Evening Star Newspaper, February 18, 1895, Page 1

THE EVENING STAR PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, 1101 _ Pennsylvania Avenue, Cor. 11th Street, by The Evening Star Newspaper Company, 8. H. KAUFFMANN Pres't. Hew York Office, 49 Potter Building, pstmt Ses ra The Evening Star fs served to subscribers in the eity by carriers, on their own account, at 10 cents Der week, or 48 cents e month. Copies at the counter 2 cents each. ii—anywhere in the United States or Canada—postage prepaid—60 cents er month, Saturday Quintuple Sheet Star, $1 per year, with forelmn postage adiled, $3.00. it Washington, D. C., ) (Entered at the Post O ecomd-class mall nust be paid fm advance. # known on application. £7 All mail subscription Rates of wivertising m: THE BOND CONTRACT as contented {ndignation in Congress at It Grows in Intensity. pacts EFFORTS 10 PREVENT ITS EXECUTION anew ae Mr. Cleveland Thinks He Can Take the Criticism. HOUSE oor eee NO MORE ACTION The popular indignation in Congress ex- cited by the contract for the sale of bonds in appears to grow intensity instead of spending itself in ism. The evidence that these bonds might have been nego- tiated to better advantage, not only in this country, but in England, than they were by this private contract serves to make the action of the President and thé Secretary of the Treasury more unpopular even than it was when first announced. Even among those men who hold Congress to be culpable refusing to come to the rescue of the administration with a bond issue, very few sanction or even attempt to excuse the con- tract. ie Prevent Its Exeeut It is understood that earnest efforts are being made to prevent the execution of the contract and that friends of Mr. Cleveland are urging upon him the injury which is al- ready done to his admin tion by the abundant evidence of the greater gold value of the bonds and are insisting that if there is any p ible w: by which he ra out of the business he should do si does not seem, howeve to be any him to escape the consequence of his own deliberate action unless it is by agreeing that his friends should permit the nents of the administration to put throu Congress a resolut';n condemning the tran- sacticn and calling for the abrogation of the contract. Such a resolution would prob- ably put an end to the business, but it never could sed through Congress without the tacit consent of the friends of the administration. Cleveland Has No Regret. It {3 said, however, that Mr. Cleveland foresaw the criticism which the contract would excite and made up his mind before entering into it that he could afford to stand his ground and take the crit Neither Mr. ¢ cabinet will atta ministra indiffer regret. make comment on ks which have been made on the ad- any on, but they assume an air of nee which indicates an absence of No Further Attempt. It is not expected that there will be any further meeting of either the committee on ways and s or of the committee on banking and currency. Mr. Wilson says as far as he can now see there will be no oc- for another meeting of his com- and Mr. Springer says that he does smplate calling the banking and smmittee together again. If th sugar duty bill should pass with an amendment, it would > Hou the failure pass the Senate in any form is anticipated. » President and the Secretary of State rting themselves to the utmost to ket bill through the Senate, but the public announcement of opposition on the part of Mr. Platt and Mr. Aldrich is re- garded as sufficient indication that all ef- in behalf of the measure wii be in casion miite not ¢ eurrency mtial Certificates of Indebtedness. The full Senate committee on appro- priations. today decided to report an amendment to the sundry civil appropria- tion bill for $100,000,000 of certificates of indebtedness of denominations of $20, to run for two years, and draw 3 per cent Interest, and to be good only for the par- » of supplying the treasury deficienc » text of the amendment is as follow in order to pro the moneys from current revenues and receipts, and ni ry for » execution of this act, or all the other passed or to be pa: d during the ssion of Congress appropriating y ne paid out of the tr r fiscal year ending June 30, o in order to provide the m sary to be paid out of the tr at, supplied ellanec not count of appropriations h for the fiseal years ending June 30, 1 June 3», 1884, and June 20, 1805, and not covered into the treasury retary of sasury, with the approval of the be, and is hereby authorize to time, borrow on the credit of the United States such sums of money as may be necessary to meet said expendi. tures, and to issue, sell and dispose of, at not less than par, for lawful money of the United States, such an amount of certifi- cates of indebtedness, payable to the bear- er, of the denominations of twenty, fifty and one hundred doila multip! of $1, and not exceeding $1,000, as ma be needed for said purposes, bearing at the rate of not e: « 3 per cent per an- num, payable semi- and redecm- able at the pleasure of the United States after two years from their date; and the ecretary of the Treasury is hereby au- with the approbation of the to cause such portion of said as may be deemed expedient to ment of in favor of public creditors, or sons lawfully entitled to payment, certifiea de issuer choose to receive such certifi- nent at par. z the Secretary of the ‘Treas- ury may, fn his diseretion, under the rules and regulations to be ‘pr ed by him, sell and dispose of the certifi- eates herein authorized at designated de- positories of the United sand at such post offices.as he may select; and the Secretar ] use the moneys received for such ‘ates for the purposes herein nd for none other. that the total amount of such rovic certificates shall not exceed $10,000,000; and provited further, that the power to fssue such ce’ tes shall determine on the Ist day of Ju “And hereafter sold or disposed of shall public for a period of not le days under rules and regulations to prescribed by the Secretary of the