Evening Star Newspaper, August 29, 1894, Page 1

THE EVENING sTAR DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY, ‘tT STAB BUILDINGS, Aveuve, Cor, Lith ne ie cere Sore Kew York Ofice, 49 Potter Building, ‘The subscribers efty by carriers, on thetr own account, ar 10 cents week, or 44c. per month. Copies at the counter coats ‘cach. By im the United States or Canada—postage prepaid—S0 cents per Saturday Quintuple Sheet Star, $1.00 per year; with fore! eI — Cc, The Fvening Star. Rae pe rome rai arenes MR. WILSON SPEAKS He Addresses His Constituents on the Tariff Law. STRONG DENUNCIATION OF TRUSTS Obstruction to His Bill by the Senate. FIXES THE RESPONSIBILITY MARTINSBURG, W. Va., August 29.— Chairman Wilson of the ways and means ccmmittee, and the democratic leader in the Hotse of Representatives, was renominated for Congress today. Mr. Wilson made a notable address to the convention. Mr. Wilson said in part: “The honor to which you summon me to- day is not a new one for me to receive at your generous hands. So many times has it come to me in the past—never coldly or grudgingly—that I should vainly seek for new and stronger language in which to assure you of my increasing gratitude for your approval and support. But if fitting and suflicing words are slow to come, I beg you not to doubt that I am more deeply moved and more affectionately touched by your action today than I have ever been be- fore. That action comes at the end of one of the greatest and most momentous strug- gles that has marked our political Listory, and it comes in such a way as to stamp with your epproval, as constituents and Gemoerats, the services which your repre- sentative was calléd upon to render for the supremacy of democratic principles and the fulfillment of demoeratic pledges. ‘It is mo mock affectation, for nothing could be more blameworthy or criminal on my part on this occasion but the simple can- which is due from me to you when I sa, trat but for what seemed a duty and a stowing out of that struggle I should gladly ask at your hands an honorable dis- charge from further publie service and per- mission to take my place once again in the ranks of the militant and ever-faithful dem- Ocrats of the second congressional district. “In other campaigns I have accepted this trust at your hands with a full knowledge of the labor and strain required for a thor- ough canvass of so large and so stoutly contested a district ‘as our own, but also with a confidence in my ability to meet the labor and strain. Today I cannot have that confidence, and in view of the large and dangerous drafts made upon my strength and health I shall be constrained to ask at your ds some remission of the labors of public canvassing which I have heretofore So greatly enjoyed. I shall not, however, be @ drone in the approaching ‘contest, and shall spare no reasonable effort to’ meet personally, if not upon the hustings, as many of the people as I can. “Fellow citizens, this is enough for me to Say of a personal nature. There are other. thoughts that fill your minds today. Bound- as is your kindness to me, it is some- thing beyond kindness to me which has gathered great convention and great assemblage. Duty That Was Before Congress. “The Congress which adjourned yesterday was charged by the American people with a duty clear, unmistakable, transcendant, to secure from the grasp of private and self- ish hands the power of federal taxation; to iift from the backs of the American people that. burden of tribute to privilege and mwenopoly which under thirty years of repub- lican legislation had grown constantly heavier until it far exceeded their legiti- wate and necessary taxation for the sup- port of government; to reclaim and make forever sure that heritage of American youth which is the true meaning and price- less boon of democratic institutio! jual opportunity in a land of equal rights. This was the inspiring mission which the demo- cratic party had long sought from the American people power and authority to perform. To this mission the immediate representatives of the people gave them- selves earnestly and faithfully. In that work they were at all times cheered and en- couraged by their great leader, who for eight years in defeat and victory had led in the movement for tariff reform. While he scrupulously abstained from interference ith the work of those intrusted with the Peform legislation, he was insistent, in sea- son and out of season, in urging that the Fledges on which we had come into power should be fulfilled in the letter and in the spirit, and that the blessings of reduced and just taxation should be fully and honestly secured to the American people. Framing the Tariff Bill. “In this work your own representative? thanks to your kindness in granting him a Jong public service, was assigned an im- pertant and most arduous part. No man could fitly undertake to frame a revenue bill for a nation of seventy million people, unsurpassed in wealta and in the magni- tude and variety of their industrial and com- mercial interests; to pugge injustice and mwnopoly from that system;to replace class exaction by public taxation, privilege by equality; to lighten the burden of the peo- ple, secure larger rewards for their labor end freer play for their industry, without being appalled by the greatness of the trust commited to him, and the thickening diff- culties in the way of its successful per- fermance. No man could werthily approach such a