Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1895, Page 1

THE EVENING STAR. ——___.____ UBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY BUILDINGS, - AT THE STAR 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Cor. 11th Street, by Evening Star Newspaper Company, KAUFFMANN Pres't. ew York Office, 49 Potter Building, =< The Evening Star is served to. subscribers in city by carriers, on their own account, at 10 cents per or 44 cents month. cents each. Stat ‘Sheet Star, $1-per year, with a at the Post Gfice’ at Washincton, (Entered at the Post at Wi D.C, “ FA mail subacripe ptions oust be paid tn pals fiatee of sdvertising made Roows on application, WASHINGTON, D. C.,, Star. “THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1895-TWELVE PAGES. ee TROLLEY FIGHT A Gigantic Consolidation Said to Have Been Consummated, GRASPING FOR ROADS IN THIS CITY , Some Curious Facts That Have Been Brought to Light. THE SUBURBAN COMPANY There would undoubtedly be some very interesting fighting ‘in Congress over the local, street railroad situation in case an extra session were held. Conditions are just ripe, it would seeni, for a lively skir- mish, and it would be likely to take place any day now If the time were not all taken ip by the appropriation bills. The Senate, however, is destined to be the scene of a battle royal before many months have passed, and all over the question of street railroads. Facts are gradually coming’ to light to show that there has been a great movement going on in street railway af- fairs, all tending to one*ultimate point— the trolley. The cry of trolley in Washington may have come to be very like the fabled cry of “wolf,” but with this exception, the peo- ' ple are not going to be caught napping. A i new champion has just entered the list in their behalf, and he said today that he pro- ee to keep at it from now on to the end his senatorial term. This is Mr: Hill of New York, whose interest in local af- fairs has just received an unusual im- petus from his recent brush with the Dis- trict committee over the Columbia Sub- urban road. £ A Great Consolidation. The indications now are that the present danger is not so much from the introduction of the overhead trolley as from the forma- tion af a gigantic combination here of the trunk lines, and in this connection some decidedly interesting facts are coming to light. The citizens here have long heard of the existence of the great traction com- pany of Philadelphia. It has been under- stood to be a very powerful corporation, with representatives here in the Eckington wand Soldiers’ Home and Belt Line railway companies. Folks have also sheard of the great Broadway street railroad syndicate, in which Wm. C. Whitney, ex-Secretary of the Navy, is a large stockholder. It has always been said and generally belived that these two organizations or street car trusts are opposed to each other and are watching each other jealously. In addition to them there is the Newark Traction Com- pany, which operates miles upon miles of overhead roads all over the state of New Jersey in the vicinty of New York. Then, also, there is the Boston syndicate, cot trolled by a brother of ex-Secretary Whit- ney. These four great enterprises, completely controlling surface transit In the cities mentioned, have now been consolidated and today form one of the largest and most owerful combinations in the country, with unlimited capital and with an insatiable greed after new territory. All this has been done quietly, slowly, insidiously. It is now accomplished, and the word has gone forth that there is more to come. To Gobble Up More Roads. Rumors have spread from time to time that the Eckington company—imeaning the Philadelphia Traction Company—has been negotiating for the purchase of the Metro- politan road, and later réports have had it that the same effort was in progress in re- gard to the Columbia line. On the surface these two schemes seem to be different, but in reality they are allied and practically one and the same, for it is a well-known fact that the controlling interest in each road is held by the same parties, so that “wo buy the control of one means to buy that of the other. For the Eckington-Belt plant to consolidate with the Columbia-Metropoli- tan system would be to form a combination that would practically cover the city with tracks under one management. There would then be left only the Wash- ington and Georgetown line, which would be almost completely paralleled by the combination. The only point uncovered _ would be the navy yard, and in case the _ Washington and Georgetown could not’ he _ bought the Anacostia line would still be ' available to enable the consolidated lines | to reach the extreme southeast. These are merely the possibilities of the case, stated to show the case with which a combination could be formed to cover Washington as thoroughly and completely as the cities of Boston, New York and | Philadelphia are now covered by local orporations that are members of the great Atlantic coast syndicate, as it might now pe called. In all this, of course, there still remains the fact that the existing laws absolutely prohibit the introduction of overhead wires {nto the city. The syndi- cate might go on and on and get posses- sion of street after street and road after road, and without some direct legislation on the subject it would be powerless to in- flict the trolley ypon the city. But what a splendid system for a trolley to be used en whenever that legislation might be secured. There is no doubt that the local repre- sentatives of the syndicate are watchirg every chance to get trolley laws passed. They fight every proposition to use any ther system—not openly, but in a quiet, fnsidious, clever way. They are always f alert, always shrewd. Some Curious Facts. Now come some curiously interesting Senator Quay is reported most wide- facts. ly to have severed all his ties with the Philadelphia syndicate. It is publicly an- nounced that he and the corporation have parted company. Yet the moment a hill is brought forward that is understood to be antagonized by the syndicate, Mr. Quay is the first_to enter an objection. Senator Smith, after