Tre ury and shall be sold to the highest btd- , 180 ny United States bond offered to the s than twenty be der, in case such bids, or any of them, a! satisfactory Caunet Go Through. It is not beeved that this amendment ean be got through the Senate. If the Se retary of the Treasury would acknowledge that the department needed such an issue to make up the ¢ jency of the revenue the amendment could easily be put through with the assistance of the republicans. But in th ence of this acknowledgment most of the republicasn of th Indispose! to make the gratuitou assistan adment prov no more sok in stants ab shance of adoption Senator Mills intends to offe ment to the bill when it com rt Benate providing for the repeal of th under which the Secretary has been fs: ing bonds. It 1s believed that if a vote is had on this it will carr: tambers’ Licens: The Commissioners have ordered that the plumbers’ license of the firm of Hannan & Co. be s ed for a period of three months, all permits to be denied that firm @uring the period of pension. ‘This order was Issued by the Commissioners on Sccount of the violation of sectlons 10 and 2 of the plumbing regulations. uspe No. 18,091. WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1895-TEN PAGES. TWO OENTS. - Se proof of the pudding is fn 6c eating. Safurday’s Star confained 51 cofumns of advertisements, mare up of 786 separate announce: ments. Bese advertisers fought pubficite-noft merefp Bpace. |CHANGE IN SENATE RULES Proposition to Distribute Some of the Ap- propriation Bills. | r consid m it is safe to say that the order will not be amended as desired, for ‘To Take Away Much of the Work of the Appropriation Committee and the Reasons for It. In a recent speech in the Senate Mr. Du- beis of Idaho gave intimation of a change in the rules of the Senate that is very like- ly to be brought about. He said it had Be- come very evident that the Senate commit- tee on appropriations was becoming over- worked, and the time had arrived when the duties of that committee should be light- ened by having the various appropriation bills divided among those committees which had jurisdiction over the subjects treated in them. This, of course, created some- thing of a stir in the appropriations com- mittee. Beyond ail-question this commit- tee is the most powerful in the Senate. It handles every appropriation bill except the river and harbor bill, and this is only a bierfrial measure. In every other direction it is supreme. If a Senator desires to se- cure an amendment to any of the various bills he Is obliged to introduce it, then re- fer it to the committee having jurisdiction of the subject when appropriations are not cencerned, and then have it reported and referred to the appropriations committee to be incorporated in the proper bill. This was the course pursued, with the amen ment appropriating $500,000 for the H. waiian cable, as well as a hundred other amendments proposed this session. ‘The Proposed Changes. Since the short speech of Senator Du- bois the feeling in the matter has grown as it has been talked about, and a propo- sition to change the rules in this particu- lar is sure to meet with favor, the only difficulty being the failure to get action. It is proposed that all appropriation bills save those known as the general bills treat- ing of all subjects shall be referred to and handled by the committees as follows: Agricultural—to the committee on agri- culture. Fortifications—-to the committee on coast defenses. Rivers and harbors—as now, to the com- mittee on commerce. District ef Columbia—to the District of Columbia committee. Diplomatic and consular—to the com- mittee on foreign relations. Indian—to the committee on Indian af- fairs. Army and Military Academy bills—to the committee on military affairs. Naval—to the committee on naval affairs. Pensions—to the committee on pensions. Post office—to the committee on post offices and post roads. This would leave the legislative, exec tive, the sundry civil and all deficie! bills to be handled by the committee on appropriations, and by those who favor the change it is asserted that this will be am- ple for that committee. It is pointed out that during the consideration of the post office bill Senator Blackburn, who had it in charge, was unable to tend the confer- ence on the diplomatic and consular bill, although the House conferees were ready to confer for three or four It is also claimed that the Senators who serve on the other committees would be better able to handle the various subjects because cf their intimate knowledge of them. Arother Argument in Favor. Another argument used is that the im- portance of these committees would be increased, and as a consequence the im- portance of many Senators. There would not then be a struggle for places on ap- propriations and many Senators in caring for their particular interests would b2 glad to serve on committees having charge of an apprgpriation bill, in which they or their people were particularly interested. ‘The Senate committee on appropriations consists ¢f nine members, aud the argu- ment is made that this 13 too small a num- ber to have such power. To these nine the remainder of the Senate must come for appropriations of every kind, except those relating to rivers and harbors. No man ce on this committee un- can expect a p less 1 hi served a cor rable time, although this unwritten w has been broken in one cr two instanc No fault is found with the present committee, but the argument is made that no committee should have so much power, and further that the grewth of the country and the increase in membership of the Senate is a sufficient reason why the change should be made. _ ‘There may be some difficulty in bringing about a change. Two members of the com- mittee on rules are members of the appro- priations committee a resoiution to divide up the appropriations might meet with a great deal of opposition from this souree. But the Senators who are work- ing for the change say it can be brought about, as almost the entire