The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1910-05-13
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Cen
eral Topics from
the Capital.
May 7, 1910,

| The President has returned to WASH
ington, after his visit to Pittsburg, Gin.
clnnatti and St. Louis, and is in
| conference with Senators and members
OF Congress with reference to the icon
ardized Railroad Bill. No President. not
even Colonel Roosevelt, has travelled AZ
much as President Taft. Chief Wilkie
the head of the Secret Service saws thai
/ the money appropriated for his protec-
tlon for one year has been exhausted in
| less than six months, and he urges that
the appropriation for guarding the Presi-
dent should be increased to ten thousand
dollars over last years. grant. The Pres
ident will leave again on Monday to fiji
engagements outside of the capital.
The Ballinger-Pinchot investigation.
like:the famous wounded snake, s'drags
Its weary length along" The attorney
for Claws, Mr. Brandeis, has been cross
examining Mr.. Ballinger during the past
two days, and Mr.. Ballinger has been
replying with much emphasis and great
resentment to the attorneys questions.
1t is given out that Mr.. Ballinscr will
resign his place in the cabinet as soon
as the investigation closes, which, it is
understood, will result in his formal vim
dication. Your readers will take the
rumor for what it is worth 1t may be no
more than rumor.
A Washington morning paper is the
authority for the report that some prom
inent men IN this country, notably Secre-
tary Root, Congressman Longworth and
Customs Collector Loeb, of New York.
have letters from Mr. Roosevelt approy
ing the administration of President Taft.
and announcing his fixed and unalterable
intention of his (Roosevelt's) determine
tion to make his retirement from politics
permanent. In connection with this re-
port there is another to the effect that
through the financial support Of Mr.. Car
negie and other multi-millionaires, Mr..
Roosevelt is to take charge Of a Ma
tional University at Washington, which
is to have the largest endowment of any
university in the world. All Of these
rumors are matters of much comment
and interest here, and there NAV. or
may not, be something in them.
There has just arrived at Washington a
delegation of sixteen citizens of Cali
iornia, headed by the Governor of that
State, with the object of inducing Con-
greSS to favor an International Exposi-
ton to be held in San Francisco for the
purpose Of celebrating the opening of the
Panama Canal in 1915. The delegation
has been received by President Taft, and
will also be granted hearings before the
House Committee on Expositons, and
the Committee on Appropriations. AL
most all Of the California Congressman.
are Of course, in favor of this exposition
at the recent earthquake-shaken city, but
some members from Southern California,
favor San Diego. The majority of the
members Of Congress, however, believe
that the capital of this country is the
proper city for the celebration to be held
in, and that owing to the fact that it is
nearer to the great centers Of population,
millions more people will be able to see
the exposition at Washington than
would be able to see it at either of the
cities of San Diego or San Francisco on
the Pacific Slope.
In military and naval circles there is
much interest manifested with reference
to the plans for fortiying the Panama
Canal 1t appears that the military STRAIT
egists have planned for much stronger
Notifications on the Pacific than on the
Atlantic side. This is thought to be a
great compliment to a certain insular ma
ton, over 5000 miles across the Pacific.
Both sides Of the canal, it is said, are to
be put in fortified condition, SO strong
that no rejecting nation will wish to
attack them. 1t seems, that we, with
our outlying picket posts as they may he
called, at Porto Rico and in Cuba and
Hawaii, might be able to protect pow
erfully fortified canal, but it may be
hoped that we will never have to make a
practical demonstration Of our ability to
do So Our Ex-President, it seems from
the morning papers, is still repeating his
peace with big stick' speech in Eu
rope. Only yesterday he made it IN
Christiana. England has never yet had
to defend the Suez Canal, but possibly
this is because Of her powerfully fortified
defenses at Gibraltar and Port Said, and
her control of the entrance to the Red
Sea at Alden; or, to put it in nutshell,
her control of the waters Of the world.
1t is believed that finally the United
States will be found in position, should
Mr. Roosevelts suggestion at Christiana
for coalition of all of the great powers
in favor of peace be adopted, to partic-
ipate IN the formation of peace COM
pact, binding not only on the first-class
signatory powers to keep the peace
among themselves, but to prevent war
like strife among the powers not rated as
first, or even second-class.