months of absence from the District committee, suddenly turns up one morning to take part in a fight over this same bill, at the request of a friend, who tells him lttle or nothing bout its mature. He votes for the bill in fommittee, and succeeds in bringing about a tie. He learns later, to his horror and rprise, that the bill is being antagonized y the syndicate. He goes back and tells friend that he has been put into a hole yy being asked to vote for this bill, for he is a stockholder in the Traction Comvany. At the next meeting, when Mr. Smith’s presence would have broken another tie, he {s_absent. These are facts. They are given The Star by the best of authority. They speak vol- umes for the ramifications and influence of the great Atlantic coast street car trust. Other District Committee Members. , Rvmor has been rife for some time past |. connecting the-names of other members of the District committee of the Senate With one or the other of the component ents of the great syndicate. Nothing however, been stated, and no facts are at hand in this connection. The same is true of certain members of the House committee, and tke reports in those c were at one time made so definite as to se an Official denial to be made on the floor of the House by one.member. It bas been suggested the that all this is merely pointed seekers after is who scek to ough" by ‘alleging a n to them comes from the combinaticn. This’ view is; ‘off ‘ course, worthy of consideration in this regard. -4 Washington and Maryland Co. Certain mysterious references have been made in the past few days connecting the talk of dis: eet railway Washington and Maryland road, which now holds a charter soon to expire, but to be revived by the bill which passed the Sen- ate night before last, with the trolley syn- dicate. This is denied by the representa- tives of the two interests named, but there are two facts that might seem to point to @ verification of the story that the Wash- ingon and Maryland is merely one end of the combination. One of these facts is that the Washington and Maryland and the Eckington people are represented in the lobbies of Congress by the same attorney. The other signiticant fact is that in the bill granting the extension of charter pro- vision is made for the use of the Ecking- ton's city tracks by the Washington and Maryland in its local terminus. The Recent Transfer Proposition. Indeed, there are many small things, per- haps insignificant in themselves, that are being pointed at now with great persist- ency and spoken of as straws to show the way of the wind. One of these is the re- cent offer of the Columbia, Eckington and Metropolitan lines to give free transfers to the suburban road if its incorporators would consent to build the line from the suburbs along 15th street east, and tap the ends of the three trunk lines mentioned. It is now suggested that this willingness on the part of these three roads was in- spired by the theory that it would be cheaper to buy up this road later when the time for general consolidation should come, with it in this shape, than if it should be built according to the original plan of its projectors. The idea is fairly broached now that this was a far-seeing plan on the part of the genius which is said to be be- hind all the operations of the syndicate. Another of these “straws’’ that is point- ed at now is the legislation that has just been enacted, granting the Rock Creek read the right to combine by lease or pur- chase with any connecting line. Gossip has it that this means a probable combination between the Metropolitana and Rock Creek companies. This may not be in any way ecnnected with the recently-formed com- bination of eastern roads, but it is being spoken of with frequency just at present to show the general mystery that hangs over the entire situation. Hill to Fight the Trolley. Senator Hill has determined to enter the ring as regards street railroad matters with @ vengeance next session. His fighting spirit, it is said, has been aroused by tie opposition that has developed to the Colum- bia suburban bill, and which on the floor of the Senate the other night was openly charged to be inspired by the Pailadelphia syndicate. Senator Hill's interest in this bill is merely that of a Senator who has given a promise to a friend to help him to secure legislation. He disclaims any idea of working in the interest of anybody ex- cept a widow of this friend of his, who quite recently died very suddenly of pneu- monia. Mrv Hill regards this promise he gave to the man now dead as being abso- lutely binding upon him, and he has deter- mined to fight the matter now to a finish. It is understood that he fully realizes, and in fact acknowledges, that in doing so he will be obliged to fight the great eastern syndicate, but it is said that he has cheer- fully accepted the responsibility. He has undertaken greater warfares than this be- fore. The Suburban Road. It is reported that another effort is being made to compromise the differences be- tween the friends of the suburban road and those of the existing lines that are antagonizing the bill. A meeting of the District committee of the Senate will be held tomorrow morning, and this compro- mise will be then presented. Its nature is not known at this time. There may yet be some more skirmishing on the line of battle even before the session ends. In the Way of Denial. President Schoepf of the Eckington Rall- way Company disclaims that his company has any trolley design on the city. The ecmpany, he says, is honest in its inten- tion of putting in a conduit system. The Philadelphia syndicate, said Mr. Schoepf, has not taken any step in an- tagonism to the suburban railroad, but the Eckington and Soldiers’ Home Company would resort to every legitimate means to defeat it, for the reason that it would parallel the Eckington line’s extension one square distant for twenty-one squares. 