The Republican journal., 1910-02-24
Washington Letters.

WASHINGTON. D. c., February 81,
1910. The Senate post office committee
has expressed its opinion in adverse
terms of the ''Spalding claims, so call
ed, affecting additional salaries of post
masters who served between 1864 and
1874. As was recently pointed out in
these letters, there is number of these
claimants in practically every county of
Maine. They are surviving postmasters
of Maine cities and towns and the heirs
and assigns of those who are deceased.
1t has been stated in the Senate that, at
least, some of these claimants have been
encouraged to contribute to firm of at
torneys in Washington for the purpose
of paying the expense of keeping these
claims alive and for pressing them before
Congress.
1t was largely at the suggestion of
Senator Hale some weeks ago that the
whole matter was referred to the Senate
committee on post Offices and post roads,
of which Senator Penrose of PENNSYLVANIA
Is chairman, for an investigation and re-
port. Senator Penrose has found that
the claims are without any standing,
which means that it is futile for the
claimants to encourage claims attorneys
to collect the sums alleged to have been
Que. 1t has been repeatedly stated that
the postmasters serving between 1864
ana 1874 had been paid by the govern
ment all the money to which they were
legally entitled; also that the alleged
claims We're based upon an interpreta-
ton Of law which is not officially sane
toned.
Because OF the activity of late in try
ing to revive these claims an employe of
the Senate has been dismissed and there
has been unfavorable gossip about the
interests Of western Senator in them.
Maj Estes G. Rathbone, once fourth
Assistant Postmaster General, who fell
into disgrace in Cuba and was dismissed
there from his position as Director of
Posts, has been trying to obtain legisla-
ton that would permit of the auditing of
the claims. 1t is not charged that he is
at all to blame. for his activities are sup
posed to have been entirely honorable.
Nevertheless the Senate has put quiet
US upon the claims, and it is doubtful
whether any further effort will ever be
made to collect them.
Representative Burleigh mas been at
tending to some odds and ends of legisla-
sarv to complete the arrangements for
taking the Census in April. The appear
ance of the numerators all over Maine
asking questions of the people incident
to an enumeration of the population, is
hardly six weeks away. But when the
enumerators have completed their work,
the operations of the Census Bureau here
in Washington will have only begun.
The work of tabplating the records,
gathered by the enumerators, will occupy
MANY weeks and extensive preparations
are necessary, not only for the tabula-
ton of the records as speedily as possible
but for getting the reports printed.
Representative Burleigh was a member
of the Census Committee ten years ago,
when it was tackling problems similar to
those with which it now has to deal.
Representative Allen, of the first Dis
trct, lust returned from a visit to Port
land, where he attended the Lincoln Day
celebration of the Union League Club,
is having his annual trial with the Indian
appropriation bill, the preparation of
which for the House involves lot Of
labor Representative Guernsey, of the
Fourth District, is seeking to advance
bill to allow States to tax deposits in the
savings departments of National Banks,
the same as savings in Savings Banks
and Trust Companies are taxed. Rep
resentative Swasey Of the Second Dis
trict has been laboring with a ship sub
sidy bill, on which there have been num-
erous hearings in the Committee on
Merchant Marine and Fisheries.
The Maine members of the Senate and
the House have had a busy February.
All of them have been engaged to a
greater. or less extent in committee
WOIh. DOlu lHt io6IldtG anu lHG I1OuSe
are behind with their committee work,
with the consequence that neither body
has been able to work as continuously as
it could have done had the preliminary
work on bills have been disposed Of
Then all of them have considerable de-
partmental work to attend to at this time
of year and that occupies much of their
time in the forenoons.
WASHINGTON, D. c., February 81, 1910.
Not in years has Congress made the
progress which has been made at the
present session. Already nearly half the
appropriation bills have been passed or
on the way to passage, while the rest
are nearly ready to report. The bills so
far passed have shown that the Republi-
cans will keep the pledge of the Presi-
dent and leaders, that the strictest econ
omy possible will be followed out. With
the appropriation bills so well advanced