Evening Star Newspaper, January 2, 1896, Page 1

THE EVENING STAR. PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Cor. 11th Btrest, by The Evening Star Newspaper Company, 8. H. KAUFFMANN, Pres’t. Kow York Office, 19 Potter Building, paencoss Boe Rtoemnts ‘The Evening Star ts served to subscribers in the city by covriers, on their own =e 10 cents wess, or ies at the enter z hy on. Ay saitmaay ere in the United States or Canada—postage prepald-—O0 cence per mont! Saturday Quiet is Sheet Star, $1 per sear, with fereien portage ai o“Gentered atthe Post Ofice at Washington, D. c., ‘as second-class mall matter.) 7A mall subscriptions must be pald tn advance. Rater of advertisinz made kncwn on application. Che Len ng Star. No. 13,364. WASHINGTON, D.C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 189 3- TWELVE PAGES. TWO a a a ee EN eee If you want today’s news today you can find it only in The Star. ON CARLISLE’S ON CARLISLE’S PLAN |CHANOLER'SsiGcoMMIsSION] IT 1QQKS |IKE PEACE [PROPOSED BOND) ISSUEISQME COMMEN 7 /JUSTICE ALVEY's PLACEI WANTS MInDO MUD IT LOOKS LIKE PEACE PROPOSED BOND: ISSUE SOM E COM M EN T JUSTICE ALVEY’ s PLACE WANTS MORE WORK —__s—_— The Bond Bill Practically What He Has Recommended. 80 SAYS A PROMINENT REPUBLICAN What the Secretary Favored in His Reports of 1893 and i894. PRESENT OPPOSITION HIS Referring to Secretary Carlisle's publish- ed interview opposing the passage of the bond bill reported by Chairman Dingley from the committee on ways and means, and the solid democratic opposition to it, a prominent republican said today to a Star reporter: “The Secretary's efforts to defeat the bond Lill were remarkable in view of the fact that the measure was drawn on substantial- ly the same lines as he himself had recom- mended in his annual reports of 189 and 1804. In his annual report of December 19, 1893, after enumerating the different classes of bonds authorized by the resumption act— the ten-year 5 per cents, the fifteen-year 41-2 per cents and the thirty-year 4 per cents—Secretary Carlisle said: “In the present condition of the public credit nothing less than the existence of a great and pressing financial emergency would, in my opinion, justify the issue and gale of any of these bonds. On the first class the interest would amount, at the ma- turity of the bonds, to one-Half the prin- cipal; on the second class it would amount to more than two-thirds of the principal, and on the third class it would exceed the principal by 20 per cent. If any one of these methods of raising money were now pre- sented as an original measure for considera- tion In Congress, I am satisfied it would not receive the approval of that body, or of tne people. Whatever* may have been their merits nearly » quarter of a century ago, when the credit of the government was to a certain extent impaired by the existence ofa large interest-bearing public debt, and the general use of a depreciated paper cur- Tency, not then redeemable in any kind of coin, our financtal standing is now so high that our public obligations, bearing any of the rates of interest authorized by the law referred to, would have to be sold at a Premium so great as to prevent large class- es of our people, who might otherwise invest in them, from becoming purchasers. The United States 4 per cent bonds, payable in 1907, are now selling at a rate which yields investors less than 3 pér eent upon their cost, and I am confident that .a bond bearing interest at the rate of 3 per cent, payable quarterly aud redeemable at the option of the government after five years, could be readily sold at par in our own country.” “Secretary Carlisle then went on to rec- ommend that the authority now existing should be so modified as to empower him to igsue the bonds in denominations of $25 and its multiples. He thought that, in this way, they could be placed as a popular loan through the subtreasuries and_post offices. He also suggested the issue of obligations to an amount not exceeding $50,000,000, bear- ing interest at a rate not greater than 3 per cent, and payable after one year from date, as an expedient for meeting deficiencies in the revenue. Almost Exact Agreement. “If you will take the Secretary’s program as given above and place it beside the new bond bill, you will find that the two finan- cial projects are in almost exact agree- ment. There are slight differences on minor peints; as, for example, in the inter- est payments, which are quarterly in Mr. Carlisle’s scheme and half yearly in the bond bill. But on some other details the two plars are absolutely identical and, tak- ing them as a whole, they run on the same lines. Both the Secretary’s plan and the new bond bill refer exclusively to ‘coin’ bonds. There is not a word in Mr. Car- lisle’s recommendations to suggest that the bonds asked for by him should be made payable in gold. That suggestion is not mooted. “In his report of December 3, 1894, he re- newed his recommendations of the year. ‘As the authority,” he said, ‘to issue and sell bonds already exists, and the present state of our financial legislation compels its occasional exercise, I repeat the recom- mendations made in my last annual report that, in the interest of the government and people, power be conferred upon the Sec- retary of the Treasury to negotiate loans at a lower rate of interest and at a shorter term than are now allowed.’ Here, again, there is no mention of gold bonds. It was coin bonds that the Secretary called for— short-term, low-interest coin bonds, of the very pattern which the republicans of the House have now bestowed upon him, so far as their power of bestowal goes. “Coin” and Gold. “The government has always used the word ‘coin’ in its bonds, and as the coin Feceived by the treasury on its Icans has invaribaly been gold the same kind of coin has always been paid in return. The good faith of the government has always been preserved, and there was no serious doubt of this until the administration began to discredit it. The mdst serious objection to substituting the word ‘gold’ for ‘coin’ in the new bonds was chat it would tend to discredit the bonds now outstanding, in which the word ‘coin" is used. But no one need have any fear that when the govern- ment borrows gold it will endeavor to dis- charge its obligations in any money leas Satantes in the financial centers of the there are only two features in the bond Bill as reported by the ways and means committee and passed by the House, which are added to the measure, twice recom- mended by Secretary Carlisle—one requir- ing that the proceeds of the bonds shail be devoted exclusively to redemption purposes, and the other that all bonds sha!l be first offered to the American people as a popu- lar loan, and it seems clear that it is these features, especially the. last, that has arcused the antagonism of the administra- tien. “it will b> observed also that the limitation of the amount of certificates of indebted- ness to fifty millions, which the Secretary now criticises, Is exactly what the Secretary himself recommended in 1893 and 1804." —— ee Personal Mention. G. E. Warner and C. B. Warner, promi- nent citizens of Syracuse, are at the Eb- bitt for a week's sightseeing sojourn. Charles Austin Bates, the New York banker, is at the Ebbitt. Mrs, Bates ac- companies him. Wm. K. Vanderbilt, jr, and F. A. Flie- tetner of New Yori are at the Arlington on their way to Biltmcre, the North Caro- lina estate of George Vanderbilt. Capt. H. von Gontard, a brother of the new son-in-law ‘of “millionaire brewer Busch, and who was best man at the re- cent famous wedding, is at the Arlington. Dr. E. F. Galligan and J. W. Quirk of Taunten, Mass., are at the Raleigh. E. H. Wells, the New York politician, and Dr. C. M. Drake of Knoxville, a lead- ing C. and O. railgoad-official, are at the Raleigh. Lieut. C. J. Bousch-of the Naval Acad- emy is in the city on leave of absence. Prof. C. J. Jilson of Pittsbure is the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Callum, 1735 De Sales street. Prof. Jilison was one of Dr. Cook’s party on his scientific expedi- tion to the arctic regicns in $4, and suf- — shipwreck off the coast ,of Green- land How He Proposes to Reguiate Interstate Commere3. His Bill Proposes a Body Too Large to Be Under Railway Control— His Comment on It. Senator Chandler is thoroughly in earnest in the support of his bill, introduced Tues- day, in which he proposes to enlarge the interstate commerce commission, so as to make that body one-half the size of the United States Senate. “With all due respect to the interstate commerce commission,” said he, talking of the bill to a Star reporter. “it is impossible, I think, for any commission of tive men to stand up against the pressure which the enormous railway influence, with its capital of $2,200,000,000, is able to bring to bear against them. My bill proposes to make the commission consist of one man from every state, and have the commission appoint a chairman and four cf its members as an executive committee. That would really leave the present interstate commerce com- mission the executive committee, with a working power extending the year around, as it now has. My bill proposes to pay to the executive committee the same salaries Row paid to the interstate commerce com- mission. It would thus really amount to adding to the commission the advice and co-operation of a body of men selected from every state in the Union. This would make, if the men were properly chosen, a body of men which could, not be controlied by the railroads. They might own a few of the! and occasionally one might get ready to go out of the commission and becomo a rail- road corporation attorney, as Aldace F. Walker did when he left the commission, but certainly there would be more than a majority who would be relied Upon not to be controlled by the railroads.” “You would not have the entire commis. sicn constantly in session, then, Senator asked the Star reporter. “No, my bill provides that they shall meet four times a year, and also provides for their payment at the rate of $10 per day during forty days in the year. That would mean an average quarter of a ses- sion of ten days in which they could advise and co-operate with the commission, thus bringing to its aid the information and judgment of men from every state, who would, fresh from the field of operation of the railroads of their sections, be able to give the executive committee, which would be the real working heart of the commis- sion, very valuable assistance.” “The executive committee you have to continue constantly at then?" “Yes. It would practically be the same commission and have the same sort of work as at present, except that it would have the advice and, co-operation of the mer from the various states, who would, on the other hand, able to act as a check upon the twork of the executive com- mittee, should that be necessary.” Mr. Elkins’ Interruption. Just then Senator Elkins, who is a heavy owner in railroads, came along and lis- tered a moment with a smile to Senator Chandler’s remarks. “Come on, Chandler,” he said, “let’s go down and have some lunch.” “Wait till I fitiish telling the newspapers how I am going to circumvent you rail- road fellows with a commission half the size of the Senate,” said Senator Chandler, with a sly twinkle of the eye. “Yes,” said Elkins, smilingly, “and you have your pocket full of passes now, I warrant.” “Not a pass,” said Senator Chandler, sol- emnil. “I haven’t had one for twelve would work, years. “Then come alang and I will give you one now,” said Elkins, as they turned away toward the restaurant. Provisiona of the Bill. Senator Chandler’s bill ‘provides that the interstate commerce commission shall be enlarged to a number equal ta the states of the Union, one member to be appointed from each state. The commission shall hold regular sessions in Washington four times annually, and all its acts and proceedings shall be authenticated by votes adopted by a majcrity of the members duly record- ed. It is to choose annually by ballot