2 A NEW PRESIDENT PRO TEM. The Senate Will Have to Elect One to Succeed Mr. Harris. The fact has been overlooked that it will be necessary for the Senate, before ad- journment next Monday, to elect a presi- dent pro tempore. Mr. Harris of Tennessee now holds that office. :But the term of Mr. Harris will expire cn March +4, and as the Senate will not be in session after Monday noon, it will be necessary to appoint a pres- -dent pro tempore; for the Senate never permits that office to remain vacant. There is much secret canvassing for this office. The exchange of opinions already made shows that there is a disposition to reorganize the Senate so far as that office is concerned, and that there ts a very strong probability that a democrat will not be chosen as the successor of Mr. Harris. Mr. Gray of Delaware, whe is an ambitious man, is un- derstood to be an aspirant for the nomina- tion of the democratic party. It is not cer- tain that he will receive that nomination. It is said that there are three eastern re- publicans who have been suggested, and who are being considered for the place— Hoar of Massachusetts, Frye of Maine and Piatt of Connecticut. Each of these Sena- tors is a man of abiljty, and would fill the position to the satisfaction of the Senate. But it is not settled that the republicans wish to make a straight party contest for this place at the present time. There seems to be a tendency to unite upon a western man, who, while nominally a republican, would be certain to command the support of the silver men and of the populists in the Senate. Such a man, it is reported, has been found in Mr. Teller of Colorado. It is urged in his favor that he is within the re- publican party lines, and is a very earnest republican on most of the fundamental principles of that party, and that he has always been “sound” on the protective tariff question. He is regarded as the strongest man politically in that great re- gion of country between the Mississippi river and the Pacific ocean, and it is said he would be certain to command the sup- port of ail the silver Senators and all of the populists, and there are no republicans who would be disposed to vote against him. Mr. Teller is much talked about, but it cannot be said that any decision has as yet been reached. The probability is that a decision will be reached by Friday, as it is the pur- pose of the Senate to proceed to the election of a president pro tempore on Saturday next: SSS oe NOMINATIONS TODAY. Important Appointments Announced by the President Today. The President today sent the following nominations to the Senate: William L, Wilson of West Virginia, to be Postmaster General. State—Louis M. Buford of Illinois, to be consul of the United States at Paso del Norte, Mexico; D. B. Spagnoli of California, to be consul of the United States at Milan, Italy. Navy—Commodore William A. Kirkland, to be a rear admiral; Capt. Francis M. Bunce, to be_a commodore; Commander Purnell F. Harrington, to’ be captai Lieut. Commander Samuel W. Very, to he commander; Lieut. John A. Rodgers, to be lieutenant commander; Lieut. (Gunior grade) A. C. Almy, to be a Heutenant. - Interior—John H. Brickenstein of Penn- sylvania and Arthur P. Greeley of New Hampshire (mow principal examiners in the patent office), to be examiners-in-chief in the patent office. Postmaster—Ella_ B. Connolly, Key, Ind. at Red WHICH ONE WINS? Is It the Administration or the Maryland Senator? THE CERTIFICATE AMENDMENT FIGHT What is Claimed by the Friends of Both Parties. THE BOND SYNDICATE’S HOLD Who wins by the withdrawal of the amendment to the sundry civil bill au- thorizing the issuance of short-time bonds by the government? The battle, though brief, was sharply contested, and there was even much more feeling enlisted than appeared on the sur- face. Mr. Gorman and the President stood facing each other. On the one side the Maryland Senator was contending that the revenues were short and that the deficiency ought to be provided for in a practical way, and on the other the President was resisting, through Secretary Carlisle, what he considered an adroit effort to drag the administration at Mr. Gorman’s chariot wheel. Both sides profess to be pleased with the result. The friends of the ad- ministration simply point to the fact that the amendment was withdrawn. In their judgment that tells the whole story. But the friends of Mr. Gorman, in support of their claim that he more than carried his point, though failing with the amendment, go into particulars. What Mr. Gorman’s Friends Say. In the first place, as they assert, the de- bate showed conclusively that the conten- tion of the Maryland Senator was right. Testimony to that effect came from both sides of the chamber. Mr. Sherman and Mr. Allison on the one side and Mr. Gor- man and Mr. Hill on the other took prac- tically the same view of the question, and stood ready to support the same proposi- tion. In the second place, Secretary Car- lisle was forced to admit that the sub- stance of the amendment ought to be a part of the general authority conferred on the Secretary of the Treasury, but would not capers that such a provision wag nec- essary at this time. And the friends of Mr. Gorman ask, Why? Because, as they answer, the Secretary and his chief are in the meshes of a money-lending syndicate and practically under obligations to turn to that syndicate in all times of money distress. It was the syndicate that spoke. It was the syndicate that declared against ex- chequer notes or any class of short-time, low-rate obligations to meet treasury wants. This syndicate naturally desires bonds on its own terms and has the administration so cornered as to be able at present to con- trol the situation. The friends of the Mary- land Senator do not believe that in the end the administration will derive either com- fort or advantage from what it appeared to gain on yesterday. And not only are the Gorman democrats satisfied with the result, but the repubili- cans and the populists are, also. Mr. Sher- man and Mr. Allison are well persuaded that the terms existing between the admin- istration and the Rothschilds are the better understood because of this resistance to an inexpensive character of treasury relief, while Mr. Peffer and his friends, opposed alike to the syndicate’s bonds and to ex- chequer notes, see in all bickerings within the ranks of either of the two old parties fresh assurances of the necessity of new alignments for all those