work without putting away from him ary petty, personal ambition, and any selfish concern for his own political future. No man could hope for any measure of real success, who was not willing to dedicate to such a task every power of body and mind, with an humble invocation for strength and wisdom from the source of strength and wisdom. “I cannot claim to have risen to the full height of this duty, but I have never fal- tered in the belief that you, my friends and constituents, expected and desired me to enter upon my work in this spirit and in this spirit to persevere to its close. I knew that you were tariff reformers without reservation. I knew that the democrats of West Virginia were not protectionists for West Virginia and reformers and free traders for other states. But even if I had known otherwise I should not have gone aside one step from what was to me the clear pathway of duty to all the people. “You know, for you have followed with Watchful interest the varying history of our attempt at tariff reform. You have fol- lowed with rising hopes and hearty approv- al the action of the House of Represent the framing and passage of a measure bearing the badges of democratic principles, and fraught with promised bene- fits to all the people. You have followed with waning hopes and angry disapproval the tedious and tortuous passage of that bill through the Senate, and have seen that, Gespite a nominal democratic majority in that body, the great trusts and monopolies were still able to write their taxes, as they had done under republican rule, in some of its most important schedules. The burden upon you is the same whether they use a democratic or a republican hand as their amanuensis. But the wrong to you Is infin- ftely the greater when those who bear the commission of your own party thus prove faithless to its highcst duties. “I need not recite to you the successive steps, the material and baneful alterations through which the House bill quietly passed Into a.law yesterday morning, without the signajure and approval of the President, who waa elected upon the Issue of tariff re- form, and who anticipated as the signal tri- vmph and historic achieyement of his ad- ministration the of affixing his name toa genuine and thorough reform . - Responsibility for Failare. “You know by what influences this was Wrought about. The country knows, and Vor 85, No. 20,976. WASHINGTON, D.C., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1894—TWELVE PAGES. TWO OENTS. history will know, where to put the respon- sibility for our partial failure to redeem our pledges to the people, and our partial fall- ure to dislodge the great privileged interests from cur tariff. I am not sure that this very failure may not be the harbinger and assurance of a speedier and more complete trimmph of commercial freedom than the smooth and unobstructed passage of the House bill would have been. The American people are aroused, as hardly anything else could have aroused them, to the deadly renace which protection begets to the purity and the very existence of free gov- ernment. They have seen a single great trust empowered by our tariff laws to con- trol the production and sale of a necessary of life, parceling out the country with its Fartners, and using its law-made wealth and power to thwart the best efforts of the Feople to reduce their own taxation. They have seen it held up Congress for weeks, and have heard its minions boldly declare that there should be no tariff bill in which its interests were not fully protected, and they have realized the final fulfillment of that boast. “When the sugar trust thus challenges the Arerican people to a contest of strength its days are numbered, its temporary tri- umph is its speedier and more complete overthrow, ard with its overthrow will vanish its sister brood of monopolies that are strong through its suprort. Points in the Bill Commended. “But, my friends, there is another and a brighter side to this picture. With all its manifold failures, its final retention of many protective duties, its objectionable sugar schedule and its excessive duties on ectton and woolens and metals, the new b:ll carries in it very substantial relief to the American people, and must be accepted as a substantial beginning of thorough and progressive tariff reform. It means cheaper clothing, cheaper tools, cheaper pottery and rrany other necessaries for the people. It means freer and larger commerce with those nations that buy our farm products, and consequently lager and better markets for our farmers. It means a transfer of frome of the burdens of government from what goes out for the daily purchase of the necetraries of life to that which comes in over and above the amount needed for such purchase. If we denounce some of its du- ties and rates, it is because what may be much lower than the duties and rates of the McKinley bill are yet enormities in a democratic bil. The Fight to Go On. “But, as the President well said, we have gained a vantage ground from which we shall tontinue to shell the camp of monop- oly. The day of mad protection is over in this country; McKinleyism will disappear as a Gark und hideous blight from our statute books. The fight will go on, not, it may, be, in such a general engagement and protracted struggle as we have just passed through, but in that steady and resistless pressure that will take one after another of the strongholds of privilege, until all shall disappear before