a chairman, secretary and an executive com- mittee of five, of which tho chairman shall be a member. All power and authority conferred by law upon the irterstate com- merce comm(‘ssion at present shall be held and exercised by the enlarged commission, and when the said commission is not in session the executive committee shall hold and exercise such power and perform such duties with the same force and effect as if the commission were in session. The members of the commission are to be paid $10 per day when the commission is in ses- sion and their actual traveling expenses, with an allowance of $3 per day for sub- sistence, the total number of days of the session not to exceed forty per annum. The chairman, secretary and members of the executive cominittee are to reveive in lieu of the per diem allowance the salaries provided by law for the members and of- ficers of the present commission. All mem- bers of the commission are to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Sen- ate, but it remains in the power of the forty-five commissioners themselves to de- termine the membership of the executive committee, which would be really the com- mission itself in most cases. —____.».—____ THE BATTLE SHIP TEXAS. She is Ordered to the Norfolk Navy Yard. The Texas has been ordered to proceed to the Norfolk navy yard, where the extensive changes recommended by the inspection board will probably be made. First, how- ever, the ship will be surveyed by a board of experts, whose duty it will be to esti- mate the cost of the work and the time that will be consumed in making the al- terations, and if, as is expected, this meces- sitates putting the ship out of commission the officers and crew will be distributed among the other vessels that are short in their complements, and some may go to make up a crew for the ram Katahdin, which will soon become the property of the government. —_-e-_______ JUSTICE PECKHAM. He Will Be Given a Dinner by Secre- tary and Mrs. Lamont. Judge Peckham of New York, the newly appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court, will be the guest of honor at a din- ner to be given by Secretary and Mrs. La- mont tomorrow evening. He will arrive here tomorrow morning, and will un- doubtedly call on the President during the day. Although he has been duly nominated and confirmed, he has not yet been commis- sioned. He will receive his commission to- morrow, and will probably qualify the same Judge Peckham will reside at the Arling- ton, where he has taken apartments. Mem- bers of the Supreme Court and a number of: Senators, including Senator Hill, have been invited to meet him tomorrow night at Sec- retary Lamont’s. A reception will follow the dinner, Monday, when the Supreme Court assembles, Justice Peckham will take the oath of office and sit for the first time in court. He will occupy the end seat on the extreme left of the-chief justice, just vacated by Justice White, who has taken the seat on the extreme fright, formerly occupied by the late Justice Jackson. o-—_____ Consul Recognised. The President has recognized Frank Frick, ir., a8 Portuguese vice consul at-Baltimore. Repudiation of Jameson All Along the Line. —_+ TRANSVAAL INVASION 70 CEASE Action Taken bv the South African oo Directors. ANOTHER CHAMBERLAIN NOTE LONDON, January 2.—When business opened on the stock exchange today it was néticed that the operators were experienc- ing a decided fcelirg of uneasiness, due to the serious news from the Transvaal Re- public. “Kaffirs,” ctherwise South African securities, and Charteres, the securities uf the British chartered companies, opened 3% Icwer. DeBeers opened 2% lower, Gold Fields deferred, 8% lower; East Rands, 34% lewer. Kaffirs, however, subsequently rallied on the receipt of a Berlin dispatch saying that Dr. Jameson and his expeditionary force and six Maxim guns had arrived at Johan- nesburg, and that he was in friendly com- municaticn with President Kruger. Consols dropped 9-16. The Times cf today asserts that Queen Victoria has peremptorily ordered the Duke of Fife, hustand of Princess Louise of Wales, to resign his directorship of the Chartered British South Africa Company. Later in the day there was a decidedly better feeling on the stock exchange. The excitement caused by the recent events in the Transvaal Republic subsided, and ‘‘Kaf- firs’’ recovered to within 1-4 to 3-4 of Tues- day’s prices. Two failures were announced during the day. Another Stntement by Mr. Chumber- Inin. The secretary of state for the colonies, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, has issued an- other statement regarding events in the Transvaal. It is as follows: “The high commissioner is leaving Cape Town this afterncon for Pretoria to deal with the situation in the furtherance of a peaceful and satisfactory settlement, in obed:ence to my requisition. (Signed) “CHAMBERLAL The Chartered Company directors have telegraphed to the ma@maging director at Cape Town directing him to immediately inform Dr. Jameson that the company dis- sents from and objects to the action he has taken, and requ‘res him to return im- mediately to the company’s lands. The Duke of Fife denies that he has been ordered by Queen Victoria to resign his dl- rectorship of the Chartered British South African Company, and adds that he may Possibly issue a statement on the subject. It is stated that President Kruger has telegraphed to Colonial Secretary Cham- berlain pledging his government that the Beers shall temporarily adopt a passive at- titude toward Dr. Jameson's force on its arrival outside of Johannesburg. An im- portant feature of this arrangement _he- tween Mr. Chamberlain and _ President Kruger is that all responsibility for hos- tility will rest with the Chartered South Africa Compery. The following dispatch, received here, is undated, but it is presumed that it was sent on Sunday or Monday. There is no in- dication, however, that Dr. Jameson's action was publicly known. It was dis- patched from Cape Town: “JOHANNESBURG, Transvaal.