desirous of suc- cessfully resisting the growing domination of the eastern money power. So that this last scrap has developed well all round and will be likely to contribute valuable ma- terial to the stump in all of the state cam- paigns of the year. Resentment at the Veto Threat. There is some resentment felt in sena- torial circles at the open and aggressive way in which a veto was threatened in case the Senate should adopt and the House, under pressure, accept the Gorman amendment. More than one official was quoted to that effect, and mcre than one Senator was under strong temptation to refer publicly to the matter in his place in the chamber. Wad there been four weeks more of the session instead of four days, the debate most likely would have taken on this somewhat personal phase of the case. Several Senators are of opinion that not even Mr. Cleveland ever went quite so far before in making his views known in advance respecting pending leg- islation. And when they associate this With the syndicate in whose interests the attitude was taken, they feel more out- raged than ever. The question is discussed as to how this action of the administration affects the caseras regards any further issue of bonds under the old law. The syndicate having been protected against exchequer notes, would it be wise or prudent for that syn- dicate to turn and use its opportunity for further gain? And is it entirely within the power of the syndicate to decide that question? Or has the administration still scme small voice in the premises? The opinion is expressed that if the mat- ter is in any measure under the control of the syndicate another bond issue will come before December. The old argument is used. Capital has neither politics nor mercy. It is out for the stuff, and it knows a good thing when it gets hold of it. The treasury has been emptied of gold several times, and another transaction of the kind may easily be executed. The means re- main at. hand in the shape of the green- backs. Business is still unsettled. The thing may still be explained on the score that American securities are being receiv- ed at home for redemption. There is some uneasiness felt about the summer. It is a dull season, when financial squeezes are easily arranged. Will another run be made on the treasury gold? And, should one be- gin, would another bond tssue take place? What Another Bond Issue Would Mean. There are many who hope that the syn- dicate is bound fast on this point. They consider the whole syndicate transaction without any merit whatever unless it pro- vides for something of this kind. If the hard terms imposed are relieved by an un- derstanding that the government is not to be forced into the market as a bor- rower during the recess of Congress on the score of still further protecting the zold reserve it will be something for democratic speakers to talk about during the fall cam- paigns. And it is held that whatever the government can do to keep out of the market after defeating a proposition for exchequer notes it must do or bear the criticism, even from certain democrats, of having interfered with legislation in the behalf of usurers, foreign and domestic. Another bond issue, it is asserted, would, in the circumstances, mean democratic dis- integration ‘ail over the south and west. ———— NEW TREASURY METHODS. Seerctary Carlisle Writes That Busi- ness ix Being Conducted Satisfactorily Secretary Carlisle has written the de- partment joint commission that reports have been received from the accounting officers of the treasury in regard to the practicability of the methods of conduct- ing the business under the new methods. “The reports of these officers,’ writes Secretary Carlisle, “show the system to be working satisfactorily, and I may add that from the limited observation I have been able to give the matter I am of the opinion that the operation of the system has serv- ed to greatly expedite the business of the government, without the sacrifice of ac- curacy or the removal of safeguards for the protecticn of public interests.” NO MORE CABINET CHANGES Current Rumors in Regard- to Them Be- lieved to Be Gr®undlesa. Justice Jackson Will Not Resign as Long There is a Probability of Ilis Restoration to Health. Regardless of all reports to the contrary, there is excellent authority fer the state- ment that there are no prospects of any further changes in the cahinet. The" ap- pointment of Mr. Wilson as Postmaster General is accepted in administration cir- cles as a clear indication that he is not to succeed Secretary Carlisle as the head of the Treasury Department. Intimate friends of Secretary Gresham and Secretary Car- lisle say there is no likelihood of their leaving their present places in the cabinet, and the report that Secretary Lamont 1s likely to be transferred to the Treasury De- partment in the event of Mr. Carlisle's ap- pointment to another office is not generally credited. It is said that Secretary Lamont himself has characterized the report as “absurdly improbable.” Most of these rumored cabinet changes were predicated on the impfession that a vacancy on the Supreme bench is imminent through the retirement or resignation of Mr. Justice Jackson. Inquiry in_ofiicial circles today discloses a general belief that Judge Jackson will retain his judicial posi- tion for many months to come, despite his feeble health. He may not be able to per- form his judicial functions,*but he is not apt to relinquish his office so long as there is a possibility of his restoration to health. The proposition to secure legislation to enable him to retire has been »ractically abandoned. Those in a position to speak say he has no intention of resigning so long as there is a chance of his recovery and that the very nature of his malady has inspired him with hope of a favorable ter- mination. It therefore appears that those who look for a speedy vacancy on the Su- preme bench may be badly disappointed. GENERAL DEFICIENCY BILL. Changes Made in the House Bill by the Sennte Committee, The general deficiency -bill, reported to the Senate today from the Zppropriations committee, contains a number of interest- ing local items. The first of these is an appropriation