The National tribune., 1909-10-21
THE c. THURSDAY

sources in Alaska. Yet there ara thos.
living who can remember the accent;
of horror with which the suggestion tC
buy Alaska was greeted, way back IL
'67.
Gradually the Rough Riders are be
ing incapacitated for further duty. be-
cause of disability incurred in the ser
vice. Second Lieut.. Pickens Woodson
sth U. s., who enlisted as O volunteer
in 1898 and saw service in Cuba will
COL RooseVelts regiment of Rough Rid.
ers. has been retired. Lieut.. Woodsor
is Texan. After being mustered out
in 1898 he returned to private life until
1901, when he enlisted as n private in
the 18th Cav, rising to the grade OF
Quartermasts--Serg within a year
He then began to study for a commits
Ision, which he received in 1906. He is
Ionly 80 years old.
The District National Guard is feeling
very much puffed up over the fact that
Lieut. Charles M. Putnam, of the
Guard, was able in the annual Fall
shoot of the National Guard to hit the
bulrs-eye Al times out of a possible so
in the 200 yards distinguished marks
mems match. This equals the worlds
record in like matches. The record up
l. H.,
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.
| Secretary of War Dickinson is going
to do an almost unheard of thing when
| he Will appear before the Illinois Su-
preme Court to argue a case for the
III nois Central Railroad Company, for
which he was formerly general counsel
The State of Illinois is the opposing
party to the suit. Secretary Dickinson
says that the suit was argued by him
in the lower court, and when accepting
the position in President Taft's Cab net
he told the President that he would dis
| solve absolutely his connection with the
railroad, but told him that at that stage
of the suit in question the company
| could not employ new counsel who
would have the familiarity with the
case requisite to argue it on appeal, and
| that he did not feel that it was right
| under such conditions to abandon the
case. The President, Mr. Dickinson
said, appointed him with the distinct
understanding that he would complete
his argument in this case Just the
same. it looks a little odd TO see the
Secretary of War appearing before the
court.
There will be meeting of the Execu-
tive Council of the Woman's National
Civic Federation in New York City this
II 10 chpeCltu tHdt steps WIZ
be taken to organize Loan Association
for the benefit of the women Depart
mental clerks and other women en-
ployes of the Government in this city.
This Loan Association plan has been
under discussion by members of the Ex-
ecutive Council for some time. At the
last meeting of the Association Mrs.
Wickersham, wife of the Attorney-Gen-
eral. was chosen as Chairman, but since
then has been unable to pay much at
tention to the duties of the position on
account of ill-health Another Chair
man will therefore probably be selected,
as 1t is understood that Mrs Wicker
sham wishes to retire. Mrs Taft. who
is Honorary President of the Associa-
ton. may attend the meeting of the
Executive Council.
This Loan Society for Department
clerks here in Washington may or may
not be good thing. 1t is to save the
women clerks and others in the Depart
ments from the usury pract 'ced on those
VINO borrow from professional money
lenders that the Federation will take
steps to organize this Loan Association
women are too prone to borrow money
Tor frivolous purposes and unneceSsari-
ly. and when they want 1t they never
stop to think of the accounting that
must be made. They. are also given to
buying gowns, furniture and jeweIry on
-
and always kicking. If it were not pos
sible for them to borrow at all, 1t is
likely that they would get along very
much better than to have an institution
started just for their especial benefit.
The country at large does not know
how largely the Government is entering
into the protection of cattle from dis
ease. Basing the estimates of the
amount expended by the Government in
this interest on the s4,427, 800 appro-
priated for the Bureau of Animal IN
dustry of the Department of Agriculture
for the current fiscal year. we find that
at least $3.50 no 900 or 100000 900 has
been expended an the last five years by
the Federal Government to protect ami
mails from disease or deterioration. OF
the sum set apart for 1909, $4,000, 900
is for meat inspection alone, and large
slice of the rest goes toward the sup
preston of bovine tuberculosis and the
improvement of the milk supply.
Our Post Office Department has had
brought before 1t just recently a queer
piece of red tape. Way up on the Cana
dian border at Beebe Plain is a post
office. Right in the same building with
1t is another post office. Beebe PLAN is
in Vermont and Reebe Plain is also in
Canada. Two Offices are under the same
roof, within 10 feet of each other. In
case a resident of Beebe Plain, VT,
wants to send letter to somebody who
lives in Beebe Plain, Canada, If he mails
his letter in this post office ii makes a
trip of 294 miles to reach Beebe Plain,
Canada, and likewise letter addressed
to Reebe Plain, VT, and mailed in Beebe
Plain, Canada, goes 294 miles, 81 of
them in Canada and the remainder in
the United States, just exactly as the
other letter does, for the fool reason
that that is the way that NAL Is routed,
and, of course, it has to follow that
string of red tape, whereas if the fellow
who has a letter TO mail to someone in
Reebe Plain, VT, but lives in Canada,
simply walks across from one side of
the post office to the other and sticks
his letter in the Vermont post office, and
the Vermont man will probably get it
within couple of hours. The remark
able thing about it is that there are
separate entrances to these two post
offices. they have the same lobby, and
there is not sign of a partition to
mark the division between the domain
of Uncle Sam and the possessions of
King Edward, and yet some railroad
company is carrying the letters of these
two places, II addressed to the other
294 miles, when they need not be car
ried at all except in the carriers bags.
The War Department is getting very
much alarmed about the number of en-
listed men discharged each year on