the advance of public cpinion and public emancipation. “I have dwelt at some length upon these phases of our tariff struggle which are nat- urally and properly uppermost in the mind of every genuine democrat. We have a right to confess our own shortcomings as meas- ured by the high standard of our own prin- ciples and professions. We have a right to hold our own faithless servants to that re- sponsibility which duty and party fidelity placed upon them. “But all this does not imply dissatisfac- tion with our own party as a whole, or distrust as to its meanings and inten- tions. If the closeness of the vote in one house of Congress gave opportunity for a few to combine agaivst the people and against all the rest of their purty, and ob- struct its faithful efforts to redeem its pledges, the overwhelming mass of the democrats in the country are subject to no just criticism. “They have kept the faith. They have been true to their principles. We may ourselves denounce or bitterly condemn those that failed us in this fight. We are not therefore subject to condemnation by our opponents. If we have anywhere un- covered a trust and found it too strong for our complete dislodgment in the first at- tempt, we have never failed to find them sturdily and solidly arrayed for its de- fense. The weapons with which monopoly has fought us they have forged and tem- pered and supplied. The intrenchments and fortresses behind which privilege has shielded itself from our attack they have builded for it, stone by stone, and strong- hold by stronghold.” ———__-e -____ REPEATED CHINESE VICTORIES. Reports ff Successes Received by s shai Papers. SHANGHAI, China, August 29.—The na- tive press has received confirmation of the reported battle fought between the Chinese and Japanese troops on August 13. Ac- cording to these reports . 5,000 Chinese troops of all erms attacked the Japanese forces which had been detailed to guard the Ping-Nang passes in the northwest of Co- rea, and eventually succeeded in driving the Japanese from their positions. It is added that a large number. of Co- reans flocked to the Chinese standard, beg- ging for arms, and ‘asking for permission to form the advance guard of the Chinese force moving against the Japanese. On August 14, still according tothe re- ports received by the native press, the Chi- nese were reinforcéd by 4,000 troops from Yi-Chow, and cn the day following they at- tacked the Japanese ‘lines at Chung-Ho, with the result that the Japanese retreated. On August 16 the Chinese army was, the reports say, further reinforced by 13,000 fresh troops, and on August 11 they at- tacked the Japanese, who are said to have lost 4,000 men and their heavy baggage. The Chinese, on August 18, advanced to Huang-Chow, and passing too near the Tatung river, where thirteen Japanese war- ships were stationed, were attacked by the Japanese, who opened fire upon them with the ships’ guns and pore a loss of sev- eral hundred men upon the Chinese. At ebb tide on the same day, the native reports add, three of the Japanese warships found themselves aground, and were after- ward severely damaged by the fire of the Chinese artillery, which was handled from ambush. The bulk of the Japanese forces, it is further asserted, retreated southward, pur- sued by the Chinese cavalry, until night stopped the latter's advance. Gen. Yeh, the Chinese commander, then made a detour and attacked the Japanese in the rear, completely routing them and capturing Huang-Chow. The general news received here does not confirm the reports of these Chinese suc- cesses received by the native press. A dispatch was received at the Navy De- partment today from Commodore Carpenter t Nagasaki, Japan, anrouncing his arrival at that point. He has just taken command of the Asiatic squadron, and sailed on the Monocacy from Nagasaki to Chemulpo to join the Baltimore, which will be his flag ship. The Charleston sailed on the 26th from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan. —————_. Lancaster Post Office Investigation, First Assistant Postmaster Gereral Jones and Civil Se:vice Commissioner Roosevelt, with Stenographer Hawley, left at noon to- day for Lancaster, Pa., to contmence the investigation of the pest office_operations. They will begin the work tomorrow morn- ing and at once commérite taking the testi- mony concerning the gieret, partisan -con- duct of both Sates reo and ee force of employes. It is expec: thag investigation will occupy ‘several weeks, ut the conclusion of which arepegt will be,for- warded to the President. —_ et ea The Ericsson’s Trip. The Navy Department is informed the torpedo boat Ericsson arrived at Fort Mon- roe last night, and will sail this morning for New York. The movements of this inland- built craft are being watched with interest at department. THE FALL ELECTIONS Congressmen Getting Ready for the Coming Campaign. IMPORTANCE OF CARRYING INDIANA What Democratic Representatives of That State Say. CLEVELAND’S LATEST LETTER ee From indications about the hotels and at the Capitol there would seem to be not mere than twenty-five or thirty Congress- men in Washington today. There were not more than six at the Capitol during the day. They have rushed off with remarkable promptness to look after their districts. ‘Those rentaining are talking very gravely about the campaign about to open. The Cleveland letter to Catchings was seized upon with avidity by the democrats yester- day as pointing out a line of