—German speculators here have circulated a petition to President Kruger assuring him of loyal suppert, but only twenty signatures were obtained. Thie action has created an ex- ceedingly bitter feeling against the Ger- mans. At a mass meeting of Australians Qere the chairman proposed to raise mount- ed and foot companies. The attendance st the meeting sang ‘God Save the Queen’ and ‘Rule, Britannia.’ Feeling has been greatly stirred by the appearance of a number of Boers riding about the streets. At the Standard Theater on Saturday night, dur- ing the performance of Othello, the bani played a German Volksli. The music was drowned by a continuous torrent of groans, hootings and hissings. The band then Played ‘God Save the Queen,’ and the au- dience rose and cheered vociferously till the last strein.” The Censure of Dr. Jameson. The Times in an editorial thinks that Colonial Secretary Chamberlain’s censure of Dr. Jameson for the invasion of ‘the Transvaal in the absence of the man who has undeniably rendered great and distin- guished services to his country is some- what precipitate. The Laps ps Evening Telegraph publishes a privat® letter from Buluwayo, South Africa, dated November 1, stating that there was talk there even at that time of the English seizing the Transvaal, and that the Chartered South African Company’s troops had gone south for that purpose under secret orders with ten guns and many wagons. The Berlin correspondent of the Times says: “The crisis is clearly endangering the anglo-German relations. Public opin- ion is excited and angry, and without doubt the government will interfere, hecause re- lations have gradually arisen between the Transvaal and Germany which have as- sumed, in the public mind, almost the shape of a moral protectorate by Germany over the Transvaal.”” The Berlin correspondent of the Dally News says: “I have reason to doubt the correctness of the statement that Presi- dent Kruger has offered Germany a pro- tectorate over the Transvaal. Such a step would imply a violation of conventions with England.” The Times trays that there is no authén- tie information of any sort relative to Transvaal in Londen beyond Mr. Chamber- lain’s statement, which has already been cabled to the Associated Press. In its financial article the Times thinka that the outcome of the crisis in the Trans- vaal is bound to be an improved adminis- tration there, and that it behooves holders of African shares to keep cool and not to throw them away in a panic. What the Engiish Say. A dispatch dated Wednesday from Cape Town to the Times strongly supports the letter from the British residents of Johan- nesburg, appealing for assistance to Dr. Jameson, the substance of which was ca- bled yesterday morning to the Associated Press, and adds: “The advice to fold their hands and await the good pleasure of the kind Kruger, who is yearning to admit the Uitlanders to the franchise, if only they will refrain from demanding it, is a joke which the lapse of years has ¢eprived of its savor. The demand for the franchise is right and just, and the danger increases every day it is withheld. “In Cape Colony, and, we believe, in the Orange Free States also, sympathy is felt for the Uitlanders. The latter cannot now recede, and their only danger is from themselves. We can make allowance for a few Germans, but that the Afri- kanders and: the British colonists, with their traditions of freedom and cohesion, can betray the reform of the army by splitting the phalanx, we cannot believe until forced to do so.” ‘The article bitterly attacks the mining millionaire, J. B. Robinson, whose crgans support President Kruger, and says: “At the supreme moment, when the last chance of peacefully obtaining their just rights hangs in the balance and when the split between capital and labor is -one thing that may enable President Kruger to continue snapping his fingers at the Uitlanders’ claims, Mr. Robinson loyally assists to foster the split.” The President Advised to Wait Until the Senate Has Acted. Result of the Finance Committee Meeting Today May Cause the An- nouncement to Be Made at Once. The friends of the President have been advising him against making the contem- plated issue of bonds before the Senate has bad time to act. It is understood that he was rot disposed to wait, and that he yielded the point so far as to delay tke matter until after the finance committee hed acted on the bond bill, and then to let his futvre course be decided upon accord- ingly. It was his intention, therefore, not to have the bond issue before Saturday. Whether the failure of the Senate commit- tee to take action today will cause him to again chenge his mind, and go back to his original intention to make an immediate issue, is yet uncertain. It'was demonstrat- ed at today’s meeting that nothing satis- factory to the President couid come from the committee. Still, Mr. Cleveland may be disposed to wait until after the meeting to- morrow. The proposition of Senator El- kins to prohibit the sale of bonds hy pri- vate contract, which under the rule comes up in the Senate tomo Ww, adds an em- barrassment to the situatioa for the Presi- cent, but his friends, In a:lvising delay in the bond issue, say that they can prevent action on the resolution by debate, and compel it to lie over for another day or so. In all this, the only thing is a play for pesition. The bonds are to be issued, as heretofore indicated, and the existence of the contract is not denied, nor are the terms announced disputed. ——___+-e+ ‘THE PRESIDENT!S PLANS. He Has Not Gone Hunting but May Do So Soon. The President and Mrs, Cleveland will give a dinner at the White House tonight in honor of the members of the cabinet and the ladies of their families. This fact disposes of the rumor current this morning that the President had arranged to leave here today for a short season of hunting In this vicinity. The rumor, however,” may prove true with respect-to some other day before or after Thursday, the 9th instant, which Is the date fixed by thé