membership of the committees to whom the various appropriation bills would be consigned in case the division was made, are in favor ef the change and strong enough to carry it through. Lat oe ST CAR FENDERS. STRE A Little More Than a Month tn Which to Equip the Railroads. Every grip and every motor car operated in the District of Columbia must be fully equipped with a pick-up fender and with wheel guards on after April 1 next. Fail- ure to comply with this order of the Com- missioners will entail a fine of $25 a day for each car not equipped in the manner provided. As little more than one month remains before the order goes into effect, the street ratlway companies are giving serious thought to the matter. The Commissioners have approved and recommended the Blak- istone pick-up and the Brightwood auto- mat ridge-Smith automatic and Blak- istone fenders, but they will allow the com- panies to substitute for those mentioned any ether pick-up or fender which may be approved by the Commissioners. Such, how: must be equal or better in qualit and action than the ones which have al- ady met with approval. The order, which was made January 3 drew out objections from certain railroads. President Dunlop of the W and Georgetown company appeal before the Cotmissioners and stated that it would be out of the question to equip all the grips of his road with fenders in the course of sixty days. The Commissioners would not agree to formally extend the time, but ated that if the road used all due dill- gence it would be possible at the expira- tion of thirty days to tell how much more time might be required and they could then ake some arrangements for the future Within the last few days a new candidate for favor in nder line has endeavored with great y to spring into promi- Gen. SI representing the iday last appear- joners and urged anuary 1 be so amended enter as well fender the © to the Hlakistone, Smith and Brightwood Although the matter is still un- the change would give the railroad com- an opportunity to demand an ex- ision of time in obeying the order. Then again, It is said at the District building any road may adopt the Parmen- ter fender or any other ff {t so desires, un- der the substitute clause of the order. "The fender named has been approved by Capt. Flebeger and Inspector L. P. Bradshaw and it is understood the necessary permission to equip cars with the Parmenter fender would be granted without delay to any company desiring to use it. THE NEXT SPEAKER Thos, B, Reed is the Subject of Much Speculation. HIS DANGERS AND AIS OPPORTUNITIES The Conditions in the Fifty-first Congress and Now. WILL MASTER THE SITUATION ———————— Thomas B. Reed, for the second time in the Speaker’s chair of the House of Kep- resentatives, is the subject of more specu- lation Just now than any other public man in America. That he will occupy the chair again nobody questions, but the past few days are thought to have opened up a most interesting inquiry as to how he will de- velop in the new circumstances and under the great pressure that will surround him. General expression in Washington goes to show that Mr. Reed has a great many friends and ardent admirers in both politi- cal parties. Repeated reference is made to his pluck and his wit, aud nobody appears to dispute the palm with him for debating power. His reputation on those scores is thought to be secure. His record as a parliamentarian is likewise conceded to be secure. But a comparison {s instituted between the duty that confronted him and the ambition that filled him when he took the chair before and the duty that con- fronts him and the ambition that fills him row. In the Fifty-First Congress. The case fs stated in this way: When Mr. Reed took the House gavel in the Fifty- first Congress the one overshadowing ne- cessity was to institute a prompt and an orderiy method of transacting public busi- ness. The old method stood not only re- pudiated, but despised by the country. ‘There was a sharp demand for a ghange, and to this task, with consummate skill and equal courage, Mr. Reed addressed himself. His success was extraordinary. He showed the way from:start to finish, though not without some trouble now and then in bringing his followers up to his own advanced scratch, and he handed the result over to the democracy with a pre- diction that the new method would stand the test of experience. If the presidency was in Mr. Reed’s eye at that time,it did not obscure, nor even confuse, matters imme- diately at hand. Gen. Harrison was in the White House making a pronounced impres- sion on the country, and even then reason- ably well assured of renomination, and so at least six years must intervene between the credit that Mr. Reed was then to acquire and any direct personal consideration of it by a republican national convention. Mr. Reed, therefore, proceeded with singleness of purpose to a definite object, and achieved a great triumph. The Present Case. But, the question is asked, how stands the present case? No parliamentary points are now involved. The rules that Mr. Reed projected and applied in the Fifty-first Conere: will be applied in the Fifty- fourth. Their author, it is pointed out, will find them adequate to every purpose, or can easily amend them in any necessary minor particular. His recommendations on that subject are not likely to be questicned by his party in the House. The important proposition will be business itself, and not the method of transacting it, and it will relate to the tariff, the currency and to foreign affairs. Will Mr. Kkeed show as definite a purpose on those subjects as he did on the subject of parliamentary law? It will be necessary for him to show his hand, and so far he has never failed to do that. In the com- position of the committees alone he will be obliged to take very definite ground on all of the leading propositions. His party is not united on the currency question, and that alone will probably give him several anxious half hours. And then there is the presidency just ahead. It is not denied, of