifteen millions or more
2. and make the postal service self
d sustaining as is the Patent Of
J. fee. IL is q disgrace to this Gov
eminent that this has not bee
long since, and that agents Q
the Express Companies on tn
- floor of the Senate and the Hous
OF Representatives with the al
breviation Hon. prefxed to thei
IR names have stood in the way
such salutary and necessary lei
;te islation. All European countri'
nd haye long enjoyed and profile
nd by the benefits OF the parce
es. post. 1t is uorking beautifully
what some consider the half CIV