The New York Herald Newspaper, January 20, 1874, Page 3

Celta apelin WASHINGTON. savings aeposivories will require an account to de ay the central office with each depositor, in which every transaction with such depositor will be entered, the clerical force at the central omce necessarily be proportioned to the The Struggle for Inflation, i of depositors and not to the num- in the Senate. eee The War Cry, “The West is To Be Dictator.” REDUCED ARMY ESTIMATES Details of the Proposed Postal Banking and Telegraph System. WASHINGTON, Jan, 19, 1873. » The West Warming to the Struggle for Inflation—sSpecch of Mr. Wright in the Senate—The War Cry Begun. In the Senate to-day, after the morning hour, Senator Wright, of lows, took the floor and dis- cussed im a speech an hour in length the bill under consideration for the resumption of specie pay- ments. He commenced by reading the Senate wach @ tart lecture as to the manner in which the question had been previously discussed as seemed to cause most of them to retire in high dudgeon from the Chamber, and to seek the outer limits to wneeze off the snuff of their dissatisfaction in the epen air. He said the debate had graduated into an artillery of words, the body had become a grand polemic school and the: proprieties of debate had degenerated, and if those around him, more able to lead than himself, would direct the course w 8 remedy he would follow. He haa been not @ little embarrassed, a8 well a8 amused, at the ‘ebate, the arguments in which had seemed more \e darken than throw light on the question, He referred to the two different plans proposed to meet the case—viz., contraction and expansion— wn which no one was decided, and, firing a shot at Sherman, said he did not provide any remedy. He thought common sense better than astute theo- ‘izations, and that the panic had no more to do with the currency than the balance pole of a rope flancer, the night-blooming cereus or a last year’s vird’s nest, He thought the real cause existed in the spirit which had possessea us as a nation to live by our wits and the neglect of the mechanicat arta, driving uF on, as in a steeple chase, in a mad- gening'race to get rich by an oroide counterfeit watch system, playing a kind of roulette gambling in stocks which were watered, or by stealing a railroad. He took quite a religious wiew of the recklessness of our people, and in a rhyming couplet figuratively gave a week’s account of the progress from sudden wealth to a Saturday night penniless condition, and mnally compared the practice of Americans to the Mississippi River eustom of racing and blowing up, which they were bouna to do to be Americans. He said either gold nor the so-called irredeemable cur- vency was responsible for our present condition, but it was caused by our living too last. Warming ap with an assertion that the past twelve years of our history had shown so much progress in our workshops and farms, he took off his cravat heatediy and said, with emphasis, this nad been achieved as never before by what the gentlemen were pleased to call. an lrredeemable currency. He was in favor of in- flation, The people were satisfied with the cur- rency. He praised the greenback and cited its value to be as good as that of any medium can be made, and denied that the government, as had been alleged, had been acting in bad faith or had broken its plighted word. This he stigmatized as @n unfounded clamor, by which it would not do to divorce the people from the government. He pro- tested that the time had not yet arrived, according to the nature of the pledge which haa been made, to return to specie payments. The currency had stood the test of the greatest panic we ever had. He would have but one paper currency and that issued by the government. He doubted if longer mecessity existed for the service of the national banks, Which had done much good. If he could not have one currency he would have iree banking, making the property of the stockholders respunsibie for all the debts of the corporation. The national government was the one sovereign power, and we owe it to the people to give them a staple currency. Much more of it was needed, aud he thought it wise to have it convertible. He wasin favor of a three- sixty-five bond. We were paying too much inter- est, public and private, and the nation must soon become bankrupt unless it was reduced to an average ratio of two and a half or three per cent. Contraction was to be avoided, and safety existed only in going straight ahead with the busy indus- tries and helping the mechanical agencies. That Dation was most prosperous which gave the high- est price to labor. He referred to the Eastin ad- Vocacy of the other sections, and then rung out the hitherto suppressed battle cry of this contest in these for the first time Pronounced and memorable words, ‘The West is to be dictator.’ This comprehends the main issue as proviously referred to in these despatches, and then Logan, with his fiery com- Dativeness, rose to follow suit in this imterest, which will unmistakably manifest its power. He spoke for two hours, scathingly going over the foreign statistics of Schurz and driving his spurs into him at every fy. He somewhat more respect- fully deprecated Sherman’s advoeacy of an imme- diate return to specie payments, which he was in favor of ata deferred time. He dwelt on the ab- surdity of relying on coin for safety, and adduced @ome strong arguments in favor of his position that a good currency had accomplished more, in- s#tancing our history since 1861 and the course of Anancial matters in England and France, quoting Jargely from recognized authorities on political conomy. He made a vigorous speech, which will be read with deep interest, as exhibiting the first showing of the plucky exactions o1 the great West, for aid in obtaining which, when it comes to a test ‘vote, they rely on the South. The strength of the contest will be pretty evenly balanced between the specie resumptionists and the inflationists, but the West will make a desperate effort for the mastery, and will pluck tne victory if it can be dune by Bard Aghting. @trength of the Opponents of Inflation im the House. In the