President for the reception in honor of the diplomatic corps. The President has emgagements of this kind for every week-up to the close of the social season, so it-is extremely im- probable that he will leawe-tae city for more than a day or two at a.time before the beginning of the Lentom period. He is said to be tired out with the constant strain he has been under since his return from his ducking trip to! Hatteras. The financial situation and the Venezuelan con- troversy have added considerably to his multifarious official duties, “and he was nearly worn out by his fatiguing experi- ence at the New Year day reception. Con- sequently there will be no .sui should he soon retire to some quiet retreat in this vicinity for a few days’ retexation in fish- ing or gunning. Again, ——————-+o-___. ANOTHER MESSAGE oo This Time It Will Re om the Mieara- gua Canal Question. It is expected that the Prosident Will sena another important message to Congress in a short time in regard to the wisdom and propriety of legislation for the completion of the Nicaraguan canal! The report of the board of engineers which recently in- spected the route of the canal for the bene- fit of the government will! form the basis of the message. The board reported gener- ally that another and more extensive sur- vey was necessary to determine the prac- ticability of the completion of the canal under the present project, and that at any rate the work would cost many million dol- lars more than the original estimates. it is understood that the President will call attention to the great importance of the subject and emphasize the growing nece3- sity for a definite plan of action if the Uni- ted States is to have ultimate control of the waterway, but it is not. known exactly what course of action he will recommend in the premises. It is saéd, however, that he will most probably indorse the recom- mendation of the engincer board that an- other survey be made before the govern- ment is finally committed to the enterprise. ABOVE THE NORMAL. The Health Conditions of the City for the Week. ‘The. health of the city during the past week co. tinued to average above the nor- mal. The deaths numbered 107, and the annual death rate was 20.2 per thousand inhabitants as against 22.6 in the corre- sponding period of last year. The principal features of the week’s health hi8tory were the gradual rise in the prevalence of heart troubles, from which there were eleven fatal cases, and from lung maladies, caus- ing thirty-four deaths. There were five deaths from typhoid fever, as compared with four therefrom in the corresponding week of last December. .Malarial diseases pre- sent no phase-of importance, and with the exception of four deaths from diphtheria, the dangerous contagious ailments were in abeyance. The mortality among children under five years of age was forty-one, of which thirty were under one year old. The mortality among this class was mainly pneu- monia and cognate lung maladies, in connec- tion with brain disorders, which are a countable for twenty-nine of these cases. A general review of the pathological con- ditions justifies the conclusion drawn from the death list, that the health of the Dis- trict is abcve the average. ——— Bank Note Circulation, The monthly statement of the controller of the currency shows the amount of na- tional bank notes in circulatian on Decem- ber 31 to have been $213,627,821, an increase for the year of $7,114,168, and a decrease for the month of $243,375. The circulation bused on United States bonds-amounted to $190,616,160, an increase far the year of 348,004, and for the manth of $14,634. The amount of circulation. seeured by law- ful money was $23,011,661, a decrease for the year of $6,834,528, and for-the month of $390,009. The amount of United States registered bonds on deposit to secure cir- culating notes was $21,495,100, and to se- cure public deposits, $15,408,000. ———————— Coinage in Deoémber. The monthly statement of the director of the mint shows coin executed-at the mints or the United States during December, 1895, to have been as follows: Gold, $8,097 145; silver, $75,502; minor coins, $107,836; total, $8,280,573. Notice to Subscribers. Subscribers are earnestly requested to report any irregularity in the de- livery of The Star and also any fail- ure on the part of the carrier to ring the door tell. _ A proper service ean only be main- tained through. the courtesy of sub- scribers in reporting shortcomings. What is Said About the Venezuelan Commission. OPINIONS ARE GENERALLY FAVCRABLE Regret That Some Have Not Wider Reputations. NO OFFICIAL INTERFERENCE The Venezuelan commission is being very generally discussed. As a rule, the opin- icns expressed are not very positive. Com- ments are favorable. The only criticism is that it may not be a commission of that recognized pre-eminence which will give their decisioa great force abroad. This criticism is based entirely upon the idea that their reputations are not wide enough, perhaps; not that they are in any way lacking ability. Many have had the idea that a broad international reputation was possibly of more importance to this com- mission than great legal attainments. In this only is there a suggestion of doubt as to the selections. The members of the ccmmission are all known by those who know them at all to be men of ability, qvalified to give a decision penich: can stand @ most rigid ecrutiay. Offered to the Chief Justice. For instance, Justice Brewer has the reputation among lawyers who practice before the court of being quite the equal of Chief Justice Fuller, yet it is suggested that the office of chief justice would have added to the dignity to the commission. But it is known, of course, that the chief justice felt constrained to decline. When the appointment was first offered to him he took the matter into consideration and formally accepted. Later he decided that he could not spare the time. This may have been from the conviction that the work of the commission would not be con- cluded as