Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1908-03-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.

From Our Regular Correspondent
Washington, ID. c., March 14.-It
has often been said that when party
remains too long in power it becomes
permeated with graft and recent
events in the national legislature would
seem to confirm that assertion least
so far as the Congress is concerned
Peculiarly, too, the evils which have
recently been exposed affect only the
House but there they come perilously
near the Republican leaders.
For instance, Representative Hobson,
he who as an officer of the Navy won
fame in Santiago harbor where he sunk
the Merrimac in an effort to pen the
Spanish fleet has testified in the sub
marine boat Investigated that lobbyist
of that company offered to go to Mr..
Cannon and have him appoint Mr..
Hob ion on the Naval Affairs commit
tee. Mr.. Hobson was asked by the
committee, which is not disposed to
probe this matter too deeply, if he did
not know that the Democratic leader
named the minority members of the
committee, but he replied that he did
not know that such was the invariable
rule, in fact he knew of cases where the
Speaker had designated the Democrats
he wished appointed to certain commit
tees. Mr.. Hobson refused the influence
of the boat company but secured the
appointment through John Sharp Will
liams, the minority leader.
Another affair which is regarded as
likely to reveal an unsavory condition
of affairs concerns the deciding of land
to one Sidney Bieber said to be pro-
tege of Speaker Cannon, who has re-
Gently been engaged in trying to cap
ture the District of Columbia delegates
to the Republican convention for Mr..
Cannon. By special and peculiar en-
actments Bieber has almost secured til
tie to twenty acres of very valuable
Government land in the District, in
Guiding, it is claimed, part of the his
toric Congressional Cemetery. To a
part of this land Bieber has secured alb
solute title, but the Secretary of. War
became suspicious of the last law and
held it up until Congress could again
assemble. Senator Carter, however,
learned of the facts from the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad with which, as chair
man of subcommittee of the Senate
he was trying to arrange for the aboli-
ton of the last surface track in the city
of Washington, and he exposed the
matter in the Senate, which promptly
passed an act which repealed the law
granting title to Bieber. The House
seems disposed to take the ground that
there is nothing irregular in its giving
titles to Bieber and at the same time to
hush the matter up, powerful influence
being eXerted to keep the matter out of
the newspapers. In fact, the first day
that it came up, when Carter made his
expose in the Senate, the Associated
Press sent out nothing of it to its num-
erous papers.
A report to the effect that the Presi-
dent purposes to send to Congress an
other message calling attention to vari-
Gus measures which he has recommend
ed and on which Congress has taken no
action has driven the Republicans into
rage. 1t is not known positively if
the President will send such message
but the mere threat may serve to accel-
crate the delinquent members of Con-
gress.
Probably never before in the course
of his administration has the President
been confronted with message which
so strongly calls for veto as pension
bill which has been slipped through
both houses of Congress and which, if
approved, will cost the nation upwards
of S15,0O0,O00 year. This measure
grants a pension to every widow of ev-
cry soldier who served ninety DAYS or
more in the Civil War. Practically all