The Commoner.
(OCTOBER 9,.19Q3;V.,
lean diplomats it is rumored that should the presi
dent be forced by public opinion or a resolution
"by congress to turn to the Nicaraguan route ho
would encounter as great ufflculties as havo oc
curred in dealing with Colombia. Costa Rica and
Nicaragua have been thus far willing to grant
anything and everything that could be asked to
ward getting tho canal through , their territory.
But it Is said that with tho Panama route out of
the way the attitude of these two republics would
change, and they would begin to make demands.
Mcaragua has a faction that is not friendly to tho
canal on tho ground that if the United States
.should build on the Nlcaraguan route it would re
sult in the absorption of tho whole state as a de
pendency of the United States, and the country
would lose its autonomy and become a mere stop
ping place for the commerce of tho world. With
this sentiment at work thero would arise a pre
t6xt for increased demands to appease It, and sev
eral years would bo occupied in getting a suitable
treaty made. This is the view taken by several
disinterested Central Americans, who are' con
vinced that the Panama route is physically tho
best one of all that havo been studied or at
tempted." a yr
ACCORDING TO A REPORT ON THE RE
turns of Philippine commerce, which report
Is about to be issued by the bureau of insular af
fairs of the war department at Washington, it is
shown that the foreign trade of tho islands for tho
month. of May, 1903, aggregated $6,872,982, exclu
sive of government supplies and gold and silver.
This increase exceeds that reported for April .of
the present year, which month has heretofore been
the banner month since American occupation of
the islands. The importations amounted to $3,
391.G55, and of this the Importation of rice alone
approximated nearly $1,750,000. It Is also shown
that customs revenues to the value of $8,500,000
were collected during eleven months of 1903, this
heing an increase amounting to over $1,000,000 as
compared with the previous year.
a a
A' N INTERESTING COMPARISON AS TO THE
amount of gold In the United States treasury
.and that stored in the treasuries of other coun
tries, was recently made by Ellis H. Roberts, treas
urer of. the United States, in a ,speeeh delivered
. before, the joint convention of. the Maryland and
-District of Columbia Bankers' association. Ac
cording to the Washington correspondent for the
New York American, Mr. loberts declared that
at present tjiere is the largest sum of gold ever
recorded In the treasury, $653,000,000. Mr. Rob
erts added: "Our treasury holds three and nine
. tenths times the amount of gold belonging to the
-Bank of England, more than three and eight
tenths times that of the Imperial German Bank,
almost three times that of the Austro-Hungarian
Bank, and lacks only $8,000,000 of being equal to
, that of both the fcanks of England and France. It
exceeds the amount of Russia, Germany, Belgium
and the Netherlands combined."
a? ac
THE WARDEN OF. THE UNITED STATES
penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kas., re
cently made a report to tho attorney general of
the United States, and In t-Is report it is shown
that most of the 30 deaths in the prison dur
ing tho year were of Indians. Two hundred prison
ers are suffering from tuberculosis, the entire Ind
ian population being infected. In his report, ac
cording to die Leavenworth, Kas., correspondent
for the St Louis Post-Disratch, Warden R. W.
McClaughry says: "The southern Indians who
are sent here cannot stand the climate and the con-
finement, no matter in how good health he arrives
. here, and every Qne of them, without exception,
either dies here or goes out with the disease in
eradicably fastened upon him. With the lack of
proper facilities for isolating and treating pulmon
ary tuberculosis, It is becoming a serious menace
to this institution, practically destroying the health
of all the prisoners confined here."
ar $r
BY INTRUSTING TREASURE TO THE
amount of $3,0o0,000 to a clerk recently, the
United States government saved $780 express
charges. Under direction of the insular depart
ment, the mints in this country and the bureau of
printing and engraving at Washington has been
making money for uso in the Philippines. $3,000,
000 in crisp $1,000 bills was recently ready for
shipment to New York, thence to be sent to the
insular possesions. Inquiry of the express com
panies about transporting this treasure elicitated
the Information that they would not undertake
the risk for less than $800, and this was con
sidered so high a figure that Marion E. Beall, an
unbonded clerk in the insular department, was
sent to New York; wltk the money packed in a
common suit case. Mr. Beall'a trip cost $20, and
thus tho government saved a considerable sum in
express charges.