defense of thelr failure. For the moment they were pleased to find a great deal of comfort in the fact that he had spoken again and had sent out a retriever for his Wilson letter. Gloomy Talk Indulged In. A few hours’ consideration appears, how- ever, to have dispelled much of this joy, and much gloomy talk is being indulged in. In figuring on holding the House in the next Ccngress all democratic calculations are on what can be done in the north. They count on the south standing with pretty nearly its usual solidity. In Ala- bama, however, they say that they are al- most sure to lose one and may lose two Representatives. As to the situation in In- diana, considerable interest and anxiety is manifested. Taking infermation solely from democratic sources to judge by, the situa- tion there would seem to warrant the anx- jety manifested. Most of the eleven districts they now bold are held by pluralities, not majorities, and they owe their large representation to the fact that the populists polled about twenty-four thousand votes, coming very largely from the republicans. At this fall's election it is anttcipated that there will be a considerable increasé in the populist vote, the increase coming almost exclu- sively from the democrats, who are dis- satisfied with the result of the tariff fight and who hold strongly to silver. With but a narrow margin in several of the dis- tricts this presents a serious situation for the democrats. Importance of Indiana. In striving for the next House it {s very important to the democrats that they hold as many as possible of their districts from Indiana. Judge Holman said today that the Prospect was brightening for the democrats, but that it was a doubtful situation, and that there would be a hard fight with the populists, who were the common enemies of both parties in the state. Representative Brookshire says that during the past two or three weeky there has been a great picking up of democratic hopes throughout the state. An interest is being shown in the prepara- tion for the campaign which has been sur- prising in view of the depressed condition in which things were a month ago. He says he does not think the democrats will lose more than one of the districts they now held. Not long ago there was a great deal of depression in the party in his state be- cause of disappointments of the tariff legis- lation, but reports from local leaders, he 8a, indicate a change in the feeling from one of disgust to one of determination to accept what they can get and continue the fignt vigorously for more reform of the tariff. He thinks Cleveland's letter to Catchings is going to help considerably. Mr. Brookshire ou Cleveland's Letter. Speaking of this letter, he says: “As I interpret the spirit of the letter from a careful reading, it is about this: The President means to say that he ciaims to be no better than his party, that he stands with his party, and that he is proud of his party and its principle: thinks the Senate bi ch better than the McKinley bill; that it is a step in the right directioa, und that it will give re- Hef to the tax-ridden people. But he has refused to sign the bill because he pre- poses that the tariff question shail be kept at open issue until the same is properly settled. In other words, that the war is on for thorough, genuine tariff reform, and moreover, that those few Senators who, by their treachery, have prevented a speedy fruition of democratic hope shall not be forgiven nor forgotten. Seeing his letter in this light I am satisfied with the course he has pursued with reference to our tariff bill, and I think the country will sustain his position.” What Other Representatives Think. Representative Martin says that, while he has not been home, the information he gets indicates that things are brightening up for the democrats. During the past two weeks, he says, there seems to have been a considerable change in the situation. Thére has been a relief of the great strain, and the democrats are generally more hopeful and in better trim for the hard fight which they must make. Representative McNagny said that his party would have a hard fight to hold their own in Indiana. He thought they would carry the state ard elect nearly as mary members as they have now, but it would take a hard fight to do it. They were in danger, he said, of lesing two members, but he thought they would save all but one. He is not an out- and-out silver man himself, but he says it will be impossible to keep that question down, and it will give the party some trou- ble. The populists, too, will probably be aided by the dissatisfaction at the failure of Congress to do all that was desired with the tariff. The Cleveland letter to Wilson will be a burden to carry, and the Catch- ings letter, he thinks, will help only a little toward relieving the burden. Looking the situation squarely in the face, however, he thinks his party will wia out all right. ——_—_—_—_+o+—_____ PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS. Some Who Failed of Confirmation Be- fore the Senate. Before his departure the President made the following rece#s appointments: David G. Browne, collector of customs for Montana and Idaho, James W. Ball, collector of customs, dis- trict of Yaquina, Cal. George Wilson, collector of internal reve- nue for Florida. C. Augustus Healy, collector of internal revenue for the first district of New York. The above names were nominated to the Senate, but failed of action. One original appointment was made—that of Milton Walsh, to be surveyor of customs at Kan- sas, Mo. . —_——_+e Concert at the Capitol Grounds. The following is the program for the Ma- rine Bend concert at thé. Capitol grounds this evening at 5:18 o’clock: ~ 2. Overture, “Light Cavairy’’, -Suppe 8. Grand Waltz, “Invitation @ ls Dance,” 2g Weber . Grand bearer from a _ - m the o} “Xerxes’ jandel 6 Mediey, “A Night in Bohemia’ --Fanciulli . Selection, “Robin Hood".... 