course, that he is an avowed candidate for his party’s nomination for that office. He is even thought to be decidedly in the lead in the race. But his rival aspirants are strong men, and he cannot afford to make @ break of any kind. His dangers and his opportunities bearing on this race will be about equal in the Speaker's chair. ‘The returns will be large tor whatever of suc- cess he may achieve, and the penalties are likely to be severe for whatever blunders he may commit. The prediction is that he will be pressed hard at times, not only by the democrats, who naturally will try to score at the expense of the opposition, but by the friends of the other republican pres- idential aspirants. The argument is that as Mr. Reed will be endeavoring to advance his own presidential fortunes by impressing his views of legislation on the House, the friends of McKinley, Harrison, Lincoln and Allison will not be idle, but, while not pushing differences to the verge of injur- ing the party, will see to it that all of the grist does not go to the Reed mill. Human nature is human nature, it is asserted, even on a hunt for the presidency. Will Be Equal to the Task. Some of the warmest friends of Mr. Reed concede the substantial accuracy of the dif- ference thus described between the condi- tions that surrounded him when he first came to the Speaker's chair and the condi- tions that will surround him when he comes there again. But they do not doubt that he will prove equal to the one, as he did to the other. Their first confidence is in the man himself, who, as they believe, 1s easily one of the first of his generation in capacity for legislative business. They can- not conceive of his making a failure where experience, courage, clearheadedness and ambition will count for so much. But they go further than this, and point to the char- acter of the men likely to be cailed to re- sponsible committee posts in the next House, and therefore to be in position to assist the Speaker with good counsel and wise procedure of their own. The names of Payne of New York, Dalzell of Pennsyl- vania and particularly Dingley of Maine are prominent on this list. It is suggested that Mr. Dingley would make an excellent chairman of the banking and currency com- mittee. This committee is certain to be charged with business of much moment in the next House. Mr. Dingley has had the fullest confidence of every House in which he has served. He is a g00d speaker and re- garded as an entirely safe man. Mr. Reed, it is said, ues his colleague's judgment most highly. Mr. Dingley, on his side, is devoted to Mr. Reed, wants to see him elected President, and is expecting that re- sult. As chairman of the committee on banking and currency he would have a po- tent voice in shaping all currency measures, and as the currency question is thought to be the most dangerous rock in Mr. Reed's presidential pathway, the removal of it would be the greatest service that Mr. Dingley could render his friend. At the same time it would be a service to the party and to the country, and for performin which Mr. Dingley would win substantial recognition for himself. So that, taken alone, or in company with his lieutenants, Mr. Reed possesses the full- est confidence of his supporters. They be- lieve that he will master the approaching situation, although none of them tries to underrate its dangers or the drafts it is sure to make on their favorite’s resource: SSS es An Additional Private. Maurice Ullman has been appointed an additional private of the metropolitan po- lice force for three years, for duty with the Bottlers’ Protective Association, to serve without compensation from the Dis- trict. THE APPROPRIATION BILLS They Can't Get Through the Serate at the Present Rate. ‘| How Much More Time is Needed—The Financial Measure on the Sundry Civil Bill. Some days ago The Star undertook to show on what a narrow margin of time Congress is running with reference to the appropriation bills by making allusions to the number of pages of bills then re- maining unconsidered by the Senate. It was demonstrated that, the number of working days before the Senate were quite insufficient for the performance of the task, unless each day should be length- ened by longer sessions. This result was reached by means of a simple calculation in plain arithmetic, which showed that the Senate was going through the District ap- propriation bill at. the very leisurely rate of about eleven pages a day, Since then nothing has been done looking to a prolongation of the sessions beyond the introduction of a resolution by Mr. Gorman providing for 11 o'clock meetings, which has languished under the influence of republican opposition. It is, however, In a position to be taken up at any time and passed. But meanwhile the situation has grown decidedly worse with regard to the rate of progress, and though the Sena has passed three billsgand is about to pa a fourth, the rate has fallen from eleven to eight pages a day, and the discrepancy be- tween what is yet to be done and the time remaining is widened. More Time Needed. The consideration of the District bill was begun on January 31 and occupied six days. The Serate then passed the diplomatic bill, following it with the post office bill, and is now on the verge of passing the agricul- tural bill, making a total of 123 pages dis- posed of in fifteen days, or an average of eight pages a day. There now remain to be considered by the Senate the Indian bill, with 77 pages; the sundry civil, with 1 the naval, with 48; the general def with 64, and the legislative, with 122—a to- tal of 418 pages yet to come before the Sen- ate. At the present rate of progression it would take the Senate fifty-two days to finish these measures alone. There now re- main twelve working days in the present session, or a mere trifle of forty days less than this computation shows to be neces- sary—unless something be done. Eleven o'clock sessions won't be enough; nor will sessions that last until 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening. Not