K
IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE AGITATION AND
Investigation Into the affairs of the Indian
territory and the dealings of the commissioners
stationed thoro with tho Indians, Secrotary of tho
Interior Hitchcock recently made a new rule re
quiring offers for Indian lands in tho territory to
bo made by sealed bids, and this rule is resulting .
in marked advantage to tho Indians. The Wash
ington correspondent for the Philadelphia Public
Ledger says that "in the first month after tho
rule was promulgated tho department returned sev
eral hundred thousand dollars in checks and
drafts to proposing purchasers, and It soon becamo
well understood that the old game of swindling
the Indians had come to an end. It Is now neces
sary to have tho land to bo sold appraised by a
government official, tho tract advertised for public
sale, and bids must bo sent to tho department
sealed. In some cases several bids have beeu re
jected before a sale was made
ao ac
IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTIGATION
Into the Indian affairs, j decision was ren
dered on September 28 by Judge Anderson of tho
supreme court of tho District of Columbia, where
by the position taken by tho Interior department
in several cases involving land In tho territory
is upheld. Tho case involved no less than 157,
000 acres of land which It was claimed that tho
Dawes commission had set aside for tho benefit of
the Delaware Indians and could not be interfered
with by any other authority. Judge Anderson,
however, decided against thiB view of tho case.
The Washington correspondent for tho St. Louis
Globe-Democrat, in discussing the case, says: "Tho
department at Washington had not approved tho
action of the Dawes commission and claimed that
until approved there had been no legal setting
aside of tho land for tho Delawares. Tho court
held that all tho actions and proceedings of the
Dawes commission were subject to the secretary's
supervision and control. It refused to grant tho
injunction prayed, and, in effect, dismissed the
suit."
THE POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENT OF-THE
national government is facing a new problem
in the difficulty of securing postal clerks on tho
fast trains. This difficulty is duo to tho Increas
ing number of railway wrecks caused by the great
er number and higher spe"ed of trains. It is the
custom of railways to put mail cars next to the
engine and 'the result Is that In wrecks tho postal
clerks are exposed to great danger and rarely
have any warning of their peril. A telegram to
tho St. Louis Post-Dispatch under date of Chicago,
September 29, says: "So far this year more than
forty railway postal clerks have been killed and
over 500 Injured, more or less seriously. In con
sequence the clerks are not attracted by tho runs
on the fast trains. Many of them have asked to
bo transferred from the trunk lines, where they
get salaries of $1,500 a year, to tho branch lines,
whore the maximum yearly salary is $1,000. Much
trouble is experienced by tho superintendents of
railway mall service in securing men for the fast
est mall trains,"
ac
THE ARMY AND NAVY AND EVENTUALLY
the militia of the United States will be
equipped with wLat the Washington correspondent
for the New York Tribune calls "the most effec
tive firearm in the world." According to the Tri
bune correspondent this i- the result of exhaustive
tests just completed with the new experimental
twenty-four-inch magazine rifle, designed by tho
ordnance department, embodying the best features
of the army and navy service weapons, with num
erous improvements over their mechanism as well
as over the best points of foreign ordnance. This
rifle, which has just triumphed in tho most in
genious tests thr' could V3 devised by a board of
Infantry and cavalry officers, uses a rimless cart
ridge. The weight of the bullet is 220 grains,
and that of tho powder charge s 44.5 grains The
powder pressure is 42,000 pounds to tho square
inch, and the muzzle velocity is 2,300 feet a sec
ond. The rifling In the barrel makes one turn In
eight inches. T ,e' magazine can be charged from
a clip by insertl-ig either end of the clip in a
seat in the rear of the receiver, and by forcing
the cartridges from it directly Into the magazine
by pressure of the right thumb on. the top of
the cartridge. Tho clip is ejected by the for
ward motion of the bolt. The gun can be used as
a single loader with the magazine empty, and if
the magazine is partly empty it can be filled
by tho Inaertlon of ilngle cartridge. Tho experi
mental rifle, with the 24-Inch barrel and rod bay
onot, weighs two pounds leas than the United
8tates magazine rifle, modol of 1898, tho prcjtcnt
service arm, with its bayonet and bayonet scab
bard. The ponotration In plno of the formor, up
to and including 1,500 yards, Is about 50 per cent
greater than of the latter; and tho accuracy of
tho formor Is 14 por cent grcator at 500 yards,
4.0 per cent greater at 1,000 yards, and also
grcator at 1,500 yards than that of tho latter. Tho
use of tho clip and tho change In tho cartridge In
crease tho weight of 100 rounds three-quarters of
a pound.