8. Characteristic, “Dat Cake Walk’ & Hail Columbia”....... THE PRESIDENT LEAVES Starts for Gray Gables by Train This Plans of the Executive and His Ad- viners-Me, Clevéland Is Slightly Unwell. President Cleveland left the city quictly this morning before the public was fully aware of his purpose, and is now well o1 his way to his summer. home on the beach ‘of Buzzard’s bay. He was accompanied by Secretary Lamcnt, Dr. Bryant and Private Secretary Thurber. The party occupied the private car of President Roberts of the Pennsylvania road. It was attacned to the regular New York train that: left the Balti- more and Potomac depot at 7:20 o'clock this morning. There was a large crowd of trav- elers, mostly Pythians, in the station at the thre, but they were unaware of the close presence of the Chief Magistrate and his minister of war, and paid no attention to them as they made their way to their trav- eling palae, unrecognized and unmolested. The President wanted to get away with- out a demonstration,'a&d he succeeded, 80 far as this city is concerned. He is going direct to Gray Gables and will remain there with his family-until the middie of October. It is possitf@e that they may ac- cept the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Rich- ard W. Gilder to be-their guests at Ber- shire during a part of the summer. Mr. Thurber will accompasy. his chief to Buz- zard’s Bay, where he*has rented a cottage for the season, convenient to Gray Gables. Arrangements have been made to have whatever business the President transacts during his holiday announced at the White House as usual. The mails will be used for ordinary purposes, but there will be ample telegraphic facilities for all possible emergencies, Secretary Lamont left the party at New York, in order to join his family at Bay View, L. 1, where they are stopping for the summer. The presence of Dr. Bryant with the party tends to confirm the report that the President 1s not in his usual robust health. Dr. Bryant chme over from New York yesterlay to sé the President, and has been with him almost constantly ever since. The chief erie is suffering from a_ stubborn of rheumatic gout. It has troubled him off and on for severai months, while apparently yielding to medical treatment, -alWays reasserts itself after the slightest phy8ies! exertion. It had a severe test yesterday, when the President was compelléd to stand fo> hours to review the grand army of Pythians. The result was that he was slightly lame this morning, and walked with apparent diffi- culty. He limped very perceptibly as he proceeded slowly ¢ the depot to his car. A season of rest will probably alleviate this ailment, and it is peesible he may not nm ie services of a it y Gables at all. of @ physician at Gray Nearly all the meistbers of the cabinet are preparing to take tage of the adjourn- ment of Congress té secure vacations.” It is. rol Bable that within, a very short Washington wit, be ‘almost aeveriea tea higher officials of GRe government. Secre- tary Herbert is a@ay aiready, maliing a tour of inspection”f the go it navy yards and stations @lomg the Atlantic coast. Secretary Lamont's respite will with his family at. Bay View, ng Istand, and all that prevents Secretary Gresham from arranging to temporarily put aside the business of the State Department is that there are a few troublesome foreign ques- tions demanding his presence here for a while at least. He will shortly, however, take a vacation, which will be speat in part in fishing. He expects to go to his farm in Indiana in about a week. Attorney General Olney will spend his va- cation in and atout Boston, He has de. cided that it is too late in the season ‘to open his summer residence at Falmouth, Mess., ard so, with Mrs, Olney, who is now in Petersborough, N. H., he will remain quietly at his Boston home during the three or four weeks he expects to be absent from Washington. He hopes te be able to leave here tomorrow or Thu: . Secretary Carlisle has made no arrange- ments for a vacation, an@ will probably re- rain in Washington for a month yet. The administration of the new tariff will keep him busy for some time yet. Secretary Smith will spend ten days or a fortnight in Georgia. He has just returned Lae R @ short vacation at Ocean City, Md., and will leave again early next week, prob- ably Monday event for bis state. He will visit at both Atla and Athens, where his family returned Monday. Georgia democrats expect tea to make several speeches while in Ai Bisaell disposed of a Postmaster Gener good deal of current business today, and leaves tonight or tomorrow for Buffalo, to which place Mrs. Bissell returns from Kennebunkport, Me. He will spend all of his vacation in New York state, and ex- pects to resume his duties at the Post Office Department during first week of Octo- ber, During most his absence First Assistant Joes willjpe acting Postmaster General. + Secretary Morton the Agricultural De- partment will spend Bis vacatgn in Europe. ave in {ne middie of He has planned to September, and his: itinerary includes a visit to Germany, Engtand and France. He will be accompamied by his eldest son. and will be away five or six weeks. Dr. Dabney, the assistant secretary, will be the acting secretary dufing Mr. Morton's ab- sence. Departure From Jersey City. NEW YORK,August 20.