House, to-day, the opponents of increased circulation had only suficient strength to prevent the rales being suspended on Mr. Wilson’s propost- tion to instruct the Committee on Ways and Means & report. A bill increasing the volume of currency would have passed, The record shows that nearly every member voting against a suspension of the cules was animated by personal motives. The osed Postal Savings and Postal Te! Systems—The Plan as Stated By the Postmaster General. The Postmaster General will to-morrow answer the resohatien of the House of December 11, asking him t iniorm Congress how many em- ployés of all grades it will require to carry on the postal savings institations tm the United States and Territories, as recommended by him in his report, and that he furnish iike information as to the postal telegraph system which he recommends. Hé states that it is proposed to confine the Dperations of postal savings depositories to money order post offices, of which there are Bt present 3,068, classed as follows:—Post offices of the first class, 203; second class, 337; third class, 779; below the third class, 1,744. It is proposed to apply the system during the first year of it8 operation to post offices of the first class only, and graduaQy thereafter to extend it, as may seem advisable,, to offices of the second, shird aed fourth classes.* The number of transac- tions, deposits and withdrawals at each of the respectéve depositories will doubtiess bear an ap- proximate proportion tothe popuiation of the cities and towns in which sach depositories are located, varying most in the neighborhood of large Manufacturing,MUning and internal improvement localities, where'.the laboring popalation is iargest and would very generally avail itself.of the benefits per of depositories, and the largest pro portionate force wilh be needed at the commencement of the business, when offices at cities of the largest population will be opened. Exclusive of ten first class post offices in cities of the largest population, there wil) probably -be re- quired about thirty-five clerks to every 100 such oftices—that is to gay, the duties of the postal savings business at each oMce will occupy & little over one-third of the time of @ clerk, leaving the remaining two-thirds for other duties, Im offices of the second class the proportion would not exceed twenty clerks to every 100 offices; im offices of the third class to every 100 offices, and in ail other money order offices, over 3700 ‘in number, the post- Masters would perform all the duties required without clerical assistance in consideration of the three-eighths.of one per cent commission allowed them for such service. After an experience of one year with oMces of the first class the system could probably be extended during the second year to all or nearly all offices of the second class; during the third and fourth years to those of the third class, and subse- quently, as might seem expedient, to those of the lower grades. For the business of receiving and forwarding for deposit remittances of *postal savings funds from othet depositories, it will be necessary during the first year to designate the following first class post offices as depositories of the first class:—New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louts, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, New Orleans, San Francisco and Washington. It 18) believed that im post offices at which the transactions of the money order business require the services of a chief of division the postal sav- ings business could with advantage be placed under the charge of such chief; that at the ma- jority of the second and third class post offices no increased force would be necessary, as tne money order and registry clerks coud easily perform all tne additional labor required, and for such service a portion of their salaries should be paid from proceeds of the savings business. Tne employment of seventy clerks by Postmasters at the 198 first class offices not enu- Merated in the above table, whose aggregate salaries would not exceed $70,000, would meet al) the requirements of the postal savings business at those offices during the first year. For correspondence, examining and keeping accounts, and for the other duties required to be performed at the central office there would be needed, for the 208 first class offices, 28 clerks, messengers and laborers, or 14 to each 100 offices. For the next 600 offices, 36 clerks would be needed, or 9 to each 100 offices. For the next 800 offices there would be needed 7 clerks to each 100 omices, and for the remaining money order offices not to exceed 5 to each 100 offices. it is believed that the proposed allowance of three-eighths of one per cent on deposits, as commissions to post- Masters, will cover all the necessary expenditure tor clerk hire of the force required in transacting postal savings business at depositories, leaving the extra amount required to pay additional clerks at the ten depositories of the first class and the employés at the central office to be previded for by special allowance. The above estimate of expenses is considered to be a little under nine- sixteenths of one per cent on the probable depos- its when in full operation; but in order to cover all possible expenditures of the business it places the limit of such expenditures at three-fourths of one per cent on such deposits, leaving a margin of one- fourth of one per cent of the surplus of interest to be paid by the Treasury Department to accrue as revenue for the service of the Post Office Department. At the close of the year ending June 13, 1873, there were probably in the employ of all the tele graph companies 11,500 persons, of whom 7,000 Were managers and operators. If the tele- graph service of the conntry were consolidated, even in private hands, the number of employés could be greatly reduced without impairing the eMciency of the service, for the reason that duplicate sets of officers, operators, elerks, messengers, &c., are Maintained by the competing companies in many places, where one set would be sufficient if all the lines were brought under one organization. Under government management the