of -$2,738.40 to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to pay Joseph and Eliza Redfern for injufies and rent of bulidings 1719 and 1721 °@ystreet north- west, while occupied by the War Depart- ment. An item is “nserted, appropriating $426.57 for repairs to the Hojt mansion in the Zoological Park to make It suitable for occupancy and for office fyraiture. The sum of $199.45 is also appropriated for the Smithsonian fund for expegses incurred for the preservation of the mansion. The provision of the act relating to -the pay- ment of judgment in favor of the admin- istrator of David Patterson out of the police fund is amended to make the judg- ment payable out of the reyenues of the District. = P Clerks and Ejmpléyes. The Senate committee gfruck out of the bill the provision for an extra mofith’s pay for the clerks to members, as certified by the memterg-under the law, but it did not tcuch the rest of the item, giving the extra month’s pay to officers and employes of the House and Senate. The committee inserted @ paragraph appropriating ‘$1,025.17 for ccmpensation of officers’ clerks and others in the service of the Senate; i so 1,966.65 for the pay of five annual.clerks to Sena- tors from March 4, 1895, to June 30, 1895; also 09 tor miscellaneous items in the Senate account; $45 for rent of warehouse for storage of documents for six months; $60.44 to pay George H. Walker for services as skilled laborer from the Ist to the 22d of June, 1892; $1,750 to reimburse the official reporter of the Senate for money paid by him for clerk hire during the third session of the Fifty-third Congress. + THE BLUEFIELDS INCIDENT. The Action of the British Warship Believed to Be Justified. Although no official report has reached the State or Navy departments relative to the reported firing upon an American ves- sel near Cape Gracias a Dias by a British warship, and the first story contains only a few meager details, these are held to be sufficient to afford a plausible explanation of the aifair, and to justify the uction of the British commander. In the first place, it is clear that this time the old Bluetlelds matter is not involved. Mr. Weil, who is reported to have been the owner of the cargo of drms, was involved in the late revolutignary disturbances at Bluefields. It is believed here that he hds since been endeavoring to aid the malcontents who are fighting the goverrment in British Horfduras, and to that end loaded a vessel with arms at Bluefields and sought to land them in British Honduras. The British naval commander evidently learned of this filibustering expedition against a British colony, pursued the schooner and captured her near Cape Gracias a Dias, which is in Honduras. es EXAMINERS-IN-CHIEF. Two Appointed to Succeed Messrs. Clarke and Bates in the Patent Office. Among the nominations sent to the Sen- ate today were John L. Brickenstein of Pennsylvania, to be examiner-in-chief in the patent office, vice R. L. B, Clarke, re- moved, and Arthur P. Greeley of New Hampshire, to be examiner-in-chief in the patent office, vice Henry H. Bates, re- signed. Mr. Brickenstein is thirty-three years old. He was appointed in the patent office as‘a fourth assistant examiner on Septem- ber 1, 1886, upon the-certification of the civil service commission; has been pro- moted through the successive grades upon competitive examinations until he received his appointment as a principal examiner on November 8, 1893, Which position he now holds. He has had experience in divi- sions where. inventions relating to metal- lurgy, electricity, plastics, paper making, paving, glass, fuel, etc., are examined. Mr. Brickenstein is a graduate of Moravian College, at which he took the degree of bachelor of arts; of Princeton College in the class of 1885, taking the degree of master of sciences; of the law department of Georgetown University in 1892, taking the degree of bachelor of laws; of Colum- bian University in 1893, taking the degree of master of laws. He was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia In 1893. Mr. Greeley is thirty-three years of age, He was appointed in the patent office ae a fourth assistant examiner on July 28, 1884, upon the certification of the civil service commission; Has, been promoted through the- successive grades upon com- petitive examinations wmtii he received his appointment as a principal examiner on July 21, 1891, which posftion he now holds. He has had experiencé-jn divisions where inventions relating to metal working, elec- tricity, aeration and bottling, advertising, baggage, packing and storing vessels, acoustics, horology, measuring instruments, drafting, trade marks and labels are ex- amined. Mr. Greeley is a gradua' of Dartmouth College in the class of 1883; is a@ graduate ot the law school of Columbian University in the class of 1886, with the degree of bachelor of laws; took a post- graduate course in law the following year, with the degree of master of laws. He was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia in 1887. MR. WILSON NAMED The West Virginia Member Elevated to the Cabinet. 10 BE THE POSTMASTER GENERAL The Nomination Sent to the Ser- ate This Afternoon. HIS COLLEAGUES PLEASED The President this afternoon sent to the Senate the nomination of Mr. Wm. L. Wilson of West Virginia, to be Postmaster General. The fact that President Cleveland in- tended to appoint Mr. Wilson to the position has been known for several days to the most intimate friends of Mr. Wilson and to Mr. Wilson -himself. The selection is one, it is stated, which the President made of his own motion without any urging from Mr. Wilson's friends and largely in recog- nition of Mr. Wilson's services in leading the tariff fight in the House. No member has been on more intimate terms with the President than has the chairman of the ways and means commit- tee, and his speeches in the House have al- ways been understood to voice the opinion of the administration. It was noted yes- terday that Mr. Wilson’s speech upon the amendment to the post office appropriation bill to compel railway mail clerks to live at the end of their routes—perhaps the last speech he will make as a Congressman— was an earnest