Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-05-02
Opinion Expressed that Action Will
Be Taken This Session.
ARMAMENT FOR CUBAN GUARDS
Equipment Sought in Preparing
Troops for Possible Hostility.
CONSULAR REPORTS ARE MISSED
since Publication Has Censcd Conn
plants Have Come to Secretary
NagIe by Those who Want
Information,
tFrom a SAT- Correspondent)


ing the insurgent fight against Speaker
Cannon, Representative Hamilton Fish of
New York announced emphaucaly that his
objections to the then existing order Of
things in the capitol was due to his in
ability to secure action by the committee on
postoffices upon his bill to creRte a parcels
post in the United States.
1t does seem hard that It should be pos
sible to ship ten-pound package from san
Francisco to Italy and back from Rome to
New York City for less money than would
be expended for shipping the same package
direct from san Francisco to New York.
The limit OF packages mailable in the
United states today is four pounds while
the agreements that have been negotiated
between this country and number Of for
elgn governments permit packages three
times heavy to be sent through the
mails from points in the United States to
points in Europe. and vice versa.
The committee on postoffices has at last
taken up the subject Of domestic parcels
post and, in spite OF the opposition Ct many
hundreds Of small storekeepers tn foughout
the rural districts, who fear the big mail
order houses, and of the more potential an
tagonism OF the express companies, 1t seems
to be the general opinion that before many
months have elapsed that the parcels-post
bill will be reported and passed. in the
house at least. even II It does not meet with
the approval OF the senate at this session
Arms for Cuban Guard.
A representative of the government of
Cuba is in Washington to negotiate for the
purchase of great quantities OF small arms
for the armament of the Rural Guard OF
/ Cuba. it being understood that this guard
Will be available for aid to the United
] in ha of
, republic and some other nation.
/ A few years ago the ordnance depart
ment Of the army prepared a circular In
which was set forth the bargains offered
! by the United States in the way Of arms
and accoutrements. which were offered
cheap for cash. Their were hundreds OF
| thousands of rifles. sabers carbnes pis-
! tolls, swords, bayonets and such warlike
| implements all classified and described in
a circular in which the government offered
! them at a price that ought to have at
/ tracted every revolutionary leader in Cen
! tral and South America.
A newspaper correspondent got hold Of
this list, which, by the way, was public
property, and wrote an article which was
copied into the boiler-plate and patent in
side newspapers with the result that the
ordnance office of the army was absolutely
swamped with orders running from saber
! or bayonet up to many hundreds of imple-
! ments of war and the chief OF the division
who had charge Of that correspondence was
! so wrOth at the result of this unsolicited ad-
Vertising that the correspondent who wrote
| the original story was afraid to enter that
irasclbe old gentemen's room during the
remainder of his active service in the War
| department
| Since that time practically all this junk
has been sold to a dealer in New York
City, whose stock would be great enough
to supply every Spanish-American from the
southern Mexico line TO Trrra del Fuego
with all the murderous weapons that might
be required for hundred years
Surprise for Visitors.
Visitors to Washington Invariably note
with surprise the line of denarkation on
the Washington monument, which shows
where the original structure stopped nearly
a half century and where the new struc-
ture began under General Casey some
thirty odd years ago, The Washington
monument fund originally a voluntary con
tribution proposition, is said to have
| formed the start Of several comfortable
! fortunes Ia the Georgetown section OF the
national capital. Anyway there was a
big scandal connected with the handling
| of that fund and this scandal was not
| country wide but world wide. The Wash
ington monument as IT existed up until 1915
was the stock joke OF the cartoonist OF
! London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna but at
! last the federal government took hold Of
the shaft and completed it to the salts
faction Of everyone and to the elimination
OF all scandal
Now comes a story to the effect that
years ago there was collected IN this city
many thousands Of dollars for a Lincoln
memorial. The money was paid to a com
mission, of which the late Francis Il.
/ Spinner was treasurer. Some how or
other the great wave of patriotism,
which started this fund receded and no.
thing has ever been heard of the Lincoln
memorial until within the last few days,
when It was discovered that there is some
thing IKE $3.50 due 70 the fund from inter-
est honds of the District Of Columbia.
in which the late treasurer Of the United
States invested part Of the funds Uf
the association. Az Of sudden an ef-
| fort Is 10 be made'in congress to discover
what became OF the contributions naoc
by the people some thirty odd years ago,
and the only thing that ~ known. ap-
parently, * that the late Clark Mills
was paid a considerable sum for design
ing a statue which was never erected
and the plans for which seem t. have
vanished entirely,
! Consular Reports Missed.
! From all over tie United States com
plants are pouring into Washington over
the action OF Secretary Nagle, in ordering
the stoppage OK the publication Of the
Consular report. For several years now
the Bureau OF Manutacmreta OF the De-
pIrtmont OF Commerce and Labor has pub
lished daily Information from American
cQnsuates throughout the world, which
are OF particular interest TO commercial
United states The particular points VI