telegraph would be consolidated with the postal service, In cities where the free delivery by carriers is establisned messages arriving previous to the departure of car- riers on their regular routes could be delivered by them, and additional messengers would be needed only to deliver messages arriving in the interval between regular mail deliveries. There are now In the employ of all the telegraph companies as messengers probably 2,500 persons, of which num- ber fully three-fourths are at cities where the free delivery is now or will soon be established. Ifthe postal telegraph were established and the rates made uniform and payable by stamps a much less complicated system of accounts would be required, and therefore only a slight increase in the present postal force in large offi¢es would be necessary to keep the accounts of the tele- graph. At smaller offices no increase would be required for this work. In 1870 there were in the United States 5,607 post omfices near which telegraph offices were in operation. At 4,279 of these post offices the annual postal receipts were under $1,000; and for a small additional compensation the services of a skilled operator as postmaster could be eecured at many, or, perhaps, nearly all of these, who wonkd be able to perform the combined duties, At 872 of the re- maining offices the postal receipts are less than $3,000 per annum, anda 1,500 addittonal employés of all grades could undoubtedly perform the telegraphic work of these. Tnis leaves 456 offices, inclading all the larger cities, of which 167 have over 10,000 in- habitants each; an average of 7 employés to each Of these 456 offices, which is a large average, would give 3,192. Adding to this the 1,500 ad- ditional employés needed for the 872 oMces above mentioned, and the total will be 4,092, The salaries of these additional employés of all grades on the Morse system will not aver- age over $600 per year, which 1s nearly fifty per cent higher than the salaries now paid. by the tele- graph companies, according to their published figures. [here are a large number of oMces oper- ated by railroad companies. These offices could, no doubt, by an arrangement for commissions on business similar to that adopted in Europe be made available to the public without adding to the number of postal employés. By con- aolidation the carrying capacity of the wires, now under different management, would be much aug- mented, and reconstruction would stili further increase it, It is clear that the increase of busi- ness, induced by a low tariff, will be largely ofa social nature, which need not be crowded into the business hours of the day. In Switzerland and Belgium, where the rates are low, the soctal business ts more than one-half of the entire trafMfc, notwithstand- ing that postage islow and trains run ina few hours to any part of the country, ‘This distribu- tion of business throughout the day would also largely increase the relative capacity of the wires. While, therefore, I cannot say that the increase of business on exigting routes would not involve an increase of force in present offices, I am satisfied that much more business would be car- ried over the same wires and with the same employés, under a postal system, than at present, to say nothing of the possibilities of improved instruments, Extension of the system to other and smaller oMees would scarcely increase atall the force, ag the present postal employés would be sufficient. He reaffirms the correctness of the estimate given in his report of 1872 that an aggregate telegraph force of 7,500, including all grades, at an annual cost of $4,500,000, would be ample to work the postal telegraph upto 30,000,000 of messages per annum, which is about double the namber transmitted by all the companies operated one year ago. The Case of General Howard, The House Committee on Military Affairs will Of tho system, As the svatem of Rostay | hold a seswion to-morrow. at Wluch the sengp of the_ committee will be vested by a vote, wnet! the matter of the charges against General Howard, the committee shall proceed with an investigation or whether they will recommend the subject to be transferred to a military court of inquiry for trial. The committee are about equally divided on these propositions, The Reduced Estimates of the War Department—The Large Number of Oficers Who Perform No Real ser- vice. The reduced estimates of the War Department Cail for $175,000 for recruiting We army ; $12,300,000 for pay, mileage snd postage for the army; $2,800,000 for submstence; $6,000,000 for stoves, coal, wood, forage for horses, straw bedding for soldiers and stationery; $1,300,000 for incidental expenses ; $500,000 for cavalry and artillery horses; $4,500,000 for transportation; $2,000,000 for bar- racks and quarters; $1,700,000 for soldiers’ cloth- tg; $200,000 for medical and hospital stores; $250,000 for expenses at arsenals; 000 for ordnance supplies; $600,000 for new breech load- ers, and $1,400,000 for heavy guns; the total amount, inclusive of smaller items not enumer- ated, being $34,500,000, Besides these there are reduced estimates of $876,000 to support the de- Partment at Washington; $84,000 exclusive of pay of professors, instructors, officers and cadets for the Military Academy; $727,000 for armories and arsenal buildings ; $1,500,000 for sea-coast fortifica- tions; $65,000 for care of military convicts; $200,000 jor the State militia; $250,000 for the support of the volunteer asylum; $50,000 for the support of the Freedmen’s Hospital at Washington ; over $1,000,000 for bounties, back pay and extra pay arising out of past wars; $500,000 to reimburse States for war expenses and $450,000 to pay for horses or other propertly lost by oMcers and soldiers in campaign. The commercial interests in charge of the War De- partment call for $5,800,000 for river and harbor improvements and $350,000 for daily observation and report of the weather, In their scrutiny of these estimates the Appro- Priation Committee have found that, owing to de- sertion, tully two-fifths of the rank and file of the army are renewed every year, the men being en- listed on the sea-board and transported immense distances