Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-09-12
Woodstock Business cardo
NOTES FROM WASHINGTON
Especial Correspondence

compulsory tests of the army ration,
having proved that it is satisfactory,
will be discontinued because Of the
complaints of the soldiers who have
been subjected to 1t. This means, Of
course, that the army ration is all
right when the army can't get any.
thing else to eat.
Five Control Statlons.--Capt. John.
son Hagood of the coast artillery re-
turned from Newport, where he has
been investigating the installation Of
a fire control system in the artillery
district Of the Narragansett. Capt
Hagood will report that $5O0,O0O will
be necessary to locate and build 80
fire control stations in the district
and connect them with each other and
with the batteries. Congress will be
asked for this appropriation next
winter. While in the Narragansett
district Capt. Hagood had a confer
ence with Maj. w. G. Davis, who is
working out plan of searchlight
equipment in each of the coast artll.
lery districts. The two officers made
their plans harmonize. 1t is believed
that $4,000 will be required to equiv
the Narragansett district with 16 tc
20 searchlights.
Plenty of Money.-Persons passing
big new bank building at the corner
of 18th and H streets are attracted by
miniature wooden structures located
in the front and at the rear. They
are sentry boxes to accommodate
guards who are watching over mill
lions of government money stored III
the vaults of the bank. The treasury
vaults are overfiowing into the bank
vaults, not with coin, but with emer.
gency national bank currency thai
has been prepared under the new
Aldrich-Vreeland financial law. Day
and night the bank is patroled by
heavily armed guards. 1t Is not like
ly that the bank would be robbed
but the government takes no chances
In the treasury building itself there
are scores of armed guards surround
ing the vaults. Such precautions are
considered even more necessary when
government funds are stored in an
outside building. Under the law the
treasury department had to prepare
$5O0,OO0,000 of emergency currency fo1
the 1924 national banks in the United
States, so that the money will bs
ready for them should a stringencg
in the money market occur.
The Mormon Question.--The de
partment of commerce and labor has
received number of protests against
the exclusion Of any more Mormon
immigrants at Boston from Senators
Smoot and Sutherland, Gov. Cutler
Representative Howell and other
prominent Utah people. Relative ia
the fear Of the immigration authori
ties that many of the Mormon immi
grants would become public charger
If admitted into the United States
Senator Smoot stated that there
would be no difficulty of that sort, az
the members Of the Mormon church
Of which he is an apostle, will take
care Of their friends If they should be-
In want. Asked about the senator's
claim that Mormons do not become
public charges, high official Of the
department said today. that number
OF aliens who have become charges
have been deported from Utah. IL
each case the papers show that the
persons concerned had no religion,
but in the case of an alleged insane
person before the department today
1t was stated that his delusion was
that, although unmarried, he had two
wives living at Ogden, Utah. The in.
ference drawn from his official state.
ment was that persons elected from.
the Mormon church do become public
charges. Secretary Straus says that
the religious belief Of aliens has moth.
ing to do with the settlement Of their
cases by the department. A Mormon
will be admitted as soon as member
OF any other church If he complies
with the laws, the secretary said. II
Mormon OF any body else believes in
or practices polygamy he cannot un.
der the law be admitted. 3
Story Amuses Wu.--Wu Ting.fang.
the Chinese minister, shown the dis
patch from Pekin recently stating thai
the government was considering the
question of his recall because of indis.
Greet utterances and mentioning this
name of his probable successor, de
clared that the Pekin government had
not in any way intlmated to him that
1t was dissatisfied with anything that
he may have said. He appeared rath.
or amused and puzzled over the state
ment that the government had been
embarrassed by his attitude "as a
public character in America" and dis
position was to smile in talking about
It The minister added: what few
speeches l have made since my re-
turn to America have been mainly to
colleges land universities, and have
been educational in character and in
furtherance of the effort to cement the
friendship between China and the
United States l have scrupulously
avoided touching on politics. II the
utterances credited 10 me which the
Pelin dispatch says have embarrassed
the government relate to the so-called
Americana Chinese alIlance, wish to
say that have not committed myself
In any way on that subject, more than
to remark that 1t was Interesting :
Liam Tun Yen, mentioned as a possi.
BILE successor to Mr.. WI, heretofore
actually has been named for the posi-
tion Of minister at Washington. This
occurred when he was customs taotal
Of Tientsin, and followed the retire.
ment Of Sir Chentung Liang Cheng,
Mr. Wu's predecessor. Lang Tun Yen
went to Pekin for an audience with
the authorities and was kept there, be-
ing appointed to the position he now
holds. MIR. WI was then again aD.
pointed minister to Washington.