—President Cleve- land, accompanied by Secretary Lamont, Private Secretary Thurber and Dr. Bryant, arrived in Jersey City at 1:05 p.m. The party, with the exeception of Secretary Lamont, immediately embarked on the light house tender John Rogers for Gray Gables. THE BERING SEA FLEET. News of Its Opesations Received at the Trensury Department. News of the operations of the Bering sea fleet was received at the Tr-asury Depart- ment this morning through a personal let- ter from Capt. Hoeper, commanding the revenue steamer Rush, to Capt. Shepard, chief of the revenue marine division. The letter is dated St. Pagl, ‘Seal Islands, Au- gust 6. The Rush atrived there on the 34 instant, three day ftom Unalaska, with Assistant Secretary Hamilin of the Treas- ury Department on board. The disposition of the naval fleet at ‘the date of writing was as follows: Flagship Mohican at Una- Alert at St. Gedrge, Albatross at St. Matthew's Island amd‘ the Concord, York- town, Petrel, Adams amd Corwin at St. Paul. Capt. Hooper says there were plenty of sealers in the sea,; armed with spears, and that the conditions were favorable for a good catch. Sealing. with spears became lawful on the ist instant. Affairs on the Seal Islands are reported quiet. Mr. J. Stanley Brown of the District of Col has succeeded Mr. George Tingle tendent of the islands for jz having been espe- re about one thousand mines, and they have gold nuggets to Unalaska for transportation to San Fran- cisco. Capt. Hooper says that Assistant Secretary Spree is ——— — eee vestigation everything Alas! territory—seals, salmon, and the condition of the Indians. The cruise of the Rush _ will continue to Sand Point, Kodiak and Sitka, after which she will returg im- mediately to Port Townsend. THE CIVIL SERVICE Several Points Brought to the At- tention of the Public. COMMISSIONER ROOSEVELT TALKS Some Instances of Official Viola- tions of the Law. REFORMS THAT ARE NEEDED Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt is an interesting man to interview. He sub- mits to interlocution only when the subject proposed is one with which he is familiar. Then he is like a steam engine with over- pressure on. He walks up and down with quick, nervous—one might almost say pus- nacious—strides; his eyes are bent on the floor; his hands clasp and unclasp, and his words come in volleys that he only stops by tightly compressing his lips. He was in the humor to say something about the civil service commission yesterday when a rep- resentative of The Star called on him, and there was no necessity of suggesting a line of though: to him by asking a question. The reporter's greeting opened the throttle of Mr. Roosevelt's energy, and he moved ahead at once. The Commission in Better Shape. “There are one or two things which I wish to eall attention to in connection with civil service matters at present,” he said. “In the first plac2, the commission, as re- garde its efficiency and capacity for doing the test work for the public service, is on a far better footing than ever before. This is mainly due to Senator Lodge of Massa- chusetts, who introduced and was mainly instrumental in securing the passage of the amendment giving to the commission its own force of clerks. Much is also due to Senator Cockrell, chairman of the subcom- mittee, who deserves the thanks of every civil service reformer for the cordial way in which he backed up the request. Hither- to we have been dependent upon clerks de- tailed to us from the several departments, In consequence our list of dete‘ls was never full, and of those we hal some of them were poor, ani those who were good wished to get back to their own offices, so that they might be in line for promotion. We now have our own force, and I will guar- antee that within three months there will be no force, either of any bureau m the gavernment ‘service or of uny private per- sons, more efficient than our’. We get our clerks under the civil service law, and our experience is that thereby we get the very bert men to be found. Znis amendment do- ing this necessary act of justice to the commision was put through by the Sen- ate after having been knocked vut by the House. A Thovoughly Vicious Bill. “Again I want fo call attention to the passage of the Bynum +'ll In the House,” continued, Mr..Roopevelt, “This is a bill to reinstate the dem§ocratic railway mail clerks, who were turned” out prior to the classification of the railway mail service in 1589. It is a thoroughly vicious partisan measure, and I cannot but express my as- tonishment and regret that not one single democrat -in the House voted against it. If it should become a law it would be a precedent for the enactment of similar measures whenever a change of adminis- tration took place. It is introduced purely in the intercst of the spoilsmonger, and is a thoroughly -vicious bill in every The Attorney General's Decisi: “Then there is something else,” he went on rapidly, “I wish to call atteation to the recent decision of the Attorney General, which permits solicitation for political pur- poses by letter in government buildings. Tf this opinion holds the commiision must