even if the statesmen should violate the eight-hour law by remaining in session for ten or twelve hours daily would the bills all be passed, if nothing more were done to bring about a different state of things. What is needed, and what will undoubtedly come just in the nick of time, is a changa of policy on the part of the republicans, who are watching the situation with the closest scrutiny. ating on some very th.n ice and dangerously close to the edge, but they are doing it with a purpose, and they have their bearings perfectly, 80 they say, and they know just when to Jet off the brakes and let the pace increase. There are two particular Dills that they want to prevent from coming to considera- tion—that for the admission of Arizona and New Mexico and the pooling bill. There is ene other measure that they do not care to allow to —the bankruptey bill; but this is already ‘dead and is belie, allowed to remain on the calendar #s a compliment or sop to its sponsor, Senator George, be- ing dubbed the “untinished, business,” a legislative title that in the present instance hus an amusing signifcance. It will not go beyond that stage at this session. A FinancinI Measure. The introducticn of a financial measure into the sundry clvil appropriation bill by the subcommittee in charge of that mea: ure—Senators Gorman, Cockrell and Al- lison—means a reopening of the talk on the financial situation whenever that bill shall be taken up fer consideration. The debate, therefore, is not calculated to de- crease this week, but will rather increase, as it is expected that the sundry civil bill will be called up for consideration in a very short time. The republicans are ex- pected, of course, to e a point wf order against the amendment, on the ground that it is “general legislation,” and it is pected that the Vice President, follow! his recent course in such cases, will sub- mit the question of order to thg Senate in- stead of deciding ft himself. Thus the amendment will be thrown upon its merits, practically, for the vote would be on the amendment itself rather than on the parlia- mentary question raised by the point of order. It is not thought that the amendment will carry, for the general belief is that the silver men, almost without exception, will vote against it, together with the re- publicans as a body, making a very large majority against the proposition. The Amendment Provision. The amendment as it emanated from |.the subcommittee provided for the issue of three-year certificates of indebtedness to the amount of $100,000,000, drawing interest at 3 per cent. The republican program ts in charge of Senators Aldrich, Chandler and Platt, who divide up the time &o that at least one of them is on the floor throughout the day. They watch everything most carefully to see that no “undue haste” is shown by the appropriation committee in the passage of the budgets. They manage the debate so that every item of controversial interest is productive of the fullest talk, and so the hours wag on, and the adjournment day hurries on, and there ts an ever-increasing prospect of a tremendous rush at the very end to get the appropriations through. ee NE Nor DESSARY. Commissioners Oppose a Railroad Extension, Proposed The Commissioner have transmitted to Senator Harris, chairman of the committee on District appropriations of the Senate, House bill 8427, ‘“‘To amend the charter of the Eckington and Soldiers’ Home Railway Company,” with adverse recommendation. A similar report was made recently by the Commissioners to this committee on Senate bill 2524, having the same title, in which they stated that in their opinion there was no public necessity for the proposed exten- sion. The Commissioners in their letter to Sen- ator Harris say that this company has al- ready charters for two parallel lines only four blocks apart, extending from the city to Michigan avenue. The line it is author- ized to construct on North Capitol street is not yet in operation. That street is not open through nor beyond Prospect Hill cemetery, nor is it likely to be so opened for considerable time to come. There are no houses on either side of North Capitol street beyond T street, nor on either side of Michigan avenue along the line of the proposed extension. The ,avenue was opened principally to establish a driveway along the south side of the Soldiers’ Home Park. The Senate has just placed an smendment in the pending District appro- priation bill, appropriating $5,000 to grade this avenue upon the ground that it is needed as a driveway along the Soldiers’ ifome Park to the Catholic University. As there are no residents along this route to be accommodated by the proposed additional railroad facilities, and as the proposed extension would injure what will ultimately become one of. the importa: avenues in the District, the Commissione ire of the opinion that it would be unwise to mortgage this highway to a railroad company at this time, if ever. WOMEN WITH BRAINS|CUTTING A CHANNEL| TQ GEORGE PEABODY The Opening Session of the National Council. * SOME WELL-KNOWN NAMES Delegates Introduced and Business Transacted This Morning. SCENES OF THE DAY For the second time in its.history the great National Council of Women is in session in Washington-the headquarters for conventions. The national council is in a sense a cen- tral body, made up as it is of representa- tive women’s organizations of all sorts, with a membership of seventecn societies, including the president and a delegate from each, ranging from the National American Woman Suffrage Association to the Ameri- can Anti-vivisection Society. In its ranks are many of the brainiest and most ener- getic women of the land, and this great unien meeting is for the purpose of spread- ing the general cause of woman, of ex- changing views and tying closer the bonds of union that hold the members to one common work—the advancement of woman and the widening of her sphere of useful- Less. Four years ago this month the first, tri- ennial session of the council was