for service in the interior of the conti- nent, It costs about $15 to enlist each of these 12,000 yearly recruits, besides the expense of his outfit of clothing, maintenance at recruiting de- pots and transportation to his post. So far as the military authorities are concerned, all this great. expense seems to be unavoidable. The men who enter the army are driven into it by temporary Want or despair, and as soon as- they recover obtain their discharge through political influence exerted by friends at home, or they desert. Of the $12,000,000 required for pay, over $500,000 is virtually a pension paid to 300 officers retired from service under five or six different acts of Congress passed since the beginning of the last war, the pension Tate being seventy-five per cent of the full pay of the ofMicer’s grade, or fifty percent more than is paid in avy other service in the world. Many of these retired officers did not enter the regular army at all till after the war, and after a brief service were retired for causes existing at the date of their entrance, and seventy were retired upon higher rank than they ever held, under an act ob- tained in 1866 for his own benefit by the brother of a distinguished United States Senator now deceased. This act was repealed a year or two ago to stop further abuse under it. As a conse- quence of it nearly one-quarter of the whole re- tired list hola the rank and draw the three-quar- ‘ers full pay of colonel, brigadier general or major general, The General of the Army, the fifth wheel Of the peace establishment and the béfe noire of the Teal head, the Secretary of War, is not permitted to enjoy his well earned reward for past services in solitude, but is provided by Congress with a full war staff of six colonels, taken from the lower grades of the army, and costing the country an extra $20,000 a year. The Lieutenant General hag &@more modest but equally useless staf imposed upon hnn by Congress. So with the major ana brigadier generals—nine in number—most of whgm depend more upon past service than present usefulness for their tenure. They are provided With ornamental staffs, and, still worse, the de- partment, being compelled to provide taem with nominal employment, is put to a large outlay for quarters, offices, clerks, travelling and other inci- dental expenses. The committee find that to gov- ern and supply an army, generally less and never more than 30,000 men, it takes eleven generals, 150 staf officers, from brigadier to captain, 220 surgeons, besides a force of civil surgeons, costing @ quarter of a million, sixty-five paymasters disburs- ing less than $200,000 each, with the aid of a clerk, seventy-five ordnance officers and thirty-four chap- lains. There are over one hundred engineer off- cers, chiefly of high rank, whose duties in connec- tion with fortifications, internal improvements, lighthouses and surveying, are so intermingled that it is impossible to say what proportion of the whole are on strictly military duty. The-additional pay to army officers for length of service costs $600,000, Officers who travel about in Europe or the United States on real or assumed public busi- negs cost the government $275,000. The travelling pay and subsistence of such departing soldiers as do not desert cost over half a million, The expenses of the army, so far as regards the oMcers, were largely increased by General Logan’s pay bill, enacted three or four years ago, through the construction put upon it by the mill- but the large number stationed at Wasmngton and other cities really get larger allowances in place of the commutations for quarters and fuel abolished by Logan’s act, The estimates of the Quariermaster’s Department the Appropriation Committee find difficult to revise, and their re- duction, where made, has been chiefly arbitrary. Forage and fuel are constantly increasing in coat, owing to the disappearance of timber and the pushing torward of the posts into the wilderness to protect infant settlements and projected rail- roads. This forward movement necessitates the abandonment of old posts and the erection of new ones, and the committee are satisfied that the frontier troops are not adequately sheltered with the appropriations yearly made for barracks and quarters. The estimate for transportation has been especially trouble- some. Congress has never been able to control the cost of transportation, which is really gov- erned by the movements and disposition of the In- dian bands. Appropriations made in advance have aiways been matters of form, the actual cost being met by defictoncy bills after the expenses have been incurred. The yearly changes of station among the troops for samitary reasons have been mainiy suspended for two or three years, the transportation money being used up by Indian ex- peditions and Pacific Railroad explorations. The estimate for clothing is to put the army into a new uniform, there being nothing left but the refuse of the shoddy contracts of the war, upon whicn $200,000 have been uselessly spent in favor of a patented moth proofpreparation. The old stock, by act of Congress, is to be sold out at auction, whence it will pass into the use of car drivers, hackmen and Southern negroes, ‘The estimate for subsistence is alleged by the commissaries to be not a cent above the dost of rations for the troops, and any reduction by Con- gress will put the bine bellies upon Short’s com- mons, so the titled purveyors of pork aad peans say. The committee find the arsenal expenses capable of considerable reduction, and there is destined to be a postponement of such present luxuries as new breect-loaders and heavy cannon. “The administration is peace,” say the supporters thereof, and point towards Geneva, Bama Honda and Texas in proof of tt. The sea coast forts, -too, it is certainly thought, can get slong for one year on 4a trifle to prevent ac- tual damage to unfinished work. It is certain that there can be no great retrenchment in army expenditures, unless Congress boldly accepts the official assurances of snocess with the Indian peace Policy, cuts off 10,000 men and a proportionate number of line officers, abandons as many stations as possible amid