plea to Congress to support the Postmaster General. = Cengratalating Mr. Wilson. When Representative Wilson of West Vir- giria came to the House today he was sur- rcunded by members who congratulated him upon his‘ forthcoming promotion to the cabinet. The nomination had not then reached the Capitol and Mr. Wilson told his friends they were premature in their congratulations, but was apparently in a good-natured frame of mind. His friends say the appointment has been determined upon for some time. Representative Wilson spoke freely to a reporter of the fact that he had known for several days the President's intention. Being somewhat run down in health and wearied from his work in Congress, Mr. Wilson will rest for some time, probably for a month before assuming the duties of his new office. Part of his vacation will be posséd in West Virginia and part of it in visiting friends elsewhere. Democrats Pleased. Democrats express very general gratifica- tion at the selection of Mr. Wilson for a cabinet place. Though there was no es- pecial quarrel between the democrats of Congress and Mr. Bissell, there was-always a strangeness. The pressure he was sub- jected to by members and Senators with relation to post office appointments was often annoying to him, and disappoint- ments and delays were sometimes irritat- ing to the members. But they are speak- ing in very complimentary terms of his management of the Post Office Depart- ment, and say that he has the business in such shape as to make it easy for his suc- cessor. it is understood that Mr. Wilson had the choice of the Mexican commission or this aypointment, and he selected to be Post- master General. The cabinet position will not pay him as well as would the Mexican mission, but he preferred the greater honor to the larger salary. Mr. Wilson is not a man of wealth, and the obligation which falls upon a cabinet officer to entertain is kely to render the position an expense rather than a profit to him. Democratic members say that it will be very gratifying to them to have in the de- partment a man with whom they have been long pleasantly associated, but that they are above all glad that Mr. Wilson should receive the honor. Mr. Wilson is one of the most popular men in the House, and if it depended upon the votes of his colleagues, they would give him the high- est office he could aspire to. The comment of many was that for his sake they would have been glad to see him get a better and less exacting position. There is no suspicion or intimation of any sort of conflict or disagreement be- tween Mr. Bissell and the President. Approved by Senators, Senator Faulkner of West Virginia was presiding over the Senate when the nomi- nation of Mr. Wilson was presented to the Senate. Mr. Faulkner said the appointment was splendid, and could not be better. He was pleased to have West Virginia so rec- ognized and so ably represented in the cabinet. Senators Voorhees and Vilas also spoke highly of the appointment. Senators Vilas and Mitchell of Oregon, members of the post office committee, said they expected to see the appointment confirmed at the first executive session without going over a day, as is the usual custom with appointments. Mr. Wilson remained in the room of the ways and means committee for some time after his nomination had been sent to the Senate, and many members, regardless of party, found him and offered their con- gratulations. : The New Cabinet Officer. The appointment of Mr. Wilson to the cabinet is likely to give general satisfaction in this city, where Mr. Wilson has long been a prominent and popular resident. He holds the degree of doctor of laws, cun- ferred upon him by the Columbian Uni- versity in 1883, and.in 1884 he was ap- pointed one of the regents of the Smith- sonian Institute. Mr. Wilsor was born in Jefferson county, Va., in 1843, and was educated at Charlestown and at the Co- jumbian University, where he graduated in sé). He served in the confederate army \d after the war was for several years a ofessor at Columbian. He afterward re- furned to Charlestown, where he ent upon the practice of law. His first ap- pearance in politics was in i880, when he was a delegate to the national democratic convention at Cincinnati. In 1883 he re- signed the position of president of the West Virginia University, which he had heid fcr only a few months, having been nominated and elected to the Forty-eighth Congress. He had been re-elected to every term since until last fall, when he was de- feated for the Fifty-fourth Congress. William L. Wilson is best known to the countyy in connection with his recent tariff work in Congress. He has been a tariff student since he first entered congressional life in 1882, but it was not until the present Congress that he became chairman of the Ways and means committee, and as such, TWO CENTS. the official leader of the majority in the House. But at all times during his twelve years in Congress he has been relied on by his party as one of the most eloquent, scholarly and logical advocates of tariff re- vision. He received good committee assignments in Congress from the first, going on the judiciary, appropriations and ways and means. It was in tariff work, however, that Mr. Wilson found his forte, and he made an exhaustive study of it. In the four con- gressional eras of recent tariff change—the Morrison bill, the Mills bill, the McKinley bill and the Wilson bill—Mr. Wilson took a leading part. He did much of the work of constructing the Mills ill, and he and Representative Breckinridge started on a tour of platform tariff speeches throughout the east in in- dorsement of President Cleveland’s tariff revision message. The two orators re- ceived hearty welcome in Boston and New York, and their speeches formed a mem- orable event in the tariff discussion of the day. During the Mills-Crisp contest for the speakership Mr. Wilson cast his lot with Mr. Mills, and when Mr. Crisa won he designated Mr. Springer chairman of the ways and means committee. When re- elected Speaker, however, Mr. Crisp named Mr, Wilson chairman of ways and means. and in this capacity he framed the meas- ure which ‘was the basis of the present tariff law. Considered