held in Washington. Then many people who had formed their ideas of a woman’s body from the hackneyed picture of a short- haired woman suffrage agitator were obliged to alter their opinions, It was a serious, earnest gathering that did more than a little to give the general public a truer conception of woman's ability on the platform and in a deliberative body. Opening the Session. The second triennial council began at 10 o'clock this morning at Metzerott Hall. At the hour set for opening the session there was not a comparatively large attendance, but nevertheless the general president of the council, Mrs. May Wright Sewall, called the meeting to order promptly on the hour. ‘There was no attempt at a general deco: ation, but the fact that it was a feminine gathering was shown in the great bunch of rcses and other hot house flowers that or- namented the lit¥e table which served as a desk for Mrs. Sewall in her executive capacity. Susan B. Anthony, : On the platform, with Mrs,.Sewall were seated about two-score of women whose names are household words. all over the land as a result of their labors for their sex. There was Miss Susan, B. Anthony, who has grown gray in the cause, who owns up to seventy-five years, but who is as spry and active as a schoolgirl, bright and entertaining, no matter what one thinks of her views on woman suffrage. ‘There was Mrs. Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, Miss Frances E. Willard, Mrs, M. R. M. Wallace, Rev. Anna H. Shaw, Kate Brown- lee Sherwood, Harrfett A. Shinn, Margaret Isabel Landes, Mrs, Bogley, Lillian M. N. Stevens, Rachel Foster Avery, Isabella Charles Davis, Mrs. Upton, Caroline Karle White. "The opening exercises were of the sim- piest sort. Sewall rapped upon her desk with a handsome gavel and announced that the second triennial convention of the Woman's Covneil was in session, She then introduced the presidents of the seventeen different organizations that compose the council, and as each cne rose to acknowl- edge the applause that greeted her appear- ance she announced the name of the dele- gate from her society. Receiving Greetings. ‘The exercises of the morning consisted of the hearing of greetings by fraternal dele- ‘gates from orgarizations outside of the council. The first to step to the front of the platform was Mrs. .Ellen Spencer Mussey, representing the Legion of Loyal Women. The five- minute rule was rig- idly adhered to and very few of the speakers were able to complete their re- marks within the \ specified time. Speak- ing for the Legion of Loyal. Women, Mrs. Mussey said that the organization which she repfesented was always. in hearty Mrs. E. S. Massey. sympathy with the principles that animate the council in its work. She spoke briefly on the true sphere of woman as man’s-co-equal and co-laborer “not subordinate. Yet in struggling for the rights of the sex the chief battle is not against prejudiced and hostile men, but against the almost hopeless inertia of the larger majority of the women themselves. Women, she said, are getting what be- longs to them in many lines of life, but not all, In the law schools of this city, as well as in the rest of the land, the doors are not throwr open to them, and this is not by any means as it should be. There is one key that will open these dcors, however, and that {s gold. If a rich woman member of the council were to en- dow one or more chairs in a law school on the condition that women should be eligible as students, the doors would be opencd at once and for all time. Dr. Edith Jewell of the District of Colum- bia made a brief address of greeting on be- half of the Woman's First Dental Associa- tion of the United States; Mrs. A. H. Eaton of Maryland spoke for the Woman's For- cign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Clara C. Schell, District of Columbia, for the Christian ‘woman's board of missions, and Mary C. Snedden of Missouri for the General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, which fs an or- ganization allied to the Masonic fraternity. About Housekeeping. Dr. Mary E. Green spoke briefly, but most interestingly on a subject which men sup- pose is rarely referred to in women's meet- ings. She represents the National House- hold Economic Association, and she spoke of the needs of a more intelligent study of ine Subject of practical housekeeping. In all the conventions of women at the world’s fair, said Mrs. Green, it was noticed that none had for its subject the work of the actual housekeeper. So arrangements were made for holding a gathering of women who should discuss the economies of the home. 4 ‘Too little attention Is paid to the matter ot social and domestic economies. The c1- Continued on Third Page.) Norfolk and Washington Boats Break a Way. ‘Tugs at Work—Hard Passage Through the Iec—A Thaw Look- ed For. The ice .situation shows a marked im- provement. The steamer Washingtan, Capt. Tulle, of the Norfolk and Washington Steamboat Company, which left Norfolk on Sunday morning at 4 o'clock, reached her dock at this city at 3 o'clock this morning. It was a desperate trip, but the stout ship never behaved with greater credit than during this trying trip. Mr. John Callahan, su- perintendent of the steamship company,was on board and Mr. John H. Trower, chief engineer of the company, with Mr. Sullivan, chief engineer of the Washington, held forth in the engige room. Capt. Tulle was in the pilot house from end to end of the trip. The Washington was forced to break ice every foot ot the way from Norfolk. The bay is frozen in and the tough salt ice made progress slow. The ice was heavy from Norfolk to the mouth of the Potomac, and there the real work of the Washington began. The run to Cedar Point was made under difficulties which only those on board could appreciate. From Cedar Point up the ice varied from twelve to fifteen inches thick and was very hard. In some places it was much thicker, but the average was about fourteen inches. Capt. Tulle said that in all his experience, and he had seen half a century