the abandoned or suspended rall- way lines ana mushroom towns, concentrates the garrisons at large and important posts, and re- duces the general and civil staf. The expense of the present military establishment arises out of tary authorities. They not only get higher pay, | on Committee can pare down the appropria- tion bilis materially. As it stands nearly every doDar now thrown off will come back in a deficiency bill next session #3 am actual debt that must be paid, The Army Appropriation bil being now before the House for action & lively discussion, itvelier and more extended than the debate over the more popular naval branch of ser- Vice, is confidently expected, it being impossivle to discuss army matters without bringing up the Indian, and, tne latger, opce up, opens the way to general denunciation and denial of fraud, pecula- tion, imbecility and mismanagement in the Indian ‘administration and everything else. The Work of Retrenchment—Ten Mil- lion Dollars To Be Cut Out of the OMcial Estimates. The House Committee on Appropriations, atter the receipt of the reduced estimates, not being satisNed with the result, as already stated, designated certain members to person- ally investigate the estimates of speci- flea departments. To-day the Committee heard the results of these examinations, and will shape the appropriation bills in accordance with these recommendations. Tue committee are of the opinion that $10,000,000 can be reduced Of salaries ‘and miscellaneous and contingent funds. The yarious members of the committee. expressed their great astonishment at the useless extravagance in not only the expending of the public money, but in the making of the estimates, They were invariably at least twenty-five per cent too high, and seemed to be made up on the prin- ciple that public money is public property, to be expended nq, alone tn the strict line of offtcial needs of the government, but for various purposes Not the most regular. The enormous increase and illegal organization of the Treasury Department, as already mentioned in these despatches, was a subject of serious con- sideration, and the committee agreed that the largest fleld for reform and retrenchment was in that unwieldy department. The result of to-day’s comparing of notes was to bring the labors of the committee into greater harmony, and the future investigations of department expenses will be governed by greater intelligence as to the purposes in view and ultimate results than could have been expected previously, when each mem- ber of the committee was in the dark as to the success of the efforts of his colleagues. Ames To Be Immediately Installed as Governor of Mississippi. Private despatches from Jackson, Miss, to-day announce the unanimous opinion of the State Supreme Court in support of the election of Ames for Governor, Powers, the present incumbent, will immediately retire, and Ames will be inaugu- rated, The President is represented as being nighly pleasea with the course pursued in that | State, and hopes the example will have its effect throughout the Southern States. The Large Mechanical Force in the Navy Yards To Be Discharged. Retrenchment in the expenses of the govern- ment will compel tne immediate discharge of the large force of mechanics employed in the different navy yards, and work on the vessels now being re- constracted at Portsmouth, Charlestown, Brooklyn, Philadetphia, Norfolk and Mare Island will be dis- continued, Bounty for the Heirs of Soldiers Who Enlisted for Less than a Year. Im the House, to-day, Mr. Ward, of New Jorsey, introduced a bill providing tnat the heirs of any soldier who was killed or died while in the military service in the line of duty. during the late war, whose period of enlistment Was for less than one year, or who shall have since died by reason of wounds received or disease contracted, shall be entitled to receive the same bounties as if said soldier had enlisted for three years. Proposed International Patent Congress at the Centennial. In accordance with the sentiment of the Patent Convention which recently closed its sessions in Washington it is proposed to establish branch associations with as little delay as possible in each State or Territory, the President of which shall be a Vice President ex officio of the national asso- ciation. An effort will be made to hold an Inier national Patent Congress in Philadelphia at the time of the C@ntenntal, trom which favorable dnd far reaching results may be anticipated. General Pope Visiting the President. General and Mrs. Pope arrived here this evening from Fort Leavenworth, having come on invita- tion of the President to spend a week as guests at the Executive Mansion. Allicit Distillers im the South. The United States district attorneys and col- lectors in Georgia, and the collectors and special revenue agents in North Carolina, report many cases of men who have been distilling ilicitly in those States as coming into the collectors’ offices and registering their stilis for use under the law, This is in consequence of the vigorous work during the past year in ferreting out and making seizures in that section of the country, where, from the mountainous character of the districts and the sparse population, surveillance nas been always dificult. Redemption of the Bonds of 1858. The amount of bonds of the loan of 1858 that nave been thus far redeemed is $5,211,000, and the amount exchanged $5,389,000, Abolition of a Deputy Commissionership, The House Committee on Civil Service to-day agreed to report a bill reducing the number of deputy commissioners of internal revenue to two instead of three; thus saving $3,000 arnually, and providing that the present vacancy of First Deputy be filled by the appointment of one of the two deputies now in office. A Grave Offence. Dr. George A. Christian was convicted in the Criminal Court to-day on a charge of removing dead bodies from graveyards for purposes of gain. The prisoner was remanded to jail to await sentence. The Trial of Judge Wright for Forgery. The trial of Judge J. W. Wright was commenced to-day. He is charged with forging the names of Indians to receipts for back pay and bounty, This case has been