immediately request the passage of a law to prohibit such solicitation. The commis- sion has always insisted that solicitation for political purpoges was illegal, whether done in person or by letter in a government building. It was owing to this interpreta- tion that we were able to very nearly break up the practice during the last presidential campaign, and as the aftermath of that campaign we have procured the conviction of two government officials, one a post- master In Chio and the other a deputy in- ternal revenue officer of Kentucky, but we have never had a case tried in the courts where the accusation was that the solici- tation was by letter. good done by the law “Nine-tenths of the will vanish if solicitation by letter is al- lowed, and although the commission will, of course, do all it can to protect employes if they are molested in any way for refus- ing to contribute, it is imperative that we should be given power to prosecute any at- tempt at political assessment in a govern- ment building, either by letter or other- wise. The statute is so broad, inasmuch as it prohibits any person from soliciting in any manner whatsoever in a government building, that we have taken it for granted that it must mean by letter, and that, we know, was the meaning of the gentlemen, both in Congress and out, who saw to the passage of the bill. To Extend the Classified Service. “The comission sincerely hopes that there will be a great extension of the clas- sified service, and that the number of po- sitions now excepted from examination will be materially reduced, both in the depart- ments and in the post offices and custom houses throughout the country. A great many places are excepted from examination on the theory that they must be filled by people having confidential reiations to the head of the department, or that they re- quire special qualifications not to be tested by examination. This is the theory. In Practice these excepted positions are filled almost wholly on political grounds, and are filled as a rule with men much inferior to those whom we get through our competi- tive examinations. They are places better remunerated than others in the same office, and by the filling of these in this way a premium is put on pernicious partisan ac- tivity, as against a faithful performance of their work by clerks actually in the service. Moreover, the existence of these places is a constant temptation to officials to change the titles of them so as to make them ex- cepted. Several striking illustrations of this pare occurred in the Treasury Depart- men: How One M: Was Got Rid Of. “For instance,” he continued, “there was a man in the position of superin- tendent of a binding division; there is no complaint that he did not fill the position acceptably; he had been in it for fifteen years, under several admin- istrations; ahd for fifteen years previous to that had been employed in the same work at Albany by the New York state government, also under many different ad- rinistrations. There could be no possible reason for turning him out, save the desire to fill his position for poiitical reasons. As superintendent he could not be turned out, that place being subject to competitive ex- amination. Accordingly, the Treasury De- partment abolished the position of super- intender:t of binding division at $1,300, and created the position of chief of division at $1,300, and tely turned out the man who had so faithfully done the — work for so long mediate superior ministration has one of a number that have occurred in the Treasury Department, and in some of the post offices. “The Post Office Post Office Department is a striking contrast to that of the former administration, under Mr. Wan- amaker, and to that now obtaining in the Treasury Department, where public serv- ants may be removed without giving them a chance to be heard in their own defense, tnd without allowing them to know the reasons for their dismissal. Every One Should Have a Chance. “The commission is powerless to interfere urder the present law and rules, but must strenuously insist that it be given power to require that the reasons for dismissal shall be stated in full and in writing, that each man should be given a chance to be heard in his own defense, and that the commis- sion should be allowed to report on and in- vestigate every case where it is alleged, with offer of proof, that the removal was mental taking the place in any way of the superintendence of the cominission. When yu have a law you have got to have some one whose business it is to enforce the law.” ——_+ e+ —___-__ PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS. The following is the official list of nomina- tions rejected by the Senate during the ses- sion just closed (second session, Fifty-third Congress). Associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Wm. B. Hornblower, Wheeler H. Peckham; consul, Benjamin Lenthier, Sherbrooke, Quebec; collector of customs, Edward J. Taylor, for the district of Niagara, N. Y.; surveyor of customs, J. Scott Harrison, for the port of Kansas City, Mo.; registers of land offices, Henry W. Long, Gainesville, Fla. Postmasters: Jonas Shays, Owego, N. Y.; Treadwell B. Kellum, Babylon, N. Y.; Thos. H. rion, aoe eg ¥.; Geo. F. Van Dam, ine . ¥. ‘igo the following nemindtjons that were rot confirmed, jo U. D. Porter. U. 8. attorneys: John W. Beek. ay the district of New Jersey; Will- Me. Indian agents: Thomas B. Teeter, for the Hall