The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-02-03
WASHINGTON LETTER


the Inauguration committee that the
veteran soldier and sailor organiza-
tons shall have the position of honor
in the parade Of March 4-personal es-
sort to the president elect and vice
president elect-representatlves Of the
a. A. r., Union Veteran legion, the
United Spanish War Veterans and the
Army and Navy union have been add
Cd to the committee on civic organiza-
tons. General o. o. Howard has also
accepted the appointment as marshal
ef the veteran division, which will es-
sort Mr.. Teft and Mr.. Sherman from
the White House to the capitol, where
they will take the oath Of office.
Parade In Two Divisions.
The most serious problem that con-
fronts Major General J. Franklin Bell,
who will be grand marshal of the pa
Rade, will be to keep 1t within reason
able bounds. To shorten the regular
parade 1t has been decided to divide
Il into two divisions. Ono will be the
escort, consisting OF veterans Of the
civil and Spanish wars, and will ac-
eompany the president from the White
House to the capitol. The other will
pass In view after the inaugural cere-
mony at the capitol Is concluded.
Despite this new arrangement General
Bell stfll faces the embarrassment OF q
too lengthy parade. There is great pres
sure from the national guard to OBJ
tain desirable places in the line, but
the marshal has decided to limit the
number of troops from any one state
10 a brigade.
Navai lAeroes' Statues.
The location In this city of statues
Of John Paul Jones and Commodore
John Barry, each of whom is heralded
By his admirers as the father of the
American navy" will prove a difncult
task for the special commission
charged with that duty. This commits
sion consists of the secretary Of war,
the secretary of the navy and the
chairman of the senate and house COM
mitteeS on library.
For each statue congress appropri-
ated $50,000 but no action has been
taken to decide the controverted Ques-
tion relating to the navy's pedigree.
1t is for this reason that the location
Of the eff1gies is regarded as impor-
tant, as the prominence accorded each
in the matter Of location will be sup
posed to give some indication of their
respective merits in the competition
for the honor of being the father of
the navy"
Sacred Books of Tibet.
The library of congress has an addi-
tion to the collection of extraordinary
interest. 1t is very fine complete
sopy-that is to say, full set-of the
sacred books of Tibet. These, known
as the ''Kanjur." comprise over 100
volumes, together with an index vol
ume, each volume about two feet long
and four inches wide and containing
about 300 sheets.
Like most Tibetan books, they are
printed In red on coarse paper. They
come from Lassa and were secured,
by purchase. through our minister to
Pekin. Mr.. Rockhill.
Mr.. Rockhill remarks of the work
Nhdt IL 10 dDoolulSlJ uC$Oooohy III tiC
study Of Buddhist literature and also
of great value for correcting Buddhist
books written in other languages, as
almost all of them were translated
from a single original"
He believes that there Is no copy of
1t in America, though there are three
in England, one in France, two in
Berlin and one in ST. Petersburg.
Battleship Fleet Modal.
Frank A. Leach, director of the
mint, recently laid before President
Roosevelt a beautiful bronze medal
commemorating the departure of the
battleship feet from Hampton Roads
for its trip around the world. The
president is delighted with the design
and has directed Mr.. Leach to compli-
ment the officials of the United States
mint at Philadelphia upon their work.
One side bears the figure Of Colum-
bia sending away on the waters of the
Atlantic the fighting vessels, young
America standing behind. There is
also a shield of the United States and
in the lower right hand corner this in
scription: Hampton Roads, Dec. IL,
1907. Departure of United States At
lantic Fleet in Cruise Around the
World"
The other side of the medal contains
fine relief profile of President Roose-
welt, with the words, Theodore Roose-
welt, President of the United States, -
and small anchor. surrounded by a
bouquet Of flowers.
Tons of Gold Moved.
Halfway across the continent, from
San Francisco to Denver, $225500,000
in gold coin has been transported, the
largest amount of metal of that value
ever hauled such distance.
Because of the accumulation of gold
in the San Francisco mint, brought
from Alaska and other points, the
vaults became congested, and 1t was
necessary to either store 1t in insecure
vaults or move 1t.
The work of removal began Aug. IS.
Every shipment Of the gold had to be
oo,intad Or Tyaiphad at hOth ends first