speedily as he at first thought. His selection was mads largely on account of the dignity of his office, and when he declined the appointment was given to Brewer, because his associates all regard- ed him as particularly well qualified. like manner Chief Jusiicve Alvey of t Court of Appeals was selected on accoun of his ability and soundness of judgment rather than on account of a great reputa- tion. Away from this locality he is not much known. The name of Coudert is better known abroad. The objection raised by some against White and Gilman is that the general inclination shown by college presidents and college professors during the discussion excited by the President's message has been to be too technical and criticise the attitude of the administration and Congress. The att:tude of the two chosen is not generally known. It really does not mat- ter, however, since they have nothing to do with the question of the application of the Monroe doctrine, but_have simply to ascertain certain facts. Tt ig understood that Mr. Olney rather to have men on the commission who were disposed to be conservative. Some regret is expressed that ex-Minister Phelps was not put on the commission. A ee not generally known is that there was a desire and expectation in some quar- ters that Bryce, the member of the British parliament and author of the “American Commonwealth,” would be asked to serve on the commission. It is not known whether.the tender was ever made to him, but it was talked about. The fact that his sympathies might be expected to be with his own country was not regarded as a bar, but the probability is that he would not have accepted. Some Comments. The comments made are not in any case of note in the line of directly adverse crit- icism, but are merely by way of discus- sicn. The summing up of it all is that the commission is a strong and able one, and that the decision when rendered will command the respect of every one in this country, at least. Senater Hale—‘I think it is a very good commission. I should like to have seen Mr. Phelps or Mr. Lincoln named as a member of it. Some of the men are not so well known as others: that might have been selected. Still, they are able men, and I believe they will be very saticfac- tory. Senator Sherman said: “The commission seems to be a fair and able one, and I think it will be satisfactory to everybody.” Senator Kyle—“I think it is an excellent commission. I don’t see how it could have been better. It includes two great judges, Brewer and Alvey; a great htstorian, White; a geographer of enviable reputa- tion, Gilman, and _a lawyer capable of arguing any case, Coudert.” Senatur Murphy—“The commission is a good one. I believe it will be found to be perfectly satisfactory.” Senator Wilson—“It appears to be a good commission.” Senator Chandler’s Views. Senator Chandler said he thought it was a good, fair commission, ani that their decision would command respect. He said he supposed it was difficult to get men of great national and international repu- tation to serve. Doubtless some of those who have been expected to go on the com- mission had beeri asked to serve and had declined. No one would question the ability of the men selected and their personal fitness to make the investigation desired. Representative Bailey thought it strange that the democratic end of the commis- sion was in the minority, but said he judged that it was a good commission. He was somewhat distrustful, however, of col- lege professors when dealing with a ques- tion of this sort. Representative Dockery of Missouri said he believed the commission was a very able one. He could not speak from per- sonal knowledge, but the men ail had good reputations. If he had any doubt at all, he said, it was as to the wisdom of select- Ing college presidents for such a mission. Senator Voorhees—“The commission is an excellent one, and I do not see how it could have been better. Of course, it is about impossible to appoint such a commission without having some room for criticism, but I have no criticism. I think the com- mission will prove to be highly satisfac- tory. Dudes Sayers of Texas said that he re- garded the commission as an admirable one. He said he knew Justice Brewer and Chief Justice Alvey and had met Coudert. The others he knew by reputa- tion, and he was satisfied that any de- cision rendered by such a commission would have weight. Representative Babcock said he supposed it was a good commission, judging from the general reputation of the men. What Justice Brewer Says. Mr. Justice Brewer, who heads the Ven- ezuelan commission named last night by President Clevelai.d, was seen at his resi- dence today. The justice had not yet re- ceived official notification of his appoint- ment, and in the absence of this he was in some doubt as to his course in accepting the unofficial announcement and communi- cating with the executive authorities. Until this is done he is loata to discuss the com- mission’s plan of procedure, as everything wiil depend upon the conferences with his ted commissioners. Sustice Brewer will doubtless call upon the President and Secretary of State today, and as soon thereafter as the commissions (Continued on Eighth Page.) On the Bench of the Court of Appeals During His Absence. It Will Be Filled by the Designation of Members of the District Supreme Court. The announcement of the appointment of Mr. Chief Justiee Alvey of the Court of Appeals of the District as a member of the Venezuelan commission was received at the city hall today with some feeling of regret. In point of fitness, the appointment Was questioned by no one, but the conse- quent absence from the bench of the chief Jvstice was regretted because, in the opin- jon of many members of the bar, it will be recessary to call to the Court of Appeals during the chief justice’s absence a mem- ber of the District Supreme Court. The business of the Jatter court is so large and pressing at this time, it is said, that the absence of one of its members will be seriously felt. It is for