ac tc
UNDER DATE. OF DALLAS, TEX., SBPTJSM
bcr 8, tho Associated press carried tho In
formation that tho Forth Worth Telegram prints
tho most startling story that has ever como out
put tho Beaumont oil fields and states that tho
informant Is one of the most prominent men of
tort Worth who recently returned from Beau
mont." According to tho Fort Worth Telegram,
this Beaumont citizen declares that "tho Standard
Oil company has porpotratol a gigantic steal in
the Beaumont fields and that positively established
details arc Just coming to light" According to
tho Beaumont citlzon, "the independent oil compa
nies of Beaumont aro the victims, many of which
have been wrecked by tho Standard's work. Re
cently some of tho leading men of tho wrecked
or Injured companies determined to Investigate
and in two days' time they raised $27,000 with
vhlch to push tho work."
ar ac
IN THE STORY PRINTED BY THE FORT
Worth paper, It is explained that "tho num
erous oil wells that apparently were ruined by
salt water wero put In their bad condition by
tho Standard Oil company's conspirators. As fast
as a company went to tho wall Its property was
brought in by the trust. By accident, It Is said,
tho desperate work of the Standard company was
discovered recently. The Standard Oil company
long ago built a pipe line from Beaumont to tho
Gulf of Mexico. . A pumping station was erected
at Beaumont and another at the gulf. Oil was
pumped through .the pipe lino to the gulf and
thonco shipped to various parts of tho world.
Suddenly many wells of independent companies
hod salt water in them. Tbr ruin of tho owners
Is part of tho history of tho field. Ono day not
long ago ono of tho pumping stations got out of
working order, and oil pumping to the gulf had
to be suspended while repairs were being made.
Wells that had been giving out fully one-half
salt water began flowing nothing but oil, good
fuel oil, it is declared. That put the investiga
tion on foot Tho Investlga'.ors secretly plugged
up the pipe lino at tho Beaumont end. They drove
several miles into tho country, dug into tho ground
over the pipe line, made a tapping into the line and
salt water gushed Into the air nearly 100 feet. It
Is claimed that the pressure was from the gulf
pumping station and that salt water was being
pumped to Beaumont Into tho wells that tho
Standard company's conspirators desired to wreck;
that thoro was no pressure from the Beaumont
end of the. plugging of the pipe. The informant
of tho Telegram declares that a force of detectives
is at work o 'develop who should be arrested in
connection with the conspiracy."
DURING THE BOER WAR LORD ROBERTS
wrote to Mr. Stcyn of tho Orange Free
State, under date of March 11, 1900, complaining
that explosive bullets had been found in Cronje's
laager. In that communication Lord Roberts said:
"Such breaches of tho recognized usages of war
and of tho Geneva convention are a disgrace to any
civilized power. A copy of this telegram has been
sent .to my government with a request that it bo
communicated to the neutral powers."
a J
RECALLING THIS INCIDENT,. A WRITER
in tho New York World says: "Mr. Stcyn
explained that the bullets In question had been
taken from British troops. Now it turns out that
this ammunition with expanding bullets had been
manufactured in England before the war to tho
extent of 00,000,000 rounds; that there was every
Intention of making it tho standard outfit of the
British army all over the world, but that its pro
duction was stopped because It was found to bo
dangerous to the user in hot climates. It was
condemned by The Hague convention on grounds
of humanity, but It had to bo supplied to the
British troops in South Africa because at one time
there were only two or tbres boxes of any other
kind on, hand. All that Is needed now to make
the story complete is an apology from Lord Rob
ertslo Mr. Steyn, but the -wire, seems to be busy
i that direction."
SI
41
i
ii
J
j; -.
i
ftikaiif