by, Committee. Senator Vilas, as chairman of the com- mittee on post offices and post roads, in- stead of calling a meeting of the commit- tee to consider Mr. Wilson’s nomination, polled the members of the committee, and obtained unanimous consent to make a favorable’ report. An effort was made to secure an execu- tive session for the immediate cons‘dera- tien of the nomination, but, owing to the fact that some of the Senators stated that they would insist that the nomination should take the usual course—be reported at one executive session and He over until the next—this plan was abandoned. The report will be made at the next executive session. —_——_+2+______ ORGANIZING FOR A FIGHT Against the Senate Insertions in Ap- propriation BIL The members of the House appropriation committee are organizing for a hard fight on the new appropriations inserted in the bills by the Senate. It is predicted that the session will close in a hot row over this and that the bills will get torn to pieces. The action of Gorman yesterday in with- drawing the financial amendment from the sundry civil bill is looked upon as insuring the passage of all the bills and rendering very much less probable the calling of an extra session. The only thing now that is known to threaten an extra session on account of appropriations is the Hawalian cable amendment to the diplomatic bill, and it looks now az if the House would force that out of the bill. It 18 possible that the great amount of money carried by the general deficiency bill in the way of donations and extra compen- sation to congressional employes will strike the President so unfavorably that he will veto that bill, If he does, however, it will not cause an extra session, since it would either be passed over his veto or the government would get along without it until the next regular session. Mr. Gorman’s statement in the Senate of the ‘enormous increase in the appropriation bills and the great shortage in revenues gives the economists of the House a weapon for their fight. But there is a spirit of recklessness shown, which may be too strong to be overcome by either threats or arguments. o NAVAL BILL CHANGES. Reductions Made by the Senate Com- mittee on Appropriations. The Senate committee on appropriations has concluded its consideration of the naval appropriation bill. The House bill is amended so as to provide for two battle- ships instead of three, and for six compos- ite Nght draft gunboats and three torpedo boats. There is also a reduction of $150,000 in the House appropriation for armor and armament. The total appropriation carried by the bill is $29,000,000, a_ reduction of $2,639,798 from the total cfrried by the bill as it passed the House. The principal items of reduction are the following: One hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars for pay of the navy; $11,000 for the naval station at Newport, R. L; $150,000 for a modern battery for the Hartford; $159,558 for reserve supply of guns for ships of the navy, $130,000 for reserve projectiles for ships of the navy, $242,500 for addi- tional supply of torpedoes, $00,000 for re- serve guns for auxiliary cruisers, $110,240 for the Brooklyn navy yard, $30,000 for the League Island navy yard, $30,000 for the Port Royal, S. C., naval station, $100,000 for the dry dock at Algiers, La.; $40,000 for the Mare Island_navy yard, $750,000 for the dry dock at Puget Sound, Wash.; $60,000 for the naval station at Key West, Fla.; $100,000 for construction and repair of vessels, $75,000 for the purchase and preser- vation of stores, tools, etc., at navy yards and stations, $100,000 for new machinery for the Hartford, $100,000 for new machiney for the Chicago, $450,000 for armor and arma- ment of vessels. The only increase is that of $100,000 for the purchase of forging and manufacture ef guns for batteries for training ships and a reserve supply for ships of the navy. Authority is given the Treasury Depart- ment to credit Medical Director Philip S. Wales with the sum of $44,000 to relieve him of charges against him on the pay- ment of vouchers. The Senate committee struck out the item under the head of the Washington yard of $8,000 to convert the building now used as a museum into officers’ quarters. Two new buildings at the Navy Observatory to be used as quarters for observers, to cost $5,000 each, are provided for by the Senate committee instead of four, which were given by the House. ——______ THE PEOPLE’S PARTY. No. Truth in the Story of Chairman Taubeneck Being Denounced. Representative John Davis of. Kansas, a prominent member of the people’s party, made an emphatic denial today of the re- port that the Reform Press Association adopted resolutions at its recent meeting denouncing Chairman Taubeneck of the People’s party. “There is absolutely no truth in the re- pert, and I cannot imagine how it started,” said Mr. Davis. “No official action was taken at the meeting condemning Mr. Taubeneck, and there was very little criti- cism of him. All the opposition was fos- tered by two men, McLallan of Kansas and D. N. Morgan of Missouri, and it was mostly confined to a small caucus which*| did not amount to much. Four delegates from the convention were here yesterday— Messrs. Tracy, Park, McDowell and Bur- kett. We held a meeting last night, at wich Mr. Taubeneck was present, and I presided. We discussed the status of the party and the prospects for its work, and the best of feeling prevailed.” ees THE GRANT STATUE. Not Artistic Enough to Be in the Capi- tol Rotunda. ~ The joint library committee of Congress has disapproved the application of the Grand Army encampment committee to place the statue and pedestal of General U. 8S. Grant, executed under its direction, in the rotunda of the Capitol building. The committee was unanimous in its opin- ion that the head of the statue did not convey a correct representation of the fea- tures of General Grant, besides being other- wise considered inartistic. Before deciding the committee invited several Senators and members of the House who knew General Grant in life to view the statue, and their conclusion was en- tirely in accord with that of the commit- tee. The work was executed by Franklin BROKE THE BOYCOTT The Seaboard Air Line “Obtains an Injunction. THE N.C. AND SP. 1. "0 BE ANOUTLET Fighting the Southern Rai!way and Steamship Association. THE CASE AT ATLANTA ATLANTA, Ga., February 28.