of service, the present was the greatest ice age within his memory. A Hard Trip. Superintendent Callahan gave a graphic description of the trip. He said that there was no tug in the United States which could have come to Washington until after a: path had been broken by the steamers of the Norfolk and Washington Company. The Washington, he said, was one of the best Ice boats in the country, and her officers had had considerable previous ex- perience of running in ice. This con- trikuted to the success of their run to. Norfolk. Superintendent | Callahan ordered the Norfolk, Captain Geog- hegan, which has been lying at Washing- ton since the freeze-out, to get under way and maks Norfolk as’ soon as possible. She left at 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon, and the sisters of the fleet met at 1 o'clock this morning off Fort Washington, The Norfolk had consumed half a day in reaching fifteen miles down stream. From Fort Washington down the Norfolk found an open channel, and she would reach Norfolk early today. The Washington found an open channel from Fort Wash- ington up. After discharging about two hundred tons of freight from southern points for the north, the Washington ran down to Alexandria’ to discharge local stuff. The steamer shows her struggle with the ice, especially on her forward plates. Every inch of paint has been ground off nearly to the waterways, and the iron plates of her hull are burnished in some places by cutting through ice. Tugs at Work. The tugs Key and Mohler began yester- day to open a channel from Mann's wharf, at the foot of South Capitol street, to the reduction works near Beileview. Their work was painfully slow, notwithstanding that a path had been cut to Alexandria a few days ago by the propeller Norfolk, and a cut had been made by the ordnance tug ‘Triton from the navy yard to the main channel. These tugs are pounding away at the ice today, but when they will be able to move the scows of dead horses which are lying at Mann’s wharf is beyond a guess. It is thought that the Baltimore tugs Hercules and Vulcan will be .here to- morrow or Wednesday. ‘The ice is disintegrating slightly because of the comparative warmth and sunshin The Norfolk and Washington steame will hereafter run on their regular schedule. — od 'THE COLOR LINE. The Civil Service Commission's In- quiry Into the Bureau of Engraving. The charge made by the civil service ccmmission that Chief Johnson of the bureau of engraving and printing has dis- criminated against colored women in ém- pley under him will probably result in no immediate action, as the ‘matter rests wholly with the Secretary of the Treasury, who is indisposed to act in the matter at present. 1 Mr. Johnson was seen today at the bureau, and the matter called to his atten- tion. “ZT can only say,” said Mr. Johnson, “that I have acted on the recommendations made by my subordinates. A committee made up of the superintendent of the printing division and his assistants go over the list of employes and check up, strictly on the line of eificiency, those whose services are not required in the bureau. The character of*the work done here is such that we must be very careful about our force. Em- ployes handle a vast number of sheets here, for which the bureau as a whole is re- sponsible, and the loss of a single sheet would perhaps mean a matter of thous- ands of dollars, No discrimination has been intended in any of the dismissals from this bureau. All have been made in due course of business and upon proper recemmendations, I have not seen any of the people dismissed, and, so far as I know, never saw any.of them, and don’t know who they are individually. No charges were filed against any of them, so far as I know. Whatever has been done in making dismissals has been entirely with a view to the efficiency of the service. I have no objection to the criticism being made, and under the circumstances am satisfied that it will not reflect in any way upon this bureau.” GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. ‘he Fight Over the Site to Be Re- sumed. The fight over the government printing office site is likely to be resumed this week in the House. Chairman Bankhead of the committee on public buildings and grounds, having the matter in charge, has been promised by the committee on rules an order setting apart a time for the consider- ation of the printing office bill. It is under- stood that the motion will be concurrence in the Senate’s proposition to buy the prop- erty known as the Mahone site. It is now the desire of the House managers to get a printing office bill through at this session, and if it is demonstrated “beyond a doubt that it must be the Mahone site or no siie at all, they are willing to bow to the in- evitable and accept that site rather than have the matter go over to another Con- gress, involving the delay of more than a year in the commencement of the work on the building. The exact day for the con- sideration of the matter has not yet been fixed, but will be arranged today or to- morrow by the committec on rules. —-—____ D THE JUMP TRACK. Fatal Disaster on the Norfolk and ; Western Railrona. ’ HUNTINGTON, W. Va., February 18.—A serious wreck occurred on the Norfolk and Western railroad at 4 o'clock this morning seven miles west of this city. Train No. 2, southbound, was running at a rate of thirty-five miles an hour, when the engine jumped the track, followed by two coaches. John Adkins of Wayne county was killed eutright; an unkno’ lady from Hetosky Mich., was struck on the head, and is d ing, and Engineer Jackson and Fireman Ganze were seriously hurt. The track is torn up badly, and traffic impeded. Celebrating the Centennial of the * Philanthropist’s Birth. MEMORIAL. EXERCISES IN PROGRESS The Millionaire's Career and Extent of His Benefactions. GRATITUDE OF THE SOUTH a ae PEABODY, Mass. February 18.