pending for two or three years. Owing to the absence of witnesses it was post- poned until Monday next. Amendment of the Act Regarding Settle- ment of War Claims. The House Committee on War Claims at its meet- ing to-tay listened to an argument by General B. S. Roberts in regard to ratifying the awards made by the Army Board of Survey. General Roberts argued that im the Southern States during the war martial law was the only law, and an award of a board regularly convened, whose proceed- ings had been tegally approved by competent authority, nad the same binding effect as a deci- sion of a United States court. The committee are considering only bills of a general character, and will mature at an early day a bill proposing amendments to the act creating the Commission of Claims, Prospective Reception of the New French Minister. ‘The new French Minister, who is now crossing the ocean, is to be dined and wined at 4 series of | diplomatic dinners and Senatorial “spreads.” He 1s about forty-five years of age, good looking, well informed and a Protestant. Of course many caps ‘will be set for him. Cable Telegraphing To Be Cheapened. Among the bills introduced in the House to-day was one to incorporate the Sabmarine Cable Print- ing Telegraph Company, of Boston and New York | capitalists, to fay and operate one or more lines of Atlantic cable, section 4 of which is as follo That the tolls for governmental, commercial and private messages over the line or tines of the sald company shall not exceed fity cents per word, and for press despatches shall not exceed twenty- five cents per word. ‘The enterprise is founded upon two new methods of ocean telegraphing, invented by W. 5. Sawyer, @ Washington journaitst. Miseellaneous Nominations. ‘The following nominations were sent to the Sen- ate to-day by the President:—Daniel MoM. Gregg, of Pennsylvania, to be Consul at Prague; Thomas N. Van Buren, of New Jersey, to be Consul at Kanagawa, Japan; H. W. Hasslock, to be Postmas- ter at. Nashville, Tenn.; Nathan Patten, to be Ool- lector of .Cuatome for the District of Texas; Fitz the existing military system, and there must be a | Balson, tape Collector of Customs at Gloucestes, Change of the Jatter yy statute belore the Anpre- ARY 26, 1874—TRIPLE SHERT. | Morrison R. Waite Nominated for | Chief Justice. SURPRISE OF THE SENATE, + The President Consults Only His Own Sudgment in the Selection, ee WILL IT MERT PARTISAN REQUIREMENTS? —-—— The Quiet Career and Limited Public Services of the Candidate. WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 1874, ‘The President sent to the Senate to-day the nomination of Morrison R. Waite to be Chief Jus- tice of the Supreme Court of the United States. THE FOURTH CHOICE. Inguiries made among prominent Senators as to | how the nomination of Mr. M. R, Waite was re- ceived in the Senate have elicited the fact that, while it has not thus far occasioned any objection, Senators for the most part did not think that it was the best selection that conid be made, and that while it was passable it did not create @ very strong impression nor arouse any enthusiasm among them. One leading Senator remarked that he did not know much about him and did not know how it would take, while another said, “We are going to look for information now, to know who is who;” and yet a third known to fame said, “We shall wait to find out from the newspapers whether there is any reason why Mr. Waite should not be confirmed? That is about the best source of in- formation we have,’» It was remarked that the selection was somewhat singular, having been made without consultation by the President with the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as would be judged court:ous and called for in the nature of things. Bot Grant is governed more by his self-reliance than the custom of political magnates heretofore, which was observed by them in consulting Senators and party advisers as to the acceptability of those who were going to be nominated for important offices. The nomination was referred to the Judiciary Committee to-day, but in the absence of Edmunds, chairman, and Conkling, prominent. members of the Judiciary Committee, nothing has been done as yet, There is no doubt the same deliberasion and searching investigation will be had by them as has heretofore obtained in the nomination of Williams, ‘The selection of Mr. Waite as one of the Geneva counsel was at the suggestion of Mr. Evarts, who had been bis classmate at Yale College. Ralph Keeler, whose death occurred recently in the Cuban waters, while employed as a corresond- ent of a New York paper, accompanied Mr. Waite to Geneva, and it was through his letters to the newspaper with which he correspondea that Mr. Waite’s name was frequently brought into public notice. He nas never held any judicial or official position, though he has been prominently spoken of for Congress from the district ia which he resides at every nominating convention which has met therein for that purpose for the last fifteen years. In 1862 he ran as an independent repubii- can against James Ashley, but was defeated. He is popular in Toledo, and it ts said that at every pnbdlic gathering he is called out as one of the speakers; that even on occasion of the reunton of the Army of the Cumberland last fall, at which were present Grant, Sherman, Sheri- dan and other distinguished officers, the toast of “Peace hath her victoriesnot less renowned than war’ was interpolated at the dinner for the purpose of having Mr. Waite take part in the pro- ceedings. He is represented as & man of the strictest integrity. Though he has hud a very large and lucrative practice, he isbyno means wealthy—probably not worth over $60,000 or $70,000, He has lived liberally, and enjoyed his money as he has made it. He is described as an industrious lawyer, well grounded in all the branches of hig profession. He 1s not a brilliant or particularly attractive public speaker, but is impressive in his manner, and has great weight with juries. Last fall, after Conkling had declined, Grant hesitated between Williams and Waite as his next choice. It was understood that the latter could not relinquish the large gains of