—King & Spalding, representing the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company, applied yesterday to Judge Lumpkin of the superior court of Fulton county for a temporary injunction, restraining the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis railway from taking part in the boycott instituted by the Southern Railway and Steamship Association against the Seaboard. After retaining the papers for twelve hours, Judge Lumpkin granted the injunc- tion, which will, until finally decided, cut a large hole in the boycotting efforts of the Southern Railway and Steamship Asso- clation, since ii gives the Seaboard an out- Jet to the north, the lack of which is like- ly to prove the most serious injury to the boycotted line. The boycott goes into ef- fect tomorrow. F The Seaboard according to all expressions coming from its officers has determined to fight the boycott. The ground for pray~ ing the injunction against the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis is the vicla- tion of a contract between this road and the Seaboard, which comes into Atlanta over the North Carolina and St. Louis leased line, the Western and Atlantic and the further ground that there is a clause in the Western and Atlantic lease which makes the boycott illegal. Taking Out the Victims of the White Ash Mine. LOS CERRILLOS, N. M., February 28.— Today it was believed that all the victims of the White Ash mine explosion had been taken out of the mine. The dead number twenty-five, and the injured eighteen, some of whom may die. The names of the ycunded are not known, as they were taken to their homes as fast as remioved frem the mines, and no record was made of their names in the excitement. Late at night eleven of the miners were discovered huddling together in one drift, where they had been overcome by gas. The list of dead is as follows: J. B. Dona- hue, pit boss; Johnny Bock, trapper; Sam Hardesty, ——. Ellingsworth, Roy Phillips, William Jones, Sam Jones, W. T. McCart, Tom Whitey, John Sweeney,John Eathorng, Tom Holliday,Jules Desifant, father; Henry Desifant, son; Louis Desifant, son; Angleo Ruffati, Richard Detro, Emil Homel, George Spaite, August Leplat, D. Summitis, Henry _ Harben, Mike Ryan, Alexander Kelly, one name unknown. ———_——_ THE STOLEN FAIR WILL. An Offer to Tell the Thief's Name for $15,000, SAN FRANCISCO, February 28.—Charles L. Fair has received a second letter from an unknown correspendent at Brookings, S. D., stating that he witnessed the ab- straction of the will of the late James G. Fair from the ceunty clerk’s office on Janu- ary 28, and offering to reveal the identity of the thief for £15,000. The writer gives Fair until February 25 to remit the money. At the same time he wrote to the attorneys for the executors, making the same proposition. The recip- ients paid no attention to the letters, but there is much speculation concerning the clumsy but persistent blaqkmailer. ——— TO REACH THE JURY NEXT WEEK. The End of the Long Hayward Trial in Sight. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., February 28.— The end of the long-drawn-out Hayward trial for the murder of Miss Ging, is in sight. The defense will conclude its case today, the state will take two days for re- buttal and the defense half a day for sur- rebuttal. The address to the jury will consume from two to three days, and the charge part of another day, so that the case will probably go to the jury Thursday of next week. This is the sixth week of trial. The first witness today was James Ward, and his evidence was intended to further im- peach that of M. D. Wilson, the livery man. ——— Anxtety for the Caucase. PHILADELPHIA, February 28.—There is some anxiety felt in shipping circles con- cerning the safety of the Belgian tank steamship Caucase, Capt. Alix, which sail- ed from Seville, Spain, on the Ist instant, for this port, and has not been heard from since. She should have arrived here under ordinary conditions not later than the 17th. ee Mr. Cox’s Appeal Dismissed. - ANNAPOLIS, Md., February 28—The court of appeals today decided the appeal of Francis M. Cox of Charles county, Md., who resides in Washington, as clerk to the Senate committee on printing. The register of voters of Charles county had stricken Mr. Cox's name from the regis- tration books, as he was at the time a resident of Washington. The court dis- missed the appeal, saying that it had not been taken within a weck as required by the law and was not, therefore, properly in court. ———__ FOR REASSESSMENTS. In Cases Where Minor Errors Have Effected a Stay. The Commissioners today transmitted to Chairman Heard of the Senate District committee the draft of a bill to authorize them to re-assess general taxes and assess- ments in certain cases, recommending im- mediate action on the same. The draft of the bill was prepared by the attorney for the District and is designed to provide for the relevying of all taxes and assessments invalidated in the future by judgments and decisions which are not based upon the merits of the case. Several hundred thou- sand dollars of taxes and assessments have been declared invalid by judgments of the courts in consequence of technical irregu- larities in the proceedings in levying the taxes, such as the defective description of the property and minor bookkeeping errors, notwithstanding the property affected was equitably chargeable therewith. Le Clemency to a Retired Officer. The President has exercised clemency in the case of Second Lieut. J. D. Smyser, a retired officer of the marine corps, now en- gaged in the coal business at Perth Amboy, N. J. Smyser was convicted by court-mar- tial several months ago of non-payment of debts and was sentenced to dismissal. The President has directed that Lieut. Smyser be allowed until September next to liqui- date his indebtedness, with the understand- ing ‘that if this condition is met, his sen- tence will be remitted, but that otherwise the sentence will be carried into effect.