this latter reason that the appointment of Mr. Chief Justice Alvey is regretted. At the present time Judge Cox of the District Supreme Court is engaged in hear- ing the street extension cases, and will be, it is feared, during the time the Venezuela commission will be engaged. There are but six members of the District Supreme Court, and, ordinarily, there are six courts to be filted—two equity, two circuit and two criminal courts. Besides, now and then, a Probate Court, a District Court, and the Court in General Term. The assignment of Judge Cox to the Dis- trict court .o hear the street extension cases has practically reduced the number of the Criminal courts to one, and the call- ing of a member to the Court of Appeals will also reduce the present number of either the Equity or Circuit courts to one. So, it is feared, the selection of Mr. Chief Justice Alvey for this new duty will re- duce the number of members of the Dis- trict Supreme Court available for duty in it to four, a loss which will, it is believed, greatly retard its business. The Law in the Case. The jaw relating to the assignment of members of -the District Suvreme Court as members of the Court of Appeals is as fol- lows, being found in the act of Congress of July 30, IS4, amending the act creating the Court of Appeals: “If any member of the court shall be ab- sent on account of illness or other couse dur.ng the session thereof, or shall be dis- quaiiued from hearing and determining any particular cause~by-havng of counsel therein, or by ha) a8 .jusiice-of the Su- preme Court of District of Columbia prev.ously assed -upon- the merits “thereof, or if for any reason whatever jt shall be impracticable to optatt'a court of three justices, the member_or_members of the court who shall be present shall designate the justice or justices of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia to temporarily fll the vacancy or vacancies so created, and the justice or justices so designated shall sit in sa:d Court of Appeals and per- form the duties of a member thereof while such vacancy or vacancies shail exist; pro- vided, that no justice of the Supreme Court of the D.s:rict of Columbia shall, while on she eet of a Court of sit in review of any judgmeni order which he shall ¥ made; provided, and determined by two jus- tices of the court, without -calling in any of the justices of the Supreme Court of the District of Colzumbia, and provided, that all motions to dismiss appeals and other motions may be heard by two jus- tices, in tho event of the absence or dis- qualification cf any one of the justices as aforesaid; and provided, further, that if in any cause heard before two justices as aforesaid, ine court shall be divided in its opinion, then the judgment or decree of the lower court shall stand affirmed.” They Will Take Turns. +The Court. of Appeals will resume its session Monday next, when, it is expected, Justices Morris and Shepard will Gesignate a member of the District Supreme.Court to sit in the absence of Mr. Chief Justice Alvey. But, as the law prohibits any mem- ber of the Dietrict Supreme at from sit- ting in the Court of Appeals in any case heard and determined by him below, dif- ferent members of the District Supreme Court will, from time to time, during the absence of Mr. Chief Justice Alvey, have to be designated, in order to hate at all times @ competent court. Several times Mr. Jus- tice Morris has deemed himself disqualified to hear cases coming before the Court of Appeals, and on those respective occasions Chief Justice Bingham and Justices Cox and McComas of the District Supreme Court have sat in the Court of Appeals. SS Ss SUES FOR DIVORCE. Mrs. Barry Bulkley Desires to Be Free Again. Attorneys Davidge & Davidge late Tues- day afternoon filed the petition of Mrs. Barry Bulkley, praying for a divorce. At the request of Mrs. Bulkley’s attorneys the papers were not only withheld from publi- cation, but the names of the parties to tke svit had not been entered upon the docket of the court up to noon today. It is understood that Mrs. Bulkley charges her husband with deserting her and their child. No other matter, it is said, is cited in the petition by Mrs. Bulkley as ground for a divorce. Mr. Bulkley, it will be remembered, fig- ured quite prominently in the dinner given by Mrs. Wm. H Slack at Harvey's the latter part of April, 1894, as testified to in the recent controversy before Judge Hag- ner over the custody of Mrs. Slack’s chil- dren. LIKE BARBARA AUB’S CASE. A Girl Who Repudiates Her Former Accusation. JERSEY CITY, N. J., January 2—The New Jersey state board of pardons met in chancery chambers in this city today, with all the members present. While the doings of the court are private, it is known that the case of Charles Atkinson of Camden, who is in the Trenton state prison serving a term of ten years for criminal assault upon his nineteen-year-old stepdaughter, Mary M. Miller, is being considered. Atkinson was conv.ctei upon his daughter's testimony. The girl recently recanted her evidence, declaring that she was not aware of the meaning of the accusation against her father when she testified. 