agency, Idaho; math agency, vessels: Supervising inspector of steam eee for the eighth district. Marshall Petet, Kia- assistant surgeon, marine hospital service: Milton J. Rosenan. For intment by brevet in the army of the United States, under the act of Feb- ruary 27, 180: To be captain—First Lieut. Joshua W. © ters—Jno. Beard, Danville, Ill; James A. Purdy, Ottawa, Kan.; Chas. H. Monroe, La.; John F. Dwyer, ‘homas Weymouth, Mass.; T! Hickey, Wake- ficld, Mass.; John H. Hicock, Flint, Mich.; Jchn Murray, Port Huron, Mich.; Alfred A. Poncea, Neb.; a » Sioux Falls,S.D.; W.G.Weed, DeRuyter,N.Y.; E.M. Slayton, Port oe Vv. REPAIRING ONLY. Old Government Printing Office to Be Fixed. Although Congress failed altogether in tts moral duty of providing for a new govern- ment printing office, it was considerate erough to appropriate the sum of $75.00 “to enable the chief of er gineers, under the di- rection of the jolat committee on printing, to repair the government printing office, provide fire escapes and put said building in a safe and secure condition, and to enable the public printer, under the direction of the joint committee on printing, to rent, if necessary, any buildings for the use of the printing cffice. Im accordance with this provision, Col. John M. Wilson, engineer corps, and his as- sistant, Lieut. Sewell, engineer corps, are preparing a project to render the old build- ing as safe from fire or other casualty as it is pessible to do with the funds available and with the bad material of the ancient structure to work upon. Their project for the repair and strengthening of the building will be completed in a few days, but will have to secure the approval of the joint committee on printing before it can be put into operation. Both of the engineer offi- cers have made several extended visits to the printing office and have inspected it in @ most thorough rarner. They can be relied upon to make the best possible use of the funds at their disposal, but it is hardly to be expected that they will succeed in making the building abso- lutely fireproof. Neither will it be pos- sible to entirely relieve the present crowded quarters. The walls and foundations will be strengthened and every possible ap- used to remove all sources Money for Pensions. The Secretary of the Interior has made a requisition on the Secretary of the Treas- ury for $11,010,000, to be used in the quarter- ly pension payments. The amount is dis- tributed as follows: Columbus, Ohio, $3,800,- 000; Boston, Mass., $1,900,000; Washington, D. C., $1,800,000; Detroit, Mich., $1,800,000; San Francisco, $810,000; Augusta, Me., $800,- 000, and Des Moines, Iowa, $100,000, ——__-e— Naval Changes. The President has approved the reports of maval boards promoting Admirals Erben and Meade and Commander Reisinger and retiring Chief Engineer Cline. Lieut. J. C. Gilmore has been transferred from the Vesuvius to the Machias; Lieut. J. H. Rohrbacker from steel inspection at Homestead to the Machias; Lieut. D. L. Wilson to the Monterey. ——-~2——____ Died in Boma. The State Department is informed of the death of an American missionary named Pixley in Boma, Congo Free States, May OUT AFTER PRIZES tests Today. Seana SOME QUICK, SNAPPY DRILLS for Business. i g ‘fs i HH i j HF tees Hee fe sit iE ie 2 & 4 f i ; i i i 4 at ay 45 j 5 g $ | ? i | ry a 5 ® rt Li é 3 bf HL ae sf a ist i; MR ii rg tee Taaet il t a e it i F4 : | 8 j j a i s eat Reh 3 i £ g Fils iF : g & to spend the $1,500 that constitutes the first prize. Several bad breaks were made that were clearly the result of nervousness. For instance, when the division, preparing for the manual of the sword, deployed from the center, three men faced the wrong way at the word, and upon the order “reverse swords” several blades were turned in the opposite direction to that laid down in the regulations. The “forward by division” was uneven and other movements were ragged. When the men went off they marched around befiind the stand and drank several gallons of oatmeal water, while they con- soled with each other for their mistakes. Lily Division. In another moment a second line of white helmets and red plumes was to be seen fil- ing upon the field and shifting for position. This was Lily, No. 16, of Radcliffe, Iowa, Captain T. 8. Waud, which made a splendid Grill. This division was better sized than its predecessor, and presented a more even appearance. Its drill was well-nigh perfect maintained at all times was tactically cor- rect. The manual of the sword was also excellent and decidedly attractive and ef- fective, the kneel being particularly good. At the conclusion of just twenty minutes Captain Waud saivted the judges, formed a cross and marched off the field, the occu- pants of the bleachers cheeri ! Pereivale, No. 11, The next division to appear was Percivale, No. 11, of Mobile, Ala, commanded by Capt. John D. Hagan. These sir knights also had friends in the audience, as was at- tested by the applause which greeted their appearance. Change step was a little rag- ged, and a halt in forming line to the left trom column of fours was not as good as it might have been. Considerable unsteadi- ness was also apparent. One man persisted in looking to the front during the 4) by file. The alignments of the platoons in several instances while marching in column were not parallel. After halting from right turn, one man spoiled the ance of the sumed just nineteen minutes in drilling the after saluting the judges, pK HF