his practice at the bar for the comparatively small salary attached to the position of Chief Jus- tice, besides which he thought that hav- ing been 80 extensively engaged in be- half of the large railroad corporations it would be to him somewhat embarrassing to have adjudicated cases in which men representing them, with whom ne had been on terms of close personal friendship, and for whom he had at times acted as counsel, had valuable tn- terests; and now comes up the significant question, Is this a politic appointment? No mat- ter how strongly endorsed Mr. Waite may be as to his qualifications, will he not be looked upon as another railroad lawyer on the Bench? It looks as though capital and corpora- tions effected the appointment, and that instead of the Supreme Court representing republican principies, the whole aim of late years has been to sustain the capitalists who were only known by their subscriptions to be in sympathy with the republican party. The Senate, however, is so tired of its wrangle with the President on the two preceding nominations that this will, doubtless, be confirmed without much opposition, AS Mr. Waite is not over fifty-seven years of age, andis of robust health and active temperament, it may be fairly expected that he will enjoy the honors and perform the duties ap- pertaining to the office for many years to come. His family will be an attractive addition to Wash- ington society. His wife is described as a hand- some, stylish woman, decidedly aristocratic in her tastes, fond of society, in which she has always been a distinguished leader. She is imperious in her manner, exacting in her rela- tions with those who presume to cultivate her ac- quaintance, and will assert the dignity of the frst | lady of the land in a manner that may dazzle dern society in Washington. The new Chiet Justice has Marshail’s tastes, and will not want for associates. It will not be a question of a quart, but of a gallon. Reception of the News of His Nomi tion by Mr. Waite—Action of the Con- stitutional Convention at Cincinnati. CINCINNATI, Ohio, Jan, 19, 1874. The news of the nomination of Morrison R, Waite, of Toledo, now President of the Ohio Con- stitutional State Convention, came to Mr. Waite at noon, at the beginning of the aiternoon session. Rufus King arose and read the Associated Press despatch from Washmgton announcing the nomi- nation of Mr. Waite. ‘The Conventton forgot tts gravity and broke out into a prolonged storm of applause, in which every member of the Convention most heartily participated. Mr. Samuel Hunt then moved to appoint a committee of five to draft @ resolution of the sense of the Convention on the subject t. President Waite raled it out of order, and the business proceeded. He has refused to permit any member of the Oon- vention to use influence at Wasbington for his ap- pointment, though several have offered to do s0, and he was not aware that any of his friends had presented nis name. He is now stopping, with his wife and sister, at the Burnet House. EP to eleven o’cfock P. M. he has_had np notif- cation, official or unofficial, irom Washington of his nomination. Waite’s Pepularity in Toledo—Brief Sketch of His Car as « Lawyer, Statesman and International Jurist, ToLEpo, Ohio, Jan. 19, 1874, The nomination of Judge Waite for Chief Justice is received with expressions of great satisfaction by all parties, To morrow morning the @ommerciat will give | the slightest seekin, 3 sppears he 1s 4 60N Of the late Cater Justice Waite, of Connecticut, one of the leading jurists of New England. He is now in his fifty-eignth year. He mee at Yale College at the age of 22. In 1838 he came to Toledo and studied law with 8, M. Young, now of Toledo, with whom he practised jor, eighteen years. He has for many years toy and the head of the Bar of Northwestern Obio, ai twice decimed a seat the Supre' Court bench of Ohio, In 1849 he — wi elected @ member of the Legislature, serving with distinction, In 1862 he was a candidate fon Congress, and though defeated, he received a Majority of 1,200 in Toledo. in December, 1s7l, he was appointed as 6% ~~ counsel to Geneva, which position Med wi honor. He is now serving as & member ani President of che Ohio Constitutional Conven- fon, to which position be was chosen by the unsnimous vove of both parties. The presents &ppointment, hke all other public honors which he has received, has come te fim without on his part, he baving dis- couraged his personal friends from efforts to secure the place for him. His neighbors feel every aseur- ance that in this, as in every other trust, he will abundantly justify the confidence reposed in nim, THE SIAMESE TWINS. Death of Chang and Eng, the Celebrated Twin Wonders—Their Condition of Health Previ- ous to Their Demise—Last Moments on Earth—Deaf Mute Children with Their M@hers in Mourning. Ricumonp, Va, Jan. 19, 1874, , A despatch from Greensboro, N. ©., gives u Startling announcement of the sudden death of the celebrated Siamese Twins on Saturday mor Ing last, the 17th inst, which occurred at thet residence at Mount Airy, Surrey county, N. ¢, THE LAST MOMENTS, There are no details of this sad event further than the fact that Changqwas partially paralyzed last fall, since which time he nas been fretful, ve much debilitated and strongly addicted to drinking, liquor as a means of alleviating his suffering. Ha had been quite feeble for several days—indeea | much so as to confine both the brothers to bed, bat the illness was not 80 great as to cause any anticips- tion of tne catastrophe that was to follow. On ) Priday night they retired to bed ag usual, but dur- ing the night Chang became worse, and, to the utter dismay of all his friends, expired suddenly about four o'clock on Saturday morning. As soon as it was discovered that his spirit had! left its earthly tenement and that death had claimed him for its own Eng became so terribly shocked that he raved wildly for a while, at times exhibiting signs of great mene tal aberration. This attack was followed by what seemed to be a deadly stupor, and all now watched eagerly the fate of tne surviving; twin, so long ana inseparably united to his now dead brother. In two hours, it