—The town is today celebrating the centennial of the birth of the noted philanthropist, George Peabody. There is bunting every- where, and flags float from all the publio buildings, while the decoration of private residences is general. The school children in Peabody Institute listened to an address by Rev. J. W. Hunt on “George Peabody.” ‘This afternoon, in the town hall, the pub- lic exercises were continued with an ad- dress by Mr. Francis H. Appleton, an ora- tion by Licutenant Governor Walcott and a poem, “One Hundred Years,” by Rev. Minot J. Savage. Tonight there will be a big banquet, at which distinguished guests from all parts of the state are expected. The house where Mr. Peabody was born is still standing on Washington street—a spacious and substantial residence—and is one of the notable landmarks of the town, which is annually visited by thousands. Sketch of His Career. He was a descendant of Lieut. Francis Peabody, who emigrated from St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, in 1635, and set- tled in Topsfield, ‘then a part of Salem. His father was Thomas Peabody, and his moth- er Judith, daughter of Jeremiah Dodge. He received his education in the district school of his native town, and it was while yet a schoolboy that he earned his first dollar by tending a refreshment booth on a day of celebration. This was the nucleus of the colossal fortune subsequently acquired and distributed. He was a grocer’s clerk at the age of twelve, and so marked was his bus- iness ability that at nineteen he was ad- mitted into partnership with Elisha Riggs of Washington, D. C., in the wholesale dry goods business. Owing to his talent and industry the house soon took rank with the leading con- cerns of the country. In 1837 he withdrew from the firm of Peabody, Riggs & Co., and, with others, formed the firm of George Peabody & Co.. money brokers and mer- chants. With Midas-like touch he was able to realize han’ from his operations, and fourteen years later he had accom- plished the object of his life, so.far as the acquisition of a great fortune was con- cerned. His Benefactions. His benefactions aggregated $12,000,000. Among his princely gifts were over %,- 000,00) to the southern educational fund; ablishing homes for the ving poor in London; $100,000 to the Peabody Institute in his native town, and to. the Peabody Institute in Baltimore he gave in all $1,000,000. The town of Danvers was enriched before his death by gifts amounting to more than $200,000, and his unparalleled generosity was manifested in the establishment of libraries in Thetford, Vt., and Georgetown, his mother’s birthplace.’ He provided the means for fitting out the Advance, Dr. "s ship, for the arctic voyage in ch of Sir John Frankli abody Institute, Peabod: stitute, Danvers; Peabody ‘Acatemy of Science, Salem, and the $100,000 memorial church in Georgetown are evidences of his generosit In the fireproof recess in the Peabody Institute in_ his native town is the por- trait, valued at $25,000, presented by the Queen of England ‘to Mr. Peabody, the gold medal voted by Congress and other testimonials of esteem which have been called out from time to time by his superb beneficence. Mr. Peabody never married, vember 4, 169, and his r in Harmony Grove large sarcophagus of gr: spot. The obsequies South Con, ational Church an guished men were present from all parts of the country Sete TRIBUTE FROM THE SOUTH. Peabody In- Paying Honor to the Memory of Peabody. Special Disp: RICHMOND, their benefactor—Gecrge Peabody. 1 his natal di witnes: commenioratory exercises in nearly every state in Dixie. The southern 3 have benciited most by his money. Three and a half millions of George Peabody's money is today de- voted to educating the children of the cot- ton belt. Virginia will try to outdo her sister states In showing her gratitude to the memory of the great philanUuropist. John E. Massey, superintendent cf public instruction of Virginia, sent out 2 days ago a circular calling the attention of county and city superi to the oc- casion, accompanied by an appropriate program for ceiebraiing the event. The program suggested the Lord’ er; reading of a sketch of 1b life by some pupil; reading of extra: ‘in the letter of M Peabody creating the trust fund for education; sin; memorial song, compo: wood, assistant principal of the b High School; quotations in referen Peabpdy; extracts from Mr. Peabody's le’ ter enlarging tne endowment; wotations from the words of Mr. Peabody; southern Peabody song, compcsed by Miss Julia R, Henning, Richmond High Schovl; extract fe $s concerning Mr. Peabody's summary of the results of th and the song of “America. A very intéresting meeting will be held today at Central School at 4 o'clock, in Peabody's honor. It will be of a public character, and every one who takes any interest in the matter fs Invited. J. Taylor Ellyson wiil preside, and Rev. Dr. Hoge will deliver an address. Informal talks will also be given by Rev. Jabez Hall and others. It is hoped that from this celebration will come a movement that will perpetuate the custom and render some permanent memorial. Similar exercises will be held in several other southern states. Tennes- see has made the centennial anniversary a holiday. The governor and the lezi: re take part in the celebration, which occurs in the capitol. Alabama holds observance in the State University. Louisiana, Ala- hama and Georgia have set apart the day for observance by the public scho: One of the results of the commemoration will be the inception of an entirely new fund for a monument to George Peabody. It is to be an international undertaking and $250,000 is to be subscribed The mat- ter is to be definitely decided by the Pea- body trustees this year. Work of Post Office Inspectors. Chief Post Office Inspector Wheeler re- ports that as a result of last month's work of post office inspectors, 118 people are be- hind the bars, among them 49 post office burglars. The total includes also sixteen postmasters, four assistant , postmasters, three clerks in post offices, oe letter car- rier, one postal clerk, one mail carrier, three other postal employes and seventy persons not connected with the service. Pray-