1t is general- ly believed that Atkinson will be pardoned. The court will also consider the case of Henry Kohl, of Newark, who was convicted of killing his‘ cousin, Joseph Pringle, by strangling him. Kohl! was sentenced to be hanged. His case wes appealed, and it was finally decided against him in the United States courts. —_—->—__ TURKEY ACCEPTS. Will Submit to Mediation in the Zeltoun Matter. CONSTANTINOPLE, January 2—The Turkish government has accepted the offer of the representatives of the powers to mediate between the porte and the Arme- nians of Zeitoun, who are surrounded by the Turkish troops. At the request of Sir Philip Currie, the British ambassador, instructions have been sent by the Turkish government to the Vali of Kharput to permit Dr. Hermann M. Bar- 1um, the American missionary, to distrib- ute to the destitute Armenians the gers, funds subscribed for them in Englan Dz. Talmage Asks to Preach Twice on Sundays. PRESBYTERY APPEALED 70 10 DECIDE Rev. Mr. Allen Does Not Want to Be Crowded Out. A TROUBLED TRI-PASTORATE The presbytery of Washington will be called within a few days to meet in special session to consider a question of right and of ecclesiastical law that has arisen in the First Presbyterian Church in consequence of the engagement of Dr. T. DeWitt Tal- ™mage a5 co-pastor with Dr. Byron Sunder- land and Rev. Adolos Allen. The situation in which the church and ite officers are placed is a peculiar one. It tsa question of deciding between the zealous desire for work and usefulness on the part cf two of its pastors. On the one hand, Dr. Talmage wants to work harder than he does, and on the other, Mr. Allen has no wish to do less than he is now doing. Probably the presbytery will find the consideration and decision between the two laborers in the vineyard one of the most peculiar and edifying that any body of men ever undertook to settle. Dr. Talmage came to the First Church as a reinforcement in the face of conditions that augured neither increase of church membership nor multiplied usefulness and influence. The march of ion and development in Washington during the last ten years had left the First Church, both as to location and personnel, far out of the current of present progress. It was com- ing to be thought of as a lendmark and a memento. Dr. Talmage, an old‘and lifelong friend of Dr. Sunderland, was suggested as an attraction and a power to crystallize the situation into new relations full of life, growth and promise. Dr. Talmage’s Pastorate. Accepting the call that was extended to him, Dr. Talmage came to Washington and entered with his characteristic earnest- ness and force upon the work assigned to rhim, and the result his justified the ex- Pectations that were cherished. - Making his choice in the partition of work, Dr. Talmage selected the Sunday eVefiing service as that which he should prefer.te conduct, and he has accordingly delivered his sermons remus larly at what seems to be the less hour of the Sabbath. The morning seryice, therefore, fell to Dr. Sunderland and Rev. Mr. Allen. The former having” given “a lifetime of service to the church and reached a time of life when his mental and spiritual wipr. quite visibly to himself and his friends, far @utran his physical strength: an emeritus relation was suggested for him. Dr. Sunderland, | 3 a desire to remain in Mr. Alien, to whom for several years had ju- ous and exacting pastoral work of cure him for the morning service. This so- licitation increased as weeks passed, until the feeling grew upon the eminent preacher that he was culpably idle, and that he was keeping his talent wastefully from the cause in which he was pl to labor. pressure upon him seems to. be a providential call to which he must give ear. Naturally and — the members of the First Church have the first chance to say whether he shall preach to them Sunday morning es well as evening. The church has gained by his presence. The Sunday evening services are crowded, ard the rental of pews has been greatly increased s'nce his copastor- ate began. Justly the First Church has the first right to require his services if any church is to have them at that hour. a every practical view of the matter, he elders age 2 it is the part of wisdom te give Dr. Talmage the opportunity he esi res. Mr. Alien Has Appealed. To this, however, Mr. Allen, standing upon his right, which is well defined, both by contract and by church polity and ec- clesiastical law, objects. He does not de- sire to retain the exclusively pastoral rela- tion and have no voice whatever in the pulpit. The issue being thus made, the elders of the church, who are all his stanch friends, and desire his continuance with the church as copastor, decided in favor of Dr. Talmage’s wishes, and in op- position to Mr. Allen's. He has appealed to the presbytery, and the matter will there be heard at length, openly and to a fair finish. Just when the presbytery will meet is not known today. It is likely that the meet- ing will be set for some day next week. There are about twenty churches in the ETresbytery, and the atiendance, consider- ing the ga end interest of the question to be discussed, will be large Whatever the result may be it is certain that every effort will be made by the eld- Allen’s services as .. this relation he attends to a great variety of duties, visits the sick, the aged, the troubled, conducts funerais, gives coun- sel to members, has oversight of much of the business of the church, and is continu- ously occupied with an almost endless range of details, which are increasing daily, and will multiply with the increasing labor of Dr. Talmage in the pulpit. Thus far the situation is one of thorough friendliness, and the officers and members of the church deprecate any mention of the matter which implies that it is of the nature of a quarrel or a contention. —— MORTON A CANDIDATE. The Announcement Made by Ex- Senator Piatt. NEW YORK, January 2—The mercial Advertiser today quotes ex-United States Senator T. C. Platt as saying: “Gov. Morton is a candidate for the presi- dency. I can state so on authority. The - governor will hve the united and unquall- fied support of the delegation from this state. Objection to him has been made on account of his age, but one who has ad- ministered the affairs of a great state like New York so satisfactorily and thoroughly is not an old man. “Gov. Morton is full of vigor, and I feel confident he can undertake, if chosen, the task of administering the affairs of the na- tion as well as he has done in the state.” “Who will manage _ Morton's can- vass?” hat has not been decided. I suppose by a committee of the whole.” Mr. Piatt would not go further Into de- tails. He was not authorized, he said, to speak for Senator Quay of Peausylvania. He had not heard any one mentioned for second place with Morton. He did not be- hed mene. It was Morton first, last and all the time. Com- —~