is supposed, frony the death of Chang, Eng breathed his last, and iq death, as in ife, the souls, as well as the bodies, of the celebrated twins were once more reunited. THE WIVES AND FAMILIES of the twins are in the deepest grief, the children, Many of whom are deaf mutes, expressing theid sorrow and bereavement in the most pitifal mane ner. No definite arrangement as to THEIR PLACE OF BURIAL had been made up to the date of my present inrore mation, . Sketch of the Siamese Twins. The Siamese Twins, Eng and Chang, lately rev siding in North Carolina, were aMlicted with illness in the year 1871. They were born at @ small vil- lage on the coasto/ Siam, in the year 1811. Theig parents got their living by fishing, and until 1629, when Eng and Chang were brought to the United States, they made their living byl selling shellfist. Their mother bore seventeen children. At one time she gave birth to three an@ never less than two, Bat none of these children, were deformed, The Twins were united at the ante: rior part of the chest by ® prolongation of a kind of fleshy band the size of the hand. This band of flesh is about two inches broad and four ighea thick. The whole mass is tough and capaple of being considerably extended. One could whisper{ in the ear of one of them without the other hearing 7 while volatile salts applied to the nostrils of oney had no effect on the other; and while pinching thei. arm of one excited no sensation in the other, stiltt if you but stick & pin in the exact vertical centra of this connecting link both would finch from the hurt, The Twins were seldom observed! to converse with each other. ‘They played’ a game of draugnts, made much the same moves, and at the same time, and frequently played against each other.. Alter attracting @ vast amount of attention Qmong scientists and phssloioginut im the old worla, they married two sisters, and settied down near, Salisbury, N ©., on a well-stocked plantation. Im addition they had at one period ample funds in- vested through their agent in New York. During the war they continued to reside on their planta- tion and lived in the same quiet and harmony as ever, until some few years afterwards. Of vourse, no one ever thought of drafting them and thei negroes prospered, except when out of temper irom any cause, it was apt to work itself of in striking the first one that came to band, from which the best escape was to keep out of the way. The brothers probably never would have had any difficulty, but that their wives, though sisters, turned away their hearts, and chiidren were the cause of this estrangement. Up to the r.od that each had five children ail prospered well enough, but one of them had @ sixth, and this awoke envy and jealousy to such a’ degree that the twin sisters, not being bound together like the twin brothers, would no longer live under the same roof. The brothers, were, it seems, about fifty-four years of age, but one, we believe, the smalier and feebler of the two, looked, it is said, ten years older than the other. They could turn either back to back or face to face, but that is as {ar asthe remarkable boud that united them permitted. It ts almost certain that should either die the other could not survive even more than a few minutes, ag there is an’ artery as large as the femoral artery that con- nects them. A few years since they cor- responded with some of the leading surgical operators in London, as to the possibility a of vhe umbilicus being cut, so that in case the death of one, the lise of the other might be saved. At the request of the London surgeon they, visited that city, and many experiments we tried to determine the safety of such an Co ae afi Among other things a ligature was tied Ormly 1 a few minutes around the connection betwee! them, so as to prevent the circulatton oi bi through the artery. But it seemed as if each would expire if this were persisted in, The smaller of the two faintea away an lost all consciousness, and there were symptoms that the same effect would follow to the other, but the process could not be continued long enough’ without endangering the hfe of him who was 1 first to faint. Since the breaking out of the rebel. lion the twins both dressed in the Confederate gray, and were both mempers of the same churcl having united with @ smal Baptist church in the! neighborhood, of which they were considered very worthy members, though born Stamese, FIGHT WITH INDIANS. GaLyssTon, Jan. 16, 1! The News bas the following special from San Any tonto, this'State :—- The iatest from Eagle Pass is that on Friday, 9tly inst, at Newtown, Mexico, a boy was chased dR Indians, Mexican citivens started imme- diately in pursuit and overtook the Indians, After a bard fight of eight hours they suc~ ceeded in killing the whoie band, consisting nine Indians and one squaw. Two citizens we wounded. The Indians are supposed to have be Comanches, from their reservation. THE MINERS’ STRIKE, WILKRSBARRE, Jan, 19, 1674. No new developments have been made to-day im regard to the probable length of time the general suspension of mining will continue ta this region. ‘The miners are rapidly organizing in all sections: of the county under the National ; Association., The old organizations among them have almost entirely died, aud st the veginning of this year. they had no general organization, A meeting Was held at Plymouth this evening fory the above purpose. The streets of that borot are thromged with idle men and boys, and sach aere with every village and city in the mining sections, To-morrow & meeting of the Executive Board 08 the Miners and Laborers’ Associxtion of this county is to be hela here. John Siney, President of the National Associae tion, and C. B, Johnson, editor of the toe wee arrived here to-day, and wiil address the miners different places, DEATH FROM INHALING OOAL Gag, Boston, Jan. 19, 1874, Henry 8 Shapleigh, of Salem, an expreseman,, and hia son, five years old, inhaled the gas 1 & coal stove on Sunday night, the dampers of the tov been carele: left closed. The child rea found tea to-day the father insensibie, # brief sketch of Judge Waite’s life, from waoich * , Alter vigorous efforte the father waa resusci